Hey everybody! Thank you for taking the time to join me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, you can visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Today, we continue Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount! Day 39, Matthew 5:18-20 — The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:18-20 (NASB1995) “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Discussion Following Jesus’ introduction about how His followers are to be separate from the world (vs. 13-16), He addresses potential critics. Many religious leaders, including the Pharisees, criticized Jesus’ teachings imploring that He was teaching blasphemies against Moses’ Law and Old Testament Prophets (e.g., claiming to be the Son of God, changing the Law, etc.). Yesterday, we read one of the more powerful statements of Jesus’ entire ministry. We learned what Jesus meant when He declared that He did not come to abolish or alter the Law and Prophets, but to fulfill them (5:17). We just barely scraped the surface of what Jesus’ fulfillment meant. Today, we dive further into what it means. As we learned yesterday, the religious leaders accused Jesus of blaspheming God’s Law and Prophets. Jesus rebukes them by stating that He did not come to alter or abolish the Law but to fulfill it. Jesus was not throwing aside God’s Law but building upon where it had failed. Stating that God’s Law failed might sound like a bold statement, but Scripture provides clarity in Hebrews. To better understand this, we must study the differences between the old and new covenants. The old covenant was God’s Law to ancient Israel. Morally, God’s Law was perfect in every way—but it did not have the power to save. It was holy and just, but it did not reconcile Israel to God. The new covenant has come with Christ, who brings salvation. Hebrews 8:6 says, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He [Jesus] is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises.” Jesus fulfills the Law, and the old covenant promises by establishing a new covenant—a covenant that brings salvation. Hebrews 8:7 states, “7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.” Where the old covenant failed to bring salvation, Jesus provides salvation through the new covenant. If the Law was faultless and provided salvation, then there was no need for Jesus to come. The author of Hebrews continues, “8 For finding fault with them, He says, “BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD, WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH.” This is what Jesus means by His complete fulfillment of the Law and Prophets; the Law could not save, but Jesus can. Jesus continues this thought in Matthew 5:18: “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” Not even the “smallest letter or stroke” of a pen can “pass” or change or diminish the authority of the Law “until all is accomplished.” But what is accomplished? The Law cannot change as it is now perfect and completely accomplished through Christ—through His perfect life, death, and resurrection. This final fulfillment will happen at His second coming. Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees continues in (5:19). The Pharisees were hypocrites, failing to keep the Law and denying Christ. Their poisonous teachings and faulty doctrine actively annulled the old and new covenants, making them the “least in the kingdom of heaven.” But those who believe and teach the truth of the new covenant in Christ will “be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” For that doctrine brings righteousness through Christ, while the religious leaders fail to do so because of their faulty doctrine. To have righteousness better than the scribes and Pharisees, one must believe the truth of Christ. The scribes' and Pharisees' righteousness was faulty as they trusted in the imperfect law instead of trusting in Jesus the Messiah. Matthew’s Gospel demonstrably proclaims Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and consistently references His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. As we studied before, Matthew’s genealogy establishes Jesus as the true Messiah the Jews were awaiting. Throughout history, not one Israelite was holy, righteous, or sinless to perfectly fulfill the Law—until Jesus. Jesus, the perfect atoning sacrifice, is the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets, providing salvation to all who believe in Him. The Law cannot save—but Jesus can. Application It is so beautiful to see how the Old and New Testaments connect through Jesus. All of Scripture is about Christ and seeing the congruency in the Law and Prophets found in the life of Jesus is just mind-blowing. The more we dive into Scripture, the more we see hold the life of Jesus fulfills God’s plan for salvation. I hope today’s study provided clarity about the differences between the old and new covenants and how Jesus’ coming brought salvation where God’s Law could not. There was no perfect sacrifice in the Old Testament. It is sad to think about how blinded the Pharisees were. They denied the one true Savior who came in the flesh right in front of their eyes because they were so focused on following God’s Law—and still failing at doing that. If there is one simple slogan for today’s post, it is this: The more we acknowledge our failures, the more we will find grace. None of us are perfect and can never attain perfection outside of Christ. Through Christ, we will find grace and help in our time of need. But without Christ, our efforts for reconciliation are naught. May we seek Jesus always, especially in our failures and sins—because only He can deliver and save us from them. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Tomorrow, we read Matthew 5:21-22. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please please please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, please reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together!
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