The Law and the Prophets

SCRIPTURE

Matthew 5:17-20

QUESTIONS

• What were the Law and the Prophets?
• Why didn't Jesus abolish the Law or the Prophets?
• What does it mean to relax a commandment?
• Who are the least in the kingdom of heaven?
• Who are the great in the kingdom of heaven?
• How can our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees?

COMMENTS

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. Everything that GOD said still stands. (Please do not confuse the Law of God with the laws added by the leaders of the Jews). Jesus came to fulfill, or live up to the law perfectly. That is why He was able to be our perfect sacrifice, why He could offer Himself in our place. How much easier would it have been to just abolish or nullify the Law? That is what Satan tried to trick Him into doing in the desert. But the Law still stands. It's just that it has been fulfilled, so we do not have to fulfill it ourselves!

But the spirit of the Law lives on. Jesus was asked, "What is the greatest commandment?" He answered, "Love God with all your heart, and then love your neighbor as yourself." (Paraphrase of Matthew 22:36-40) So while we are not bound by the letter of the law, we are to follow the spirit of it. 1 Corinthians 13 comes to mind.

So now for the hard part, verse 20, where Jesus says, "unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Can you imagine what that must have sounded like to the people who were listening? The scribes and the Pharisees were the religious leaders, they studied, memorized, and followed the law with all their might. Some even claimed to follow it flawlessly. And Jesus expected others to exceed that?

But they followed it with all THEIR might. They did not follow the spirit of the law. In fact, they took the law and created loopholes that allowed them to follow the law to the letter, but in the process, completely missed the spirit of the law. Things like love and holiness did not matter, what mattered was the letter of the law. Don't some still do this today? Go to church, don't go to R-rated movies, don't drink or smoke, and so on. But they miss the spirit of the law, to love God and to love others. This is not lawlessness. This is going beyond the mere obedience to a set of rules and living a life that is a reflection of the grace of God in all instances.