Throughout history, there have been those that have said that when Jesus came, the Old Testament became irrelevant. Well, Jesus had something to say about that when He said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” So, Jesus is actually saying that He is “filling the Law and the Prophets full”. The Law was a shadow of what was to come; the reality belonged to Christ. We also see that Jesus fulfilled all of the Messianic prophecies. The Truth in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus, which makes it extremely valuable! He then goes on to say…”For truly, I say to you”…which was a MASSIVE statement because He was speaking in HIs own name and with His own authority. This definitely was something the people listening would have never expected Him to say. Rabbis (teachers) would have only been allowed to quote a Rabbi who had authority. Jesus is claiming authority with this statement. “Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, and the dot likely refers to a tiny stroke or a part of a letter used to differentiate between Hebrew letters. Jesus is saying that not even the smallest part of the Law will pass away, even down to the tiniest thing. Jesus then takes it to the heart level when He says, “Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” The Mosaic Law was the foundation of the Pharisaical rules called the “Torah” – the law that God gave through Moses to the Jewish people of the Old Testament. The Pharisees had developed a system of 613 laws (365 negative commands and 248 positive laws). The Mishnah were additional teachings of sermons and saying by Jewish rabbis meant to interpret the original Mosaic Law. They created another 1500 additional “fence laws” for the people to obey because they believed the best way to keep people from breaking God’s Law was to build a protective barrier around that Law, even though the Lord never told them to do this. This meant that the people of Jesus’ day were burdened down by man-made legalistic rules that God never commanded. It was the scribes who worked out these regulations, and it was the Pharisees who dedicated their lives to keeping them. And then Jesus takes it even further… “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”. The crowd had to be so discouraged at this point because it was impossible to keep every one of these laws. Thankfully, Jesus calls His disciples to a different kind and quality of righteousness than that of the scribes and Pharisees. They took pride in outward conformity to many extrabiblical rules, but kingdom righteousness works from the inside out because it first produces changed hearts and new motivations (the beatitudes). Paul is a great example of this heart change because he was a Pharisee (Philippians 3:6-9). In Romans 9 Paul asks, “What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” So, how can our righteousness be from the inside out? God’s two promises to put His law within us (Jeremiah 31:33) and to put His Spirit within us (Ezekiel 36:27). The Pharisees thought an external conformity to the law would be righteousness enough; but in reality, the Law points out our sin, and through Jesus’ righteousness, we can be saved by grace to live by grace. Questions to Consider: - What are your thoughts about the Old Testament? Do you read it often, or do you focus on the New Testament? Why is it important to read and understand all of the Bible?
- What are some “man-made” rules that we follow in church that might make us feel like we are “more righteous” than others? How might these be similar to the Pharisaical laws that Jesus criticized?
- How do you guard against falling into the trap of prideful righteousness—thinking that following rules or appearing outwardly righteous makes you more worthy in God’s eyes? How can you cultivate humility and a heart of grace instead?
| 
