God's Word Will Be Fulfilled
Matthew 5:17-20
Shortly after Jesus presented the beatitudes during His “Sermon on the Mount,” He said: “17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Anyone who breaks 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 practises and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
In this statement, Jesus shows the trustworthiness of God’s word. To emphasize His point, He goes beyond the ideas it contains and the words that express them to the very letters and grammatical marks. His purpose in coming to earth was to fulfil the smallest details of both the Law and the Prophets. So His relationship to God’s word was to accomplish, satisfy, execute or as many translations have it, fulfil, it.
After He states that absolutely everything it contains will be accomplished, He turns to His audience to address their relationship to the law. Jesus seems to be making a play on the word “least” here. The Pharisees were famous for distinguishing between laws, declaring some to be more important than others. So Jesus says, if you break one of the laws which you may consider “the least” you, yourself will condemn yourself to being considered one of “the least” in God’s order of things. Have contempt for the law and you will show yourself to be contemptible.
On the other hand, those who diligently honour the law and encourage others to do so, will be honoured, themselves. Jesus then strikes a blow directly at the Pharisees who saw themselves as the human standard of righteousness on earth with their careful study and observance of the Scriptures. He told His audience that unless their righteousness surpassed that of those who set themselves up as religious leaders, they would not even enter the kingdom of Heaven.
In this declaration of the truth, Jesus tells us that the Bible should be the supreme authority in our lives. We should study it and seek to understand it as best we can. We should avoid considering any part of it as inconsequential or unimportant. But beyond the study and understanding, we need to apply it - to live by what we understand it to be telling us. Don’t be so concerned with meeting the standards of those who offer teaching about it. Strive to be even more rigorous in honouring God’s word in your practical every-day life than they are.
