Smoodock's Blog

If we could go back to the days, when Jesus walked the face of the earth, and, if that were possible, we followed Jesus up the mount and listened to him say the things written in Matthew 5:17-20, we might ask: “What does that have to do with me?” If I were a Roman citizen, or a citizen of any province, other than that of the Jewish people, what does keeping or breaking the Law of the Jews have to do with you and me? For example, if I were to worship a god of my country and in the land of my ancestors, could I be disciplined by the Jewish authorities? If I, a gentile, were to commit adultery with a neighbor’s wife, in my own country, what has that to do with the Law of the Jews? Of course, if I were to travel to Judea, and the Jews knew of my ways, they would probably shun me, but I’d be shunned anyway, simply because I was a gentile. So, in this context, one might ask, what does the righteousness or unrighteousness of the Jewish scribes and Pharisees have to do with me?

What does Jesus mean in Matthew 5:17-20, and to whom is he speaking? Well, first of all, we know that Jesus went up the mount to get away from the crowds of people, and he took with him those folks that he considered to be his disciples (Matthew 5:1). When he did this, he opened his mouth and taught them, vis-à-vis his disciples, and no one else, and his disciples were 100% Jewish citizens at that time. The Law, Jesus mentioned, was the Law of Moses, which was the national law of the Jews. We in modern America have our own laws, but Jesus spoke of the Law of Moses. In order to understand what Jesus meant, we would need to acquaint ourselves with the Law of Moses and its purpose.

The fact Jesus told his disciples that they should not believe he had come to destroy the Law of Moses and the prophets, implies that such an interpretation of his words and works could be construed that that was his purpose. However, if they drew that conclusion, they would have missed his point. Therefore, he emphasized that he didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17). What is Jesus saying?

First of all, we need to consider why the Law of Moses was put in place. In Genesis God told mankind that he was the judge of what was good and evil, not man, and in the day that man chose to know good and evil without God, that was the day when rebellion and independence would take place, and the result would be death for mankind (Genesis 2:17). As it would happen, mankind did rebel (Genesis 3:1-6), and the result was: man was driven from God’s Presence (life), dying spiritually, and would eventually die physically, as well (Genesis 3:22-24). The Law of Moses was intended to bring mankind, particularly the Jews, back into the Presence of God, vis-à-vis the Temple, and if man (the Jews) obeyed his Law, they would live (cp. Leviticus 18:5). Obviously, gentiles also lived, so God couldn’t have been speaking of physical life. The life he promised was resurrection after death (Daniel 12:2; Isaiah 26:19; cp. Matthew 22:23-32). The problem is that no one really obeyed the Law of Moses, not even the scribes and Pharisees, who were considered to be the most righteous of the nation (Matthew 5:20)!

According to Jesus, he intended to fulfill the Law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17). If that were to happen, what would it mean? Adam’s rebellion not only drove him out of God’s Presence, but all who would come after him, too (Romans 5:12). Adam’s life was given him by God, so rebellion meant rejecting the life Giver (his Presence), and in doing so, incurring death through independence. However, independence really didn’t bring freedom. Instead, the life he lived apart from God would be swallowed up in death. Death, was the just payment for life lived apart from God. Notice that the debt mankind owed was owed to God. Presumably, if the debt was paid, mankind could return to God’s Presence and live forever. Yet, no man was able to pay the debt or fulfill the intent of the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:5).

Therefore, if a man pays a debt, his obligation has been fulfilled, and he is no longer a debtor. Moreover, it makes no difference to the “bank” who pays the debt. If the debt is paid by the debtor or a friend of the debtor, the “bank” is satisfied, and it no longer requires a future payment from the one who owed the debt, which has been satisfied, according to the “bank.” Nothing was destroyed, as would be the case, if a foreign nation conquered a certain nation and declared all debts to businesses null and void. That would be “destroying the Law.” Instead, Jesus came to honor the debt that was owed, saying he would pay the debt, and in doing so, man’s, vis-à-vis the Jews’ obligation to the Law would be satisfied, as far as the debt they owed to God was concerned.