April 15, 2024

The Law and the Prophets—Part 1

By Peter Amsterdam

Audio length: 11:01
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In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus devoted a significant portion of the sermon to addressing the Law and the Prophets, meaning the Hebrew Scriptures—what Christians refer to as the Old Testament.

The Hebrew Scriptures, commonly known to the Jewish people as Tanakh, contain all of the same books as the Christian Old Testament, though they are divided somewhat differently and placed in a different order. When Jesus speaks of “the Law and the Prophets,” it is generally understood that this is a shorthand way of referring to all of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament).

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a new outlook and understanding of Scripture, as well as what His relationship is to Scripture:

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.

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. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:17–20).

The fact that Jesus opens by saying that His listeners should not think He came to abolish (destroy in some translations) the Law or the Prophets is an indication that some people thought, or said, that this was in fact what He was doing, seeing as His approach to the Law was different from traditional thinking.¹ However, He unequivocally states that He has not come to abolish or destroy them, but rather to fulfill them.

Jesus goes on, using His authoritative saying of “truly I say to you,” to state that until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota, not one dot of the Law will be invalidated. When hearing Jesus refer to heaven and earth (all of creation) passing away before the Law, His listeners would have understood Him to be saying that God’s Word will never go unfulfilled. All of it will be accomplished.

What does it mean that He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets—the full range of Scripture? The answer can be found throughout Matthew’s Gospel, where multiple times he speaks of Jesus fulfilling Old Testament scriptures. A few examples are:

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles” (Matthew 12:17–18).

This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’’” (Matthew 21:4–5).

According to Jesus, the role of Old Testament Scripture wasn’t abolished, but it changed. Since what they had pointed to—the Messiah—had come, the Scripture now was to be understood and practiced in light of Jesus’ teachings.

We see in Matthew 5:21–48 that Jesus gives examples of the deeper understanding of the teachings of Torah (Law) when He says: You have heard that it was said … but I say to you … From that point forward, the authoritative teaching of Jesus is what governs His disciples’ understanding and practical application of the Law. It is no longer a literal observance of rules, but a deeper understanding of the moral principles that underpin those rules.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus lays out a standard which moves beyond the outward application of the Law and focuses not on a set of rules but on a response from within the heart. He shows that literally obeying the Law is inadequate. That was the kind of obedience the scribes and Pharisees had, yet He stated that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20).

In Jesus’ time, the scribes were people who professionally taught, expounded on, and interpreted the Laws of Moses. The scribes and Pharisees were meticulous about obeying the Torah (Law). If righteousness was understood as literal obedience to the Law, then there was no one more righteous than the scribes and Pharisees. For anyone to exceed their keeping of the Law was virtually impossible. However, the righteousness Jesus was speaking about wasn’t literal Law-keeping.

Jesus goes on to say: “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” (Matthew 5:19). It’s helpful to remember that when referring to the kingdom of heaven He is speaking of the basileia, God’s reign in our lives, and not heaven in the afterlife. Being great or small in the kingdom isn’t speaking of one’s standing in the afterlife, but rather of whether one is a poor or good representative of those who live their life with God as King.

In fulfilling the Law and Prophets, Jesus was ushering in a new era for humankind that went beyond keeping the letter of the Law to discerning and applying the underlying principles of the Law. This new way of applying the Law so that it no longer acts as a rule of conduct but as a pointer to a “greater righteousness” is what Jesus brought into being, and it supersedes the old type of Law-keeping.²

Jesus didn’t abolish the Old Testament. How could He, since it pointed to Him, and He fulfilled it? As we will see in the next verses of Matthew chapter 5, He moves beyond the concept that strict obedience to the Law brings righteousness, as He introduces a deeper understanding and application of the principles which stand behind the Law. In doing so, He reveals the inner attitude of spirit, which coincides with the Beatitudes, that brings forth the righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Jesus gave six examples in the Sermon on the Mount which are presented as contrasts between what “was said” in Scripture and Jesus’ fuller and more expanded explanation of what these scriptures mean to those who follow Him. The form Jesus used to express what He was teaching was “you have heard that it was said … but I say unto you …”

In the first instance, He states: “You have heard that it was said to those of old …” In four of the next five examples, the phrase is shortened, but the meaning is the same. Jesus was conveying that while the Law made a statement, such as “you should not murder,” He was now giving it a more comprehensive meaning. Each of the six examples Jesus cited is based on a passage or theme in the Mosaic Law. The six examples include murder, adultery, divorce, the swearing of oaths, retributive punishment, and love of neighbors. When speaking about each of these, Jesus brings out general principles regarding living His teachings.

The first principle is that it is the spirit of the Law that matters, not the letter only. For example, looking at the commandment “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), Jesus goes beyond the outward action of murder and addresses the inward core of our deeds—our attitudes, our motives, and the thoughts and intentions of our heart. God is concerned with the inner source that leads to the action as well as the action itself. To fulfill the intent of the Law is not only refraining from murder; it’s refraining from having contempt and hatred for others, and having an attitude toward others which is positive and loving.

Another principle Jesus brings out is that the Law should not only be conceived of as a list of all the things that we shouldn’t do, with all the “thou shalt nots” at the forefront. Our focus is meant rather to be on living in a manner which is pleasing to God and glorifies Him. Jesus gave a new outlook and understanding that is meant to move us beyond following set regulations, the “don’t do this or that” mentality, and toward living according to the principles that underpin the Law as set out in His teachings.

The true goal is to be in relationship with Him, to live for His glory. The question isn’t whether we’re mechanically following a specific set of rules, but whether we are being Christlike and whether our inner life is synchronized with what He has taught. We may not have committed murder, but have our hearts and thoughts been full of anger and contempt? If they are, then we are sinning.

Jesus sought to help His followers move beyond Law-keeping and have a deeper understanding of the principles behind the original Law. He was creating a new people of God, those who would live within the kingdom or reign of God, who would go beyond finding righteousness in obedience to a set of rules and would focus on aligning themselves with the spirit and intent of God’s Law.

Originally published October 2015. Adapted and republished April 2024. Read by Jon Marc.

¹ John R. W. Stott, The Message of the Sermon on the Mount (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1978), 70. Darrell L. Bock, Jesus According to Scripture (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 131.

² R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 186.

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