The Law that Teaches Us Grace

Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:17-20).
The ministry of Jesus Christ never intended to do away with the Old Testament law; rather, His ministry would fulfill the Law and the Prophets (v 17). He even speaks hyperbolically that heaven and earth would pass away before the even most minute details of the letters of the written Law would be lost (v. 18). All the righteous requirements of the Law and its promised blessings would be satisfied by Christ.

Christ also taught that the greatness and wretchedness in the kingdom of heaven is interwoven with keeping the commandments of God (v. 19), but that not even the piousness of the scribes and Pharisees and their zeal for the Law would be enough to attain the kind of righteousness fit for life in the kingdom of heaven (v. 20). The very religious leaders studied the Law and sought to connect its precepts to daily living were still missing the mark when it came to the standards of righteousness in heaven.

What the scribes and the Pharisees missed was that the laws given by God were more than just a check list of things to do, which once completed would mean one’s right with the Lord, for it went beyond just external appearances. The prohibition against murder was more than just the physical act of murder but the evil driving the soul of the sinner (vv. 21-25). It was not about the physical act of adultery but even lust hidden within the heart (vv. 27-30). It was not about properly ending a bad marriage with the proper documentation, but making certain all roads to reconciliation have been explored (vv. 31-32). It was not about finding the loop holes in business deals, but keeping one’s own promises (vv. 33-42). It was not just about distinguishing “who’s for us and who’s against us;” rather, it is about reflecting divine grace and mercy upon all people as children of the Heavenly Father (vv. 43-48).

Christ’s message also leads us to the realization of our inability to actually keep the Law. In other words, “the Law has become out tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). We have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but there is a righteousness that comes apart from the Law, which comes about through the blood Christ shed to atone for sin (Rom 3:21-31).

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