Jesus and the Law

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

JESUS AND THE LAW

Matt 5:17-20

17 "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. 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 practices 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.

NIV

The law is still the law, and it will always be the law. It is a permanent record that references all moral conduct. However, there is a problem trying to live by that law. This righteousness the Pharisees tried to obtain was through making every effort, at least in appearance, to observe the law. Their lives had become so ritualistic in nature they lost sight of the purpose of the laws. The law stood then as it stands now to show us it is impossible to obtain righteousness through the law. For the fact remains that if we fail to live perfectly according to the law, that is if we break just one jot, just one small letter, just one stroke of the pen, we have failed the whole law. In failing the law, even if it is only one out of how every many there is, we have failed completely and are condemned to death. There is only one way to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law and that is to be in Christ. He is our righteousness and in him, we have fulfilled every jot and tittle of the law. We know this may sound a bit heretical in some sense, but why do we insist on still following the commands in the Old Testament, if Jesus fulfilled them or completed them all? The reason we think this is that we know, without question, that we have not obtained perfection, and we also know that we have broken commands, for sin is still at work in us, even when we desire to do good. How then can we say that we want to believe in the law, dare we say, even the Ten Commandments when they condemn us to death because we cannot keep them perfectly. However, Jesus did, he fulfilled every aspect of all the law perfectly, and therefore He is our only source of righteousness. Now, does that mean we are free to live in any manner we want if we are in Christ? We think not. Jesus taught many things regarding our conduct, our relationship with Him, and with other people. However, at the root of all our moral conduct, or relationships is grace and love. If we are guided by anything it such be by grace and love. In following Jesus these two are the central theme of our lives. Instead of worrying about what we should not do and what we should do, that is the do’s and don’ts of the Christian life, we need to live by grace and love. If we did that, as Jesus did, then we would be following Jesus, instead of some rules we have set up for ourselves or living with failure of abiding by the law. Of course, there are principles all throughout the New Testament that give us a closer or more in-depth insight into what living by grace and love looks like. Yes, we should study them, contemplate how they impact our lives and fit into grace and love, for it is only as we follow Jesus, have Him in our heart and mind are we able to say that we have indeed surpassed the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Let us not try to live by the law, but live in Christ. We have far more we could say about this, but then it would be a book instead of a devotion of our thoughts