David Harris Unit 7 Exegesis Matthew 5:17-20 “The Law” Paragraph Rationale: I would consider this it’s own paragraph. However, it is linked to the verses that follow it, but I would break them up too, so as to make them easier to appreciate and understand. I view this section as sort of a prologue to what follows (murder, adultery, divorce, etc.). Hence I consider this a paragraph of it’s own. 17

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.

18

“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.

19

“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.

20

“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Observations: There is some structure here. Verses 17 and 19 both set up similar “I say to you” phrases seen in verses 18 and 20 respectively. Verse 18 is slightly different in it’s wording as it includes “truly” (“amen” in Interlinear). Also, “kingdom of heaven” is mentioned three times, twice as a contrast in verse 19, and once as an explanatory point in verse 20. The contrast seen within verse 19 centers around those who would be “called least” versus those who would be “called great,” in the kingdom of heaven. Starting in verse 17 Jesus begins with a negative command, “do not.” This is followed by the word “nomizo,” (Str.#3543). “Do not nomizo.” This word appears in the GT fifteen times. In the verse above it is rendered as “think.” “Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets.” Nomizo appears in the same rendering in Matthew at 10:34, where Jesus says, “Do not think (nomizo) that I came to bring peace on the earth.” It also appears as “thought” (past tense) in the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:10) – “When those hired first came, they thought (nomizo) that they would receive more.” Each time this term is used in Matthew it is in reference to someone believing one thing, only to find that something else is true. That is the case with each of the three references above. In 5:17 Jesus tells the listeners that he did not come to abolish but to fulfill. In 10:34 Jesus tells the people he did not come to bring peace but a sword. And in 20:10 Jesus states in the parable that the workers expected to be paid more, but instead they were paid a single denarius (1 day’s wage). This fits with other renderings of nomizo in Scripture as it appears in various forms as assuming, supposing, and imagining. So just from looking at the Concordance alone we see this word implies a certain sense of speculation and expectation.

This definition is also supported by the BAGD lexicon which uses words like believe and consider to define nomizo, as well as quoting Luke 3:23 which says, “When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age, being, as was supposed,(nomizo) the son of Joseph.” The Dictionary Of Biblical Languages also uses the word expect in its definition, and Louw and Nida use suppose. So Jesus tells them not to think (ie. suppose, expect, assume, imagine, or believe) that he came to “abolish” (“katalyo” Str.#2647) the law or the prophets (or “spokesmen” in the Interlinear). Katalyo is a fascinating word. The Concordance shows this word rendered as throw down, destroy, to overthrow and tore down. These would match with abolish. However, katalyo is also rendered by Luke as to lodge, and to be the guest. The BAGD lexicon may help to clarify. Katalyo is defined in the BAGD as demolish, dismantle, do away with, annul, repeal, and bring to an end. L&N and Kittel use roughly the same words to define katalyo. It is this final sense of being “brought to an end” in which to lodge and to be the guest may be understood. At the end of a day is when one goes to bed or is “thrown down.” Also, this unique rendering of katalyo is found only in Luke and nowhere else in the entire GT, so Luke may have simply had a broader or more subtle understanding of this word. However, this explanation is admittedly pure speculation, (or nomizo) on my part. Ultimately I prefer the Interlinear word “unloose,” which gives the sense of something having at one time been securely bound. The clear initial command of Jesus in verse 17 is that the hearers not assume that he came to destroy the law or the prophets. Contextually, Jesus is speaking to a Jewish crowd here, as was always the case in the gospel accounts. Moreover, Matthew’s gospel was written in a Jewish style (at the very least) and was directed to Jewish Christians. It is also important to note at this point that none of the other gospel writers deliver a parallel version of this teaching, so it stands original to Matthew’s gospel. In light of this when Jesus says, “the law or the prophets” he can only be referring to that which the Jewish audience would have understood. Namely, the Mosaic Law, and the Hebrew prophets which the Jews so highly revered. (Note: It seems somewhat awkward on my part to describe the Jews as having “revered” the law and the prophets in the past tense, as I feel just as comfortable and even more accurate in saying this is generally the case in the present tense. However, in the interest of keeping with 1st century historical context, I will continue to refer to these things in the past tense, although my personal mindset dictates that this reverence still continues today.) Moving on, Jesus explains in verse 17b that he instead came to “fulfill.” The object of this fulfilling is the law and the prophets. This word “fulfill” in the Greek is transliterated as “pleroo” (Str.#4137). A concordance study is helpful once again. The word appears 86 times in the GT, mostly as “fulfill” or some other form thereof. But on occasion it is rendered as a variation of full, complete, finished, accomplished, fully proclaimed, produced, perfect, or satisfied. Most references, including BAGD, and

Kittle support this sense of pleroo. Interestingly, L&N uses the phrase “to come to an end!” In verse 18 Jesus tells them that these things will not pass away “until” (“heos” Str.# 2193) heaven and earth pass away. The word is usually rendered as “until” in the GT, but the BAGD lexicon defines the word as having to do with the denotation of a period of time. It is a temporal conjunction. L&N use the phrases while, as far as, and to the point of. Therefore Jesus tells them that until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or point from the law will be removed, “until all is accomplished.” (Or “all might become,” in the Interlinear.) The Greek phrase used here is “pas ginomai.” By way of further observation, “pas” is used in the GT so many times that the Concordance does not list them all. It simply means each, every, or all. There’s a saying, “All means all and that’s all ‘all’ means.” That’s certainly true in this case. Ginomai, according to the BAGD lexicon has to do with occurrences, happenings, things coming about, or becoming. It pertains to things that change their condition. This phrase “pas ginomai,” will be elaborated upon further in the Interpretation section below. Verse 19 reads, “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.” The word here for “annul” is “lyo” (Str.#3089). The word is rendered as loose, untie, released, set free, destroy, broken, unbind, take off, dissolved, and let out. This word is clearly related to katalyo which contains lyo, and again the sense of the law being bound is seen. A contrast is found in verse 19 between those who “shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven,” and those who “shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus tells the crowds that whoever annuls the law (and teaches others to do the same) will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. In sharp contrast Jesus tells them that he who “keeps” the law (and teaches others to do the same) will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. “Keeps” here is the word “poieo” (Str.# 4160). It means to do, or make, denoting activity (BAGD). So Jesus juxtaposes those who destroy the law and teach others to do the same, against those who keep or do the law and teach others to do the same, saying that the former will be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven, while the latter will be called “great.” Lastly, in verse 20 Jesus adds that “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees,” they will not even enter the kingdom of heaven. Interpretation: This passage is somewhat of a challenge to interpret. What Jesus is saying here seems easy enough to understand until you look at its context and dig deeper into the implications of what he means. On one hand Jesus says he did not come to abolish the law, however he did in effect do away with the dietary laws as well as a divorce provision given by Moses. (Mark 7:18-19, Mark 10:2-12)

I believe the key is in the “fulfillment” he talks about. To encapsulate what Matthew is conveying here, Jesus is shown exercising total authority to adjust, amend, change, interpret, or even add to the Mosaic Law. Matthew is showing Jesus in the position of divine authority. Jesus moves beyond his initial assertions about fulfilling the law to expound on a number of legal issues, and in each one he makes it clear that godly obedience to the law is far more difficult than the Pharisees were practicing and teaching. In fact, Jesus renders perfect obedience impossible in this passage. The way in which this transitional piece of text functions as a proposition for the rest of the Sermon on the Mount can be seen within this incredible raising (or maybe clarifying) of the standard which God has set. The verses in blue above are progressive and can be paraphrased like so: 1) 2) 3) 4)

Do not assume I came to abolish or destroy the law. On the contrary I came to fulfill the law. The law will not pass away until such time as everything has been finished. Warning: Whoever breaks the law and teaches people to do the same will be called “least” in the kingdom of heaven. 5) Encouragement: Whoever keeps the law and teaches people to do likewise will be called “great” in the kingdom of heaven. At this juncture it might be tempting to think, “Hey! Being called the least can’t be all that bad so as long as you make it to the kingdom, correct?” But Jesus doesn’t leave room for that kind of wriggling. 6) If your righteousness isn’t greater than the Pharisees you won’t even get in the door. That’s essentially what Jesus is saying here at face value, and again Matthew is highlighting Jesus in a position of authority. Interestingly, Jesus says that there will come a time at which the law will be abolished, and that point is mentioned in verse 18, when “all is accomplished.” What this entails in its grand entirety and specifics I have no idea. But what is clear is that there will indeed come a time, a defining moment in human (or heavenly) history, at which the law is no more. Again, what that will look like I can only imagine. The important thing to note is this: Jesus is asserting his own right to handle the law as he sees fit. He can speak boldly of his intentions regarding the law because he has the power to assert his will over the law itself. Yet he assures the listeners that it will stand untouched until the end of time. Moreover, he makes it clear that not only does the law still stand, but those who obey it will be honored while those who break it will be scorned by God. This would not have been a new concept to the Jewish audience, but it would be in harmony with the rest of the Sermon on the Mount in that it demands a response from humanity that is well out of its reach. Therefore the only appropriate response to these teachings is to admit that they are impossible to obey, then cry out to God for mercy.

So eventually the law will be abolished, or at least rendered unnecessary, and at that point it will have served it’s divine purpose. Until that day however, Jesus has made it clear that it still is in full force and that he is in charge of it. Moreover, it is also made clear by this passage that there is absolutely nothing any person can do to enter the kingdom of heaven apart from actually keeping the law, and by deduction there is literally no possible way that anyone can actually keep it. It is a truly paralyzing reality Jesus presents. On top of that, Jesus, unlike the rest of humanity, is fully in command of the law. This serves to add a very real sense in which the audience (as well as any reader) is incredibly fortunate even to be privy to such impossible information in the first place. Taken by itself this passage is overwhelming and awful in its implication. Taken in context with the crucifixion and resurrection it is a joy and relief to comprehend. Application: There is no specific action commanded by Jesus here, as this teaching seems to be more of an informative warning. Matthew however is likely making a point concerning Jesus’ authority. The principle at work here is that Jesus is indeed authoritative over all humanity in a spiritual, moral, and hierarchical sense. And again, the wise response to the truth presented in this passage is to fall down before God and cry out for mercy. (Even on a continual basis.)