Question:
I have questions regarding Matthew 5:17-19: (1) What law was Christ talking about? (2) When will it all be fulfilled? (3) What commandments was Christ talking about?
Answer:
Here is the whole scripture, Matthew 5:17-20:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
- Christ is talking about God’s moral law, the standard of righteousness. (See verse 20). God’s royal law is summarily comprehended in the Decalogue or Ten Commandments. (See James 2:8-12; Romans 7:7; Exodus 24:12; 31:18; Ecclesiastes 12:13, 14). See also Matthew 5:21, 27, but read “to them” instead of “by them.”
- All will never be fulfilled. The law is fulfilled when man fully keeps or fills up its eternal breadth and depth. Only One did this, Christ Jesus. We can do it only in Christ. The prophets— that is, what they prophesied— will never be fulfilled; for they prophesy of a glorious eternity as long as the days of God, and eternity will never be filled up. Therefore never a jot or tittle will pass from the law.
- The commandments of that law. In a way, the great commandments of God’s law are summarized in supreme love to God and equal love to man (see Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:36-40), and the lesser, the ten precepts of the Decalogue, the doing of which is proof of the love. But keeping the mere form is not keeping the law. That is self-righteousness, the righteousness that fell short (see Matthew 5:20). God requires heart righteousness, the keeping of the law from the heart by the Spirit (see Matthew 5:21-28; Romans 1:16, 17; 8:4; 1 John 5:3). He who considers that any command of God is too small to be obeyed is unworthy of His kingdom.
