Week 7 (Beginning 10 Feb) Day 1

Matthew 5.17-20

7 “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 For truly I tell you, 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 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly 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.

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Personal Reflections At a time when righteousness is based on the absolute and often legalistic adherence to the Law, Jesus is pointing the people to the fulfilment of the Law through His own coming. This does not mean that Jesus came and obeyed or kept every part of the Law, even though He did. Rather, He is saying that up till then, the Law and the Prophets point forward to the coming Messiah. The Torah was not God’s last word but only provisional.[3] Hence when Jesus the Messiah comes, He carries them to a new era of fulfilment.

This explains Mt 5.20, where now a righteousness that is higher than the Pharisees is needed. It is no longer enough to just keep the letter of the Law; it is required that the spirit of the Law be adhered to as well (Mt 5.21-48). God is now looking at the inward attitudes and the heart rather than just the outward appearance. In this sense, it is a whole new concept and understanding of righteousness.

Hence those who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who have aligned their hearts completely towards God – a sign of full conversion or complete surrender of the self to God, through the grace and mercy of Christ. Not only are they seeking to obey the law outwardly, but they are also inwardly attuned to God’s desires and ways. How have you been treating the commands and laws of God? Has it been only an outward adherence or does it also include an inward complete surrender?

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[3] France, R.T., The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), p.183.