Not to Abolish but to Fulfill: Matthew 5:17-20

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.

The rabbis listening would have perked up. The Law—Torah—was their life. The Prophets completed the revelation. Was this new teacher dismantling Israel's foundation?

No. Not abolishing. Fulfilling. Bringing to completion what the Law always pointed toward.

"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.

The smallest letter—yod, the Hebrew equivalent of an apostrophe. The least stroke—the tiny marks distinguishing similar letters. Not even these would vanish while heaven and earth remained.

Jesus was not loosening the Law. He was tightening it.

"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.

Rank in the kingdom correlated with faithfulness to God's commands. The Law was not optional, not obsolete, not irrelevant.

"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.

A gasp might have risen from the crowd. The Pharisees were the righteous ones—meticulous in tithing mint and cumin, careful about Sabbath details, respected as the most observant Jews in the land.

Surpass their righteousness? How?

The answer would unfold in the verses that followed. The Pharisees had external compliance; Jesus demanded internal transformation. They avoided murder; Jesus addressed anger. They avoided adultery; Jesus addressed lust. They kept oaths; Jesus said let your yes be yes.

The Law was not weakened by Jesus but intensified. The standard was not lowered but raised. Righteousness that merely matched the Pharisees—tick-box obedience without heart change—would not be enough.

The kingdom required something deeper than rules. It required renovation from the inside out.