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The Law

             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.  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.  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. 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. (Matthew 5:17-20)

        When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

 

            This passage causes controversy and brings to mind an episode of “West Wing” in which an arrogant Liberal president uses the Law in order to destroy someone he didn’t like. After all, if we violate the Law in the least way, we’ve broken the whole Law. And, of course, the woman he was attacking wasn’t scripted in a way to allow her to have any response to these things.

            But, when Jesus said, “It is finished,” was He not talking about having accomplished everything that needed to be accomplished? If He has fulfilled and accomplished the Law, then might there not be smallest letters or strokes of the pen that may disappear?

            The other side is the notion that since Jesus fulfilled the Law, nothing in the law matters any more and we can be as vile as we please because nothing in the Old Testament matters. This extreme is no more acceptable than the other.

            But when this passage is discussed, it seems rare that the issue of having a righteousness that surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law in order to enter the kingdom of God. The person who doesn’t keep the Law and teaches others not to keep the Law may be the least in the kingdom of heaven, and those who keep the Law may be called great, but they are still in the kingdom. Those whose righteousness isn’t greater than that of the Pharisees doesn’t. And the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were all about the Law – and they rejected Jesus and His fulfillment of the Law. 

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