Jesus and the Law-- Matthew 5:18-20

Did Jesus embrace the Law of Moses?
Did Jesus support Moses, or was he Moses’ worst enemy? Did Jesus fully accept all of the law of Moses, or did he reject every command? And why even bring it up? Well, it is important. If someone comes up to you and insists that you not do any activity on the Sabbath (however he interprets that), then you need to know what Jesus thought of Moses’ command of the Sabbath. If you are struggling whether as a Christian how seriously you should take the food laws of Moses, you should know something about this subject.

Why is Jesus bringing up this subject?
In the context Jesus was speaking—the Sermon on the Mount to a large group of Jews in the midst of Israel—it seems that the answer would be simple. Of course he supports the Law! That’s what everyone would expect. So why even bring up the subject? First of all, Jesus brought it up because people around him questioned him about it. They asked, “Are you getting rid of the Old Testament?” So Jesus felt that he should answer the question.
So why did they bring it up? Because there were many times that Jesus sounded as if he was opposing the commands of the Old Testament. Sometimes it seemed as if Jesus was going to throw the whole thing away and start again. And many Christians throughout the years thought he was doing just that. Not only that, but the next section Jesus was going to discuss is full of many statements that sounds like he is contradicting the Old Testament. The section is called the Six Antitheses, where Jesus quotes the Old Testament, and then he makes a statement that seems to contradict the verse.
So which is it? Does Jesus support the Old Testament, or oppose it? Let’s read what he says:

Some think that I am setting aside the Old Testament, especially Moses’ law—but I have not come to do that. Rather, I have come to complete the Old Testament. Pay attention, here: even the least bit of Moses’ law will stand written, until every minor part of it is done as it stands written. Therefore, whoever is lax with Moses’ law and teaches others to do the same—they may enter the coming kingdom, but they will be unimportant there. But whoever emphasizes obedience in their own lives and in others’, they will be called great in God’s kingdom. Unless you have a better righteousness than today’s Bible teachers, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus’ general view of Moses’ law
Generally, Jesus is very affirming of the Old Testament, especially Moses’ law. Jesus says that Moses’ law will remain and it will be authoritative until the end of the age, when God’s kingdom will come. Not only that, but Jesus affirms the teaching of the whole law. The true teachers teach the whole Old Testament, Jesus said, leaving nothing out, even the least significant command. It seems as if Jesus fully supported the law.

How did Jesus fulfill the law of Moses?
Jesus thought so highly of Moses’ law, that he claimed that he would complete or fulfill it to the utmost extent. But what did Jesus actually mean by that? He meant three things:

a. Jesus would obey the Mosaic Law to the full extent
Jesus was a fully observant Jew, and never disobeyed the law of Moses. No Jew could accuse him of sin, which was determined by the law of Moses—not even his enemies (John 8:46). Jesus obeyed the law better than Moses or David did. Not only did Jesus obey the law that was written down to the letter, but he obeyed the Greater Law that stood behind the Mosaic Law.

b. Jesus would fulfill the paradigms that were only partially fulfilled in the Mosaic Law
All throughout the books of Moses, as well as the rest of the Hebrew Bible, there were many examples of God’s people, but all of them failed in some way. Moses and David were murderers, Aaron participated in idolatry, Abraham was a deceiver and Jacob was greedy. The children of Israel failed God’s law again and again. However, Jesus took Moses’ and David’s place, as well as the nation of Israel as a whole, and he fulfilled all of their roles perfectly, without any fault before God. Thus, Jesus fulfilled every role the Hebrew Bible presents—he was an obedient deliverer, a just judge, a devoted mediator, and a holy nation who endured through testing. Many of the Scriptures that Jesus was fulfilling were not prophecies at all, but simply stories that needed to be completed (see Matthew 2:15 and Hosea 11:1-2).

c. Jesus would fulfill the prophecies that are stated in the Hebrew Bible
Jesus stated many times that the Scripture would be fulfilled in him (for example, Matthew 26:31, 54). By this, he meant that there were many things in the Hebrew Scriptures that God says would happen. However, they had not occurred yet. Jesus said that he himself would be the focus of the completion of these promises.

Did Jesus contradict Moses?
Many people have trouble with Jesus saying, “Whoever is lax with Moses’ law will be least in God’s kingdom.” This is because they see Jesus opposing Moses in many places in his teaching: Concerning divorce, about how to treat one’s enemies, whether Gentiles can enter God’s kingdom, and in many other areas Jesus on the surface seems to be contradicting Moses. Does this mean that Jesus’ himself would be least in God’s kingdom? Looking closer, however, Jesus does not oppose the Torah in any way. Often Jesus is seen as doing away with Sabbath and cleansing laws of Moses’ law, but he is not doing so. At times he is prioritizing them, so that if they are in conflict, it can be seen which laws should be obeyed in a certain context. At times he is adjusting them, to make them be interpreted in light of compassion and justice. And at times he is heightening them, so they are to be interpreted in light of God’s higher laws. But never does he just say that this law has no place; nor does he set aside any command. To look at this closer, see the tract: “Did Jesus Oppose the Law?”

Does this mean that we need to place a railing on our roofs? (Deuteronomy 22:8)
Jesus is supporting the law to such a degree, does he then expect us to live it out? Should we start wearing God’s word on our forehead and stop eating bacon? Not necessarily. We need to remember that Jesus is speaking to his fellow Jews, not Gentiles. There are two cases in Matthew that he spoke to Gentiles and spoke of his demands. His demand for them was not to follow Moses, but to have faith (Matthew 8:5-13; 15:21-28) At first, Jesus sent his disciples to Israel alone, but when he sent them finally to the Gentiles, they were to teach Jesus’ commands, not Moses’. (Matthew 10:1, 5-6; 28:19-20). We were not born under the law, so if we do not obey it, we are not disobeying it, because we were never submitted to it. However, in proclaiming Jesus as Lord, we are submitting ourselves to Him—so we need to obey Jesus even as the Jews obeyed Moses (only better).

The higher righteousness
Finally, Jesus points out that simple obedience to Moses’ law isn’t good enough. After all, the Pharisees and Sadducees were trying very much to obey Moses’ law—and yet they still failed. Why is this? Because they were focusing on some specific laws, such as tithing and sabbath-keeping, but not on the laws that would cause one not to be judged by God. Moses’ law isn’t enough—we need to obey the Higher Law.
In order to assist us to be fully acceptable and obedient to God, Jesus taught us how to follow the law by which God will judge us on the final day. This higher law is: The one who is faithful to God will receive reward from God; The one who is merciful to others will receive mercy from God; The one who is lowered by others will be raised by God; Whatever one repents of will not be held against them. These laws do not replace the law of Moses, but they adequately explain how anyone could obey any law and be right before God. This could be another way in which Jesus fulfills the law: by teaching the true obedience of it.
This is the law that Jesus is going to explain to his disciples through the next sermon on the mount. This is the law God demands obedience of. This is the law that will cause us to have life. It is simpler than Moses’ law, but, in the end, much more difficult to do. We need God’s help for obedience.

Moses’ law is good and holy—
Jesus’ law is the pure law of God