Sermon Notes: Matthew 5:17-20 – What are we to do with the Old Testament?

Sermon Title: What are we to do with the Old Testament?

Scripture: Matthew 5:17-20

Passage Summary:

Main Question: Sermon Title: What are we to do with the Old Testament?

Main Thought:

Matthew 5:17-20 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. ¹⁹ So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. ²⁰ “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!

Engage:

The “Exploding Whale” Disaster

On November 12, 1970, the town of Florence, Oregon, had a serious problem—a dead, 8-ton whale had washed up on the beach. It had been so long since a whale had washed up on the shore that people couldn’t remember how to get rid of its remains. Officials (Oregon Highway Division), thinking they had a brilliant solution, decided to blow it up with dynamite to dispose of the carcass quickly.

Their reasoning? The explosion would scatter the whale into tiny pieces for seagulls and crabs to eat.

What they didn’t understand was just how much dynamite was too much. When they detonated the explosives, huge chunks of whale flew in every direction. A massive piece even crushed a parked car over a quarter-mile away!

The worst part was that, on the sandy shore, lay a gigantic portion of the whale’s carcass, untouched by the half ton of explosives because of their placement. Instead of solving the problem, they created an even bigger mess—a story people still laugh about today.

Dangerous misunderstandings aren’t limited to blowing up a whale with dynamite. Misunderstanding one’s words or intentions can prove harmful, too. A deadly and true consequence of misunderstanding someone’s words happened during World War II with the atomic bombing of Japan—specifically, the tragic misunderstanding of the Japanese word “mokusatsu.”

The Fatal Misunderstanding

In July 1945, the Allies issued the Potsdam Declaration, demanding Japan’s unconditional surrender or face “prompt and utter destruction.” The message was clear: surrender or be annihilated.

Japanese Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki held a press conference and, when asked about Japan’s response, he used the word “mokusatsu”—which can mean:

• “No comment; we are considering it” (a neutral stance), or
• “We ignore it with silent contempt” (a rejection).

The American translators and military leaders took the harsher meaning—that Japan had rejected the ultimatum.

The Deadly Consequence

Believing Japan had refused to surrender, the U.S. proceeded with the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9, 1945), killing over 200,000 people.

After these bombings, Japan officially surrendered, ending World War II. But many historians believe that had Suzuki’s words been properly understood, further diplomatic efforts might have been attempted before the bombings.

Lesson Learned?

A single word—misunderstood—helped shape one of history’s most catastrophic events. It’s a chilling reminder that miscommunication can have life-or-death consequences.

TRANSITION

Misunderstandings can lead to disaster. In Oregon, instead of this westcoast redneck scenario being comical, it could have been deadly if someone was in the blubber-crushed car or hit by a larger piece of decaying well debris on the beach. Yet, as we see in World War II, some misunderstandings (or assumptions) are deadly and devastating!

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus states that His contemporaries misunderstood Him and His purpose concerning the Hebrew Scriptures. Unlike the whale explosion, misunderstanding Jesus’ words carried spiritual and eternal consequences for His hearers. If Jesus’ peers missed who He was, the One the Scriptures pointed to, they’d miss their promised Messiah, who would deliver them from their sin; sadly, many did.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17 are also misunderstood today. Here are the different ways in which they are interpreted today.

• The Law is for all Christians to keep today
• The Old Testament is irrelevant for believers today
• Though completely God-breathed, some of the Old Testament is no longer binding on Christians because of Jesus’ person and work.

That’s why, in Matthew 5:17, Jesus clearly warns: “Do not misunderstand…” Many thought He came to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but He came to fulfill them. Like those officials with their dynamite, their misunderstanding could have led to a physical disaster – misunderstanding Jesus’ words in these verses can lead to spiritual legalism, bondage, or a sinful lifestyle.

So what did Jesus mean? Let’s dive in and ensure we understand His words.

BOOK: Matthew 5:17-20

1. The Subject of the People’s Misunderstanding: Jesus and His relationship with the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets.

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. (Matthew 5:17)

Why were people misunderstanding Jesus?

As stated, the people could not figure out His relationship with the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. 

From their perspective, it looked as if He did not live by the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. If He were the Hebrew Messiah, wouldn’t He live by the Hebrew Scriptures? The people’s understanding concerning the Hebrew Messiah and their Scriptures was correct, and Paul clarifies that Jesus, the Hebrew Messiah, was indeed subject to obeying the law.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. (Galatians 4:4)

The Bible tells us that Jesus lived perfectly according to the Hebrew Scriptures, the Law of Moses, and the prophets’ writings. He was sinless because He had kept all aspects of God’s law perfectly, in heart and action (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5).

He never sinned,
    nor ever deceived anyone. (1 Peter 2:22)

Since God the Father, through the Holy Spirit, tells us that Jesus kept the law flawlessly, why would Jesus’ contemporaries have any misunderstanding about Jesus’ relationship with the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets?

2. The Reasons for the People’s Misunderstanding of Jesus’ relationship with the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets.

2A. To understand why Jesus’ contemporaries misunderstood Him, we must understand what the Law of Moses is and is not.

What is the Law of Moses?

The Law of Moses is:

1. It is Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17) (Even Jesus says so in Matthew 4:4)
2. It is the Ten Commandments (or Ten Words) (Exodus 20:1)
3. The Law of Moses is more than the Ten Commandments (Leviticus 27:34)

The Law of Moses includes all 613 commands from Exodus 20:1 through Leviticus 27:34 and Deuteronomy 28:1-29:1. These 613 commands are known as the Mitzvot and are all found in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible).

These commands are called the Law of Moses because Yahweh gave His commands to Israel through Moses. 

The Law of Moses is divided into two Categories:

• Positive commandments (do this) – 248 commands
• Negative commandments (don’t do this) – 365 prohibitions

Examples: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” (Exodus 20:3) “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk” (Exodus 23:19) “Do not eat pork.” (Leviticus 11:7) 

The Law of Moses includes the Ten Commandments and all the LORD’s instructions given to the nation of Israel, His covenant people, at Sinai, found in Exodus 20:1 through Leviticus 27:34. It also includes the instructions located in Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 28:1; 29:1).  

The Law of Moses is NOT

However, the Law of Moses did not include the rabbinic oral traditions (Oral Torah).

What are the oral traditions?

The rabbinic oral traditions are interpretations, explanations, and applications of the biblical commandments developed by Jewish rabbis over the centuries.

They are considered authoritative within Rabbinic Judaism, as they explain how to observe the written laws in daily life. They are believed to have been given orally to Moses alongside the Written Torah and later passed down through generations.

During Jesus’ time, these manmade regulations had put up protective barriers so that people would have a more challenging time breaking a command of God. I’d bet that rabbis began putting these in place with a pure intent to please the LORD or, at the very least, to ensure that Israel experienced blessing for obedience instead of cursing for disobedience.

Illustration: I delete the app from my phone when I notice myself spending too much time scrolling through Facebook or buying more than I should on Amazon. Now, if I want to go to Facebook or Amazon, I must put effort into it. These additional steps dramatically reduce the likelihood of me wasting time scrolling the never-ending feed of Facebook and spending money I shouldn’t on Amazon. 

2B. To understand why Jesus’ contemporaries misunderstood Him, we must understand the importance of the Oral Torah or Rabbinic Traditions to the Jewish people of Jesus’ time.

Unfortunately, these man-made traditions or regulations became equal to or even more significant than God’s instructions to Jesus’ contemporaries (especially among the Pharisees and Scribes) than the Law of Moses (613 Commands, the Mitzvot) given to their ancestors at Mount Sinai. 

“The Mishna, a collection of Jewish traditions in the Talmud, records, “It is a greater offense to teach anything contrary to the voice of the Rabbis than to contradict Scripture itself.” This is a clear example of how the “traditions of the elders” had become more important than the law—God’s Word.” – Rodney L. Cooper, Mark, vol. 2, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 117.

Since the teachings of the rabbis had become as important, if not more important, to Jesus’ hearers, their misunderstanding of Jesus’ relationship with the Law of Moses (and the writings of the prophets) arose as Jesus consistently broke the traditions of their religious teachers. 

To see the value the Pharisees and teachers of religious law placed on the Oral Torah and the tension caused by Jesus not keeping them, let’s look at Mark 7:1-13.

The ceremony of handwashing

The Mosaic Law required ceremonial washings for priests (Leviticus 22:1, 6-7) but did not mandate handwashing for others before eating. However, the Pharisees enforced specific washings based on rabbinic tradition rather than Scripture, prioritizing ritual over sanitation.
Mark notes that the Pharisees and Jews followed these traditions strictly, performing elaborate handwashing rituals before and during meals.

These washings extended beyond hands to utensils and increased when returning home to cleanse any possible contamination from contact with Gentiles or the ceremonially unclean. These traditions, rooted in oral laws from the Babylonian captivity, were later recorded in the Mishnah and expanded in the Talmud. Originally meant to safeguard the law, they instead obscured it, shifting focus from heartfelt obedience to external conformity.

By Jesus’ time, tradition had overshadowed God’s Word. Some rabbis even linked handwashing to salvation, claiming it ensured eternal life. Thus, when Jesus’ disciples ignored these rituals, the Pharisees reacted with outrage, accusing them of violating sacred tradition. Their concern was not spiritual purity but the rigid enforcement of human traditions over God’s truth.

The command of honoring father and mother

Jesus did not directly answer the Pharisees but instead condemned their hypocrisy. While He later explained the issue to His disciples (vv. 17–23), He gave no defense to the religious leaders, instead exposing their hardened unbelief.

Quoting Isaiah, Jesus called them hypocrites, outwardly appearing holy while having corrupt hearts. He cited Isaiah 29:13: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me,” showing how they prioritized human traditions over God’s commands. Their worship was superficial and empty, built on man-made rules rather than true devotion to God.

Like other false religions, First-century Judaism valued rituals over Scripture, replacing true worship with outward conformity. Jesus declared that true worship comes from a regenerated heart and aligns with God’s truth (John 4:24). The Pharisees rejected the Messiah and clung to tradition, setting aside God’s commandments to uphold their customs.

To illustrate, Jesus referenced the fifth commandment (Exodus 20:12) and how the Pharisees had distorted it. They allowed people to withhold support from their parents by declaring their resources “Corban” (devoted to God), creating a loophole that invalidated God’s law. Though these possessions remained under personal control, this tradition excused people from honoring their parents.

Jesus condemned them for nullifying God’s Word with their traditions. This was just one example of their corruption—many other practices similarly distorted God’s commands. Though traditions are not inherently wrong, they become dangerous when they hold authority over Scripture. True worshipers submit to God’s Word above all else, even when it contradicts human tradition.

Jesus didn’t break any part of the Law of Moses by not washing His hands or teaching His disciples not to wash their hands. The Law of Moses instructed the priests to do so before he could eat of the sacred offerings if he had become defiled (Leviticus 22:4-5). The man-made traditions that had usurped the highest place of authority where God’s Word belonged were being put in their proper place by Jesus.

However, because Jesus’ peers viewed the man-made regulations as equal to or greater than the Law of Moses, Jesus’ not obeying the Oral Torah led them to believe that He had come to abolish the Written Torah (the Pentateuch, the books of Moses, Genesis – Deuteronomy). In other words, because the people understood their teachers’ views of the Oral Torah and the Law of Moses, they misunderstood Jesus’ relationship with the Law of Moses, and as we will see, their Scriptures in general. 

We have spent much time focusing on what the Law of Moses is and is not, and why Jesus’ hearers were confused about His relationship with the instructions given to Israel through Moses. However, we must not overlook another important phrase Jesus included as He began addressing the people’s puzzlement.

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. (Matthew 5:17)

The term “writings of the prophets” describes the section of the Hebrew Scriptures that contains prophetic books, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor Prophets (no, not “minor” because they were not important, but because the books were short in length). The phrase is also used to include all prophetic writings and themes, which often appear in historical books like Samuel or Kings.

When “the Law of Moses” and “the writings of the prophets” (or something similar) were used together, it was a common way to refer to all of the Hebrew Bible, which is called the Tanakh (Matthew 7:12; Matthew 11:14; Matthew 22:34-40).

Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. (Matthew 7:12, NLT)

But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. ³⁵ One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” ³⁷ Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:34-40, NLT)

As we have seen, people were confused over Jesus and His relationship with the Hebrew Scriptures because the Oral Rabbinic Teachings were viewed as equal to and sometimes greater than the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets. Since the traditions of the rabbis were so highly esteemed, Jesus’ rejection of the manmade traditions led many to believe that He was rejecting the Word of God, too, because they viewed them as the same instead of two entities. One manmade and one God-given.

3. Jesus tries to help the people move from their misunderstanding concerning Himself and their Scriptures to a correct understanding.

In the remaining verses, Jesus tries to clarify the people’s misunderstandings of Himself and the Hebrew Scriptures by explaining four truths. We will look at these four truths next week.

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3A. Jesus explains what He has come to do and what He has not come to do.

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. (Matthew 5:17, NLT)

What Jesus did NOT come to do. Jesus did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. The Greek word translated as abolish is καταλύω. In context, it communicates that Jesus did not come to officially declare the Hebrew Scriptures invalid, to remove or weaken their power, strength, or effectiveness, or to get rid of them as something undesirable or useless.

Instead, Jesus came to accomplish their purpose. In other versions, Jesus says, “I have come to fulfill them.” Some claim that the word πληρῶσαι, translated as fulfill or accomplish, means “to do.” Not only are the English words “fulfill” and “to do” synonyms, but the root word of πληρῶσαι also communicates the idea of “to do.” Jesus came “to do” everything commanded in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets), to obey them perfectly – and He did.

The other way to interpret the word πληρῶσαι is the way it is translated. Jesus came to fulfill everything that the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets spoke of Him. Fulfilling communicates the idea of bringing something to pass or making it a reality. While one can make a case for the word “fulfill” meaning to do, Matthew has already used this word in his gospel. Let’s look at how this disciple has already used this word about his Teacher.

All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:n²³ “Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
    She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
    which means ‘God is with us.’” (Matthew 1:22-23, NLT)

That night Joseph left for Egypt with the child and Mary, his mother, ¹⁵ and they stayed there until Herod’s death. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “I called my Son out of Egypt.” (Matthew 2:14-15, NLT)

Herod’s brutal action fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: ¹⁸ “A cry was heard in Ramah—
    weeping and great mourning.
Rachel weeps for her children,
    refusing to be comforted,
    for they are dead.” (Matthew 2:17-18 NLT)

So the family went and lived in a town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what the prophets had said: “He will be called a Nazarene.” (Matthew 2:23, NLT)

This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: ¹⁵ “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali,
    beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River,
    in Galilee where so many Gentiles live,
¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
    a light has shined.” (Matthew 4:14-16, NLT)

When Jesus speaks of coming to fulfill the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets, we can conclude that He came to do (and did) all that the Law of Moses required (perfect obedience to all 613 commands). By conservative estimates, He fulfilled 300 Messianic prophecies about His first coming; thus fulfilling what the prophets had written about the coming Christ (Messiah).

3B. Jesus explains that God’s law will not disappear…till its purpose is accomplished.

 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. (Matthew 5:18, NLT)

What does Jesus mean by this statement? For those who contest that the Church today is to obey the Law of Moses (whether all 613 commands or simply the Big 10), they point to this verse for support. In Matthew 5:18, Jesus says not an iota or a dot will pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away or its purpose is fulfilled.

The term “smallest letter” refers to iōta, the tiniest letter in the Greek alphabet. To Jesus’ Jewish audience, this would have brought to mind the yodh—the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, which resembles an apostrophe. The word translated as “stroke” (keraia, meaning “little horn”) refers to the small markings that distinguish one Hebrew letter from another, much like a serif in modern fonts.

Jesus emphasized that not even the smallest letter or the tiniest detail of a letter would disappear from the Law. No matter how minor it may seem, every part of God’s Word will remain unchanged until heaven and earth pass away or until what it declares has been fulfilled.

Let’s explore the verse further by examining what Jesus said concerning the law. First, the definite article calls our attention to the fact that Jesus speaks of God’s Law, the Law given to Israel through Moses, not the Oral Torah.

Second, the Law of Moses will not change even the slightest bit until some condition is met. For a change to occur concerning the Law of God, heaven and earth must pass away, or all must be accomplished, or both must occur, depending on how one understands the clauses.

Thirdly, when we consider the conditions, we can all agree that heaven and earth are still here; they have not passed away (Psalm 102:25-26; Isaiah 51:6, 34:4; 2 Peter 3:7, 10; Revelation 6:13-14). Thus, this condition allowing amendments to God’s Law is left unmet. Before examining whether or not the second condition, the fulfillment of the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets, has been met, at least in some degree, allowing for changes, let’s look at Matthew 5:19 to stress why knowing how we are to relate to the Law of Moses is essential for us to today.

So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:19, NLT)

In light of verse 19, has anything passed from the Law? For Jesus told His hearers on the mountainside to strive to obey God’s laws and teach others to do the same, not ignoring (relaxing) the least command. Since heaven and earth have not passed away, and with Jesus’ instructions in verse 19, are we to keep and teach all 613 commands in the Law of Moses, or have there been changes made to the commands that we are to keep because Jesus fulfilled them at His first coming (Matthew 5:17)? In general we need to know for it is through our obedience to Jesus’ commands that our love for Him is made evident (John 14:15).

Illustration: Share about the importance of this verse to me as a pastor.

As mentioned earlier, how one interprets the clauses affects how a person understands how long the Law of Moses has existed and will exist unchanged. Suppose someone interprets Jesus’ words as both heaven and the earth must pass away, and every part of the Hebrew Scriptures being fulfilled before any revisions can be made. In that case, it is binding to us today as followers of Jesus, for not an iota or a stroke has disappeared.

However, does the rest of Scripture allow one to interpret the clauses this way? In other words, have there been changes to the Law of Moses even though heaven and earth have not passed away? If so, we cannot conclude that both clauses must be met for amendments in God’s Law to happen. Does Scripture itself testify that things have passed from the Law of Moses?

Let’s look at two examples.

The Laws Concerning the High Priest and the Day of Atonement

Aaron will present his own bull as a sin offering to purify himself and his family, making them right with the Lord. After he has slaughtered the bull as a sin offering…“Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. ¹⁶ Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites…“When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. ²¹ He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. ²² As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. (Leviticus 16:11, 15-16, 20-22)

And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. (Romans 5:11, KJV)

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. ² If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. ³ But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. ⁴ For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. ⁵ That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God,

“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
    But you have given me a body to offer.
⁶ You were not pleased with burnt offerings
    or other offerings for sin.
⁷ Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God—
    as is written about me in the Scriptures.’”

⁸ First, Christ said, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them” (though they are required by the law of Moses). ⁹ Then he said, “Look, I have come to do your will.” He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. ¹⁰ For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. ¹¹ Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. (Principle – atonement must be made for sin / OT expression – animal sacrifices) ¹² But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time (Principle – atonement must be made for sin / NT expression Jesus – our once and for all atoming sacrifice). Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ¹³ There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. ¹⁴ For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. (Hebrews 10:1-14, NLT)

The commands given in Leviticus 16 regarding sin sacrifices have passed away from the Law, not because Jesus abolished them, but because He fulfilled them!

The Law of Moses and Circumcision

The ritual of circumcision goes back to Israel’s Patriarch, Abraham. At Sinai, the LORD commanded that every Israelite male child was to be circumcised when they were eight days old (Leviticus 12:3). Yet, under Jesus and the New Covenant, circumcision ceased to be a requirement for God’s people.

In the New Testament, if anyone was uncircumcised when he came to faith in Christ, let him remain that way (1 Corinthians 7:18). At the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, the Church officially determined that circumcision was not required of Gentile (non-Jewish) believers.

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: ²⁹ You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29, NLT)

A few chapters before Acts 15, Peter is criticized by some Jewish peers for eating with uncircumcised men who were believers (Acts 11:3). Peter answered his critics by explaining that since God gave them (the uncircumiczed) the same Holy Spirit he had given them as the circumiczed, who was he to stand in God’s way (Acts 11:17)? The Holy Spirit of as a friend on mine likes to say, “The validation of their salvation,” was given to them without having to keep the Law of Moses surrounding circumcision.

Turning to Galatians, when Paul arrived at Jerusalem to meet with the church leaders, they didn’t command Titus to get circumcized, though he was Greek (Galatians 2:1-3). Paul opposed false teachers teaching that circumcision was necessary for salvation through Jesus (Galatians 2:4-8). The only reason Paul required Timothy to be circumcized was to remove any unnecessary barriers or stumbling blocks as they ministered to groups made of Jews and Gentiles (Acts 16:3, Romans 14:13-15; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

Wrapping up, the Torah commands circumcision (Leviticus 12:3), including Gentiles who wanted to partake in the Passover (Exodus 12:48). However, as we have seen above, the New Testament teaches that circumcision is no longer a requirement to be observed by God’s people in the Church era. Keep in mind, too, that the instructions for not having to observe the instruction concerning circumcision are given in part by two respectable Jewish Apostles – Peter and Paul.

Since the law of Moses has changed, we can reasonably understand that there is an allowance for God’s law to pass away when it is fulfilled. Remember Jesus’ words, “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” There are symbols and prophecies that Jesus fulfilled at His first coming. As a result, some of God’s law—not its principles but the way we express them—have passed away.

After His resurrection, Jesus explained that all that was written in the Hebrew Scriptures about Him must be accomplished to His disciples (Luke 24:25-27, 44-48). On the cross, He declared, “It is finished,” and drew His last breath (Matthew 5:18). He came not to abolish but fulfill the Hebrew Scriptures; He did, and declared He had with those three words.

These are just two examples of how Jesus’ first coming fulfilled all aspects of specific prophecies or laws foreshadowing either His person or His Work in the Hebrew Scriptures. As we can see through these two examples, timeless principles are expressed differently in the New Covenant than in the Old Covenant.

3C. Jesus explains that His hearers should continue to obey and teach God’s laws.

So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 5:19, NLT)

We have looked at two of the many examples that the scope of Scripture explains how things in the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets have passed away – not because Jesus abolished them, but because He fulfilled them. As we turn our attention to Matthew 5:19, let’s determine what it does and does not say.

To His disciples and others on the mountainside that day, Jesus told them that if they wanted to be great in God’s Kingdom, they must obey God’s law and teach others to do the same. What commandments was Jesus speaking of when He gave this standard of greatness? Some say that Jesus references the commands He is about to give throughout His sermon in verse 19, especially in light of the apparent changes in the Law of Moses found throughout the New Testament. However, the ESV’s translation helps clarify what commands Jesus was speaking.

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19, ESV)

The word, therefore, ties us back to the line of thought in the previous verse or verses. In this case, the topic of conversation centers on the Law of Moses and the writings of the prophets, or God’s Law. “These” also forces us to look backward instead of forward because it is always used to point the reader backward in Scripture.

Jesus tells all his hearers not to ignore, modify, or disobey any of the 613 commands in the Torah but to keep them and teach others to do the same. We have established that there was confusion concerning Jesus at this point in time, but if we are not careful, His words here may cause us confusion today!

Why could Jesus’ statement be baffling for us today? At first glance, it seems like Jesus wants us to keep the Mosaic Law in its entirety and teach others to do the same. However, we have also seen that some instructions are no longer binding on us because Jesus has fulfilled what they represented, rendering those commands null for us today.

Once again, remembering the verse’s context is key in helping us clear up any confusion we may have concerning Jesus’ words. At the time of Jesus’ teaching, He had not fulfilled all that was written about Him in some way, shape, or form in their Scriptures. Like Jesus Himself, His hearers were also subject to the law (Galatians 4:4-5). Not one of these commands was to be relaxed (to set aside or teach against a commandment) until He fulfilled them, which He had not done at the time of this discourse. Thus, He instructs His disciples and other hearers (including the Pharisees who ignored God’s law to repent and keep it and teach it instead of their oral traditions) to keep the Law, for it was still their guardian and tutor, which He explains next.

3D. Jesus explains that their best effort to obey and teach God’s laws isn’t good enough to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

“But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven! (Matthew 5:20, NLT)

Jesus highlights the Pharisees and scribes because, in the eyes of first-century Judaism, they represented the highest standard of righteousness. Later in Matthew 6, we see the people were in awe of their public prayers, commitment to fasting, and charitable giving. Jesus doesn’t criticize their strict obedience to the law; instead, He points out that something more than their perceived righteousness is needed. To enter the Kingdom of Heaven, His hearers’ obedience to God’s Law must be closer to perfect than what they perceive the Pharisees’ obedience to be.

They would not enjoy Yahweh’s kingdom without perfectly keeping all 613 commands (the Mitzvot)! Why did Jesus command no one to relax or prematurely do away with one of the commands? Because relaxing even the least command would lower God’s perfect standard that we are to meet to enter His kingdom, a standard that Jesus’ hearers and we continually fall short of (Romans 3:23). Paul describes the law as our guardian which at that time was a household’s trustworthy slave who was given the role of teacher and protector of the family’s children.

Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. (Galatians 3:24, NLT)

The Law of Moses taught them and still teaches us that we cannot keep the law perfectly, even though outwardly, it appeared as if the Pharisees were doing a knockout job at it. Their hearts were far from God or keeping the law inwardly, where it counts. The Law of Moses and writings of the prophets, the Old Testament, today teach us that we cannot live up to God’s glorious standard, which reveals to us our need for and God’s provision of a Glorious Savior Who met God’s glorious standard perfectly – Jesus! This is the life-saving and life-giving truth Jesus was trying to lead His hearers to believe and embrace near the Sea of Galilee and throughout His life and ministry.

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! ⁴⁰ Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. (John 5:38-39, NLT)

TRANSITION

During the two weeks, we have covered much ground in this short passage of Scripture. We have unpacked the subject of confusion (Jesus and His relationship to the Hebrew Scriptures), the reasons for confusion, and how Jesus sought to move the people from a place of misunderstanding to understanding. However, we have yet to answer what we are to do with the Old Testament today in light of what we have learned from these verses.

REFLECTION / INSPIRATION

“What Am I Supposed to Do With This?” – The Story of Apollo 13’s Life-Saving Mailbox

In April 1970, Apollo 13 launched toward the moon with astronauts Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, and Jack Swigert aboard. It was meant to be NASA’s third lunar landing — a mission that had become almost routine in the public eye. But two days in, routine turned to crisis.

An oxygen tank in the Service Module exploded, crippling the spacecraft. The crew’s mission instantly changed from moon landing to survival. With most of the power gone, they were forced to abandon the Command Module and retreat into the Lunar Module (LM), which was only built to support two men for about two days. Now, it had to keep three men alive for four days.

As the astronauts rationed power and supplies, a silent, deadly problem began to grow: carbon dioxide. The small LM had round CO₂ scrubbers — filters to clean the air — but it couldn’t keep up with three men breathing. They had extra filters from the Command Module, but those were square. The LM’s system needed round ones.

NASA had a problem: they literally had to fit a square peg into a round hole, or the astronauts would suffocate.

Back on Earth, engineers at Mission Control in Houston got to work. They dumped out every object the astronauts had on board: plastic bags, tubing, cardboard, flight manuals, duct tape, socks, and even a chocolate bar wrapper.

Using only those materials, they designed a rough, duct-taped adapter to connect the square scrubbers to the LM’s round system.

When astronaut Fred Haise heard the list of what they’d need to build this thing — cardboard, hoses, plastic, tape, a sock, and that chocolate bar wrapper — he looked at it all and reportedly said something like, “What are we supposed to do with this?”

It was a fair question.

What NASA had sent them sounded like junk. But the crew followed the step-by-step instructions anyway, building a strange-looking contraption the size of a shoebox — later nicknamed “the mailbox.”

And it worked.

When they turned it on, the carbon dioxide levels began to drop. The device was crude and ugly, but it kept them alive.

Four days later, Apollo 13 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean.

That strange bundle of duct tape and chocolate wrapper remains one of the most brilliant acts of improvisation in engineering history.

When we look at the Old Testament, especially the varying and strange-sounding commands that God gave to the people of Israel, hard-to-believe stories, and prophecies, we may feel the same way Fred Haise felt about the supplies they were to gather. What are these things for? What am I going to do with them?

As we finish our time in Matthew 5:17-20, here are a few things to do with the Old Testament today!

ACTION

1. Far from God – Let it be your tutor – The Way of the Master Evangelism, these are just the “Big 10,” yet the Law of Moses contains 613 laws…you and I are to keep perfectly outwardly with a heart that loves God supremely while we keep them. I can’t. You can’t. I haven’t. You haven’t. Jesus could. Jesus did. To enter the kingdom of heaven, your righteousness (integrity, virtue, purity of life, uprightness, correctness in thinking, feeling, and acting) must be Jesus’ level of righteousness, which is one greater than the Pharisees. When we place our faith in Jesus, God credits Jesus’ righteousness to us; His righteousness becomes our righteousness, allowing us entry into God’s family and kingdom!

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. (Galatians 4:4, NLT)

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21, NLT)

2. Follower – What are we to do with the Old Testament?

See It as the Foundation of the Christian Story and as Scripture

The Old Testament isn’t just a prequel — it lays the groundwork for everything that happens in the New Testament. It:

• Introduces the character of God — His justice, mercy, covenant love, and holiness.
• Sets up the need for a Savior by showing the brokenness of humanity.
• Contains prophecies, themes, and symbols that point directly to Jesus.

Jesus Himself said in Matthew 5:17,

“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.”

So Christians don’t discard the Old Testament — they read it through the lens of Christ.

Read It Through a Christ-Centered Lens

Jesus is at the center of the entire biblical narrative. Christians believe He is the fulfillment of:

• The law (as the perfect law-keeper),
• The prophets (as the Messiah they predicted),
• The sacrifices (as the ultimate atonement for sin).

That means the Old Testament isn’t just about what used to be — it helps believers understand why Jesus matters today.

For example:

• The Passover lamb in Exodus? Points to Jesus, the “Lamb of God.”
• The sacrificial system in Leviticus? Points to Jesus’ once-for-all sacrifice.
• The covenant with David? Points to Jesus as the eternal King.

Understand the Law in Light of the New Covenant

One of the hardest things for Christians to navigate is: What do we do with Old Testament laws? Like food restrictions, ritual purity rules, and stoning offenses?

The New Testament (especially books like Galatians, Hebrews, and Acts) clarifies that:

• Christians are not under the Mosaic Law as a covenant (Galatians 3:24-25).
• But the law still reveals God’s character, values, and moral expectations.
• Some laws were fulfilled or set aside in Christ (e.g., sacrifices, ceremonial laws).
• Others (like justice, love, honesty, and sexual integrity) reflect eternal principles.

So it’s not about picking and choosing arbitrarily — it’s about understanding which parts were meant for Israel under that covenant and which still reflect timeless truths.

Use It for Wisdom, Worship, and Formation

The Old Testament offers:

• Psalms for prayer and worship,
• Proverbs for wisdom and daily life,
• Stories that show both human failure and God’s faithfulness,
• Prophets who challenge us to seek justice, mercy, and humility.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16:

“All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”

At the time, “Scripture” was the Old Testament — it’s still powerful and life-shaping today.

In Summary: Christians Should…

• Read the Old Testament with Jesus in mind.
• Understand it in its original context, but apply its wisdom today.
• Recognize what was fulfilled in Christ, and what still speaks timeless truth.
• Let it deepen their awe of God and the beauty of the gospel.

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