by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
After finishing our explorations of the εγώ εἰμι (“I AM”) declarations of our Lord Jesus in the Gospel of John and the other New Testament (NT) books, we now turn to study certain narratives, periscopes and verses in the Gospel of Matthew.
According to Bible scholars, the Gospel of Matthew is structured around 5 great discourses dealing with teachings about true discipleship in the Kingdom of Heaven being inaugurated by Messiah Jesus here on earth. My NASB, ESV and NIV Study Bibles say that these are in line with Matthew’s objective of presenting the Lord Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah to the Jewish people, the King of Israel, and the King and Lord for all people. These 5 discourses are found in chapters 5 – 7; 10; 13; 18; and 24 – 25. Some scholars say that these 5 discourses differentiate the content and length of the Gospel of Matthew from that of the shorter Gospel of Mark.
I would like to reflect on these specific parts of his Gospel’s discourses and some additional material:
Discourse 1 – The Sermon on the Mount
5:17-18 The Fulfillment of the Torah and the Prophets
6:9-13, 14-15 The Revised Amidah Prayer
Discourse 2 – The Messiah Who Was to Come
11:2-6 Jesus, John the Baptist, Isaiah and the Dead Sea Scrolls
12:15-21 The Messiah, the Chosen Servant and the Isaiah Servant Songs
Discourse 3 – Warnings of the Messiah
13:1-23; 25:14-30 The Parables of the Sower and the Talents
Discourse 4 – The Kingdom of the Messiah
16:13-20 Peter’s Confession of the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi
17:24-27 The Temple Tax
19:1-9 The Question of Divorce and Two Schools of Thought
Discourse 5 – Eschatological Teachings of the Messiah
24:1-41 The Olivet Discourse and the Great Tribulation
24:42-51; 25:1-21 The Olivet Discourse and the Long Tribulation
27:62-66 The Guard at the Tomb
As I mentioned before, in the study of the Olivet Discourse in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, we will connect it with Revelation 6.
We can now start with Matthew 5:17-18. The Greek verses are given below followed by my formal translation:
Μὴ νομίσητε ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας· οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι· ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν, ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ, ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται.
Do not consider that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets; I came not to abolish but to fulfill; for Amen I say to you (pl), until heaven and earth may have passed away, one iota or one tittle may not pass from the Torah until all have come to be.
To properly engage this text, we need to look at its context first. The first 4 chapters of the Gospel of Matthew narrate the birth and preparation of our Lord Jesus. From the very beginning, Matthew introduces the Messiah Jesus and even uses gematria to let his Jewish audience know that the 14 generations are all pointing to the identity of the Messiah as the son of David (Matthew 1:17). The massacre of Bethlehem boys aged 2 years and under is interpreted by Matthew as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the death of Rachel’s children (Matthew 2:17). The role of John the Baptizer is told in chapter 3 wherein another title of the Messiah is given from a voice out of heavens: “beloved son” at his baptism in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:17). Chapter 4 tells us about the temptation of the Lord in the wilderness; after which the Lord begins his ministry in Galilee with the 7-word message (in Greek), “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has drawn near” (Matthew 4:17). In verses 18-22, Matthew narrates that the Lord finds his first disciples in Simon Peter and Andrew his brother; and the sons of Zebedee: James and John. Matthew closes chapter 4 by narrating that our Lord was going throughout all Galilee preaching, teaching, healing the sick and delivering people from all kinds of evil spirits. Our Lord was now getting famous and attracting large followings not only from Galilee, but also from the Decapolis, Jerusalem and Judea.
Now, in chapter 5, our Lord Jesus then delivers the Beatitudes, or what might be called the King’s inaugural address for the Kingdom of Heaven. After a succession of “Blessed…” declarations in verses 1-12, the Lord talks about salt and light in verses 13-16. Then all of a sudden the Lord says that he did not come to destroy or abolish the Torah or the Prophets but to fulfill them Matthew 5:17). It would seem that the Lord wanted to set this premise up first because his following teachings in paragraphs starting with verses 21; 27; 31; 33; 38; and 43 all start with a line that says “ you have heard it said, …but…” or “it was said,… but…” At first glance then, it would seem that the Lord Jesus was not following what the Torah and the Prophets teach and leading people to disobedience. But Matthew 5:17-20 made it clear that this was not his intention at all. The Lord was interpreting what was taught and giving it its deeper and fuller meaning; perhaps the meaning that God truly intended to in the first place. This was not external or legalistic. It was internal and moral. And it would be governed by being blessed by God‘s love and his righteousness (i.e., the Beatitudes). And in verse 18 as we had discovered in our previous study of his “I AM” statements, by saying “Amen I say to you…” the Lord was speaking with the authority of the God of the Amen. Quite literally, the God of the Torah, the living, breathing, walking Torah was teaching them!
Notice that I used the word “Torah” instead of the usual “Law.” The Torah in the Hebrew encompasses the 5 books of Moses; the Pentateuch. Simply calling it the “Law” is really limiting as Torah also means teaching, guidance, direction, commandment, aside from (formal) law. Unfortunately, the Greek only uses the word νόμος (“nomos”) with the definite article as we find in verse 17 to mean the Mosaic Law. The Hebrew carries much deeper meaning and nuances. When the “Torah” is used together with the “Prophets” in an expression, the meaning encompasses the whole of the Hebrew Bible as the Torah and the Prophets make up the first 2 parts. Sometimes, the 3rd part is also explicitly stated (“Writings” or “Psalms”; e.g., Luke 24:44).
On another plane, Bible scholars note that the Old Testament (OT) laws are actually made up of ceremonial laws, civil laws and moral laws. A lot of the Hebraic ceremonial and civil laws do not or cannot apply at this time even to the Jewish people themselves. For example, Rabbis say that of the 613 commandments of the Torah, some 600 are applicable to Jews only but then, more than 240 of these מִצְוֹ֣ת (“mitzvot,” meaning commandments or guidelines) could not be followed because there is no existing Jewish Temple. But principles behind these laws are another matter. Likewise, the moral laws that the Torah espouses and teaches are universal; applicable to both Jew and Gentile alike. More importantly, our Lord Jesus taught that these moral laws must really be part of our daily living. And he demanded much more from his would-be disciples. Did he not ask his listeners to practice righteousness exceeding that of the scribes and Pharisees to be able to enter the kingdom of heaven (see Matthew 5:20)? Did he not ask his listeners to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect (see Matthew 5:48)? But of course, without the Holy Spirit abiding in us, how could we be righteous? How could we be perfect?
During one of my pilgrimage trips to Israel a couple of years ago, I remember our Jewish lady guide engaging our tour group in a discussion about Matthew 5:17. She was a non-observant Jew and said she could not believe in a God who would allow the Holocaust to happen. But she said Jesus Christ as an observant Jew said very well that he did not come to destroy the beliefs of his fellow Jews but to fulfill or complete them in its deepest sense. Perhaps this non-believing Jewish lady grasped the meaning of what our Lord Jesus said.
We will be out-of-town for a short while and be back after June 12 Independence Day. We will continue after next week
God bless us all.