Daily Bread

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks 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."

It is possible (perhaps even easy) to read this Bible passage out of context, and think Jesus is speaking directly to us — that, today, we need to keep the Old Testament law, however this is not the case.

Jesus was explaining that he came to fulfil the laws found in the Old Testament. The phrase, 'until heaven and earth pass away' is not a literal phrase but an idiom or way of saying, 'until things are accomplished' and Jesus was going to complete the fulfilling of the law in and through himself.

When Jesus said, "whoever breaks 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," he was talking about all those living at that time, and there was only going to be one person that would 'do' all the laws and be called great and that was going to be himself!

A metaphor for the Old Testament Law is to think of it as a painting that everyone has a go at but no-one can finish, then comes Jesus who completes the painting.

This completing or fulfilling of the Old Testament law gives Jesus the authority to write a new law, one written on our hearts — a law of grace where Jesus carries us over the line into a place of welcome, acceptance, and love. The gospel really is good news!

As Christians, we don't invalidate the Old Testament law, but understand its importance and its place in the history of God and God's people. Through it we can see how God was at work in the world, and how the Old Testament was an ongoing revelation of God's character, fully revealed in Jesus Christ. We are not a people of Moses, of the Torah, or the Prophets, but a people that belong to God through Jesus Christ.

Holy God
Thank you that your Son, Jesus Christ
did what no other human could do,
and fulfilled every aspect of the law.
Thank you that he made the way possible
for a new law to be written on our hearts —
the law of grace, that through faith,
we are accepted into your kingdom.
Now and forever.