Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm20120620.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Matthew: Jesus As Israel's Messiah And His Kingdom
Part XI: Christ As Israel's Messiah By His Surpassing Righteousness
C. The Biblically Consistent Righteousness Of Christ's Subjects
(Matthew 5:17-20)
  1. Introduction
    1. Josh McDowell's book, A Ready Defense, 1990, p. 407 asserts that one "of the frequent accusations against the Bible is that . . . the Old Testament allegedly presents only a God of wrath, while the New Testament allegedly depicts only a God of love."
    2. If Jesus is the Old Testament God's Messiah, there should be no such discrepancy, and Matthew 5:17-20 reveals this to be so, with important applications for our era (as follows):
  2. The Biblically Consistent Righteousness Of Christ's Subjects, Matthew 5:17-20.
    1. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus claimed He had not come to present "a rival system to the Law of Moses and the words of the Prophets, but a true fulfillment of the Law and Prophets," Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 30.
    2. The term "Law and the Prophets" in Matthew 5:17 refers to the entire Old Testament according to Matthew 11:13 et al., so Jesus came to fulfill all God had presented in the entire Old Testament writings.
    3. To clarify, Jesus said that truly He said unto His hearers that until heaven and earth passed away, not one jot or tittle "will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished," Matt. 5:18 NIV. Understanding "jot" and "tittle" reveals Jesus held to the "plenary, verbal divine inspiration" of Scripture:
      1. Jesus held to the "verbal" divine inspiration of written Scripture:
        1. A "jot" is the smallest Hebrew letter, yodh, which looks like an apostrophe (')," Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Matthew 5:18.
        2. Then, "(a) tittle is a very small extension or protrusion on several Hebrew letters which distinguish these letters from similar ones," Ibid. In English, a tittle distinguishes the letter "O" from a "Q".
        3. Since the smallest Hebrew letter or extension of a letter affects that letter's identity and hence the spelling of the word where it appears, thus affecting meaning, Jesus implied God's inspiration of written Scripture extended down to the words, that He held to the "verbal" inspiration of Scripture!
      2. Jesus held to the "plenary" divine inspiration of written Scripture: the word "plenary" means "full, complete" (Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary), and Jesus taught the "plenary" divine inspiration of written Scripture in claiming that not a single smallest Hebrew letter nor the extension of a letter that changes its identity and affects meaning will pass from the law until all of it is fulfilled.
    4. Accordingly, Jesus taught that whoever then broke one of the least of the commands of the Law, and taught others to do so, would be called the least in the Messianic Kingdom, but that he who practiced and taught them would be called great in the Messianic Kingdom of heaven, Matthew 5:19a,b.
    5. Yet, even the theologically conservative Hebrews of the day did not achieve this level of righteousness:
      1. The Pharisees with their scribes, or experts in the Law, adhered to the principle of Halacha, "concern for every jot and tittle of performance", Zond. Pict. Ency. of the Bible , v. Four, p. 748.
      2. Thus, they aimed at a life of righteousness that adhered to written Scripture, believing Scripture was all inspired of God and the resurrection, immortality of the soul and in angels (Ibid., p. 747-752) opposite the other key group, the Sadducees who held only the five books of Moses to be canonical, and who denied belief in the soul's immortality and the resurrection and angels, Ibid., v. Five, p. 211-215.
      3. However, the Scribes and Pharisees often failed to obey Scripture, and their traditions often countered Scripture itself (Matthew 15:1-3; 23:1-3), so Jesus said that unless one's righteousness exceeded that of the Scribes and Pharisees, in no way would he enter the Messianic Kingdom of heaven, Matthew 5:20.
Lesson: Jesus asserted He did not come to offer an alternate view, but to fulfill precisely all of God's verbally inspired written Old Testament. Unless one's righteousness measured up to exact obedience of that Scripture, he could not enter God's kingdom, implying the need for salvation by grace, Eph. 2:8-9.

Application: (1) May we be saved by faith through grace. (2) May we then adhere in the Holy Spirit's power to the verbal, plenary divine inspiration of Scripture in faith and in practice, Galatians 3:16-23.