Jesus Says Obey the Law!

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Background
We are working our way through the Sermon on the Mount; an uncharacteristically lengthy sermon recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus reportedly gave this sermon early in His evangelistic mission, after performing several miracle healings and exorcisms, and after large crowds had started following Him around.

The sermon began with the Beatitudes, which (contrary to the popular notion) was to His disciples, not to the general public, and seemed to be, at the very least, altered from the original source in the process of creating the Gospel of Matthew. Next, Jesus calls His disciples the light of the world, stating that nobody hides a light, despite Jesus trying to hide His own light in the process of exorcisms. Then, Jesus moves on to the Law, the subject of this study.

The Law is a synonym for the Torah, or Pentateuch; the first five books of the Bible. Within the Torah, God delivers 613 commandments; various rules, regulations, and decrees, also known as laws, and thus the source of the synonym.

Jesus Says Obey the Law!
You may expect things to be fairly black and white with God. It either is or is not. It is either good or bad. It is either meant to be done or meant not to do. Unambiguously, you may expect to know what God's position is on an issue, but few things could be farther from the truth.

There is actually a universe of gray in Christian theology. Few gray issues, if any, are larger than the Law, and whether or not it should be followed (excuse the pun) religiously.

This debate is not often presented to the masses. Instead, Peter's vision (Acts 10:9-16) is used to explain why it is OK to eat pork and other unclean animals, and Paul's words in Romans 3:19-27, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, Galatians 2:15-16, and Galatians 4:21-31 are used to explain why the Law is no longer necessary to follow, but instead exists to make us conscious of sin. The message is that Christians are under grace, not under the Law. It is too bad for them that Jesus Christ was of a different persuasion.

We find Jesus' position in Matthew 5:17-20.

Proponents of the no-longer-necessary-to-follow-the-Law crowd focus in on select parts of the first two verses. Matthew 5:17-18:

"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. I tell you the truth, until Heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." NIV

These proponents try to make the case that Jesus has fulfilled the Law and accomplished everything (John 19:30). They stake the claim that fulfilling the Law means bringing into fruition what it had foreshadowed, as well as to fulfill what was specifically prophesied, such as the Prophet in Deuteronomy 18:14-22.

There are big problems with this perspective. For starters, as we have seen previous studies, on such topics as monetary redemption and the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement, the Law does a horrible job foreshadowing Christianity. It also ignores the inherent contradiction of that view. The verses themselves claim that if everything is accomplished to make the Law unnecessary, then Heaven and earth will have disappeared. Last I checked, they were still here. Well, at least earth was anyway.

Perhaps a more condemning judgement of that philosophy comes from Jesus' own words. In the next verse we find in Matthew 5:19:

"Anyone who 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 practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven." NIV

The phrase “these commandments” refers to those contained within the Law, as can be seen by the preceding verses. So Jesus clearly desires for everyone to follow every single one of the 613 commandments in the Law, and to teach others to do the same!

The phrase “called least in the Kingdom of Heaven” is a bit ambiguous. You could take this to mean that a doctrine of grace is in effect. For example, even though Peter taught that it was OK to eat pork, he will still get into the Kingdom of Heaven because of his faith, but will be considered one of the lowest people in Heaven. On the other hand, another interpretation is that “called least” may be the equivalent of saying that such a person would be considered even lower than Satan. The latter interpretation holds some clout as we consider the next verse, Matthew 5:20:

"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven." NIV

Here is where many believing scholars go off the deep end. They claim that this means that the Pharisees and teachers of the Law were excessively legalistic, and that this could not make them righteous, and go on to say that it is through Jesus' blood that we are washed clean into a righteousness which surpasses theirs, thereby permitting entry into Heaven. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

In these verses, Jesus has been making the case that the Law is not only valid, but it is required to be followed to the letter. Jesus' problem with the Pharisees and teachers of the Law was that they were not following the Law. Instead, they were making up their own rules and customs, as well as being hypocrites by not following the commandments they placed on others.

The view that the Law should be upheld and that the Pharisees are not following it is thoroughly supported by the context of Matthew. For example, recall how in Matthew 15:1-9 Jesus condemns the Pharisees for saying that they should not stone disobedient children per God's Law, but instead teach something else. In Matthew 22:15-22, Jesus calls them hypocrites when they try to trap him about paying taxes. In Matthew 22:23-33, Jesus insults them by saying they have not even read God's Law when they ask about marriage in the time of resurrection. Finally, in the entire chapter of Matthew 23, Jesus time and time again condemns the Pharisees for being hypocrites, explaining that they tell others to follow the Law but do not follow it themselves.

It is vitally important to understand that Jesus does not condemn the faith of the Pharisees. He never said that they did not believe in God or that they did not believe that God would fulfill His promises. Matthew 5:20 does not say “unless your faith surpasses that of the Pharisees…” Instead Jesus says the word righteousness; a righteousness based on fully obeying God's Law.

So contrary to what Peter and Paul have said, and contrary to what many Christian theologians promote today, Jesus said that you had better obey the Law if you want to enter Heaven. At no point in any of the four Gospels does Jesus say that it is not necessary to obey the Law. So the teachings of Peter and Paul may best be relegated to the teachings of man, the type of thing Jesus condemns in Matthew 15:1-9. So spit out that bacon, and gather a large pile of stones. You are going to need them.

On a final note, and with a different perspective, do you remember how in the study of the Beatitudes it became obvious that Matthew had altered the original source? Concluding that study, we noted how any teaching which exists solely in Matthew should be suspect of adulteration. Well, this teaching in Matthew may also be corrupt, based on how much it stands in contradiction with many of the New Testament teachings. However, we should remember that the viewpoint presented here in Matthew is internally consistent with the entire Old Testament.