#1224 Matthew 5 Part 9 Yodh

 

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. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 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. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5: 17-20 ESV

Matthew 5:18-20

For truly - When others teach, they will say, "can I get an amen?" Men must put it at the end because they can err, but Jesus is God, so what He says is perfect, and He puts the Amen (Truly) at the beginning. "This is the truth, listen, pay attention, understand and acknowledge." He doesn't wait for others to confirm it; He speaks with the authority that only He has.

…159Consider how I love Your precepts, O LORD; give me life according to Your loving devotion. 160The entirety of Your word is truth, and all Your righteous judgments endure forever. 161Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart fears only Your word.… Psalm 119: 159-161

Until heaven and earth pass away - This is referring to the end of present history. Remember the "truly", regardless of what others say or may think, He is saying, this is going to come to past, judgement will fall, that is coming, but until then there is nothing wrong with God's law, it is good, the problem is you and I are not.

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.… Revelation 21: 1-2

…3Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4“Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “ Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.” 5But they deliberately overlook the fact that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water,…

…6through which the world of that time perished in the flood. 7And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.… 2 Peter 3: 3-8

Not and iota, not a dot - We saw back in Jesus temptation that Christ answered with Scripture, and He spends much time correcting people's, especially the Pharisees and Sadducees, misinterpretation of God's word. He quotes from the OT and fulfills the OT right before their eyes. He is the Word become flesh, dwelling among them. 

Here iota is used for the jot or yod (yodh) which is the tenth and smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet and which looks like an apostrophe ('). There are approximately 66,420 yods in the Old Testament! Jesus believed in the literal inspiration of the Bible, even in what might seem small unimportant details. Nothing in Scripture, even the smallest stroke, is without significance. Not only the words, but even the letters are divinely inspired.

Vincent - Jot is for jod (or yod), the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Tittle is the little bend or point which serves to distinguish certain Hebrew letters of similar appearance. Jewish tradition mentions the letter jod as being irremovable; adding that, if all men in the world were gathered to abolish the least letter in the law, they would not succeed. The guilt of changing those little hooks which distinguish between certain Hebrew letters is declared to be so great that, if such a thing were done, the world would be destroyed. (Matthew 5 Greek Word Studies) - Precept Austin

John MacArthur explains that "No other statement made by our Lord more clearly states His absolute contention that Scripture is verbally inerrant, totally without error in the original form in which God gave it. That is, Scripture is God’s own Word not only down to every single written word, but down to every letter and the smallest part of every letter. (MacArthur, J: Matthew 1-7 Macarthur New Testament Commentary Chicago: Moody Press) - Precept Austin

1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3

Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments - Both the Pharisees and Sadducees will guilty of this. The Pharisees added to the law, things they thought they could do, more rules, outward expressions that made them appear holy. They would strain at gnats and swallow camels. The Sadducees were more interested in the surrounding cultures, and if it was Greek so were they, when in Rome then be a Roman, but they thought low of God's word, as if it was antiquated and needed to change since society and the world seemed to change. God needed to become more like them, adjust, as though He were ever in need of man's opinion. They didn't believe in the resurrection, many thought that stories were just that, fables with a little moral lesson, take it or leave it, it was of little significance to them. Both groups were legalist, one thinking they were good by way of the law and the other thinking they were too good for the law, both missing the point of the law. In being legalists about their invented laws, the Pharisees missed the spirit of it, and invented work arounds for the parts of God's law they didn't like. The Sadducees did the same in siding with the culture, with feelings and emotions, using themselves and what they felt okay with as the bar for righteousness. Neither group recognized God when He was standing in front of them, because He didn't look like them, and He refused to recognize their establishments.  

…25‘Cursed is he who accepts a bribe to kill an innocent person.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ 26‘Cursed is he who does not put the words of this law into practice.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’ Deuteronomy 27: 25-26

…127Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, even the purest gold. 128Therefore I admire all Your precepts and hate every FALSE way. 129Wonderful are Your testimonies; therefore I obey them.… Psalm 119: 127-129

…23Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.… Matthew 23: 23-25

Whoever does and teaches them - This person is called "great", and we will find throughout Jesus's teaching, the disciples and the OT prophets, this concept of spirit and truth, of words with actions.

Keeps and teaches - Spurgeon comments on this phrase noting that "It is vain to teach the commandments without first doing them. The doing must always precede the teaching. If a man’s example cannot be safely followed, it will be unsafe to trust his words." - Precept Austin

8Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and any other commandments, are summed up in this one decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no wrong to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.… Romans 13: 8-10

17Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you. 18For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.… Philippians 3: 17-19

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 10Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.… Philippians 4: 8-10

Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees - Theirs was outward and assumed. Theirs was based upon their own contrived methods, upon heritage, relation, going to the temple with their feet but leaving their hearts at home. Theirs was based upon finding their Mississippi, that person that was less worthy in their mind. It was founded upon titles, upon greetings from other esteemed members of their circle, "well he called me honest, called me good, told others I was a man of integrity", they lived off of what they gave others to reflect back to them. In the corporate world we call them weather vanes, snap shots, men who wet their finger and stick it up in the air to find out what they believe today. They read books on what to wear, what to say and how to pose, but God wasn't looking there, that wasn't His measure, He had His own book, and His own intentions when He spoke. Listen, you don't have righteousness of your own, remember, blessed are the poor in spirit, they were spiritually bankrupt and mourned over their sin. You need a righteousness that comes from outside of you.

…42Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former. 43Woe to you Pharisees! You love the chief seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”… Luke 11: 42-44

…9Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquities. 10Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11Cast me not away from Your presence; take not Your Holy Spirit from me.… Psalm 51: 9-11

…26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances. 28Then you will live in the land that I gave your forefathers; you will be My people, and I will be your God.… Ezekiel 36: 26-28

30What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because their pursuit was not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone,… Romans 9: 30-32

…8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,… Philippians 3: 8-10