Commentaries:
People go around saying that the law is done away, including "rituals." No, it is not! Jesus says here very plainly that these things are not done away. We must understand that, though we may not have to perform them physically, their principles (God's intent behind them) is still binding upon us. Many laws deal with physical cleanliness. These same laws, in their intent, have to do with spiritual cleanliness. Their intent is still binding upon us.
We no longer have to make sacrifices at a physical brazen altar. True! Under the New Covenant, we become the sacrifice! We are the burnt offering. We become a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). The principles involved in being a burnt offering are extracted from the principles that appear in Leviticus 1-7. Our Savior says not one jot or tittle has been done away from God's law.
John W. Ritenbaugh
New Covenant Priesthood (Part Two)
Jesus magnified God's law while on earth. In His Sermon on the Mount, He paraphrased six Old Testament laws or principles, giving their intended meanings. Tithing, however, was not generally questioned at the time; it was not a theological issue like circumcision and the eating of meats sacrificed in an idol's temple. The New Testament expounds Old Testament principles and laws, and Jesus specifically says He did not come to invalidate them. No New Testament passage rescinds the tithing law. Quite the opposite, Jesus upholds the principle in His denunciation of the self-righteous Pharisees in Matthew 23:23.
Martin G. Collins
Tithing: First Tithe
The word “fulfill” is pleroo (Strong's #4137), which means “to make full, to fill up; to fill to the full.” It carries no implication of making something obsolete or unnecessary. Rather, Jesus fulfills the commandments by making their applications more encompassing by teaching and exemplifying how they are to be kept in the Spirit. He added the spirit of the law.
As the God of the Old Testament, the One who became Jesus—the Word, God who “became flesh and dwelt among us” (see John 1:1-4, 14)—issued all the commandments. The Bible emphasizes that God never changes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), which includes His approach to sin and righteousness. We need to obey Him and His law.
In Matthew 19:17, Jesus points to the Ten Commandments when He tells the rich young ruler to keep them if he wants to enter into eternal life. The following two verses remove all doubt about what commandments He means, citing five of the Ten Commandments. In a way, He is alluding to Ecclesiastes 12:13, where Solomon advises, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man's all.” Or, as the Good News Translation puts it, “. . . because this is all that we were created for.”
The apostle Paul, in I Corinthians 7:19, instructs Christians about the central place of those commandments: “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.” He writes in Romans 7:7, “I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law has said, 'You shall not covet.'” God's law defines both righteousness—what we are to do—and sin—what we should not do.
John Reiss
Do We Need the Old Testament?
God inspired Jesus to say this for very good reasons, perhaps thousands of reasons that can be contained in one brief statement: They are not destroyed or done away with because they still have practical spiritual application. They are still useful for living the Christian life, being in the image of God, and knowing Him. To destroy them would constitute a great loss, for which we would be the less.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part One): Introduction
Some Bibles title this paragraph, “Jesus Fulfills the Law.”The sense in which many professing Christians use the term “fulfills” is not inspired Scripture. In this case, it does not mean “accomplishes by keeping” or “does away with,” as judged against what He taught in what immediately follows. Fulfills, in this case, means “fills to the full,” “fully exemplifies the conduct it covers,” or “expands to its fullest intent.” Consider His subsequent illustrations carefully:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.” But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, “Raca!” shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, “You fool!” shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny. (Matthew 5:21-26)
His teaching shows Him raising the acceptable level of obedience far higher than what people ordinarily considered as satisfactory behavior. Jesus expands the scope of sin in the sixth commandment from outright murder to also include a high level of anger in certain situations! Matthew 5:27-30 shows the same pattern in this teaching on the seventh commandment:
You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
The same conclusion is true of this commandment and also for each of the others He expands during His Sermon on the Mount. Far from doing away with God's commandments, He raises the standards of acceptable behavior far higher.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Hebrews Was Written (Part One)
His statement applies to the Sabbath just as assuredly as it applies to any of the other commandments. Jesus did not come to destroy the Sabbath, but to magnify it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Sabbathkeeping (Part 1)
Not only does Jesus, our Savior, emphatically proclaim that He was not doing away with portions of God's Word (the Old Testament), but He also specifically charges us to keep the commandments and teach them. Yet, men ignore this and say that keeping the commandments is no longer necessary. Are we going to believe Jesus or those who contradict what He says?
John W. Ritenbaugh
Is the Christian Required to Do Works? (Part One)
Jesus is saying, in plain language, that His teaching does not contradict the Old Covenant law, but it is the ultimate fulfillment of its spiritual intent. Even in the smallest matter, the smallest statement—the jot and the tittle—the law must be fulfilled.
Notice where His statement appears. Matthew places it immediately after Jesus' exhortation, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works" (Matthew 5:16). What if our works are good? Are we supposed to hide them? Then comes His statement regarding law. Is there a connection between good works and keeping the law? One would have to be quite obstinate to believe there is no connection between them. It is obvious that He is connecting good works with lawkeeping.
To strengthen the argument, He mentions righteousness in verse 20. What is the Bible's definition of righteousness? Psalm 119:172: "All Your commandments are righteousness." Thus, sandwiched between righteousness and letting one's light shine comes an explanation that He did not come to do away with the law but to fill it to the full, to help us understand its ultimate application—its spiritual intent.
Is it possible to keep the law in its spirit without also keeping it in the letter? It cannot be done. One must first keep it in the letter before learning how to keep its spirit.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Fourteen)
Since God gives only good things (James 1:17), and the apostle Paul certifies that "the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good" (Romans 7:12), we know that His law is for our benefit.
John O. Reid
Did God Change the Law of Clean and Unclean Meats?
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Matthew 5:17:
Deuteronomy 8:3
Matthew 4:4
2 Timothy 3:15
