Fulfilling the Law
TRANSLATION
(13) “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has lost its savor, how shall it regain its saltiness? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. (14) You are the light of the world. A city set upon a hill cannot be hidden. (15) Neither do people light a lamp and place it under a basket but rather on a stand to let it shine for all who occupy the house. (16) Even so let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
(17) “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the prophets. I have come not to destroy but rather to fulfill them. (18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot nor one tittle shall pass from the law until all is accomplished. (19) Therefore, whoever violates one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (20) For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never see the kingdom of heaven.”
OBSERVATIONS
Repetitions again point the way to the message of this segment. In the first paragraph, two words stand out: “salt/saltiness” (found three times in vs. 13) and “light” (occurring four times in vss. 14-16). In the second paragraph repetitions included “destroy” (vs. 17), “law” (vss. 17 & 18), and “kingdom of heaven” (three times in vss. 19 & 20).
OUTLINE
I. The followers of Jesus are to serve as the salt of the earth and the light of the world. (13-16)
II. Jesus came not to abolish the Law and the Prophets but rather to fulfill them. (17-20)
IDEA STATEMENT
Because Jesus came to fulfill rather than to abolish the Law and the Prophets, we, his followers, can have a powerful impact on the rotting and darkened world around us as both salt and light.
APPLICATION
Two metaphors established the role of Jesus’ disciples in the first paragraph. We are to serve both as salt for a world filled with corruption and as light for a world shrouded in darkness. These words do not describe what we are to become but point to what is already true of us, due to our relationship with the Savior. The purer the salt, the more of an impact it has in flavoring and preserving food and creating thirst for the water of life that Jesus offers. The brighter the light that shines forth from us, the more the darkness will be dispelled.
The key terminology of the second paragraph regarding Jesus’ relationship to the Law of Moses is found in verse 17: “not to destroy…but to fulfill.” But what did Jesus mean by “fulfilling” the Law? It helps to understand that since Adam’s and Eve’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, not one human being has ever fulfilled, that is, fully obeyed the Law. Paul’s diagnosis of the human condition in Romans affirmed this. Quoting from Psalms 14 & 53 he wrote, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12). That is one crucial reason why it was necessary for God’s Son to come to earth to live a perfect life untarnished by sin. In doing so, he fulfilled the Law, doing what no one else could ever do. In this he proved himself uniquely qualified to offer himself as a sin offering to God on our behalf, the just for the unjust, the perfect for the imperfect. As we identify with him both in his death and resurrection, we take on in God’s sight a “righteousness (that) exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees.” His fulfilling the Law means that God views those in Christ as having fulfilled the Law because of our relationship to him.