Deuteronomy 4:2
A few months ago, I had an opportunity to dialog with two men, one of whom is a pastor. We discussed the relationship between the Torah and the believer in regards to Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount, focusing on Matthew 5:17-20. The following statements are taken from that discussion:
Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Law by obeying it perfectly and thus condemning us by it. That was the purpose of the Law, and it was fulfilled in Christ. So, Jesus didn't "abolish" it, He fulfilled it, and in so doing condemned us. His perfect obedience to the Law will forever stand as a testimony to His sinlessness and our sinFULness. So, it was not abolished, but fulfilled in Christ….The Law has fulfilled its purpose… As far as how my interpretation goes with verses 19 and 20: the ceremonial, judicial, and civil laws were fulfilled in Christ. They were the shadow of what was to come, which was Christ.I believe these statements represent the common understanding of how believers today view the Torah. Is it true that the Torah has fulfilled its purpose with the coming of the Messiah and is no longer applicable to believers today? Is it merely His life in us that we are able to receive the status of exceeding the righteousness of the Pharisees to enter into the kingdom of Heaven? Let us take a closer look at this passage, starting with Matthew 5:17-18.
Jesus is referring to the Sermon on the Mount when he says, "these commandments" in Matthew 5:19. He is the life in us that keeps every one of those commandments and exceeds the righteousness of the law.
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 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 Torah until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18
It is clear that Yeshua’s purpose in coming was NOT to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. He further emphasizes this by repeating it twice. The word here for abolish is kataluo which means “to destroy,” “demolish,” and “do away with,” which was commonly used in reference to demolishing buildings (e.g. Matt 26:61) and overthrowing or replacing institutions and laws [1]. This abolishing is distinguished and contrasted with the word “fulfill”. Whatever the meaning of the word “fulfill” is, it cannot have the same meaning or impact as “abolish”. Unfortunately, this is exactly what most believers today suggest in their definition of this word. They suggest that by Yeshua “fulfilling” the Torah, believers are no longer obligated in keeping the Torah. As we have seen in the above statement, Yeshua didn’t just arbitrarily get rid of the Torah, but fulfilled it as in completing its purpose and function. Thus, as the argument goes, the Torah of Moses no longer serves as an instruction of living for the believer, which in the end, has the same impact and result as if He had abolished the Torah. This understanding however, does not add up for the following reasons: 1) it destroys or blurs the contrast between “abolish” and “fulfill” 2) it goes against Yeshua’s later statement that not even the smallest part of the Torah will pass away until heaven and earth disappear and everything is accomplished. Heaven and earth have certainly not passed away and not everything has been accomplished yet (e.g. Col 2:16-17, Heb 10:1). Therefore, it is safe to say that the words of the Torah have not disappeared from the lives of Yeshua’s followers.
What then does Yeshua mean when He said He came to fulfill the Torah and the Prophets? It is important to note that the verb “fulfill” is active and not passive which implies that it is something that He actively does. Also, perhaps looking at the parallelism between verses 17 and 19 with the words luo (i.e. break, annul; a root for kataluo - abolish) and poieo (i.e do, keep, practice) will give a proper meaning of “fulfill”:
In terms of opposites this would suggest that to “annul” the least of the commandments is to “not do” them and to “practice” them is to “do” them. Thus, to “practice” the commandments is to “fulfill” or do them properly. Messianic Rabbi, Dr. John Fischer, has found a fascinating historical meaning to these words:As it turns out, "abolish" and "fulfill" are actually terms used at that time as part of scholarly debate and rabbinic discussion. A sage was accused of abolishing or canceling the Torah if he misinterpreted a passage, nullifying its intent. If he fulfilled it, he had properly interpreted Scripture so as to preserve and correctly explain its meaning. [2]The following verses demonstrate this use of “fulfill” as performing the Torah properly:
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the Torah. Romans 13:8
Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Torah of Messiah. Galatians 6:2
One would be hard pressed to imagine that these verses indicate that all one needs to do is to love his neighbor once and is no longer obligated to do so again for he has “fulfilled” the Torah. To fulfill the Torah is to keep the Torah and keep it the way it was intended. “Thus, Yeshua was asking His disciples to understand that one of His purposes in coming as the Messiah was to expound the Torah and the Prophets both by His words and (especially) His deeds. He came to explain how one could actually do the Torah, and what the purpose of doing the Torah was. He came to exegete the Torah and Prophets in their fullness, not in a different way, but in a full and complete way – perfectly, one might say.” [3]
Yeshua continues His sermon by referring to the least of the commandments, the righteousness of the Pharisees and the Kingdom of heaven.
19 "Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
What exactly is Yeshua referring to by “least of these commandments”? Neither the Jews nor the Scriptures categorized the commandments in the Torah into categories (i.e. moral, civil, and ceremonial) as many believers like to do today. This artificial idea comes from a Greek mindset where this method of thinking is inclined to separate and categorize ideas. The Jews on the other hand viewed the Torah as a whole or as one singular commandment (cf. Rom 7:8-12). They distinguished the commandments, however, by raking the commandments in a hierarchical structure from light to heavy or least to greatest [4]. For example, life and justice are considered weightier commandments in the Torah than tithing. Therefore, according to Yeshua, if one wants to be considered great in the Kingdom, the lightest of commandments should not be overlooked but in fact be kept. This would imply then that He is not giving any new Laws or ideas here. He is stressing the importance of all of the commandments, even the least of them in the life of His followers. This fits with His previous statement that not the least part of the Torah should ever pass away.
What does it mean to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees? Just as the verb “fulfill” was active, the verb tense for “surpass” is not passive, but active. This refutes the belief that passively receiving the life and righteousness of Messiah is how one is to surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees. Clearly this means it is an action that believers are to perform. To “surpass” (perisseuo) means to “excel abundantly” or “to be present in abundance". The REB translation puts it best, “I tell you, unless you show yourselves far better then the scribes and Pharisees, you can never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” It is important to note that if members of the Kingdom are to show themselves “far better” then the Pharisees who considered the Torah as a rule of living, then this would indicate that the members of the Kingdom should do more then the Pharisees and not less. In other words, rather than doing less of the commandments (only keeping the “moral” commandments for example), believers should be keeping all of the Torah better than the Pharisees in order to surpass them. This idea can hardly fit with the understanding that for Yeshua to “fulfill” the Torah His followers are no longer responsible for keeping the Torah for how will one be able to surpass the Pharisees?
What then is the connection between the Pharisees and believers keeping the least of the commandments? The answer to this can be found by understanding the objections Yeshua had with the Pharisees [5]. According to Matthew 23, the Pharisees were especially good at keeping the least of the commandments (in this case tithing) but overlooked the heavier commandments of the Torah:
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Torah: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! Matthew 23:23-24
Mint, dill, and cummin were insignificant garden herbs that the Torah did not obligate them to tithe. However, since they were very strict in keeping the Torah, they went beyond what was required of them to assure their righteousness in fulfilling the commandment. It is important to note that Yeshua in no way discourages them from practicing this tithe (a lighter commandment) but tells them that they should observe it without neglecting the other heavier matters of the Torah. He continues to rebuke them for displaying their righteousness outwardly to men but not inwardly to God:
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 "So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. Matthew 23:25-28
Therefore, if one wants to be a follower of Yeshua and enter into the kingdom of heaven, they will have to do more than just merely keep the outward display of least of the commandments before men. To surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees cannot in any way eliminate the performance of Torah but to pursue all the commandments, both light and heavy, with a pure and whole heart towards God.
On a side note, there are those that may agree with this understanding of “fulfill” but may still object to applying the Torah to believers today. They claim that this sermon only applies to the Jewish audience Yeshua is speaking to and not to Gentiles or that this standard of living changed after the resurrection of Yeshua and the work of the Spirit at Pentecost. There are two major problems with this view point. First, this passage gives the condition of entering and not entering the Kingdom of Heaven which certainly applies to those after the resurrection. Second, this view would directly contradict the Great Commission Yeshua gave to His disciples in Matthew 28:18-20:
18 And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you.
Clearly this view does not hold any water.
In summery, Yeshua in no way came to do way with the Torah, He in fact came to keep it and teach it as it is properly intended. Not the smallest part of the Torah will ever pass away until everything in it is completed which has yet to happen. Whoever neglects the smallest of the commandments of the Torah and teaches others to do the same is will be considered smallest in the Kingdom. Whoever keeps the smallest commandments of the Torah and teach others to keep them will be considered great in the Kingdom. However, unless one’s pursuit of righteousness reaches beyond those that neglect the greater commandments by only performing outwardly the least of the commandments before men (the Pharisees), one cannot be part of the Kingdom. Yeshua in no way shape or form came to bring a new law, new religion, or new way of living. He neither came to fulfill some of the Torah so that His followers only needed to keep only certain commandments. He came to teach and to set an example of how one is to carry out the Torah of God as it was intended.
In Part 2 we will further study the rest of Yeshua’s sermon to refute the notion that His teachings were intended to be a “new standard” of living that replaced the “old standard”. I will do this by examining what he taught and how He taught in comparison to the Teachers of the Torah in His day.
Notes:
1 http://www.biblestudytools.net/Lexicons/NewTestamentGreek/
An example of this kataluo used in reference to overthrowing or replacing institutions and laws can be found in 2 Maccabees 2:22:
“And recovered the temple famous throughout the world and freed the city and restored the laws that were about to be abolished, while the Lord with great kindness became gracious to them.”
2 Jesus Through Jewish Eyes: A Rabbi Examines The Life And Teachings Of Jesus By Rabbi John Fischer
3 Tim Hegg Yeshua’s View of the Torah, Some Preliminary Questions & Answers pg 7
4 An example of this distinction of commandments is found in the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate ‘Avoth, Ch 2.1 “Be as careful of keeping a light commandment as a heavy commandment because you do not know the reward given for the keeping of commandments”
5 It is important to remember that Yeshua did not condemn the Pharisees as a whole, but only those that were not acting in accordance with the Torah. It may have been that Yeshua was a Pharisee Himself. It is also important to realize that the rebukes in Matthew 23 to the Pharisees were not so uncommon in Judaism. There are examples in the Talmud of Rabbis saying similar or even worse criticisms to those of their own number, such as "sore spots" and "plagues" and "destroyers of the world" (Berakot 14b; Hagigah 14a; Sotah 3.4)
