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.
Jesus Christ did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets. He did not come to take away any of the statements of what we were supposed to do. Jesus affirms that the Law of Moses should be kept today. But the real question this texts can leave us with are the ceremonial or cleanliness laws. These laws elsewhere in the New Testament are said to be put aside or done away. So Christians can eat pork, and work on the Sabbath day, and plant crops of different kind next to each other. But Christians are not allowed to have improper sexual relations with animals, children, family members, or the same-sex.
Jesus teaches us that anyone who becomes lax in these teachings (which modern culture has definitely fallen in this avenue) will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. He goes so far to tell us that we need to be more righteous than the scribes and pharisees. So there are some Christians today, who might argue that their personal piety is more than the Pharisees. There are other Christians today, who are so laid back and easy going that they would also boast to being better than the Pharisees.
But I would contend that Jesus example of being more righteous than the pharisees is not something we can accomplish. But on the other side of the coin, it is what Jesus commands us to accomplish. You can not becoming righteous because of your own deeds. You can not fulfill the Law on your own. Thus, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it on our behalf. He did not want us to discard the commands as no good. But we are supposed to follow those commandments, and not place our value or righteousness in them, but in Christ. It is Christ Jesus who has fulfilled the Law on our behalf and given us new life. The only way into the Kingdom of Heaven is through Jesus Christ.
Jesus teaches us that anyone who becomes lax in these teachings (which modern culture has definitely fallen in this avenue) will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven. He goes so far to tell us that we need to be more righteous than the scribes and pharisees. So there are some Christians today, who might argue that their personal piety is more than the Pharisees. There are other Christians today, who are so laid back and easy going that they would also boast to being better than the Pharisees.
But I would contend that Jesus example of being more righteous than the pharisees is not something we can accomplish. But on the other side of the coin, it is what Jesus commands us to accomplish. You can not becoming righteous because of your own deeds. You can not fulfill the Law on your own. Thus, Jesus did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it on our behalf. He did not want us to discard the commands as no good. But we are supposed to follow those commandments, and not place our value or righteousness in them, but in Christ. It is Christ Jesus who has fulfilled the Law on our behalf and given us new life. The only way into the Kingdom of Heaven is through Jesus Christ.
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