Christ Came Not to Destroy the Law
Having finished with Chapter Five, I am now proceeding to Chapter Six of Arthur W. Pink's "An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount." In this chapter, he expounds upon the following Scripture verses:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Mat. 5:17-18)
Pink begins by pointing out the suddenness with which Jesus Christ burst onto the scene in Israel. The first thirty years of His life had been lived in private, and He had not attracted much attention outside of His own immediate social circle. But as soon as He appeared on the public stage, things changed dramatically. Multitudes followed Him and the leaders of the nation were forced to take notice.
His meekness and lowliness set Him apart from the men who made up the religious establishment of His day. His many miracles of healing soon made Him famous. And His preaching was so far different from that of the Pharisees and Sadducees that people must have wondered whether it was His intention to entirely destroy the existing order.
Furthermore, because He denounced adherence to "the traditions of the elders," seemed to deemphasize the value of outward ceremonial observances (because their value was being overemphasized), and was a "friend of publicans and sinners," it is likely that many were inclined to believe that He was opposed to the Law of Moses. Since His teaching was at variance with the predominant theology of the time and He had not associated with any of the existing sects, some tried to portray Him as a deceiving heretic and a troublemaker whose purpose was to overthrow the divinely established religion of Moses and the prophets.
All of these things must have left more than a few people in doubt as to His attitude and intentions concerning the existing Scriptures and the Old Testament law. And so here in verses 17 and 18, before correcting numerous false teachings about the Law and revealing its true meaning, the Lord assures the people that far from coming to eliminate the law, He has actually come to fulfill it. And not only does He not disavow the Old Testament Scriptures or any part of them, He declares the enduring authority of every word in them.
And just as Christ allayed the fears of the people that He was not overthrowing the law, those who endeavor to work for reformation of the church in any age must take pains to ensure that they not be seen as adversaries to the Word of God. As John Calvin said:
"If we intend to reform affairs which are in a state of disorder, we must always exercise such prudence and moderation as will convince the people that we do not oppose the eternal Word of God, or introduce any novelty that is contrary to Scripture."
After the preceding general points of introduction, Pink begins to expound upon verse 17 more particularly.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets"
He begins by explaining that "the law and the prophets" is a title that is used several times in the New Testament to comprehend the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures. And so the widest meaning of the passage we are examining is, in Pink's words, "Suppose not that My mission is to repudiate the authority of Holy Writ; rather is it to establish and enforce the same."
Jesus' entire life and ministry testified to the fact that He venerated the holy Scriptures. His actions were regulated by them, and He upheld and affirmed their divine inspiration and authority. To accuse Him of being opposed to the Word of God when He was, in fact, the very embodiment of it, was a foul slander.
But Pink also sees a distinction made in this sentence. Because in other places "the law and the prophets" are mentioned. But here it is "the law or the prophets." While the Scriptures are all one, it is legitimate to make certain divisions in them, and this particular division must have been familiar to the Jews whom Christ was addressing. Pink believes that a more clear division is made here by use of the particle "or" and thereby Christ is intimating that both parts are fulfilled in Him. But he also points out that the prophets are never again mentioned in the sermon. Rather, it is the law that is dealt with from here on.
The next question that arises is: What did Christ mean by "the law." Pink's answer is "the whole Jewish Law", which he divides into three parts:
(1) The ceremonial law describing ordinances to be observed in the ritual worship of God, consisting mainly in the rites of the Temple -- which was for the Jews only.
(2) The judicial law describing ordinances for the government of the Jewish nation and the punishment of offenders -- which was primarily for the Jews, yet applies to all people in all times so far as it tends to establish the moral law.
(3) The moral law as contained in the Ten Commandments -- which is perpetually binding on all people.
Pink believes it is clear that our Lord here "alluded principally to the moral Law, for the subsequent parts of the Sermon refer directly and mainly to it." But he adds that "the law" must also have reference to "the types, the law of sacrifice, and especially the sin-offering" in whom Christ was represented and is the fulfillment. For if that had not been the case "what then became of all the references in Moses to the propitiatory offerings and to the entire typical system?" Christ was the spiritual substance of the carnal shadows contained in the symbols of the sacrificial system, otherwise they would be unfulfilled. He is the reality which they only signified.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Mat. 5:17-18)
Pink begins by pointing out the suddenness with which Jesus Christ burst onto the scene in Israel. The first thirty years of His life had been lived in private, and He had not attracted much attention outside of His own immediate social circle. But as soon as He appeared on the public stage, things changed dramatically. Multitudes followed Him and the leaders of the nation were forced to take notice.
His meekness and lowliness set Him apart from the men who made up the religious establishment of His day. His many miracles of healing soon made Him famous. And His preaching was so far different from that of the Pharisees and Sadducees that people must have wondered whether it was His intention to entirely destroy the existing order.
Furthermore, because He denounced adherence to "the traditions of the elders," seemed to deemphasize the value of outward ceremonial observances (because their value was being overemphasized), and was a "friend of publicans and sinners," it is likely that many were inclined to believe that He was opposed to the Law of Moses. Since His teaching was at variance with the predominant theology of the time and He had not associated with any of the existing sects, some tried to portray Him as a deceiving heretic and a troublemaker whose purpose was to overthrow the divinely established religion of Moses and the prophets.
All of these things must have left more than a few people in doubt as to His attitude and intentions concerning the existing Scriptures and the Old Testament law. And so here in verses 17 and 18, before correcting numerous false teachings about the Law and revealing its true meaning, the Lord assures the people that far from coming to eliminate the law, He has actually come to fulfill it. And not only does He not disavow the Old Testament Scriptures or any part of them, He declares the enduring authority of every word in them.
And just as Christ allayed the fears of the people that He was not overthrowing the law, those who endeavor to work for reformation of the church in any age must take pains to ensure that they not be seen as adversaries to the Word of God. As John Calvin said:
"If we intend to reform affairs which are in a state of disorder, we must always exercise such prudence and moderation as will convince the people that we do not oppose the eternal Word of God, or introduce any novelty that is contrary to Scripture."
After the preceding general points of introduction, Pink begins to expound upon verse 17 more particularly.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets"
He begins by explaining that "the law and the prophets" is a title that is used several times in the New Testament to comprehend the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures. And so the widest meaning of the passage we are examining is, in Pink's words, "Suppose not that My mission is to repudiate the authority of Holy Writ; rather is it to establish and enforce the same."
Jesus' entire life and ministry testified to the fact that He venerated the holy Scriptures. His actions were regulated by them, and He upheld and affirmed their divine inspiration and authority. To accuse Him of being opposed to the Word of God when He was, in fact, the very embodiment of it, was a foul slander.
But Pink also sees a distinction made in this sentence. Because in other places "the law and the prophets" are mentioned. But here it is "the law or the prophets." While the Scriptures are all one, it is legitimate to make certain divisions in them, and this particular division must have been familiar to the Jews whom Christ was addressing. Pink believes that a more clear division is made here by use of the particle "or" and thereby Christ is intimating that both parts are fulfilled in Him. But he also points out that the prophets are never again mentioned in the sermon. Rather, it is the law that is dealt with from here on.
The next question that arises is: What did Christ mean by "the law." Pink's answer is "the whole Jewish Law", which he divides into three parts:
(1) The ceremonial law describing ordinances to be observed in the ritual worship of God, consisting mainly in the rites of the Temple -- which was for the Jews only.
(2) The judicial law describing ordinances for the government of the Jewish nation and the punishment of offenders -- which was primarily for the Jews, yet applies to all people in all times so far as it tends to establish the moral law.
(3) The moral law as contained in the Ten Commandments -- which is perpetually binding on all people.
Pink believes it is clear that our Lord here "alluded principally to the moral Law, for the subsequent parts of the Sermon refer directly and mainly to it." But he adds that "the law" must also have reference to "the types, the law of sacrifice, and especially the sin-offering" in whom Christ was represented and is the fulfillment. For if that had not been the case "what then became of all the references in Moses to the propitiatory offerings and to the entire typical system?" Christ was the spiritual substance of the carnal shadows contained in the symbols of the sacrificial system, otherwise they would be unfulfilled. He is the reality which they only signified.
posted by Stuart DiNenno at 11/30/2004 12:14:00 PM
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