Matthew 5:17–18
Bible verses · Also called: Matthew 5:17-18, Matt. 5:17–18, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil, Think not that I am come to destroy the law, One jot or one tittle, Jot and tittle
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17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 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.
The text is the New Korean Revised Version (1998), shown under a licence from the Korean Bible Society. Wording may differ slightly from the Korean Revised Version and the Revised New Korean Standard Version. Read in the Korean Revised Version
In this saying Jesus declares that he came not to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. The passage serves as a starting point from which different denominations reach different conclusions about the relationship between Christians and the Old Testament law.
Context
The passage appears in the Sermon on the Mount, immediately after the sayings about salt and light. Because Jesus took a different stance from the Pharisees on matters such as the Sabbath regulations, some may have mistakenly concluded that he disregarded the law. Jesus declares that "one jot or one tittle" (the smallest letter and stroke) "shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled," and then adds, "except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (5:20). Six contrasts follow, each introduced by the formula "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time … But I say unto you" (5:21–48).
Interpretation
The verb rendered "fulfil" (Greek plēroō) means "to fill" or "to accomplish." Several readings have been proposed:
- Fulfillment: The Old Testament promises and types were accomplished in the life and death of Jesus.
- Disclosure of the law's true meaning: As the contrasts that follow illustrate, Jesus brought the law's original intent to completion by going beyond its outward letter to expose the motives of the heart.
Debates and Issues
- Reformed (Presbyterian): The Westminster Confession of Faith divides the law into moral, ceremonial, and civil law. It holds that the ceremonial law, such as sacrifices and purity regulations, has been abolished in Christ, while the moral law, summarized in the Ten Commandments, remains a rule of life for believers.
- Lutheran: Emphasizing the distinction between Law and Gospel, Lutherans hold that the law serves to convict people of sin and to lead them to Christ.
- Dispensationalism: Dispensationalists tend to read much of the Sermon on the Mount in connection with Israel or the future kingdom and to distinguish between the age of law and the age of grace.
- Sabbath-keeping denominations: The Seventh-day Adventist Church cites this passage to argue that the Saturday Sabbath of the fourth commandment remains in force. Denominations that observe Sunday respond that the Sabbath was fulfilled in Christ and continues in the day of the resurrection.
To the question of whether keeping the law is a condition of salvation, most Protestants answer no, concluding that verse 17 addresses the authority of the law, whereas the gospel of grace addresses the basis of salvation.
Related Passages
- Matthew 5:20
- Romans 3:31
- Romans 10:4
- Galatians 3:24
See also 6
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