Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The gospel of the Law. The Jews of our Lord's day expected that Messiah would dignify the Law and verify the prophets. In this they were correct, but they were utterly mistaken as to the manner in which these things were to take effect. The scribes and Pharisees, therefore, disputed the claims of Jesus to be the Christ because he reprobated the traditions of the elders, which they had strangely confounded with the Law; and because he did not establish a secular kingdom according to their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

The second part of the sermon: the mount of the Beatitudes and Mount Sinai: the new Law and the old. I. CHRIST THE FULFILLER OF THE LAW . 1 . He came not to destroy. They must not misunderstand the purpose of his teaching. The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; both speak of Christ. The commandments are as binding now upon the Christian conscience as when they were first delivered amid the thunders of Mount Sinai. "We establish the Law," says the apostle of faith ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

Sermon on the mount: 3. Exceeding righteousness. A teacher who compels the public to look at an unfamiliar truth, the reformer who introduces a new style of goodness, will be misinterpreted just in proportion to the advance he makes upon former ideas. Our Lord renounced explicitly, and with warmth, the goodness of the Pharisees, and the cry was at once raised against him as a destroyer of the Law, a libertine, a companion or' loose people. He thus found himself called on publicly to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:18

Cf. Luke 16:17 , "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the Law to fail" (Revised Version). The words are so similar that the two evangelists probably record the same utterance, the difference in the form of the sentence pointing rather to an oral than a written common source. St. Luke places it in an attack on the Pharisees, who had scoffed at our Lord for his parable of the dishonest steward. Verily ; ἀμήν ( נם ) , literally, "established,"... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:19

Matthew only. As Christ honoured the Law (verse 17) so are his disciples to honour it. Whosoever therefore . Seeing that every part of the Law is of permanent value. In this verse our Lord once for all declares his opposition to antinomianism. Every one of the commands in the Law is, in its true and ideal meaning, still binding. Shall break ( λύσῃ ). Not merely in contrast to "do" ( ποιήσῃ vide infra ) in the sense of "transgress" (Fritzsche), but "abrogate" (cf. Bishop... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

Matthew only. The verse from "except" to the end is quoted verbally in Justin Martyr, as being in "the Memoirs." For I say . So far from you my disciples (verse 13) being right in despising any of the commands contained in the Law, they are all to be specially honoured by you; for your righteousness ( i.e. the righteousness you show in observing them; there is no thought hero of the imputed righteousness of Christ) must far exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees; otherwise there is... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

The righteousness of the kingdom. Antinomianism is unchristian. If Christianity is to be found in the teachings of Christ, Christianity does not relax the moral Law. On the contrary, it elevates and strengthens that Law. We cannot make a greater mistake than to suppose that the grace of Christ means a certain easy treatment of men, any diminution of duty, any release from the obligations of right. It is not a pardon of the past with indifference as regards the future. It is forgiveness as a... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:20

The better types of righteousness. "Shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees." How one righteousness can be thought of as exceeding another does not at once appear. We may apprehend it, if we duly consider this distinction. Heart-righteousness must, in every age, be the same thing; but practical righteousness, finding expression in conduct and relations, does go by an ascending scale, and does vary in different ages and nations. I. A RIGHTEOUSNESS MAY BE ... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:17

Think not that I am come ... - Our Saviour was just entering on his work. It was important for him to state what he came to do. By his setting up to be a teacher in opposition to the scribes and Pharisees, some might charge him with an intention to destroy their law, and to abolish the customs of the nation. He therefore told them that he did not come for that end, but really to fulfill or accomplish what was in the law and the prophets.To destroy - To abrogate; to deny their divine authority;... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 5:18

Verily - Truly, certainly. A word of strong affirmation.Till heaven and earth pass - This expression denotes that the law never would be destroyed until it should be all fulfilled. It is the same as saying everything else may change; the very earth and heaven may pass away, but the law of God shall not be destroyed until its whole design has been accomplished.One jot - The word “jot,” or yod (י y), is the name of the Hebrew letter I, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.One tittle - The... read more

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