Matthew 5:17-18 NIV

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17

The true relations of the old and the new. "I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." "As a Teacher, our Lord came to fill up what was lacking, to develop hints and germs of truth, to turn rules into principles." Phillips Brooks says, "When Jesus came into the world to establish the perfect religion, he found here an imperfect faith. How should he treat this partial, this imperfect faith, which was already on the ground? He might do either of two things. He might sweep it away, and begin... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-18

Christ's treatment of the Old Testament. Here we see the attitude of our Lord towards the Old Testament. He did not come to destroy the ancient teaching, but to fulfil it. Christ's words show two positions—a negative and a positive. I. THE OLD TESTAMENT HAS A PLACE IN THE CHRISTIAN ECONOMY . The grounds on which this is established are worthy of consideration. 1 . Its origin. The Old Testament was inspired by God. It records his words spoken to Moses and the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

(1) With this aim he first states summarily and in nucleus the position that he himself holds towards the Law—a statement which was the more necessary as he had already ( Matthew 5:11 ) claimed to be the object of his disciples' devotion. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The veneration of Law and prophets. The caution which Jesus Christ now addresses to his disciples was very probably owing to many things wont to be said, though not recorded, in the nature of hasty and often malevolent forecasts, of his likely tendency to innovations. How many things had been conjectured, and most vainly, respecting him "that should come "! And now that he had come, those who yielded but a hesitating and grudging assent to his Messiahship, in that very proportion were... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

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

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

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-18

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-20

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:17-48

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 5:18

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

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

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