Message

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Thank God for teaching us who we are in the world. Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world.” This is Jesus’ view and his faith for his disciples. In today’s passage Jesus talks about his coming to fulfill the Law and the Prophets, God’s commands’ never disappearing, and greatness in the kingdom of heaven. May God help us to know what our Lord Jesus wants us to do in this world. First, the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (17-20). Look at verse 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.” As we studied, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount began with the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” And then he said, “You are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world.” These teachings seemed so different from what the orthodox Jews were used to—the teachings in the law. Furthermore, later on, they accused Jesus of violating the Sabbath law by healing the sick on the Sabbath. Jesus even declared all foods clean, allowing his disciples to eat without washing their hands! (Mk 7:19). But here Jesus set an unambiguous statement about his relation to the Law and the Prophets, which refer to the Old Testament. He declared, “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.” Once Jesus said that the Scriptures of the Old Testament testified about him (Jn 5:40). The key point of the Old Testament is God’s promise to send Jesus into this world to save mankind. Jesus came as the fulfillment of this promise. The Law refers the five books of Moses. These books contain many promises of God to send Christ Jesus (Ge 3:15; 12:12; 22:18). Once Moses said in Deuteronomy that God would raise up for his people a prophet like him (Dt 18:15; Jn 5:46; Ac 3:22; 7:37). And the entire sacrificial system in Old Testament times pointed to Jesus, who would be the Lamb of God. Also, when we study the books of Prophets, the major and minor prophets, all said about the coming of the Messiah. Even the birthplace of the Messiah is specified in the book of Micah. So it was very clear that Jesus came as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Also, in his life he did not ignore the words of the Old Testament. He himself lived by these words. When the devil tempted him, Jesus overcame the devil’s temptations with the words of Deuteronomy (Mt 4:4,7,10; Dt 8:3; 6:16; 6:13). And Jesus’ teaching was not radically new, but based on the Old Testament. He is the one who truly understood God’s commandments and interpreted them rightly. We will see this in the next passages. He knew the spirit of the law. And John the Baptist was the last prophet of the Old Testament. Jesus recognized John’s baptism and was baptized by him, saying, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness” (Mt 3:15). He respected the Law and the Prophets. Furthermore Jesus indeed fulfilled the Law by obeying the law completely (Lev 18:5), and by dying on the cross for the sake of sinners to meet the demand of the law (Ro 7:4; 10:4). We must know that the Old Testament and the New Testament are together one book, the Bible. They are both necessary and complementary. The Old Testament alone is an incomplete book with no fulfillment. On the other hand, the New Testament alone lacks basis and root. All together, the book has a solid basis and fulfillment. There is no fulfillment in this world. But in Jesus there is fulfillment. Life without fulfillment is frustrating. We study the Bible so that we may accept the words of the Bible personally and see the fulfillment of these words in our lives. Particularly, we may see one of God be fulfilled. For this we must hold to God’s word at difficult or critical times so that one word of God may take root in us. This is a real spiritual battle. I also pray that we may see the fulfillment of God’s word in U of T campus pioneering work. May our life be the life of fulfillment of God’s word. Second, the greatness in the kingdom of heaven (18-20). Look at verse 18. “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” As time passes, human knowledge is demanded to be updated and new knowledge seems to supersede old knowledge. What book knowledge remains unchanged and lasts as long as the earth exists? No one can have a sure answer to this question. But Jesus said with triple or quadruple emphasis that the Law of God would never disappear to the end of the age: “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is fulfilled. Jesus also said in Matthew 24:34,35, “I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. The same thing is written in Mark 13:30,31 and Luke 21:32,33. The words of the Bible will be forever as long as heaven and earth are there. The Scriptures are more enduring than the universe. Even one smallest letter or the least stoke of a pen cannot be changed. Everything written in it will be accomplished. The last thing to be fulfilled is the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Last week we thought of 1 Peter 1:24, which was originally from the words of Isaiah, “A voice says, ‘Cry out.’ And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’ ‘All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the LORD blows on them. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isa 40:6-8). Then in light of this what is really important in life? Look at verse 19. “Anyone who breaks 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 practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” In verse 18 Jesus implied that heaven and earth would disappear some day. The present earth is a temporary place to live. Still people want to be great in this world. Pursuing greatness in the world is good. Future greatness will be determined by how one lives in the present. So those who want to be great study hard in school and prepare in many ways to be great men and women in the generations to come. Our 2nd gens and disciples prepare themselves both humanly and spiritually to be great leaders who truly influence this nation and the world. Not only they study hard for their school work, but also study the Bible earnestly and diligently. One cannot be suddenly great in the future without preparation at present. People of preparation will be people of greatness. But now Jesus talks about the greatness in the kingdom of heaven. One’s greatness in the kingdom of heaven is determined how he or she lived in this world. He said, “Anyone breaks who one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.” Even the apparently least word in the Bible should not be ignored and broken but taught and kept. Jesus continued, “but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Those who practice and teach the words of the Bible will be great in God’s sight not only in this world but also in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said, “whoever…, whoever practices and teaches…” Practicing Bible teachers are truly great and their greatness extends to the kingdom of heaven. The greatness in the kingdom of heaven is different from the greatness in this world. In this world only human greatness seems to matter. But in the kingdom of heaven human greatness does not count. The greatness that counts in the kingdom of heaven is practicing and teaching God’s words in this world. Those who practice and teach the words of God will have lasting greatness. We know that the Bible is very much ignored and even despised in our society. The most precious thing must be practiced and taught. We are living in a flood of information and books. It is good to read as many books as possible. But we need priority. We must study the Bible for the purpose of practicing and teaching. Here we see the meaning and value of 1:1 Bible teaching. Practicing 1:1 Bible teachers will be great in the kingdom of heaven. A church is to be the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3:15). It is not because of our great human knowledge but the words of God practiced and taught in us. Priscilla and Aquila were ordinary people and practicing lay Bible teachers. But they invited a very intellectual man of that time Apollos, who had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures and also an eloquent speech, to their home. They taught them the words of God very clearly, explaining the way of God more adequately (Ac 18:26). Then Apollos became really a powerful Bible teacher, who vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ (Ac 18:28). Paul served in the church at Ephesus for two years. At the farewell speech, he said, “You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus” (Ac 20:20,21). In his last days in life, he was in Roman prison. But what he did was Bible teaching. Acts 28:30,31 says, “For two whole year Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” In any life-situation he taught the words of the Bible. What did our Lord Jesus, approaching his crucifixion, do in his life on earth? Luke 21:37,38 says, “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.” Matthew must have been a great Bible teacher for mankind. He wrote Jesus’ command at the end of his gospel, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mt 28:19,20). Our Risen Lord Jesus will be with us, especially when we teach everything he has taught us. Look at verse 20. “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Why does Jesus suddenly say this, the qualification to enter the kingdom of heaven? He said this after talking about being the least or great in the kingdom of heaven. Of course, one cannot be great in the kingdom of heave without entering it. Who were the Pharisees and the teachers of the law? They were experts in the law. They were so knowledgeable, and they were meticulous in keeping the law. In doing so they built their own righteousness. Then they became blind to see what God was doing. They were blind to see Jesus, the one God sent as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets, and rejected his teachings and killed him. It was because their hearts and motives were wrong before God. They became enemies of God. With human righteousness no one can enter the kingdom of God, for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumble at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (Jam 2:10 ). Most probably, humanly speaking no one would surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. But Jesus said, “Unless you surpass…” Jesus wanted his disciples not follow the way Pharisees and the teachers of the law struggled. Jesus did not want to his disciples to pile up their human righteousness. He wanted them to know the righteousness of God, that is, Jesus, who is the righteousness of God through his death on the cross. Jesus wanted his disciples to put their wholesome faith in God Jesus and grow in him. Romans 8:3b,4 says, “And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteousness of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.” Christian life to live by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, that is, the Sprit of God and the Spirit of Christ Jesus. Jesus wanted his disciples to practice and teach the words of God in their personal relationship with him. Thank and praise God for sending Jesus as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. He is the righteousness of God through his death on the cross and in him there is salvation, the ticket to enter the kingdom of God. May God help us to put our wholesome faith in him and live as practicing Bible teachers in this world so that we can be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

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