The Bible: Our God Breathed Book
Matthew 5:17 – 19
“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. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
About twenty-five years after the Lord ascended to heaven, c. AD 55, God the Holy Spirit led Matthew to record the life of Christ, which includes the Sermon on the Mount. As Matthew remembered the words of Jesus, the Holy Spirit brought back to his mind, how the Lord transitioned from speaking about His disciples, to saying something about Himself, and His relation to the Law.
Lest any listener cast an aspersion on His motive, or His teaching, Jesus made it clear that what He was saying was consistent with the Law and the Prophets. The reference to the Law and the Prophets would be familiar language to the people who knew their Scriptures had this two-fold division.
Some Jews recognized a third division of the Old Testament, called the Writings, but the general understanding was the Law and the Prophets. Together, they formed the canon of Scripture, which was sacred. Jesus would certainly honor the Law and the Prophets because they spoke about Him.
Christ would not diminish or destroy that which affirmed who He is, and what He was saying. He would fill (pleroo [play-ro’-o], finish) or complete all that was written. Every book of the Old Testament has something to say about the Messiah. Jesus was the fulfillment of what was being said. Consider the evidence.
In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the Woman who would crush the head of the serpent (Satan).
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb.
In Leviticus, He is the Priest, the Altar, and the Lamb of Sacrifice.
In Numbers, He is the Pillar of Cloud by day, and the Pillar of Fire by night who guides His people and dwells in their midst.
In Deuteronomy, Jesus is the Prophet like Moses.
In Joshua, Jesus is the Captain of our Salvation.
In Judges, Christ is our Judge and Law-Giver.
In Ruth, He is our Kinsman-Redeemer who, as True Humanity, purchased us with His own blood.
In 1 & 2 Samuel, Jesus is our trusted Prophet who can articulate the Word of the Lord, and tell us about events to come.
In Kings & Chronicles, Jesus is our reigning King of kings, and of His kingdom there shall be no end.
In Ezra, Christ is the rebuilder of the broken-down walls of human life, illustrated by the rebuilding of Solomon’s Temple destroyed in 586 BC.
In Nehemiah, Jesus is our Restorer. He takes that which is broken and makes it again.
In Esther, Christ is our Advocate who intercedes to protect and preserve His people.
In Job, Jesus is our Ever-Living Redeemer. And though He slay us, yet shall we live and behold Him in His glory.
In Psalms, He is our Good Shepherd who leads us to still waters, a place of inner peace and joy.
In Proverbs, Jesus is our Wisdom. And if we lack wisdom, we can ask of Him and He will give it to us without censorship.
In Ecclesiastes, Christ is our hope in a world that is nothing but vanity, or empty.
In the Song of Songs, He is our loving Bridegroom. And His banner over us is love.
In Isaiah, Jesus is the Suffering Servant by whose stripes we are healed, spiritually and physically.
In Jeremiah, He is the righteous One wronged, and sent into exile.
In Lamentations, He is our weeping prophet.
In Ezekiel, Christ is the One with the right to rule, and He does in majestic splendor.
In Daniel, Jesus is the Fourth Man in the fiery furnace. While He does not take us from great tribulation, He walks with us through it.
In Hosea, Jesus is the Faithful Husband, forever married to a wayward wife.
In Joel, He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit, and fire.
In Amos, He is the restorer of Justice.
In Obadiah, Jesus is the Mighty One to save when others act in a treacherous manner towards us.
In Jonah, He is our great foreign missionary. He is the eternal Logos who became flesh and dwelt among us to give us the light of the gospel.
In Micah, Jesus is the One who brings good news. How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel; how beautiful are His feet.
John was not worthy to unlatch the sandless of His feet. And a fallen women cleaned them with tears and the locks of her hair.
In Nahum, Jesus is our stronghold in the day of trouble. The heart sings,
“A Mighty Fortress is Our God,
A bulwark never failing.”
The testimony of the saint is that,
“He hideth my soul
in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry, thirsty land.
He hideth my life
in the depths of his love
and covers me there
with his hand,
and covers me there
with his hand.”
In Habakkuk, Christ is God my Saviour who tells me “the just shall live by faith.”
In Zephaniah, Jesus is the King of Israel.
The Biblical Israel of God consists of every Jew, and every Gentile, who has the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We [regenerate “Jew” and regenerate Gentile] are the [true] seed of Abraham, by faith (Gal. 3:7).
This is a spiritual truth of monumental importance.
The Church does not replace Israel.
Spiritually, according to Scripture, the Church is the true Israel, and the true Israel is the Church. They are one and the same, when properly understood. A racial Hebrew and a racial Gentile who believes in Christ will find a spiritual unity as the combined ekklesia, the called-out people of God. Speaking to a Gentile audience Paul teaches, “we [literal Jew, and literal Gentile] are the seed [the children] of Abraham by faith in God.” Let the New Testament interpret the Old Testament, and, when it does, believe it.
In Haggai, Christ is the signet ring (Hag. 2:23).
Ancient kings used signet rings to designate authority, honor, or ownership.
A signet contained an emblem unique to the king.
Official documents were sealed with a dollop of soft wax impressed with the king’s signet, usually kept on a ring on his finger.
God in Christ, and by His Spirit, has pledged to His people His authority, honor, and ownership. On them “God the Father has set His seal” (John 6:27).
In Zechariah, Jesus is our humble King, riding on a colt, to receive His much-deserved adulation.
In Malachi, Jesus is the Son of Righteousness. He is the perfect Lamb of God without spot or blemish.
Jesus said,
“I am not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. I am come to bring all that has been said about Me to completion.”
When you read the Law and the Prophets, look for Jesus in ever book, in every chapter, and in every verse, for they speak of Him.
That is the grand truth that Jesus taught at the beginning of His ministry, and which He reaffirmed prior to His ascension following His resurrection.
While speaking to two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, “interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
If we as Christians believe this, and look diligently for Christ in the Old Testament, we will see Jesus, and our hearts will burn within us with a holy fire (Luke 24:32).
There were two more important points the Lord made in His comments about the Law and the Prophets during His Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus said that not one jot or one tittle would pass from the Law until every prophesy was fulfilled (Matt. 5:18).
The word “jot” is the English rendering of the Greek “iota,” the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.
The word is used figuratively to express a matter that seems to be of small importance.
The word “tittle” refers to an ornamental stroke decorating the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
Jesus said that the smallest stroke, the smallest detail of the Law of Moses would never fail or pass away (Matt. 5:18).
In fact, “It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least [tittle] stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law (Luke 16:17, ESV).
Christian, behold with admiration your Bible.
Century follows century –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Empires rise and fall and are forgotten –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Dynasty succeeds dynasty –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Kings are crowned and uncrowned –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Emperor’s decree its extermination –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Atheists rail against it –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Agnostics smile cynically –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Profane prayerless punsters caricature it –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Unbelief abandons it –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Higher critics deny its claim to inspiration-
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
The flames are kindled against it –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
The tooth of time gnaws but makes no dent
THERE IT STILLSTANDS!
Infidels predict its abandonment –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Modernism tries to explain it away –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Denominationalism divides it –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
The Supreme Court has ruled it cannot be read in our public schools –
THERE IT STILL STANDS!
Because Scripture is divinely inspired, including every jot and tittle, because Scripture cannot be destroyed, there is a curse for anyone who causes a person to break any commandment of God.
Such a person shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.
Conversely, anyone who teaches Scripture, and faithfully proclaims Christ, shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Would you liked to be called “great” by God in the kingdom of heaven?
Then look for Christ in the Law and the Prophets, and keep the Moral Law of God. Then, beyond that, keep all the commandments of Scripture as they apply.
This is the will of our Lord.
