Matthew 5:17-20
Christ Came to Fulfill the Law
“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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore
whoever relaxes 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 does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
I remember that in my career in property taxes before going to the seminary, we had to deal with the
law very strictly, but that was not always real clear cut. I remember where the state was arguing that we were not in compliance with the law, but we maintained that we were. It came down to how do you interpret the law. I will admit that
I could see both sides of the law, depending how you read it. Since we were having to take this to an administrative judge, we asked and received letters of interpretation of the law from those who drafted the law. The state held to the wording
of the law and we held to the intent of the law. The administrator ruled in our favor when he had letters from the drafters of the law. In today's reading, the Jews did not think that Jesus upheld the all the laws, but the Scripture states that
He did uphold the Law. Sometimes the letter of the law gets confused with the intent of the law. Jesus DID uphold the law.
I pray: O Lord, help us to live a God pleasing life, but
trusting in your grace and mercy through the forgiveness of sins which was accomplished through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Too often, we try to bend your word or come up with loop holes that are not there. Forgive us Lord
and guide us by your grace. Amen.