Jesus and the Scripture
Matthew 5:17-20
Theme: “Jesus came to complete the Scripture and not to contradict it.”
Today we will begin a series of messages for the Advent season. Advent is
the time of preparation for the celebration of the coming of Jesus, the Son of
God, into the world. It is a time for us to reflect on the purpose of His coming
and to open our lives to receive Him as Savior and Lord. Why did Jesus come
into this sinful world? What did He intend to accomplish by coming and living
among us? Did He achieve His purpose? These are questions we will consider
during the weeks before us as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas. We
are going to consider what Jesus said in the Gospels as to why He came and
what He intended to accomplish. This morning we will consider what Jesus
said about His relationship to the Scripture. In the past the church faced a battle
concerning the inspiration of Scripture but today the battle is over the
sufficiency of Scripture. There are many who believe that the Bible is the
verbally inspired Word of God and even believe that it is without error in the
original manuscripts yet they believe that we need the Bible plus psychology to
deal with human problems. They try to integrate the Bible and Psychology and
it causes confusion and diminishes the authority of the Bible. I believe that God
has given us all that we need for life and for godliness in the Bible. The Bible
is sufficient to deal with every human problem. We must come to it with an
open mind and in dependence upon the Holy Spirit to interpret it correctly.
Let’s hear what Jesus had to say about the Scripture in Matthew 5:17-20 (read).
We see here that Jesus came to complete Scripture and not to contradict it. In
this passage we find Jesus supporting the authority of Scripture by telling us
what He came to do. He does so by using
Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, Jesus and the Scripture Calvary Baptist Church
(203) 655-0318 Page 1 of 6 988 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
I. A Descriptive Word
II. A Demanding Word
III. A Delightful Word
We will begin with:
I. A Descriptive Word- We find this in verse 17 “Think not that I am
come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to
fulfill.” Jesus is very straight forward in His teaching. He is seeking to
alleviate any fears on the part of His listeners about His attitude toward the
Scripture. This passage is part of the Sermon of The Mount which I consider to
be the marching orders for those who are trusting in Jesus. Jesus makes it clear
that He did not come to contradict the Scripture but to complete it. He is the
full and final revelation of God. His coming did not destroy the Scripture but
developed it. He didn’t replace the Scripture but reinforced it. John Broadus
says: “The introduction of Messiah’s reign was in the view of many to be a
great political revolution, such as is apt to be attended by a setting aside of
many institutions and laws, and a diminished regard for the restraints of
morality. And it appears from later Jewish writers that some of them did in fact
expect that the Messiah would abrogate the law, and support the notion by their
interpretation of Jeremiah 31:31”. Let’s look at the passage in its context “The
time is coming declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I
made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of
Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,
declares the Lord. I will put my law in their minds and write my law on their
hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Though the ministry
of Jesus the law did not remain external but as we shall see shortly it became
Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, Jesus and the Scripture Calvary Baptist Church
(203) 655-0318 Page 2 of 6 988 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
internal, written on the hearts of those who believe. During His ministry Jesus
never set aside the law and the prophets but instead explained and enhanced the
understanding of the Old Testament. Jesus completed what the Old Testament
began. We read in I Peter 1:10-12 (N.I.V.) “Concerning this salvation, the
prophets who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and
with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which
the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of
Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were
not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now
been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit
sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” Jesus developed
the moral precepts of the Old Testament and made the requirements of the Law
and the Prophets complete. He made it possible for you and me to meet the
demands of the Law. He was not interested in behavior modification but in
heart transformation. He went beyond the letter of the law to the spirit of the
law and this brought Him into conflict with the Scribes and Pharisees. Jesus
also completed the types and predictions of the Old Testament by becoming the
full reality of their pictures and predictions. The revelation that we have in
Jesus is complete so that nothing needs to be added to it. This constitutes the
descriptive word and leads us to consider:
II. A Demanding Word- We read in verses 19-20 “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. For I say unto
you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” It was
Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, Jesus and the Scripture Calvary Baptist Church
(203) 655-0318 Page 3 of 6 988 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
not the intention of Jesus to do away with the law but instead to make it more
understandable and achievable. G. Campbell Morgan says of Jesus “He says to
these men standing about Him: Do not imagine that I have come to make things
easy: I have not: do not imagine that I am going to let you loose from
obligations, do not imagine for a single moment that I am going to destroy law
or prophetic interpretation of law; I have come to fulfill. These multitudes
would give anything to be let loose from obligation to law: I have not come to
do that. It is Christ’s word to this hour. There is to be no license for passion.
Here in my kingdom, says Christ, you are not to be permitted the indulgence of
sin if you pay penance; you are not to be excused from moral obligation and
ethical exactitude, because you have high ideals.” Jesus makes it clear that the
kingdom over which He will reign is not to be a lawless kingdom. It places
high ethical and moral demands on those who would be a part of the kingdom.
We enter into this kingdom by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross
and after entering we are called to live a life that overcomes the pull of sin. We
are called to demonstrate our faith by our works. We go beyond the letter of the
law to keep the spirit of it. John Broadus says “The Jews looked` up to the
Scribes and Pharisees as being eminently righteous, and doubtless did not think
it incumbent on ordinary people to be as good as they were, so mucht he more
surprising must have been this declaration of Jesus” The righteousness that
you and I are to demonstrate must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. It
must be more than outward morality. It must come from a heart that has been
transformed by the Holy Spirit. How is this possible? We find the answer in
the next word Jesus gives, namely,
III. A Delightful Word- Listen to verse 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,
Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, Jesus and the Scripture Calvary Baptist Church
(203) 655-0318 Page 4 of 6 988 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
till all be fulfilled.” Jesus met the demands of the law by His death and
resurrection so that we are now able to live lives that are acceptable in God’s
sight. G. Campbell Morgan says: “He will in some mystery of death and pain
have taken hold of paralysis and replaced it by empowerment. So that the king
says: if you are going to follow me, you must be pure, and you can, I will make
you pure. You must fulfill law, and I will enable you to do it; I have come to
fulfill.” You can count on Jesus. He will see to it that everything that is
predicted and promised will come to pass. All of the predictions will occur, all
of the types will become reality and all of the moral precepts will be met by
those in each generation who become His disciples. Jesus will do for us what
we could not do for ourselves. We read in John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” We can add to this what Paul says in
Philippians 4:12-13 “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:
every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,
both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which
strengtheneth me.” Jesus gives us the power to meet the demands of the
Christian life. When we repented of our sin and put our trust in Him we were
cloth with His righteousness to replace our sinfulness and self-righteousness.
Jesus offered the perfect sacrifice for our sin so that we can be accepted into the
family of God. We don’t have to try to make ourselves any more acceptable
that we are in union with Jesus. We must simply acknowledge our sin and ask
God to forgive us and then rest in the promise of His word that says in I John
1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Have you turned from your sin and
turned to Jesus Christ? Are you trusting Him to enable you to meet the
Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, Jesus and the Scripture Calvary Baptist Church
(203) 655-0318 Page 5 of 6 988 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820
demands of the moral law? If not, then come to Him right now and stop
trusting in your own efforts which are not sufficient.
Jesus came to complete the Scripture and not contradict it. He reinforces
Scripture and doesn’t replace it. He doesn’t destroy it but develops it and meets
its demands. His word has not changed. He has given you all that you need for
life and for godliness. His word is sufficient. Don’t add to it and don’t take
away from it. Trust Him to enable you to meet its demands. He will not
disappoint you.
Rev. Dr. Anthony L. Gibson, Jesus and the Scripture Calvary Baptist Church
(203) 655-0318 Page 6 of 6 988 Post Road
Darien, CT 06820