Jesus Fulfills The Law - [Matthew 5:17-18]

Bethlehem Bible Church

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September 17, 2006

00:00: Did you know doctrine is important? Let me read you a letter that I received this morning on your behalf, the congregation's behalf, from Stephen Lauren Nelson.
00:12: Dear BBC brothers and sisters in Christ, with the passing of my mom in late
00:18: August, my family and I wanted to take this opportunity to publicly thank you and acknowledge the abundant
00:23: Christ -like loving kindness exhibited by our BBC family, both over the past several years with mom's debilitating illness as well as during our time of sorrow accompanying her death.
00:35: Speaking to the brethren concerning devotion to brotherly love, Paul instructs the saints in Romans 12 to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.
00:45: During our time of grief, my family was overwhelmed with your abundant demonstration of servant -hearted love.
00:52: Just when we needed your love most, you came alongside and bore our burden in many ways, grieving with us as we have grieved.
00:58: Your love will never be forgotten. Let it be known that just as with the contents of the book of Romans, Bethlehem Bible Church is known not only for the 11 chapters of theology, but for its 5 chapters of servant -hearted application as well.
01:14: We treasure your Christ -like kindness and encourage you to excel still more. Grace to you, the
01:20: Nelsons. What you believe determines how you will live. First of all, on behalf of the
01:26: Nelsons and on behalf of the Elderboard, we thank you, congregation, for loving the Nelsons. Second of all, it is a good illustration for not only the baptismal testimony, but also this testimony, that what you believe is very, very important.
01:43: Doctrine matters. Your doctrine will determine what your duty is.
01:49: Your creed will determine your conduct. Your credenda will determine your what? Agenda.
01:55: Your belief system will determine your behavior system. And that is found nowhere else like that in the
02:01: Bible as we turn to Matthew 5. We find this very, very important thought today that we have a doctrinal passage, but it is important for our behavior system, what we believe.
02:15: And so today I'll start right at the beginning doing something you're not supposed to do as a pastor, telling you that this is a very, very hard passage.
02:23: You have to put your thinking caps on. You can't just say, well, this is Song of Solomon Part 4 and everybody pays attention.
02:31: This is something that is much more difficult as we come to the law. What is the law? John Newton, the writer of Amazing Grace, said in one of his letters, ignorance of the nature and design of the law is at the bottom of most of our religious mistakes.
02:49: It is important for us to know the law. Do we keep the Sabbath? Why or why not? Do we tithe?
02:55: Why or why not? Do we obey the moral law of God found in the Old Testament? Why or why not? Are we under the civil ceremonial laws of the
03:03: Old Testament? Why or why not? Based on what we believe, it will determine what we do.
03:10: And our passage today is jam -packed. It will take us this week and most likely next time to get through it.
03:15: But let me read from the Sermon on the Mount, Christ's words, Matthew 5, verse 17 through 20.
03:21: And we're just trying to march through the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5, verse 17 to 20 is our passage for today.
03:29: Right after the Beatitudes, right after the salt and light discussion, Jesus said in verse 17 of chapter 5,
03:35: Do not think that I came to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
03:43: For truly I say to you, unless heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the law until all is accomplished.
03:50: Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments and gives others to do the same shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.
03:58: But whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
04:13: And here we have Jesus Christ the King, Jesus Christ the Lord, Jesus Christ the Lawgiver giving
04:19: His law. All the Old Testament has prepared the way for Christ, pointing to Christ, leading to Christ.
04:27: And now Jesus with His life and with His teaching will fulfill redemptive history. Jesus is going to come to give
04:35: His final authority, a newer law, a higher law. Jesus is bringing the
04:41: Mosaic law to its intended and ultimate purpose. He is the one that the law pointed to and now this new lawgiver talks about how
04:50: He is going to fulfill the law. So difficult to try to parse up what do we do.
05:00: So I thought this is what we would have for our outline this morning. Let me give you several truths about Jesus Christ and His relationship to the law so that we can put this in a category to figure it out.
05:10: If you could see the reams of books and volumes of books that I have in my study about the law, it would amaze you.
05:18: Maybe some of you it wouldn't amaze. There are many, many books. And so when there is a problem,
05:25: I like to first look at what I know as truth as I begin to dissect the problem. And that goes for anything in life.
05:31: There is a theological problem. What do I first know as true as I am attacking the problem in my mind?
05:37: So let's look at several truths surrounding this idea that Jesus Christ didn't come to abolish but to fulfill.
05:46: What does that mean? And so let's go from a wider scope to a narrower scope.
05:51: But let's begin with wider first. Truth number one. Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus is greater than Moses.
05:59: Do you believe that? Moses believed that. The larger context of Matthew is this.
06:07: Matthew, the apostle, is trying to show everyone that Jesus is greater than everyone, that Jesus is the greatest.
06:15: He says in Matthew 21 .5, Behold, your King is coming to you. What a great statement of Matthew 5.
06:21: The greatness of Jesus. He is the one who was born King of the
06:27: Jews. They put the inscription above His head, the charge which read when they crucified Him, this is
06:32: Jesus Christ, what? The King of the Jews. Early on in Matthew 1 with the genealogy, this is not an imposter.
06:40: This is the King. And now let me show you in a cursory fashion the clear purpose of Matthew to show that Jesus is superior, that Jesus is
06:50: Lord. Turn to Matthew chapter 12 if you would, as I'm trying to show you that Jesus is superior in Matthew's eyes, and that is what he's wanting to get his
06:59: Jewish audience to know, that Jesus is superior over anything, anyone. And what they would know is certainly the
07:07: Old Testament. Jesus is King. Jesus is the Son of David. And here we'll see a clear purpose of Matthew showing that in verse 6 of chapter 12,
07:19: Jesus says He's greater than the temple. But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here.
07:27: Jesus is showing that He's greater than the temple. Do you see in verse 8? Furthermore, not just the temple, but also the
07:35: Sabbath. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. His authority surpasses that of the
07:41: Sabbath, including the Sabbath law. Go down to verse 41 of the same chapter.
07:49: Matthew trying to show his audience that Jesus is great. Greater. Matthew 12, 41.
07:58: The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.
08:04: And behold, something greater than Jonah is here. You say, I get the point.
08:10: All right. Well, let's just keep hammering it. Charles Simeon used to say this. He was an old preacher,
08:16: Puritan preacher. And he would say, when you get a truth preacher, you take the truth and you screw it into the brains of the people.
08:24: So every one of these greater statements, Jesus is greater than the temple. Jesus is greater than Solomon.
08:31: Jesus is greater than Jonah. You're screwing those things in, right? Verse 42, it talks about greater than Solomon.
08:40: The queen of the south will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
08:48: And behold, you see the common refrain, something greater than Solomon is here.
08:56: Matthew 22, I'll just read it, verse 45. David calls Christ Lord. Greater than David.
09:04: Matthew 28 says that all authority has been given to Jesus. But probably my most favorite one in Matthew that shows the authority of Jesus, what would you guess?
09:17: If you could find the most authoritative statement that Jesus is king anywhere in Matthew, where would you go?
09:25: Well, I think I'll go to Matthew chapter 17, the Mount of Transfiguration.
09:31: As you're turning to Matthew 17, trick question, did Moses ever stand in the promised land? Here he did.
09:40: In his glorified body he did. He stood up at Mount Nebo and God took him home.
09:46: He was still very healthy, had lots of energy. In Deuteronomy 34,
09:51: God took Moses to glory, said, see that promised land down there?
09:57: And I've stood on top of Mount Nebo. You're not going to go there. I'm going to let you see with your eyes, but you shall not go there,
10:04: Deuteronomy 34. So Moses, a servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab according to the word of the
10:09: Lord, and God buried him in the valley in the land of Moab. Here we have the
10:17: Mount of Transfiguration where the glorified Moses does stand. And what we're going to see in this passage is
10:22: Jesus is greater. He's superior. You say, oh, I get that, but I'm just trying to drive it home because we're going to need that because otherwise you're going to think
10:31: Jesus came to abolish the law when he's greater than the law. Matthew chapter 17. It's a great passage.
10:37: Six days later, by the way, as I'm reading these, see if you can think of the comparisons between Moses and Jesus.
10:46: Here's the first one, six days later, is already comparing him with Moses. Six days later, Jesus took with him, the inner circle,
10:53: Peter, James, and John, his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.
10:59: You see another... I'm listening to the motorcycles driving by.
11:04: We've already thought about it when we turn the sanctuary around if we have to because of space. You'll all be sitting here watching the motorcycles and we're going to have to shut the curtains or something.
11:22: Led up to a high mountain, Moses in the mountain. They were by themselves, verse 1 says, and he,
11:30: Jesus, was transfigured before them and his face shone like the sun and his garments became as white as the light.
11:38: Mark says in the other gospel, his garments became radiant and exceedingly white as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
11:46: Radiant, shining, white, dazzling, like lightning, sparkling.
11:56: Unlike Moses, who had the glory of God shining on him as a reflection type of glory, here we have the glory from within.
12:04: We are seeing who Jesus is on the inside. So from the inside out, out comes the effulgent blaze of Christ's glory.
12:12: Reminds me of 1 John 1, 5, God is light. Reminds me of Daniel 7,
12:18: I kept looking until thrones were set up and the ancient of days took his seat. His vesture was like white snow and the hair of his head like pure wool.
12:29: His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. As no launderer or fuller can make things white, with the background maybe of the white -capped
12:41: Mount Hermon. White. And behold, verse 3, you better bet it's behold,
12:49: Moses and Elijah appeared to him, talking with him. Moses dead for 1400 years,
12:56: Elijah dead for 900 years. Both had talked to God on mountains before, Sinai and Horeb.
13:02: Both had seen the glory of God before. And here we see the symbolic nature of Moses and Elijah, the
13:08: Law and the Prophets, representing Torah and the Prophets, the Bible, the
13:13: Law and the Prophets. And if I could only figure out what they were talking about, how much would you pay to know what they were talking about?
13:24: Here's Moses, here's Elijah and here's Jesus and they were talking about something. What would you pay? To know, to eavesdrop, to be like a fly in the wall, understanding what these three people were talking about and all the glory everywhere and there they are.
13:37: What would you pay? To know what they were talking about. I wonder. Well, you probably knew this was coming, but I know what they were talking about.
13:49: I didn't experience it. I didn't get a burning in my bosom. But the
13:57: Scriptures tell us what they were talking about. If you keep your finger at Matthew 17 and go over to Luke 9, it tells us what
14:06: Moses and Elijah were speaking to Jesus about. Isn't this amazing? I wonder what they were talking about.
14:11: Open theology, is Islam a religion of peace, the new perspectives on Paul, should women be ordained.
14:22: What were they talking about, I wonder? Luke 9 .31,
14:29: it's just so great. To me, this is the joy of deep Bible study. Luke 9 .31,
14:37: a synoptic gospel, which tells us the similar story of the transfiguration found in Matthew 7 and Mark 9.
14:43: Luke 9 .31, who, speaking of Moses and Elijah, appearing in glory, were speaking of His departure, which
14:52: He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. What's the Greek word for departure?
14:57: You say, I don't care about Greek words. Well, you'll care about this Greek word. Here is the Greek word for departure.
15:04: Exodus. They were speaking about Christ's exodus. Should that make you think about Moses and his exodus?
15:12: Yes, but here comes the real exodus, the real departure when Jesus is going to die. The going away.
15:19: A deliberate reminder of God's initial triumph with Israel, and then now the ultimate triumph, not out of Egypt, the temporal land, but out of sin, the spiritual destroyer.
15:32: The cross is what He's talking about. They were talking to Him about the cross, probably with great theology, and the text says, in Luke 9, we're speaking, present participle, talking lengthy conversation, over and over, talking, conversing, discussing.
15:56: Talking about Jesus is going to be the new Passover, Christ our Passover. One commentator said at that moment,
16:06: Jesus was assured that He was on the right way because all history had been leading up to the cross. Certainly like the angels, they were confirming
16:13: His work, encouraging His work. They were doing exactly the opposite of what Peter was doing.
16:19: Peter's saying, you know, you're going to go die, Jesus. May that never be. Get thee behind me, Satan. And here, on the contrary,
16:26: Moses and Elijah with glorified bodies, encouraging Jesus on to the ultimate sacrifice for sinners.
16:35: Amazing. And if you look at Luke 9 .31, of His departure, which He was about to accomplish at Jerusalem.
16:43: The new exodus, the new saving act, accomplishing everything fulfilled in Mosaic law, in every
16:51: Messianic prophecy. On a sidebar, what they were talking to Jesus about on earth, you will talk to each other about all the days of your life in heaven.
17:06: You will be praising God for the great departure. I was reading Revelation 5 .9, of heavenly singing, and they sang a new song saying, worthy art thou to take the book and to break its seal.
17:17: For thou was slain and did purchase for God with thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
17:24: You will never get over talking about doctrine of the atonement in heaven. And we'll be singing better songs, and can it be?
17:33: I don't think there could be a better song, but it will be better than that. Now let's go back to Matthew 17 and find out what else is happening.
17:41: Oh, it's already amazing. I wonder what else will happen. Here we have the mount of transfiguration.
17:47: Jesus is showing these inner circle disciples who He really is on the inside, His glory.
17:53: You see the direct comparisons to Moses, how much greater Jesus is. And Peter doesn't know what to do.
17:59: So Peter basically does this. That's what he does. It's right there in the text.
18:05: Can't you see it? Matthew 17 .4 Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.
18:17: If you wish, I'm going to make three tabernacles here. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.
18:26: You say, how do you get that inflection? Don't blame my mother. No, just kidding.
18:32: Mark 9 says this, For he did not know what to answer, for they became terrified.
18:39: He didn't know what to say. He's shocked. He's terrified. Here's the glory of God.
18:44: When you see the glory of God, you know one thing about yourself, and that you are a sinner, and you are undone. And so he just starts babbling.
18:51: He opens his mouth, and out it comes. Let's just start building some tabernacles. Yeah, yeah,
18:57: I know all three of you are equal. We'll build one tabernacle for each. Let's just start building right now. I know you didn't ask me the question, but we better get something going on right now.
19:06: We better settle down. This is good. Let us make three tabernacles.
19:12: At least it was from a Biblical perspective. At least Peter was so steeped in the Old Testament, he said something
19:18: Biblical. And he was remembering, I'm sure, Zechariah 14, 16, speaking of God's kingdom.
19:27: Then it will come about on that day, any who are left of the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the
19:34: King, the Lord of hosts, and to celebrate the feast. Peter was premillennial.
19:43: Peter says the kingdom is here. Here's the God of glory in the land with the kingdom.
19:49: And you know what? It's time for the millennial kingdom. We better set up the booths. It's appropriate now to act like we're in the kingdom.
19:58: To Peter, the kingdom was a literal kingdom, a literal Jesus, in a literal Israel, on a literal mountain, with a literal
20:04: King. The kingdom's there as far as Peter knew.
20:09: And he said, I want to prolong this. I want to settle down. I want to have the festival of tabernacles or booths.
20:20: Luke 9 says he wasn't realizing what he was saying. Luke 9 also says, and while he was saying this, a cloud formed and began to overshadow them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud.
20:32: First they were afraid. Now they're what? Even more afraid. First they're afraid of what's going on, and now the cloud comes over and engulfs them, almost as it were, and now they're very afraid.
20:45: Mark says in chapter 9, they were frightened. Listen to the word, ek -pho -bi, ek -phobia.
20:53: They were afraid, terrified, fearful. King James, you'll like this, sore afraid.
21:03: John Wycliffe's translation, aghast by dread. Imagine all this is going on and now what's going to happen?
21:09: Well, it's time for God to say something. It's time for God to interrupt. And this is directly related to our message today about Jesus being the fulfillment of the law, greater than the law, greater than Moses.
21:21: Here stands Elijah and Moses, and here stands Jesus, and God is going to make it very clear,
21:27: Matthew will make it very clear that there's one to listen to and only one. Matthew 17, 5.
21:35: While he was still speaking, it's almost like be quiet. Quit your mumbling and bumbling and fumbling.
21:43: A bright cloud overshadowed them and behold, a voice out of the cloud said,
21:49: This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.
21:57: Aku et eti, present imperative. Keep on listening to him within command mode.
22:03: Hear him. The law and the prophet certainly pointed to Jesus, but now there's one to listen to.
22:09: It's not Moses, it's not Elijah, it's not the law, it's not the prophet, it's the fulfiller. Listen to Jesus.
22:19: Moses had said in Deuteronomy, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you from your countrymen.
22:26: You shall what? Listen to him. And now God is saying the same thing that he inspired
22:32: Moses to say in Deuteronomy 18. Listen to Jesus. Be obedient to Jesus.
22:41: Hear him constantly. Verse 6 of Matthew 17, And when the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were very much afraid.
22:54: But certainly Jesus is a wonderful savior and comforter. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said,
23:00: Arise, do not be afraid. And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone.
23:08: Mark 9 says, They looked around and saw no one with them anymore. Lifting up their eyes, looking around, there's no one else except Jesus.
23:17: Jesus is the final revelation of God. He is the one who should demand our attention.
23:23: Jesus is superior. Did not the writer of Hebrews say in Hebrews 3, For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house.
23:38: For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. Now Moses was faithful in all his house as a servant for a testimony of those things which would be spoken later.
23:49: But Christ was faithful as a son over his house, whose house we are if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope firm until the end.
23:59: Jesus is greater than Moses. Jesus is greater than Elijah. Matthew shows us that we should think to him alone.
24:07: And again, the allusions to Moses are so evident. Six days, the mountain, the divine glory, the voice, the cloud, the shining face, revelation.
24:17: Jesus is greater than Moses and Moses knows it. And that's the tone of Jesus when we come to the
24:24: Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 6, and 7. If you don't get this, you're not going to get it. That Jesus comes to the people with a tone of superiority about him.
24:34: But isn't that an amazing passage? If you miss the larger context of Matthew that Jesus is superior, you're going to miss this part.
24:44: Moses pointed to Christ and now with Christ here, we don't have to look back to what Moses pointed to anymore.
24:49: We don't say it's wrong, but we say the fulfillment is here. Jesus brings the ultimate purpose of Moses to fulfillment.
24:58: So that's truth number one. Truth number two, not only is
25:03: Jesus greater than Moses, but truth number two, and I'm going to just say this again as reiteration today, Jesus did not come to abolish
25:10: Mosaic Law. He didn't come to abolish the law. You know that in Matthew 5, 17, if you go back there,
25:16: I did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, rather, but to fulfill. And they are all going to think he's going to abolish those laws.
25:24: He's going to be saying things that they don't like. He's going to be saying lots of things in chapter 5, verses 21 and following that they're going to say, how can this be?
25:35: For instance, let me just give you one. If you look at Matthew 5, 31, we looked at many of these last week,
25:43: Matthew 5, 31, here's Jesus the fulfiller of the law. Here's Jesus coming as the one who brings the inauguration of the new covenant.
25:51: And when the new is here, we don't need the old anymore. And he's going to say, well, you're going to think
25:57: I'm somehow saying Moses was wrong or ungodly or not biblical.
26:02: I'm not saying that at all, but I'm the fulfillment of it. As Moses was given to a nation of Israel full of believers and unbelievers, now
26:13: Jesus comes bringing the fulfillment of that law to Christians alone, to believers alone.
26:19: And he adds and subtracts and does all kinds of things to Mosaic law because he can. Matthew 5, 31, an example.
26:31: He wasn't just correcting the wrong view of the
26:36: Pharisees, although that was part of it, but he was doing more. It was said in Deuteronomy 24, whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce.
26:49: But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery.
26:56: It was good for the nation in the old covenant to say, here's what will allow for divorce. But for the new covenant, that doesn't go anymore.
27:04: This is good for unbeliever and believer alike underneath the auspices of national Israel. But now for the new covenant, we're going to do something else.
27:13: And he does something to Mosaic law that is very easy to see. He restricts it.
27:21: He says, you used to be able to put your wife away for all kinds of things. Now I'm saying there's one way you can put your wife away if she commits adultery.
27:28: No other reason. We have to be remembering that Jesus does whatever he wants because he's the fulfillment of the law.
27:35: He's the fulfillment of Mosaic law. He doesn't say Mosaic law is wrong and it's not inerrant or infallible, but he's saying
27:44: I'm superior law giver. Truth number three.
27:51: All right, here we go. If you haven't had to think so far, now we go to thinking. Truth number three.
27:58: We've seen so far, truth one, Jesus is greater than Moses. Number two, Jesus didn't come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
28:04: And number three, you can't separate the Mosaic law into three sections. That is to say,
28:09: Old Testament law is organic. It's one, it's unified. Here's how most people do it. Here's Old Testament law.
28:16: There's three parts. Civil. This is what the nation had to do.
28:21: Judicial, legislative kind of laws. Do this as a country. Ceremonial.
28:27: Celebrate Passover, Feast of Booths, etc. Yom Kippur. So we not only have civil, but ceremonial and we also have something else and that's what?
28:39: The moral law. You know, the Ten Commandments. That's how most people do it. But look at Jesus' words in 518.
28:44: I don't see how we could do that with Jesus' words. Matthew 5 .18 For truly I say to you, unless heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke, remember that, jots and tittles, not the smallest letter, shall pass away from the singular law, what he called in Matthew 5 .17,
29:03: Law and Prophets, he calls now the law, singular, until all is accomplished.
29:10: It seems he doesn't say anything about this moral law or Ten Commandments or anything else.
29:18: Every last jot and tittle is in view, not just the Ten Commandments. Sinclair Ferguson said to the
29:26: Old Testament believer, the law was the law. His whole life was bound by it. He did not pigeonhole different parts of his law, his life to be ruled by what we would call the moral, the ceremonial, or the civil law.
29:39: It's all wrapped up together. And I'm going to push you and say you're either under all of it or you're under none of it.
29:48: Where did all this come from, three parts of the law? It sounds good, but I would say it first came out with Thomas Aquinas in the 1200s.
30:00: The Bible doesn't teach three parts of the law. The Old Testament doesn't teach it. The New Testament doesn't teach it.
30:06: History doesn't teach it. When you say the moral law of God, what do you mean by moral? Right? Is it right to do the civil laws?
30:13: Is it right to do the ceremonial laws? Are we morally bound to do it? Why would
30:18: Jesus use this language of smallest letter or stroke if somehow it doesn't apply to the moral law?
30:27: All right, let's make it easy. We'll give our minds a way to hold that for a second. What do you think about all this?
30:32: You go to the courtroom and they're trying to take down the Ten Commandments. Do you freak out?
30:40: Well, let's back up a little bit. If you're a parent and they say no more prayer in school, do you get mad? I hope if you do get mad, you pray with your kids.
30:53: But what about the Ten Commandments? What about these ten laws from God written by His own finger on these tablets of stone that Paul calls the ministry of death?
31:06: Do you want those up on the courthouse? The Ten Commandments. Well, do I like any verse up on the courthouse?
31:13: You just pick a verse. Go thou and do likewise. That'd be fine if they had the
31:18: Bible verse on there. Wow, Bible. So what does this have to do with anything? This is called a pastoral pause so you can let your mind go.
31:26: Civil, ceremonial, moral, what's all that? This is just to stop for a second and say this.
31:33: When I go to the courthouse and I was serving jury duty a while ago, Kim just had to do it last week.
31:39: I never think to myself, wow, I'm living in natural, spiritual Israel and we're underneath the
31:46: Ten Commandments and everything else and we're going to do this biblically and what God says goes. I like the
31:53: Bible verses anywhere. Did you know just the Ten Commandments themselves, not only are they called the ministry of death by Paul in 2
32:01: Corinthians 3, but also, these are just moralistic things by themselves, aren't they?
32:09: Jews can obey them if some Jews are not Christians. Mormons, you just name the different groups, oh, those are good things.
32:17: It's just moralism. Don't commit adultery and don't lie. It's not moralism in context. Here's this great
32:22: God as Pat was saying in the waters of baptismal testimony. Here's this great
32:28: God and because who He is who He is and what He's done for you, therefore obey out of love. But I don't freak out when
32:37: I see the Ten Commandments taken down in a courtroom because I say to myself, first of all, the
32:43: Gospel goes out farther and faster when there's persecution. Second of all, I'm not
32:48: Israel. Third of all, without the umbrella, I'm the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
32:54: It's just moralistic anyway. I am sad that we're becoming more secular, but I don't freak out about it.
33:01: Now you say, now tell me why this all fits in. If you believe that the civil laws are gone because we're no longer
33:08: Israel, the ceremonial laws are fulfilled in Christ, but we still have the Ten Commandments to live under,
33:14: I'm saying you don't see the law like Jesus did, the Old Testament did, like the New Testament did.
33:20: It's all or nothing. Is the New Testament reiterated? It's hard for me to say, let alone for you to believe.
33:29: The Old Testament, Ten Commandments, reiterated in the New? Yes, many, but in a different covenant.
33:35: We have a superior lawgiver over Moses, and I'm telling you, I think it's all or nothing. You say, well,
33:41: I disagree. Let the fourth truth convict you then.
33:47: Truth number four. The law and the priesthood were linked by God, and when one goes, so does the other.
33:56: That is to say, Mosaic law and Aaronic priesthood are linked, and when the priesthood is gone, so too is the law.
34:05: Are you under Aaronic priesthood now? Let me just make up one.
34:11: If you commit an unintentional sin, have you ever done that? What do you do? If you're under the law, here's what you do.
34:21: Here's what God said to Moses to do. Leviticus 4. Speak to the sons of Israel. This is an unintentional sin.
34:26: You tell me if you do this when you commit one. It seems archaic, too, to say unintentional sin.
34:32: We hardly think we commit any sins. Unintentional sins. Speak to the sons of Israel, saying,
34:37: If a person sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, if the appointed priest sins so as to bring guilt on the people, then let him offer to the
34:48: Lord a bull without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. First, let's take care of the priest. He shall bring the bull to the doorway of the tent of meeting before the
34:55: Lord, and he shall lay his hand on the head of the bull and slay the bull before the Lord. Do you do that? Then the appointed priest is to take some of the blood and bull and bring it to the tent of meeting.
35:06: The priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord in front of the veil of the sanctuary.
35:13: The priest shall also put some of the blood on the horns of the altar of the fragrant incense which is before the
35:18: Lord in the tent of meeting, and all the blood of the bull he shall pour out of the base of the altar of burnt offering which is at the door of the tent of meeting.
35:27: He shall remove from it all the fat of the bull, the sin offering, the fat which covers the entrails, and all the fat which is on the entrails, the two kidneys with the fat that is on them.
35:35: You think God cares about unintentional sins? Boy, He sure did then. And it goes on and on and on.
35:41: Are you under that? Of course you're going to say we're not. And if we are, we're in big trouble. We have one sacrifice for all, yes?
35:50: Well, if you'll turn to Hebrews chapter 7, I'm going to just reiterate what Hebrews says. If the priesthood is gone, so too is the law.
35:59: You change the priesthood from Aaron's priesthood to Jesus' priesthood, that is to say
36:04: Moses' priesthood to Melchizedek's, then you need a new law. The law and the priest were tied together because the priest did what the law said.
36:15: You say, well, still, it's all just too confusing for me. I'm just a brand new Christian. Well, here's what
36:20: I would say. What we're trying to do with this sermon series now is to figure out what do you obey in your life.
36:27: Are you underneath the laws of Christ found in the New Testament? Or do you need to obey what God gave to Israel at Mount Sinai?
36:33: What do you obey? And God says, if you love Me, you will what? Keep My commandments.
36:39: Which commandments should you keep? Old? New? Old covenant, new covenant?
36:44: You say, well, it's just not a big deal. It's all technical. It is a big deal because we need to know what to obey.
36:51: And I'm telling you that the priesthood and the law were linked together. Look at Hebrews chapter 7.
36:57: An amazing book. As Matthew is written to the Jewish people about Jesus, so too we have
37:03: Hebrews written. Who wrote Hebrews? God did through the hand of Paul, but that's another story.
37:09: I don't know. God wrote it. We don't need to know. Now, if perspection, access to God, was through the
37:16: Levitical priesthood, for on the basis of it the people received the law. See the tie -in?
37:22: What further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek and not be designed according to the order of Aaron?
37:29: If being a priest according to Aaron gets you access to God fully, completely, why have a new one?
37:36: Who needs a new priest? The priesthood is the very basis of the law.
37:42: How would he do what he needs to do? Verse 12, here it comes. Drum roll. For when the priesthood is changed of necessity, there takes place a change of what?
37:54: Law also. Did you notice the singular? It doesn't say moral, civil, ceremonial.
38:00: When you get a new priesthood, and we got one, are you glad? Unintentional sinners? The only time we have a bunch of chopped beef is when we want to have some barbecue.
38:12: Can you imagine? The only time we're going to need that old law, the pre -changed law, is if we're under Aaron.
38:20: We're no longer under Aaron. There has been a change of law. Singular. One kind of priesthood to another.
38:27: Another kind of law to another. And then, I'm just going to keep going in Hebrews because it's just so great to talk about Christ's superiority.
38:34: For the one, verse 13, concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to a different tribe from which no one has officiated at the altar.
38:43: Talking about Jesus. For it was evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which
38:48: Moses spoke nothing concerning priests. And this is clear still, verse 15, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to a power of an indestructible life, that is,
39:06: Christ's life. For it is attested of him, you are a priest forever according to the order of, not
39:11: Aaron, not Aaron's law, but Melchizedek. Here we go. This is going to be big news right here.
39:18: Are you under the old covenant? For on one hand, verse 18, there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and I almost hate to say it.
39:31: It almost seems sinful to say. The law was weak. It couldn't save.
39:37: It couldn't turn a person. On the inside, it couldn't bring about an internal change of a person.
39:43: He says there's a setting aside and annulment legally. The Levitical system can't do anything except point to Christ.
39:55: And here we have a former commandment set aside and annulled because of its weakness and I'm going to just have to say it.
40:04: Uselessness. It is useless now to have the Mosaic law to say do this and do that when
40:11: Jesus the Melchizedek, better than Aaron priest, is here. It's not useless in terms of get rid of the canon because the whole time it's pointing to fulfillment and the fulfiller looks and says, see what
40:22: I've fulfilled. Verse 19, I hope we have a newer law for the law, singular, not moral, ceremonial, civil, made nothing perfect.
40:34: It couldn't save anyone. On the other hand, there's a bringing in of a better hope. Thank you. Through which we now draw near to God.
40:43: This was so great, matter of fact, in verse 20, in so much as it was not without an oath. No oath of the last one, but we get an oath here.
40:51: God swears to Himself, verse 21. Not going to change His mind. Verse 22, so much the more also
40:59: Jesus has become the guarantee of a better what? Better than the old covenant.
41:04: The new covenant's better. We have a guarantee person, someone to guarantee the fulfillment.
41:11: Verse 23, the former priest on one hand existed in greater numbers. Why were there so many of them back then, by the way?
41:18: Because they were prevented by death from continuing. Because they what? They died. Somebody has counted from the time of Aaron to the time of the temple destruction in 70
41:28: AD. Josephus says 83, another one said 84 high priests. One after another after another.
41:35: Jesus is different. Jesus doesn't die. Jesus is the God -man.
41:42: And He is able to do something that the Aaronic, Mosaic law could not do. Therefore, verse 25,
41:47: He's able also to save forever those who draw near to Him through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
41:57: The old priests, they didn't always live to make intercession because they died. They had their own sins.
42:03: Yes. For it was fitting for us to have a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens compared to the old covenant, who does not need daily like the old covenant, like those high priests to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins.
42:19: Jesus didn't do that. Then for the sins of the people. Because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
42:25: Better, new, once for all. But back to verse 12, it's key.
42:32: When the priesthood changes, there needs to be a change of law also. And Jesus comes to replace, to supersede
42:39: Moses. He is the true, the final lawgiver, just as He supersedes and replaces
42:45: Aaron. No one here would have a problem with Jesus replaces Aaron as the high priest.
42:51: So who here would say, Jesus, we have a problem with Him replacing Moses as the lawgiver.
42:57: Who wants to be under the law? Who wants to go back? Paul nine times says about Christianity, under the law is like not a
43:06: Christian. It's antithetical to Christianity. To be under the law, we have someone who has fulfilled the law.
43:12: Christ Jesus in our place. Now look at Hebrews chapter 8 verse 13.
43:18: If you think I'm crazy, I'm going to get crazier. And we've got to quit. What I'm saying so far is this.
43:27: Jesus says that He's come to fulfill the law. He's bringing the new covenant. There was an old covenant to national
43:32: Israel that had believers and unbelievers in it. In the Old Testament was prophesied of a new covenant in Jeremiah 31.
43:39: Jesus is here to give the new covenant. And He is going to fulfill the laws of the Old Testament in many ways that we'll see next week.
43:49: What should we do with the old covenant that is moral, civil, ceremonial? What do we do to that? Look at verse 13 of Hebrews 8.
43:58: This is the answer to your question. Should I live under the Ten Commandments? If you think living under the
44:03: Ten Commandments is as given to Israel at Mount Sinai by God that has to include everything else, then the answer is no.
44:13: As they were repeated and reiterated by Jesus, the new covenant giver, find in the New Testament the laws of Christ.
44:22: Verse 13, when He said a new covenant, He made the first what?
44:28: It's almost blasphemous to say. We know Jesus isn't abolishing the law. We know it's still inspired and inerrant.
44:35: It's profitable to teach. But what does He mean when He says He has made the first covenant what?
44:42: Obsolete, because the fulfillment is here. When you have the fulfillment of the law, when you have the fulfillment of the prophets, you don't go back to their people who were pointing.
44:53: You had the law until John, as one writer said. He's made the first obsolete, but whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
45:02: Now go back up a little bit higher to show you the context in verse 6. I just want you to see three words.
45:08: And I think Jesus, the new covenant bringer, the fulfiller of the old covenant, is excellent, better, and better.
45:19: Hebrews 8, 6. By the way, if you haven't noticed already, if you're a new
45:25: Christian and you think, well, I've never taught a Bible study before, and I think the first Bible study we're going to teach, we're going to teach
45:30: Hebrews. I think that would be very, very good to teach the Bible versus some wild at heart book that you can get for 25 cents five years later because fads come and go.
45:44: But I would be careful to go right to Hebrews because it's hard. Hebrews 8, 6 though, but now
45:51: Jesus has obtained a what? More excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a what?
45:59: Better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. Verse 7,
46:06: For if the first covenant had been faultless, there had been no occasion sought for a second. Why do you need the new if the old is faultless?
46:16: And then you see the great quotes from Jeremiah about the newer covenant. It was going to come.
46:23: It needed a Messiah to be inaugurated. And it says in verse 8, Behold, days are coming, says the
46:29: Lord, when I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which
46:34: I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, for they did not continue in my covenant.
46:41: And I do not care for them, says the Lord, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel.
46:47: After those days, says the Lord, I will put my what? Here's the issue. Here's the new covenant.
46:52: I will put my laws into their minds and I will write them on their hearts and I will be their God and they will be my people.
47:04: Jesus goes beyond Mosaic law. He fulfills it. Yes, He fulfilled the
47:10: Messianic predictions. Yes, He was fulfilling everything that the Old Testament says.
47:15: But even with His teaching, He has given a new law for us to live under. In summary,
47:21: Jesus is a great law giver. He comes and says, Yes, the Old Testament pointed to me. But now
47:27: I'm the fulfillment of that law. The priesthood is gone. You need new laws. Friends, if you read the
47:32: Old Testament and say, I'm under these and I'm going to pick the ones that I need to obey and there's some kind of moral abiding law of God found there and I'm under the
47:41: Ten Commandments, then friends, I think you need to reexamine how the law comes down from Jesus as one, as organic.
47:50: When I say to myself, How am I doing with God? If I love Him, I'll keep
47:56: His commandments. I don't go back to Deuteronomy. I don't go back to Torah.
48:02: As it explains things and prefigures things, certainly it's good to read. I preach from the Old Testament often.
48:08: But we are under the new covenant law, which is the law of Christ. Where is that found?
48:14: Matthew through Revelation. Somebody says you're under the
48:19: Ten Commandments law, then I differ with them. Jesus fulfills the law. We are no longer under the law.
48:26: It's not a good thing to be under the law. Jesus has fulfilled the law in all different ways and we stand now as a new covenant people with a high priest who stands ready to make intercession for us.
48:39: You say, well, it's difficult. What am I going to do? You mean to tell me that we don't have to obey the Ten Commandments anymore? I didn't say that.
48:46: You'll see nine of the Ten Commandments reiterated in the New Testament and we should obey those. As Jesus says, here's my new law, some of the laws
48:54: He'll repeat. But He doesn't repeat all of them. Some of the laws He takes away, but He doesn't take away all of them.
49:01: Some of the laws He says, you know what? I'm going to fine -tune that. You used to be able to tell oaths? No more oaths.
49:06: You used to be able to have divorce? No more divorce. You used to have things externally? I'm the new covenant lawgiver and you used to say, you know what?
49:14: Adultery is bad. I don't do adultery. But I lust in my heart. Here's the new law. You say, well,
49:20: I don't hate people. I don't murder people, but I sometimes kind of hate them. And the new lawgiver says, here we go.
49:25: And all this to say, Matthew 5, 21 and following cannot be understood unless this sermon today is preached and I say to you,
49:34: Jesus stands over the law and is going to give the new law. Makes me want to get back to the baptismal font again.
49:46: It is hard. I sat here this morning thinking, how am I ever going to preach this? But I'm committed to preach what the
49:53: Bible says and you, congregation, are to be admired for saying, I'm willing to listen to what the Bible says.
49:58: Jesus did not come to abolish the law and prophets, but to fulfill them and then he says, here is how they will be fulfilled in my teaching and that's for next time.
50:10: If you want the Ten Commandments as a good rule of your life, that's fine. But why don't you go to a better law, a better covenant, better promises, and look for those found in the law of Christ who is the final word from God and his apostolic messengers.
50:25: I think you'll find those better. All right, well, let's pray and then be dismissed. Father, thank you for this day. These are hard things and when they're hard for the preacher, they've got to be hard for the congregation.
50:35: And Lord, I'm thankful that we're not theonomous, that you've rescued us from being under the
50:41: Old Testament law, that we don't have to go around and want America to be governed like you ruled
50:46: Israel. Father, I'm thankful that all the ceremonies were fulfilled in Christ. Lord, would you protect us as a congregation from somehow thinking that the
50:55: Old Testament is bad and not profitable. But Lord, would you help us more so see Jesus as the fulfiller of this
51:02: Old Covenant and that we could look to him as someone who helps us to obey from the inside and not just externally, that you would help us to look to him as a high priest who mediates in our place and prays for us.
51:14: And Lord, we would look forward to how you'll change our church in the weeks to come as the New Testament lawgiver, the new covenant lawgiver gives us new laws that we want to live under by your grace.