Did Jesus Christ Come to Fulfill The Old Testament? Part 2

Two posts ago, I dealt with this question by examining Matthew 5:17 and what Christ said about Himself. We learned from Matthew 5:17 that the Lord Jesus Christ didn’t come to abolish or do away with the Law or the Prophets (a reference to the Old Testament), but rather to fulfill them.  This post examines what Christ said about the Word of God and how it will not change until He has accomplished everything that is written in the Word of God (Old and New Testament) about Him.

In Matthew 5:18 Christ states, “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.” There are four main things that need to be looked at in this verse. The first area to examine is Christ saying, “For verily I say unto you.” The commentator John Broadus states that the word “for” shows “what follows as a confirmation of what precedes” (John Broadus, Commentary on Matthew, p. 100). The next part of the phrase, “verily I say unto you,” refers to a strong pronouncement (αμην --“amen” or “truly”) that what He is saying next is authoritative. Generally, the Lord uses this phrase “at the beginning of important sayings” (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, p. 109).

The second detail to examine is “Till heaven and earth pass.” “Heaven” refers to the physical universe that surrounds earth. “Earth” coupled with the word “heaven” is speaking about all of creation. Christ is saying that while creation remains, the Law will not change.

The third detail to examine is the “one jot or one tittle.” A “jot” or “iota” (smallest Greek letter) is believed to refer to the Hebrew letter yod (י), and the “tittle” or “stroke” refers to the distinguishing marks on Hebrew letters to differentiate between different letters (examples: h, j). The Lord is saying that God’s Word will not be changed at all—not even in its letters—until it is accomplished.  Christ here is not speaking about a particular translation of Scripture we should use (if He was we would only have Hebrew/Aramaic OT and a Koine Greek NT), rather He is speaking about what was originally breathed out by God (2 Timothy 3:16) through the Holy Men of Old (2 Peter 1:20-21).  As long as heaven and earth remain, what God has originally spoken will never change, but always will be relevant and apply to all ages of humanity.

The fourth and last thing to examine in this verse is the phrase “till all be fulfilled.” The previous phrase helps us understand that nothing will change in God’s Word at all. The question remains: when are all things accomplished? It appears that the Lord is referring to when every little detail has been completed by Him—this includes what He did at the cross, His resurrection, what He is doing now through His church, and what He will do one day in the future when He comes back a second time. All of this is spoken of in the Old Testament and further explained in the New Testament. Until all is accomplished, the Word of God will not change.

My challenge in light of Matthew 5:18 is since the Word of God will not change until Christ has fulfilled everything stated in Scripture, why are you not spending time in God’s Word and getting to know this Wonderful Savior? 
Pastor Steve
Psalm 119:89