Below is the
Greek Text of the passage, the corresponding English words underneath each
Greek word.. Then we will examine any
interesting things the Strong’s definition of the words reveals, as well as
corresponding verses that might help…
5:17 μὴ
νομίσητε
ὅτι ἦλθον καταλῦσαι τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας
Not
do think that I came
to annul the law or
the prophets.
οὐκ ἦλθον καταλῦσαι
ἀλλὰ πληρῶσαι
Not I came to annul
but to fulfill.
5:18 ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς
Truly (for) I say to you until pass away the heavens
καὶ ἡ γῆ ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ
and the earth, iota – one, or one
point in no way shall pass away
ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται
from the law until all things occur.
5:19 ὃς ἐὰν οὖν λύσῃ μίαν τῶν ἐντολῶν τούτων
Whoever,
then, relaxes one of commandments - these
τῶν ἐλαχίστων καὶ διδάξῃ οὕτως τοὺς ἀνθρώπους
- the least and teaches
so men…
ἐλάχιστος κληθήσεται ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν
least he shall be called in the Kingdom of the heavens;
ὃς δ’ ἂν ποιήσῃ καὶ διδάξῃ οὗτος μέγας κληθήσεται
who (But) ever does
and teaches, this one
great shall be called
ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ
τῶν οὐρανῶν
in the Kingdom of the heavens.
---
So there you
have the passage. The order of Greek
words is sometimes funky, and I am not an expert on Greek grammar rules, but
the Interlinear bible has done us a great service by showing what each Greek
word means, and then how the words hang together in a sentence… So sometimes the corresponding English can
sound weird, but the message comes through.
Thus, let’s
now walk through these 3 verses step by step, and make any helpful comments.
Matt. 5:17 – He (Yeshua/Jesus) didn’t come to annul the
law or the prophets, but to fulfill them..
Pretty simple statement, but let’s just get some deeper word definitions
on “annul” and “fulfill” to clarify. So,
the root word for annul is
transliterated “Kataloo-oh” – Strong’s Dictionary: Greek word G2647, defined as
“to loosen down (disintegrate), i.e. (by
implication) to demolish (literally or figuratively); specifically [comp. 2646]
to halt for the night”. Thus, He did
not come to destroy the Law, I
think, would be the best way to sum up the Strong’s definition… (loosen down / disintegrate / demolish it
). So what did He come to do? The root Greek word for fulfill is Strong’s G4137 – “Plerah-oh” – “to make replete (completely filled / full),
i.e. (lit.) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (fig.) to furnish (or
imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or
task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.”. That is quite the definition, with lots
of different shades. But I like the
imagery of jamming a net full of fish.
On the other hand, one of the definitions was to “finish (a period or
task)”… This could have a different meaning implied.. The rest of the passage will help clarify, as
Yeshua says keeping and teaching the commands of the Law is a good thing! So perhaps the “finish” part of the
definition is not the main meaning
here in Matt. 5:17. Moving on or now…
Matt 5:18 - I think the English
rendering under the Greek speaks for itself, pretty much! I have tried to think if this could mean
certain things get checked off the list and go away as time occurs, but it just
seems with the structure of the sentence that Jesus is saying until heaven and
earth pass away, not the smallest point shall pass from the Law. And then it seems he links all things
occurring with heavens and earth passing away.
At that time, it looks like
the Law/Torah will pass away, perhaps because everything and everyone will be
perfected – no sin or sin nature – so there’s no need to write the righteous
standard out, and how to deal with sin and everything, because we are perfected
– is what I think…
So what are
the implications of not one point passing from the Law as long as these heavens
and this earth are here? I think one
thing that should be considered, is that a lot of the Torah is written in the
context of an Israeli Theocracy, it seems – a government and a temple system
that executes justice based on God’s standards… something that us in the goyim – the nations, don’t really
experience fully right now…
I am still
processing and praying about the implications of following the Torah in America
in 2017… For example, though we have Jesus’ sacrifice to make us complete and
forgiven forever, is there still a place for animal sacrifice, since this is a
big part of the Torah? And what about
being subject to the government we live in, as Romans talks about?
Questions you
must pray about and seek truth on yourself.
We have one teacher, ultimately – Yeshua/Jesus, who is the manifestation
of God the Father.
Let’s cover
the last verse now..
Matt. 5:19 - Again, the message is pretty clear – breaking and teaching
others to break the commandments of the Law = not good.. Keeping and teaching them = good! When examining the Greek for “commandments”,
it is pretty simple – its just “commandments”, basically! With that said, we must remember there are a
lot of different types of commandments in the Law that perhaps will play out
differently when it comes to trying to keep them.. Like the justice of stoning/ the death
penalty seems like something that could only be done in a theocracy – a
government with defined standards and laws in accordance with God’s
standards. There is grayness and lack of
knowledge right now in the world – people need to know the standard, the
instruction about Sabbath before they can be judged in that way! Although in Romans it does say that those who
sinned without Law will also perish without Law. So the wages of sin is still death
ultimately, yet the active enforcement of a death penalty on earth I think
would only be appropriate as it was when Israel began, a people under the complete
authority of God, via Moses, knowing the standards God gave, and knowing that
they came from God, with all the drama of God coming down on Mt. Sinai to give
the Law! Romans also says those who
sinned within Law will be judged through Law.
So it seems a bit like being held accountable for what you know,
although the wages of sin in any case is still ultimately death. Paul also goes on and says “For not the hearers of the law are just
with God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Romans 2:13). And then Paul mentions the nations not
having the Law/Torah, but its standards still being written on their hearts –
their conscience, if you will, though a conscience can get skewed as well… So, yes, do the law - definitely the moral
commands of not murdering or committing adultery, and the others as they apply
– you go and seek God on a case by case scenario for ones that you feel might
be for a different context…
There are
more scriptures I feel are pertinent, so I think this article is to be
continued…
Thank you for reading, and may God, YHVH, guide us into all truth.
Thank you for reading, and may God, YHVH, guide us into all truth.
