MEMORY VERSE: ‘The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable.’ Isaiah 42:21.
LESSON SCRIPTURE: Matthew 5:17-48.
STUDY HELP: Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pages 45-73.
LESSON AIM: To study how Jesus magnified the Law of God.
‘It is the Creator of men, the Giver of the law, who declares that it is not His purpose to set aside its precepts. Everything in nature, from the mote in the sunbeam to the worlds on high, is under law. And upon obedience to these laws the order and harmony of the natural world depend. So there are great principles of righteousness to control the life of all intelligent beings, and upon conformity to these principles the well-being of the universe depends. Before this earth was called into being, God’s law existed. Angels are governed by its principles, and in order for earth to be in harmony with heaven, man also must obey the divine statutes. To man in Eden Christ made known the precepts of the law “when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Job 38:7. The mission of Christ on earth was not to destroy the law, but by His grace to bring man back to obedience to its precepts.’ Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, page 48.
1. How did Jesus explain His attitude and approach to God’s law? Matthew 5:17.
NOTE: ‘Speaking of the law, Jesus said, “I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” He here used the word “fulfil” in the same sense as when He declared to John the Baptist His purpose to “fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15); that is, to fill up the measure of the law’s requirement, to give an example of perfect conformity to the will of God. His mission was to “magnify the law, and make it honourable.” Isaiah 42:21. He was to show the spiritual nature of the law, to present its far-reaching principles, and to make plain its eternal obligation.’ Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, pages 48-49.
2. How did Jesus explain the enduring nature of God’s law? Matthew 5:18.
COMPILER’S NOTE: Jot is related to our modern English word iota, meaning “a very small amount.” The Hebrew spelling is jod. Many Bibles have a picture of a jod in Psalm 119. Check the section title coming just before verse 73. A tittle is even smaller than a jot. A tittle is a letter extension, a pen stroke that can differentiate one Hebrew letter from another. An example can be seen in the comparison between the Hebrew letters resh and daleth: you can see these also in Psalm 119 before verses 153 and 25.
NOTE: ‘There are many who claim that by the death of Christ the law was abrogated; but in this they contradict Christ’s own words, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets.... Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.” Matthew 5:17, 18. It was to atone for man’s transgression of the law that Christ laid down His life. Could the law have been changed or set aside, then Christ need not have died. By His life on earth He honoured the law of God. By His death He established it. He gave His life as a sacrifice, not to destroy God’s law, not to create a lower standard, but that justice might be maintained, that the law might be shown to be immutable, that it might stand fast forever.’ Christ’s Object Lessons, page 314.
3. What solemn warning did Jesus give to those who break even one of God’s commandments and teach others to do the same? Matthew 5:19. (Notice how the word ‘least’ is repeated.)
NOTE: ‘Since “the law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19:7), every variation from it must be evil. Those who disobey the commandments of God, and teach others to do so, are condemned by Christ. The Saviour’s life of obedience maintained the claims of the law; it proved that the law could be kept in humanity, and showed the excellence of character that obedience would develop. All who obey as He did are likewise declaring that the law is “holy, and just, and good.” Romans 7:12. On the other hand, all who break God’s commandments are sustaining Satan’s claim that the law is unjust, and cannot be obeyed. Thus they second the deceptions of the great adversary, and cast dishonour upon God. They are the children of the wicked one, who was the first rebel against God’s law. To admit them into heaven would again bring in the elements of discord and rebellion, and imperil the well-being of the universe. No man who wilfully disregards one principle of the law shall enter the kingdom of heaven.’ Desire of Ages, page 308.