Least And Great In The Kingdom

Least And Great In The Kingdom

Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:19

As Christ continues to build His case for Himself as the Redeemer, He continues to establish and maintain the validity of the Law of God. In our text for today He declares, ‘Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’  Here Christ places a value upon the teachers who either attempt to lessen the Law by reducing the force of it or who uphold it with all of its implications. This presents an impossibly high standard. Not one of the hearers of Christ, teachers or otherwise could hope to meet this expectation. He warns against doing injustice to the law and worse than that, to teach others to do the same. Think of how this would have affected His hearers. Where would this leave them? The idea of keeping the Law successfully was slipping farther and farther out of reach. Here was a Wonderful Person, Who was doing miraculous works; Who was speaking ‘as One having authority, and not as the scribes,’ and He was presenting to them a completely unobtainable standard of righteousness. What would be the conclusion of the whole matter?  Ultimately they would have to look to Christ for the answer. He would not only provide the answer, but He would Himself be the Answer. We cannot lessen the force of the Law, nor can we succeed in keeping the Law. Christ is the Answer.

Our most Holy and Wise Savior,
we rejoice that You are the Answer.
We praise You that You complete all the requirements
set forth by God’s Holy Law and that You complete us.

Tomm Tice
where the Bush is Burning