The passage
      This passage is often used to validate the application of Old Testament law in the Christian life. Jesus is certainly affirming the prime function of the law, but the function he identifies is not that of making righteous or shaping holiness. The law cannot make holy. The law can serve as a guide to the Christian life, but this is not the function Jesus is identifying here. Jesus came to complete the prime function of the law as God's mechanism for exposing human sinfulness and thus opening the way for the sinner to find mercy at the foot of the cross. As Paul puts it, "the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith", Gal.3:24. The law serves to expose our state of loss before God, and therefore, our need of a saviour. Jesus completes this function of the law by providing a heightened exposition of the commands - a "righteousness (which) surpasses that of the Pharisees." The Sermon on the Mount is just such an exposition. The gospel of Matthew will progressively reveal the way of forgiveness, but here it is into exposing the lost state of humanity.

      v17. Jesus lived a liberated life, and therefore was criticized as a libertarian. Against this criticism, Jesus reaffirms the teachings of the Old Testament, in particular, the books of Moses (the Law) and the prophetic books. Jesus does not come to abolish this revelation from God, but rather to "complete" it (better than "fulfill"). That is, "to bring to its destined end", Davies. He comes to bring to completion the prophecies of the coming Kingdom, and he comes to give the definitive exposition of the law.
      v18. The obligations of the law remain intact until it serves its intended end ("everything is accomplished"). The law's task is to drive us to God for mercy. While there is life on this earth, while there is sin, the law will continue to function toward this end. Even the smallest detail must be retained so as to serve this purpose. The "smallest letter" in the Hebrew (yod) alphabet and the "serif" or "dash", serves to illustrate that the detail must be retained.
      v19. Anyone who "relaxes" (better than NIV, "breaks"), sets aside or teaches against God's law, is acting against God's intentions. Those who "endorse" (probably better than "do" or "practice") and who teach the law, are acting as God would have them. Such people (disciples?) will be affirmed as faithful servants in the Kingdom. The law exposes sin, and thus, the sinner's state of loss. Our state of loss before God must be recognized before we can come to him with a repentant heart. There is no forgiveness (mercy) where there is no repentance.
      v20. Jesus is in no way setting aside the regulations of the law. The law must remain to expose sin, and Jesus will make it his mission to give a definitive exposition of the law to achieve this end. What is needed is righteousness before God and this the law can never achieve, nor was it designed to achieve it. The "Pharisees" (a lay movement of Jews dedicated to law obedience) and the "teachers of the law" ("scribes", professional students and teachers of the law), maintain an outstanding law-righteousness, but such legalism will certainly not gain them entrance into the Kingdom of heaven. What is needed is a "righteousness which surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law." This righteousness may be of a qualitative nature, eg. the law of love, "love one another." Yet, it is more likely a righteousness of grace. That is, a God given righteousness - the imputed and imparted righteousness of Christ. Such righteousness is gained, not by doing, but by asking. It is a righteousness given freely by the grace of God, and is appropriated through the instrument of faith.

Jesus and the law
      Our particular passage for study is one which has greatly influenced the Christian faith. It focuses on the perennial problem of the extent to which Old Testament law applies in the life of a believer. There are two generally accepted positions:
        i] Jesus teaches that every Old Testament regulation is eternally valid. The Seventh Day Adventists, for example, take this view. Believers who hold this position are called "nomists" (long "o").
        ii] In light of the new situation introduced by Jesus' life and teachings, Old Testament laws must be individually assessed. Some would have fulfilled their roles (eg. ritual and food regulations). Some will be reinterpreted and adjusted for the new ethic of the Kingdom (eg. vengeance, murder, adultery....). Some will stand unchanged.
      It is most likely Jesus' intention is neither of the above. He sets out to reveal the perfection of God's law, and thus drive the sinner to the foot of the cross where they might find a righteousness freely given.