The gospel for today comes from Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. The verses following the Beatitudes and the longer portion of the Sermon in which Jesus will explain the deeper meaning of the Commandments of God. (“You have heard it said, but I say to you…). The between verses are subject to much debate as to the correct understanding:

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.’”

The problems are centered on the use of the word “until.” Long story short, there is one view that essentially says, “Well…. Jesus perfectly fulfilled the Law and the promises of the Prophets… hence the Law and Prophets – a way to say the entire Old Testament – all of it can be ignored now.”

Then again, “Until heaven and earth pass away” is the equivalent of our modern “until hell freezes over” – a none too subtle “never” (also used in Jeremiah, Job and the Psalms). The conclusion is all the OT laws still apply and so we should keep the Sabbath (Friday sunset to Saturday sunset) and move away from Sundays.

The scholar RT France offers a great understanding: The law, down to its smallest details, is as permanent as heaven and earth, and will never lose its significance; on the contrary, all that it points forward to will in fact become a reality.  The new reality is present in Jesus, but not fully present as the kingdom of heaven. Still the law (smallest detail and all) have to be seen in a new light, but they still cannot be discarded.  Matthew will make that clear in the Sermon on the Mount.

Image credit: Cosimo Rosselli Sermone della Montagna, 1481, Sistine Chapel, Public Domain