Heaven And Earth Will Not Pass Away Until… (Matthew 5:17-18) - Part 2

How would the first-century, Jewish audience have understood the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-18?

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

They understood the law referred to the Law of Moses that contained commandments and requirements.

They understood that if the law was obeyed there would be blessings and and if disobeyed there would be curses.

They understood the Prophets (Isaiah - Malachi) spoke to the nation of Israel, warning them of judgments to come for violation of the law.

They understood the Prophets also told of restoration following the judgments.

Additionally, they understood the Law and Prophets foretold of the coming Christ/Messiah who would establish a new testament that would end the testament Law of Moses (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

We will examine this later.

The testament of the law of Moses, which we now call the old testament, was not the old testament when Jesus spoke the words of Matthew 5:17-18.

The people of Israel who heard Jesus speak were living under the law and its curses.

They understood the meaning of the phrase heaven and earth based upon the Law of Moses and the Prophets (the Jewish Scriptures).

The phrase heaven and earth in the Jewish Scriptures was used to testify against the people of Israel for their rebellion to the Law of Moses, as we learned in Part One.

Heaven would send either blessings or curses upon the people based upon their obedience or disobedience to the law.

Unfortunately, heaven could never send blessings upon the people of Israel because they lived in rebellion to the law.

Life under the law-based, old testament heaven and earth structure was miserable for the people of Israel.

On earth, they consistently lived under the curses of the law that came from heaven.

However, God, through the prophet Isaiah, spoke to the people of Israel about a coming new heavens and a new earth.

“For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” (Isaiah 65:17, Berean Standard Bible)

The Brenton Septuagint Bible translates Isaiah 65:17 this way.

For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth: and they shall not at all remember the former, neither shall they at all come into their mind.

During the lifetime of Jesus, the people of Israel were looking forward to the creation of the new heaven and earth, where the old heaven and old earth law-based structure would be removed and their former disobedience to the law would not be remembered.

In addition to looking forward to the new heaven and the new earth, they were also looking forward to the new testament that God spoke about through the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31).

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant [testament] with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.”

The people of Israel and Judah (the nation was divided during Jeremiah’s time into the northern kingdom Israel and the southern kingdom Judah) were looking forward to the establishment of the new testament, which would be a testament of grace, distinctly different than the testament of law they were living under.

When the new testament of grace would be established, the old heaven and the old earth, which was law-based, would be replaced by the new heaven and earth based upon grace.

With the establishment of the new testament of grace, the sins and lawless acts of the people of Israel would be remembered no more because God would forgive their sins.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 records God’s words to the people of Israel and Judah,

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

Compare the phrase remember no more in Jeremiah 31:34 with Isaiah 65:17.

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”

The creation of the new heaven and the new earth would be in harmony with the creation of the new testament of grace.

The new heaven and the new earth and the new testament of grace would shower the earth with spiritual blessings of grace (see Ephesians 1-2:9), bringing joy, rather than curses of law that brought judgment, death, mourning, and sorrow (see Isaiah 65:17-25; 2 Corinthians 3).

The Jewish people living in the days of Jesus were living under the curses of the law.

They looked forward to the removal of the testament of law and the law-based heaven and earth.

They looked forward to arrival of the new testament of grace and the new heaven and the new earth.

With this background information, let’s read the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17-18 once again.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Notice, Jesus said the law and prophets would not be abolished and heaven and earth would not pass away UNTIL EVERYTHING IS FULFILLED AND ACCOMPLISHED.

The people who heard Jesus speak would have understood this to mean that the new testament of Jeremiah 31:31-34 and the new heaven and the new earth of Isaiah 65:17 would not be established until Jesus fulfilled the law, accomplishing all that was written about him in it.

With this understanding, let’s move to PART THREE.