THINK not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”
To the end of the chapter the Lord Jesus is showing that He did not come to destroy the law or the wrings of the prophets, but to fulfill what was in them. This was something no one else had ever been able to do in their fullest extent.
Also in this part of His discourse He points out those two dominant forms of evil that have been only too evident throughout the history of man upon earth—violence and corruption. It was said of that age bore the flood, “The earth also was corrupt before God; and the earth was filled with violence.” Gen. 6:1111The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. (Genesis 6:11). Here the Lord mentions first the taking of human life, He does not deal merely with the final act, but with the state of heart which leads up to it. “Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him.” He speaks of anger and shows the necessity of being recoiled with and of agreeing with an adversary, in order to carry out the spirit of the principles of the kingdom.
Then He deals with corruption and the breaking down of the marriage relationship, which was the divinely given basis of all human relationships. He shows that the conduct of His disciples or those entering the kingdom, must be of a different moral character than that of those who were outwardly keeping the law. The revelation of the relationship of the Father with His children called for a higher moral basis, which could only be found in becoming a follower of the One who was God manifest in the flesh.
The state of the heathen peoples of this world, or those who have not heard the gospel of the grace of God, is characterized by these two things, violence and corruption. Some who have had to do with research in pan mythology have had to confess that much of what was written on their so-called worship, on account of the filthiness connected with it, could not be translated into the languages of Christian people.
“Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne:...” The natural tendency of men in binding themselves by an oath, when aroused by their departure from a right moral path, especially that which is given in the Word, is shown to be in ignorance of their true condition before God. This we find illustrated over and over again in the history of the people of Israel, when they found out how they had forsaken the law of God. They would bind themselves by an oath that they would not do so again, but it was only a short time before they were back in the same condition again. The truth of the gospel shows us that we have no strength of our own, and that by receiving the Lord Jesus into our hearts we are born again. Then we receive strength to go on in the path of faith. But it can only be by prayer and waiting upon the Lord that guidance and strength are given each step of the way.
ML-03/11/1962