17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Jesus endorsed the Law of Moses, summarized in the ten commandments and detailed in the book of Exodus and other sections of the OT. It is true no one can be saved by the Law, for “…by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin…we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law…Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law” (Rom 3:20, 28, 31).

Yet Jesus stressed the Law’s absolute importance! It follows that even though salvation cannot come through the law, the law should be none-the-less important to Christ-followers. Precisely because we follow Him, our regard for the holiness of God should increase. The Law spells out that holiness in specific terms so as to unmistakably show the standard of life God desires for everyone. Only one Person could and did keep the Law perfectly, and that was the Lord Jesus Christ. All others failed—including you and me. The Law establishes that beyond all doubt. The saved person, however, has been put back on track to live according to God’s holiness (see Eph 2:10), and that holiness is well laid out in the Law, according to Jesus. It does no good to dismiss this as applying only to a future time. Jesus clearly expects similar loyalty to holiness in His followers.

He makes His point in three ways: 1) The Law is more durable than the present heaven and earth (see Rev 21:1). The reference to the smallest letter (KJV “jot”) or stroke (KJV “tittle”) infers that God’s inspiration extends to the smallest detail of what is written. In other words, Scripture is inerrant. Jesus here speaks of the durability of God’s holiness. 2) A person’s attitude toward the Law will affect a person’s standing in the kingdom of heaven. 3) Entry into the kingdom of heaven requires a righteousness that exceeds that of the religious leaders, who keep the law (presumably) better than everyone else.

Lord, though I am not saved by keeping the Law, I commit to studying Your Word on a daily basis so that I may know more of Your holy standard for living.