Matthew 5:17-20: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 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. 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 teadhes them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
We are studying through the book of Matthew and this week we were discussing what Jesus said in chapter 5:17-20. Particularly the portion where Jesus said He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Discussion abounded on this point and we were all wrestling to understand what exactly that meant. Just what was the Israelite perception of “the law”? What was Jesus talking about when he referred to the law? One thing is for certain; He was not referring to the volumes of laws the Pharisees added to Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
I remember capturing a glimpse of this while teaching my kids. Many years ago we were reading and studying through Matthew in our Bible lessons. We were talking through the Beatitudes, what it meant to be salt and light, and this portion about Jesus and His relation to the Law. Coincidentally, one of the children was reading a second grade reader called Amelia Bedelia. In the book, the protagonist Amelia is characterized by taking people literally, leading her into some very humorous predicaments. One scene in particular, Amelia was told by her employer to dress the chicken for dinner. Amelia got lace and thread and fabric and made clothes for the chicken.
While reading through Matthew and discussing the Pharisees’ love and worship of the law the picture of Amelia Bedelia dressing the chicken came to my mind. The chicken represents the law. The Pharisees spent years dressing their chickens. They made such elaborate outfits with so many embellishments that after awhile you couldn’t even recognize the chicken underneath all the bling. Not only that but the whole purpose of the chicken was overlooked. It was intended for dinner, not adorning. Jesus comes, and in this section of Matthew, He takes off the embellishments and adornments, sticks His hand in the chicken, pulls out the entrails, and begins to skin it. Now the chicken is laid bare exposed and naked ready, for its purpose. And it is shocking to those who worshipped the dressed up chicken. I know the analogy is not the greatest, and at some point, it breaks down, but for our purposes, it was the amount of Truth that we could digest at the time.
It reminds me of Romans 1:25. “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen”
