Matthew 5:17–20

Jesus gives one of his most definitive statements on his relationship to the Law. Unfortunately, at first glance, it’s not necessarily one of the clearest statements on his relationship to the Law, so we’ll have to look at it closely in order to follow his train of thought. But in doing so, we will continue to see this theme that we looked at in the Beatitudes: the character of God’s kingdom citizens; the character God demands; and the character God gives us through union with Christ. Let’s look at these four verses together and see how Jesus relates to the law and how he relates the law to himself.