Lecture 6 — Fulfillment of the law

^5:17^ Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. [n. 464]

^5:18^ For amen I say unto you, until heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle will not pass of the law, until all be fulfilled. [n. 471]

^5:19^ He therefore who will break one of these least commandments, and so teach men, will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he who will do and teach, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. [n. 471]

464. Do not think. Having set down the beatitude that the teaching of Christ relates to, here he begins to promulgate his own teaching. And first he makes clear his intention; second, he proposes the rule and commands of his teaching, at **for I say to you **(Matt 5:20).

Concerning the first, he does two things:

first, he makes clear his intention;

second, he shows the reason for its fulfillment, at amen.

465. Concerning the first, he does two things:

first, he excludes what might be supposed as his intention;

second, he supplies the true intention, at I am not come.

466. The Lord had said to his apostles, **blessed are you when they will revile you **(Matt 5:11); hence the apostles might suspect that such a teaching was to be handed on that they had to hide themselves, as though Christ were saying something against the Law; and thus the Lord excludes this by saying, do not think. And again the same thing since it could be said that no other prophet, after Moses who gave it, did away with the Law, therefore the Lord says that he will do it fully, hence but to fulfill: for no one had fulfilled it.

And note that this word is most effective against those who condemn the law as though it were from the devil: for the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). But he himself acknowledges, I am not come to destroy the law: therefore it is not a work of the devil. By this argument a certain man was converted to the faith, and became a fellow preacher. Hence the Manichees abhor greatly this chapter; hence Faustus objects many times against Augustine. And all the objections are reduced to three. The first is from the authority of the law: for it says in Deuteronomy: let no word be added to the word that I speak to you, nor will you take anything away from it (Deut 4:2); but Christ did add to it: therefore he acted against the law. Again, Christ said that he was the institutor of the new law, later in this text: this is my blood (Matt 26:28); therefore he has destroyed the old. Third, for I have given you an example (John 13:15); therefore every action of Christ is true instruction; thus if he observed the law, we also must observe it. Therefore we must be circumcised and keep all the legal prescriptions. And this is the shared claim of Nazarenes and Manichees.

467. Therefore Faustus said that either Jesus did not say these words, but Matthew, who was not present for this sermon, said this, while John who was present did not say this; or that if Matthew wrote what Christ said, the Gospel is explained some other way.

For in Sacred Scripture the law is set forth three ways: because in the law of God there is the Mosaic law: we are freed from the law of death (Rom 7:6); there is the law of nature: for when the gentiles who have not the law do by nature what is of the law (Rom 2:14); and there is the law of truth, for the law of the Spirit of life delivered me from the law of sin and death (Rom 8:2).

This is proved in three ways, then, namely: the old law; the law of nature which is among the gentiles, one of them a prophet of their own, said: the Cretans are always liars (Tit 1:12); and the law of truth, Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes (Matt 23:34).

Therefore what he says here, I am not come to destroy, is to be understood concerning the law of nature or of truth, for it also existed among certain of the ancient fathers; and the sign of this is that the Lord, when he was speaking of the commandments, seemed to approve some of them, and not others, namely, those that are properly of the law of Moses, namely that eye for an eye and the ones like it.

468. But Augustine objects against these things in the following way. First, because whoever denies something of the Gospel, by the same reasoning could deny anything else and thus render Scripture void; but the man of faith must believe whatever things are in the Scriptures. Again, because he says he speaks about another law and prophets, it is false, for in the whole New Testament, everywhere law is mentioned, it is understood to be about the law of Moses, to them belong . . . the giving of the law (Rom 9:4); therefore also the Lord is speaking of these things.

469. Hence it should be seen first how Christ came to fulfill the law, and afterward we will resolve the arguments. Thus it should be known that Christ fulfilled the law and the prophets in five ways.

First, because those things that were prefigured in the law and the prophets concerning Christ, he fulfilled in his actions: what is written must be fulfilled in me (Luke 22:37).

Second, by observing the legal requirements to the letter, when the fullness of time had come, God sent his son (Gal 4:4).

Third, by working through grace, which the law of nature could not do: for every law is for the sake of making us just men, but Christ did this by the Holy Spirit: for what the law could not do, God has done by sending his own Son (Rom 8:3).

Fourth, according to Augustine, by satisfying for the sins by which we were made transgressors of the law; hence having borne the transgression he is said to have fulfilled the law: whom God proposed to be a propitiation (Rom 3:29).

Fifth, by applying certain perfections to the law which were either for the understanding of the law or for the greater perfection of justice, for the law brought nothing to perfection (Heb 7:19); and these things seem to be the intention of Christ, since, when he made mention of all legal restrictions, he added **be you therefore perfect **(Matt 5:48). Thus we resolve the arguments of Faustus as Augustine resolves them.

470. As for let no word be added (Deut 4:2), it should be said that Christ did not add, but expounded; for those men understood the act of homicide when he said, you shall not kill. Christ explained that it also forbade hatred and anger. Similarly, regarding in pronouncing a new he has made the first one old (Heb 8:13), it should be said that the new one is the same, for the former was a figure and the latter is the fulfillment of figures. As to what we should observe, it should be said that something can be signified by speech and figure, and not be different, however it is signified. Before Christ was born it could have been said: Christ will be born and will die, but now it is said: Christ was born, and that sort of thing, and yet by this is illustrated that future events and completed ones are expressed by different words. Hence what was signified by figures as being in the future, when it has happened is signified in the present by new figures, namely the sacraments of the new law. Hence although Christ observed the law, nevertheless because the truth has come whoever observed it now would do injury to the truth. Thus I am not come to destroy, is understood this way.

471. Amen I say to you. Here the reason for the fulfillment is set forth, and it seems a threefold reason is assigned: first from the unmoving character of the law, second from the penalty for those doing away with it, third from the reward for those fulfilling it; the second is at he therefore who will break one of these least commandments, the third at who will break . . . and so teach.

Thus he says amen. And it should be known that all the mysteries of Christ were prefigured in the old law; but as is said in Amos: the Lord will do nothing without revealing his word to his servants (Amos 3:7), therefore the mysteries of Christ will last until the end times, as is said here, behold, I am with you, (Matt 28:20).

Hence not all mysteries of the prophets were fulfilled in the first coming of Christ, nor will they be fulfilled before the end of the world. And what he said cannot be changed: has the Lord said then and will he not do? (Num 23:19); therefore if the law predicted these things that are in the future it is also fitting that they happen of necessity. Hence he says amen I say, that is, all things will be fulfilled in succession until the end of the world.

It should be known that amen is Hebrew, and no translator has dared to change this word out of reverence, for the Lord used it frequently. And it is taken sometimes in force of a noun, hence amen: truth; sometimes it is an adverb, i.e., truly, and so it is taken here; sometimes it stands for fiat: ‘so be it’; hence in the Psalm where we have ‘fiat’ for the Hebrew ‘amen’. Hence the verse says, for ‘vero’, ‘truly’; for ‘fiat’, ‘amen’ is said. Hence the Lord here excites the attention of his listeners.

472. Until heaven and earth pass, not according to their substance but according to their disposition, for the fashion of this world is passing away (1 Cor 7:31), the day of God when the heavens will burn (2 Pet 3:12). Until: until the end of the world.

Jot. Iota among the Greeks is the letter that we call small ‘i’; but among the Hebrews it is called ioth; and iota among the Greeks means ‘y’ and is the ninth letter; for all letters signify a certain number, hence it belongs to the perfection of the decalogue, and perhaps for this reason he says jot rather than ioth, according to what the saints say. Tittle is the mark at the top of a letter in Hebrew as well as in Greek, but they mean different things, since among the Hebrews aleph sometimes sounds like ‘a’ and sometimes like ‘e’, and this is known by certain points which here are called tittles; while among the Greeks certain marks are written above the letters to distinguish aspirations and accents, and those are what are called tittles among the Greeks. Therefore the Lord means that nothing is so unimportant that it need not be fulfilled.

473. He therefore who will break. Here the second argument is set down, and it is taken from the penalty of those who break the law, as it were: whoever breaks the law will be liable to the penalty as a transgressor of divine observance. However there are lesser commandments, according to Chrysostom, commandments of Christ; hence who will break one of these least commandments which I am about to tell you. And he continues thus: for the law cannot be broken, therefore, by the fact that I do not do away with it, whoever does will be liable to the penalty. And those things are called least first because of humility, as someone might call himself small, as in: **unless you . . . become like children **(Matt 18:3); or they are called least as regards the transgression because he sins less who breaks it, but there are greater things than the law that Christ commands as regards observance, for the law commands: you shall not kill, but Christ commands not to grow angry.

474. Augustine says otherwise, as well as Jerome: he speaks literally about the least precepts that are in the law because he says jot and tittle; and they are called the least things because the chief things are love the Lord your God, and your neighbor (Mark 12:30–31); hence certain observances are called least precepts, like many in Leviticus 19. And he says this to confront the Pharisees, for Pharisees transgressed many things for the sake of their observances, as he says later in this Gospel: then you have made void the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition (Matt 15:6). But the law is made void in three ways: first by completely denying it, second by interpreting it badly, and third by not observing its morals.

475. And so teach. He does badly who acts badly, but he does worse who teaches others to act badly: you have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam (Rev 2:14); and thus he says, who will break one of these least commandments and so teach men, i.e., to break the commandments. And according to this it seems that whoever breaks the commandments will be in the kingdom of heaven.

But it should be known that according to Augustine, the kingdom of heaven here is taken for eternal life, and the Lord wanted to convey that no one will be there who will break one of these least commandments and so teach men, for none will be there but the great: whom he justified (Rom 8:30). Hence whoever is too small will never enter. Second, according to Rabbanus, men seek fame among men because this is a certain glory, that a man be considered great in the kingdom of men; but who will break . . . will be called the least in the kingdom of heaven, not existing here: for there a man is considered small for transgressing the commandments, and even smaller for teaching the transgression. And this is good enough.

Chrysostom says otherwise: Scripture sometimes calls the final judgment the kingdom of heaven, as it says: the Lord has reigned (Ps 99:1); and there there will be different orders, but least will be the one who taught others to transgress the commandments, because to the kingdom of heaven, by this reading, even those who are in hell would belong. Gregory takes it for the Church, hence: he will be called least in the Church, because whose life is despised it remains that his preaching is condemned.

Who will . . . and so teach. Great is the man who does well, greater still the one who does it and teaches others; hence he will have great glory, whoever will confess me (Matt 10:32); for in all things you have magnified your people (Wis 19:20).