Faithfulness in small and great things (Matthew 5:17–20)

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Yomelijah

4 min readDec 15, 2022

“17 “Do not think I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I came, not to destroy, but to fulfill; 18 for truly I say to you that sooner would heaven and earth pass away than for one smallest letter or one particle of a letter to pass away from the Law by any means and not all things take place. 19 Whoever, therefore, breaks one of these least commandments and teaches mankind to that effect, he will be called ‘least’ in relation to the kingdom of the heavens. As for anyone who does them and teaches them, this one will be called ‘great’ in relation to the kingdom of the heavens. 20 For I say to you that if your righteousness does not abound more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens” (Matthew 5:17–20).
Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law given to Moses. Christians are not under the law given to Moses. Jesus Christ is the end of the law given to Moses: “For Christ is the end of the Law, so that everyone exercising faith may have righteousness” (Romans 10:4). However, Jesus Christ urges us to be faithful in small things. “The person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10).
For example, it is important to understand the point of view of God, on theft and lying. When Adam and Eve sinned by the impulse of the temptation of the devil, there was the lie of the devil and the theft of the fruit belonging to God, by Adam and Eve (Genesis chapter 3). Regarding this biblical narrative, Jesus Christ associated the lie of the devil with homicide: “you are from your father the Devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father. That one was a manslayer when he began, and he did not stand fast in the truth, because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks according to his own disposition, because he is a liar and the father of the lie” (John 8:44). Through this lie of the devil, sin entered the world through the disobedience of the first man, Adam. The result was that death, spiritually and genetically, extended to all of his offspring (Romans 5:12; 6:23). To this situation which seemed hopeless for the whole of mankind, it was necessary for Jehovah God, the Father, to consent to the death in sacrifice of his beloved Son, Jesus Christ (Yehoshuah Mashiah), to save the humanity (John 3:16,36).
From this perspective, we understand better, the words of Jesus Christ when he connects the lie to homicide or murder. In the case of the devil, but also for the earthly son of Satan, who constantly sought to kill him (John 5:18; 7:1). Sometimes people say there are “little” and “big” lies. The problem is, that the “necessity” and the scale of the seriousness of the lies, are often set by the liars themselves. However, to get back to the important idea, it is necessary to know the point of view of God on this issue through the biblical accounts. A simple statement from Christ shows that humanly establishing such a scale of gravity is a mistake: “The person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much, and the person unrighteous in what is least is unrighteous also in much” (Luke 16:10). This can be illustrated by the example of Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, who sold their property to give the money to the Christian congregation in the days of the apostles. However, the record informs us that they withheld some money from the sale for themselves, while leading the apostles to believe that they had given all of it. The result is that God put them to death for telling such a lie (Acts 5:1–11). The biblical observation is simple: lying can have disastrous consequences not only for the victims, but also for the liars themselves.

The teaching of Jesus Christ that leads to spiritual maturity
The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 to 7)
English: http://www.yomelyah.com/437426849
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The prophecy of Daniel:
English: http://www.yomelyah.com/435935462
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Zechariah’s prophecy:
English: http://www.yomelyah.com/435935966
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To read the whole article “Good things to come”:

English: http://www.yomelyah.com/436586396

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To read the whole article of “Why did God allow suffering and wickedness?”, please choose your preferred language, below:

English: http://www.yomelyah.com/435935499

French: http://www.yomelijah.com/435880452

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