Until All Is Accomplished
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished”
-Matthew 5:17-18
People are getting more and more frustrated with our current political climate. The forces of Tribalism seek to further divide and separate otherwise congenial citizens of our country. It seems as if no matter how inconsequential the issue, if party A in for it, Party B has to unite, uncritically, to destroy the plans of Party A. No questions asked or allowed. Any hint of disloyalty within the ranks is punished. If Party B is for stirring their coffee counter-clockwise, Party A MUST condemn it. My friends, there is a growing number of people who are done with both. On the fringes of our society there are even some who would take delight in watching the whole system burn.
It is this desperate, ‘watch the whole thing burn’ mentality that I want to focus on here.
In Jesus’ day, there were similar divisions among the people of Israel. Some favored a more passive approach to the Roman Occupation, insisting that God would send a savior to make things right, we just needed to stay faithful to the religious system of temple and synagogue worship and patiently wait. Keep the rules and God would one day show up and boot out the Romans. Still others on the other end of the spectrum also affirmed their belief that God would send a savior, BUT only IF God’s people arose in violent protest. This side believed that God was only waiting for His people to take the initiative then He would swoop in, take over and finish up where His people had stepped up and risked their lives. Both sides were desperate WRONG.
In this week’s gospel text from Matthew, chapter 5, Jesus promises that he is not there to ‘set the world on fire and watch it burn’. He’s also not going to perpetuate and prop up a broken, legalistic, dead, traditional, system that seemed only to enslave His people and enrich crooked leaders. He has come to fulfill ALL the hopes and dreams of His people. Even more so, He was there to satisfy all the promises God ever made.
The old Covenant would not be destroyed. It would be FULFILLED. Once fulfilled, there would be room for a new covenant. One made on the Cross and commemorated in bread and wine. Soon, Jesus would cry out from the Cross, “It is accomplished”. Some translations render it as “It is FINISHED”. The entirety of the Law would be fully satisfied/accomplished/finished in the life and death of Jesus. And we, who trust in Him, would have all this count for us. As a gift.
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