The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 232

Ver. 17 .-The true relation. of the old and the new. "I am not come to destroy, but to fnlfil." "As a Teacher, our Lord came to fill up what was lacking, to develop hints and germs of truth, to turn rules into principles." Phillips Drooks says, "When Jesus came into the world to establish the perfect religion, he found here an imperfect faith. How should he treat this partial, this imperfect faith, which was already on the ground? He might do either of two things. He might sweep it away, and begin entirely anew, or he might take this imperfect faith· and fill it out to completeness. He might destroy or he might fulfil. With the most deliberate wisdom he chose one method and rejected the other." A distinction may be pointed ou~ between man'11 idea of the reLl.tions of the old and the new, and God's idea. I. MAN'S OLD MAY BE REPLACED. He does not build a new house as a development of the old one; he takes the old one down and puts the new in its place. And this is illustrative of man's methods in all his spheres of education and science and religion. Man reforms by destroying. The iconoclast begins our better days. The scientific teacher first destroys the theories of his predecessors. For man there is a constant succession of something like absolute new beginnings, because there is no guaranteed truth in man's old. (It will be seen that, though this is a large and general truth, it must be taken with some careful qualifications. We should only go so far as to say, "Man's old may be removed and replaced.") II. Gon's OLD MUST BE FULFILLED. It can never be destroyed, because it is a step in a series, a piece of a plan, a process in a growth. It is not only true for the time, it is true for all time, but getting expression in adaptation to a particular time. Illustrate by the frnit fulfilling the seed. The seed remains in the fruit, finding there its developed form, or its fulfilment. Show that it is not precise to say that our Lord's new teaching replaced Mosaism, or even absorbed Mosaism. It developed it, realized it, fulfilled it, fruited it. Christianity is the spirituality of the Mose.ism liberated from the chrysalis of formal commands, and set free to show itself as the beautif11l winged thing that it is. God's new is always his glorified old.-R. '£, Ver. 20.-The better type, of righteousness. "Shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees." How one righteousness can be thought of as ea:ceeding another does not at once appear. We may apprehend it, if we ~uly consider ~his distinction. Heart-righteousness must, in every age, be the same thrng; but practical righteousness, finding expression in conduct and relations, does go by an ascending scale, and does vary in different ages and nations. L A BIGHTEOUBNEBS MA y BE ESTIMATED BY THE SPACE IT COVERS. A ritual religion, such as formal Mose.ism was, covers a precise and limited area. Its righteous- ness could be clearly defined. It bore relation to the prescribed acts of homage and worship; and even if it concerned itself with man's private life and rolations, its Ephere was only conduct; it consist~d in formal obedience to specified rul~s. Thi11 is illustrated in the confidence of righteousness expressed by the young nch ruler, when he said, "All these have I kept from my youth up." The space his righteou1; ness covered was very limited. \Vithin its limits Mosaic righteousness stiffened until it became a mere ceremonialism, which could be kept up along with personal indulgence, and immorality. Men could honour God with their acts, and disgr~ce him by their life&. .A.nd then the Jehovah-prophets were sent, to awaken a moral h~e, and reveal the true sphere of righteousness. Still, a righteousness may be estima~cd according to the limits of its aphere. The Christ-righteousness demands the entlI'e Ii.fe and relations. Right every day and everywhere. oe. v. l-4.8.] TllE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTllEW. 225