Matthew 5.13 - Light and Salt.
Created: Sat 21-June-2025 - 12:57
Matthew 5:13-16 and the meaning of Light and Salt
To begin with, we will start looking at Matthew 5:13-16. These are essential teachings of Yeshua Messiah leading into what could be considered as the most misinterpreted teachings in Matthew 5:17-19.
Introduction
In this series on the Sermon on the Mount, we set out to answer these and other questions which are existential to our faith.
- Why was Yeshua seemingly compelled to affirm that He did not come to abolish the Torah?
- Was there some misunderstanding amongst His audience?
- What does Salt and Light mean in first century Jewish context, and what are the effects on Christians today?
- How can Yeshua reconcile Faith and Works if we are supposedly saved by faith alone?
- What are Messiah's expectations of His followers?
- How does that apply to Jews and Gentiles in Messiah today?
Are you ready to dive deep into God's word?
Main Passage
13. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
The Salt of the Earth & Light of the World
The Gospel of Matthew is densely packed with one doctrine: Obedience. This doctrine, as Yeshua establishes, is not His own either, but the Father's who sent Him.
There is a clear call for believers in Yeshua unto obedience, good works, and righteousness. We see this not only in the Sermon on the Mount, but throughout the New Testament (Hebrew: Brit Chadashah).
This caused some confusion among His Jewish audience as to what would then happen to the Torah. Is it done away with? Is the Messiah abolishing the Torah?
In order to understand the urgency with which Yeshua told His audience that not one jot or tittle of the Torah shall pass away, we shall look at the passages[1] leading into His statement—beginning at Matthew 5:13.
Now, let us start with the Salt. This is not just another saying that Yeshua came up with. It is not merely an image of how salt gives taste to food and so shall His followers be. Certainly, there is an application for this understanding.
However, we shall look at it not from our modern Christianity perspective but from the perspective of Yeshua and His audience, i.e. 1st century Jews.
The Hebrew meaning of Salt & Light
In Mesopotamian notions, salt symbolizes purity and wisdom.
In Hebrew, the idiom "salt of the earth" (מלח הארץ - melah ha'aretz) is a metaphor for valuable, essential, or worthy people.
It signifies those who are genuine, righteous, and have a positive influence on society, much like salt enhances flavour and preserves food.
This idiom is also rooted in Scripture and Mesopotamian notions, where salt is associated with covenant, purification, wisdom and permanence.
In 2 Kings 2:19-22 [2], we see an intriguing image of Elijah and how the Lord heals water with salt thereby purifying it from death and barrenness.
In the Tanakh, Midrash, and Mishnah, salt is a metaphor for God's long-lasting covenant with Israel, connected to priestly sacrifices, ritual purity, and social bonds.
Light
The Hebrew word for light (אוֹר = or) is a wordplay on the Torah, meaning God's wise instruction.
The Torah is often used interchangeably with the word “light”
Light (or) is used to describe the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars, but it is also used metaphorically to symbolize knowledge, enlightenment, and God’s presence in the world.
God’s wisdom given in the Torah is a light for Israel that they are called to share with the nations.
We can now understand better the context of Yeshua telling His audience: “You are the salt and the light”. In fact, this statement leads into verses 17-20 where Yeshua is clarifying that He did not come to abolish the Torah.
What did His audience understand, or misunderstand?
Did they possibly understand that they are the Torah now?
Are they above the Torah?
Is the Torah done away with?
We do not know for certain the effect verses 13-16 must have had on the audience around Yeshua at that time. But we can assume that whatever they understood must have Yeshua caused to clarify His position towards the Torah.
The Jewish audience understood the connection of Light and Torah very well. Let us understand this connection between light and Torah (Law/Commandments) better.
Torah, the Light?
Proverbs 6:23 as well as Isaiah 42:6 seem to connect the Torah (God's Law) with light. Proverbs says that the Torah is light and the commandments are a lamp, while Isaiah puts emphasis on the light to the nations. [3] Yeshua's audience surely understood these references as they were taught Torah at synagogue every Shabbat.
In the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (Vatican manuscript Vat.ebr.100), we see how Salt and Light are used and translated in verses 13 to 14: "Instruction of the World" [4] .
=> This sentiment seems to reflected Yeshua's teachings in Matthew 5:13-19
The particular translation of "instruction" in this Vatican manuscript brings further suggestions on how His followers might have (mis)understood Him in saying that they are the Light of the World.
Yeshua's audience at the Sermon on the Mount might have interpreted it as them being the authority in the world now, not the Torah. Therefore, it would have seem plausible that Yeshua had to clarify what He meant exactly, and that the Torah and Prophets shall by no means pass away until Heaven and Earth pass away.
Notice in verse 13 how Yeshua says not only are His followers the Salt of wisdom, instruction, and purification, He says they are the Salt of the Earth, meaning of all nations. This would suggest that all followers of Yeshua will stand out from unbelievers in a way that is visible and noticeable.
More findings in the Mishnah
We also find a striking commentary in relation to instruction and Torah observance in the Mishnah^ [5].
Torah study leads to care in the performance of mitzvot.
Care in the performance of mitzvot leads to diligence in their observance.
Diligence leads to cleanliness of the soul.
Cleanliness of the soul leads to abstention from all evil.
Abstention from evil leads to purity and the elimination of all base desires.
Purity leads to piety.
Piety leads to humility.
Humility leads to fear of sin.
Fear of sin leads to holiness.
Holiness leads to the Divine Spirit.
The Divine Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead.**
Not only do we see that studying God's word (Torah) leads to obedience. But that obedience ultimately leads to the Resurrection of the dead.
This is a first hint of how to understand Salt in this context. In the next three passages from the Tanakh, we will see the bigger picture unfold.
A Covenant with Salt
Salt not only represents wisdom, instruction, purification. In Jewish understanding it is also a sign of the covenant between God and Israel. Let us have a look at the following three verses together and unveil the mystery further.
In Leviticus 2:13 [6] , we understand that salt was so important that every meal offering shall be seasoned with salt—drawing a parallel to the salt of the covenant between God an Israel. in 2 Chronicles 13:5 [7], it is now without a doubt that God made the covenant with Israel with salt. And in Numbers 18:19 [8] we see that it is a covenant forever.
Salt was not some imagery that Yeshua came up with spontaneously on the spot. No, it is much more than that. God, through His agency Yeshua, was affirming His forever covenant with Israel and its offspring right at the beginning of Messiah's ministry.
A COVENANT OF SALT FOR EVER — This means that He made a covenant with Aaron by means of something which is wholesome and lasting and keeps other things wholesome
Another explanation is that ברית מלח is equivalent to כברית מלח, and the meaning is: like the covenant that was made with salt that it will never decay.
(Sifrei Bamidbar 118).
Further symbolism about "Salt"
Other texts make an even deeper case for the symbolism of Salt [9] saying that the meaning of salt is a mixture and unity of disparate matters. The primary meaning for Yeshua's Jewish audience regarding Salt of the Earth was Israel's covenantal calling (see Ex 19:5-6 [10]).
In light of the mystery of the Brit Chadashah (New Covenant) whereby Gentiles (the wild branches) are being grafted into the true vine (Yeshua) together with the natural branches (Israel) [11]. Is not the body of Messiah (the Church) a mixture and unity of disparate matters?
Gentiles grafted into Israel’s covenants (Eph 2:12–13 [12]) share the call to be ‘salt’—not by becoming Jewish, but by upholding Torah’s ethics (e.g., Acts 15:19–21 [13]:).
Work vs Faith: Going out in the World
Yeshua telling His audience to be the Salt of the Earth, and Light of the World is a call to go out in the world and be set-apart (i.e. holy).
In Matthew 5:16, the Messiah is very clear of His expectations: Good Works. He commands His followers to let their light shine before others, so that they can see the light.
It is a call not only to His audience and disciples back then on the mountain. Is it not also the call to believers today? Yet, when we look at certain religious doctrines, we see that those keeping God's law and His commandments are ousted as Judaizers, Pharisees, Unbelievers, or worse.
Shall we risk our salvation by following doctrines contrary to Messiah's call?
A similar sentiment can be felt in the passages of Matthew 5:13-19. There seems to have been confusion as to what the meaning of Yeshua's words actually are.
Did they misinterpreted His words as them now being the authority, not the Torah anymore?
We get some evidence for this theory in verse 17 when Yeshua, indeed, feels compelled to set the record straight: Just because I say you are the Salt and Light of the world does not mean that you are free from the Torah - on the contrary.
So how can we let our light shine in the world?
Yeshua expects Work and Good Deeds
In Matthew 5:16 [14], we hear Yeshua's commandment and expectation of 'Good Works'. Yeshua expects us to go out in the world, let our light shine amongst others so that our good works will glorify the Father in Heaven. Something that seems to be clear to Yeshua's audience in the 1st century was the definition of good works. They already had made the connection to the Torah (God's Law) listening to Yeshua. They knew that good works are defined in Torah by God himself. His instructions are clear in Scripture, in Torah, Tanakh, and the Brit Chadashah.
Yeshua upholds the Torah, brings His followers back to the Torah, and yet gives it a deeper spiritual meaning as we will see as we work through the Sermon on the Mount. The Law was not abolished but exalted in Messiah. Christian theology often argues He fulfilled the Law by ways of meaning done away with. While it is true that certain aspects of the Law were exalted in Messiah (Sacrificial laws, Levitical laws) as we see in Hebrews 10:1-18, God has not terminated the Law. Neither for Jews nor for Gentiles. Upon further exploration of the word 'fulfil' (plēroō) we find that it means to fill up its meaning, i.e. a deeper spiritual application and heart obedience [15]. Some laws (e.g., sacrifices) find their telos (goal) in Messiah, but the Torah remains.
The Torah (God's Law & Commandments) are God’s instructions on how His people—Jew and Gentile—should set themselves apart (i.e. be holy). It is also the way God wants to be worshipped and loved without any guesswork.
In light of this (no pun intended), one question may be allowed: *
"Why does traditional Christian doctrine almost demonize works that is produced by faith"?*
Is it not clear that our Messiah himself expects us to do good works? To Torah-seeking or -affirming Christians let us say this: Let us not be timid or afraid of obeying the Father.
Yeshua was clear when he spoke to the woman at the well in John 4: Salvation does not come from Torah. Salvation (Hebrew: Yeshua) comes from the Jews. Likewise, we shall remind ourselves of this:
Salvation does not come through obeying Torah—obedience to Torah comes as the fruit of salvation through faith in Messiah. It flows from the Cross, enabled through the Holy Spirit.
As we see in Ephesians 2:8-10[16], Torah obedience is the fruit of faith, not a means of salvation. Yeshua's critique was never against Torah itself or God's Law & Commandments, but hypocritical observance (see Matthew 23:23 [17]).
In two other significant passages, we see Yeshua emphasising obedience to God the Father and His commandments very clearly. In Matthew 25:32-46 specifically in verse 40 [18] He speaks of the 'least of His brothers'. Who are Yeshua's brothers? He gives us the answer in Matthew 12:48-50 [19]
48. But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
49. And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
50. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Those who do the will of the Father in heaven is Yeshua's brother, sister, and mother.
Let us become part of Messiah's family by keeping His commandments and obey God's will as laid out in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.
A clear Torah-affirming statement that kicks off Yeshua's ministry
Notice that we are at the very early stages of Yeshua's ministry. It was at that very beginning that He saw the necessity to clarify His stance on the Torah. After all, He could have come to overthrow not only the Romans and free Jerusalem, but also to overthrow that which seemingly held Jews bondage to sin: The Torah.
In Matthew 5:17-20 [20], we see how clearly Yeshua makes His case for the Torah and the Prophets. There is a clear reason as to why Yeshua does this:
- Had he abolished the Torah, it would have made Him a sinner—unfit to be the unblemished sacrificial passover lamb
Many interpretations of Torah’s abolition don’t withstand scrutiny.
Would God or Yeshua not have clearly told us: "Once Yeshua is risen, forget all these commandments and live according to your own hearts"?
Nowhere in Scripture do we find anything remotely close to such an idea. On the contrary, the Law, the prophets, and the writings are affirmed throughout Scripture (Old Testament, i.e. Tanakh; New Testament, i.e. Brit Chadashah בְּרִית חֲדָשָׁה) that they are profitable for teaching [21]. In the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), we also find Paul teaching to keep the sound doctrine of Yeshua Messiah [22].
The question is, how can we apply being the Light of the World as Yeshua calls us to be?
To Abolish the Torah, or not to Abolish the Torah...that is the question
One question that has always made me wonder was "Why did Yeshua see it necessary to explicitly tell His audience that He did not come to abolish the Torah but to fulfil it"?
Nonetheless, many Christian doctrines are based on the false assumption that through Yeshua's death on the cross, all of the Tanakh was nailed to the cross with Him. Equally false are the misinterpretations of Paul's letters resulting in a wide-spread Christian doctrine of "Pick & Chose", following a misunderstood Paul rather than the divine agency of God, i.e. His Son Yeshua Messiah.
Anti-nomionism and abolition doctrines will refer to Romans 10:4 to prove that the Law was done away with at the Cross [23]. Upon further investigation in this series on the Sermon on the Mount, we can rightly say that Paul follows Yeshua whereby the Messiah never abolished the Law. Not even after His resurrection.
Paul echoes Yeshua: The Torah is ‘holy, just, and good’ (Rom 7:12), but salvation is by faith, not works of law (Rom 3:28).
Application
In modern churches, the term light of the world is often used for evangelism but remains divorced from Torah obedience. This causes a disparity of theological interpretation and what is actually written in Scripture.
Yeshua is clear in saying that we are to do the will of the Father in heaven. And that we shall keep His commandments. Doctrines that teach the exact opposite, i.e. that obedience denies the Cross, are to be closely examined, questioned, and corrected where possible.
If ‘light’ means Torah (Prov 6:23), then ‘shining’ means living out God’s ethics (e.g., honesty in business, sexual purity, caring for poor)—not just quoting Scripture.
Yeshua calls us to stand out from the world, be in the world but not of the world, to shine our light in the darkness of the world. We cannot shine our light if we disobey God. The Torah is a light. Studying Torah leads to the resurrection of the dead. Let us join together in this covenant and walk in God's statutes. Jew or Gentile, united in Messiah. Following His call. Walking in His Way.
Amen.
👉 If Yeshua said His followers are ‘salt’ and ‘light,’ but saltless Christianity lacks covenant faithfulness and lightless evangelism lacks Torah’s ethics—what must change in our walk?
Footnotes
13. “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
14. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
15. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.
16. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
11. I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
12. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13. For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
14. if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.
15. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16. For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18. do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”
20. Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
23. And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?
25. For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27. For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”
28. Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.
29. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.
30. For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,
31. even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.
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19. Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”
20. And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.
21. Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ”
22. So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke. The Hebrew Gospel of Matthew
5:13 And it happened furthermore, that Yeshua Mashiach said unto his talmidim, "You are the instruction of the world, but the instruction is cut off" (v) by them who are not saved, and nothing else is fit, except to cast them to the street and to trample them.- https://digi.vatlib.it/view/MSS_Vat.ebr.100/0016
- https://www.hebrewgospels.com/_files/ugd/c68db9_71c9a9c22a2646ec93694a17128ef55f.pdf
Explanation:
Oral commentaries on the Torah. Yeshua engaged Pharasaic halakha (e.g. Hillel/Shammai debates) and interacted with oral traditions later codified in the MishnahMishnah:
This is the first major written codification of Jewish oral law, compiled after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. It serves as a foundational text for the Talmud and was primarily compiled by Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi and his court.Midrash:
This term refers to a broader category of rabbinic literature that includes interpretations, elaborations, and applications of biblical texts, often focusing on legal (Halakha) and non-legal (Haggadah) aspects. Midrashim were compiled over several centuries, with some earlier works dating back to the 2nd century CE and later compilations extending into the medieval periodSince Yeshua during His earthly ministry did point out the hypocrisy of putting the traditions of the elders (man-made traditions) over the commandments of God, it is very likely that Yeshua was very familiar with the Mishnah and Midrash, although not in its written form but in its oral form. Furthermore, it is also very likely that Paul and the other Apostles have been familiar with it. ↩︎
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13. And every offering of your grain offering you shall season with salt; you shall not allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering. With all your offerings you shall offer salt.
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5. Should you not know that the LORD God of Israel gave the dominion over Israel to David forever, to him and his sons, by a covenant of salt?
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19. “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and daughters with you as an ordinance forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD with you and your descendants with you.”
HaKtav VeHaKabalah, Numbers 18:19
An eternal covenant of salt. The connotation of salt is a mixture of opposite elements, for the elements of fire and water unite in salt. This teaching about salt led me to an insight:Most of the nation of Israel are involved in temporal matters of worldly affairs, while the kohanim alone were chosen by Hashem to be constantly devoted to His service, to be close to Him in spiritual matters. Thus, they have extra commandments as befits their holiness. The nation was obligated to give them twenty-four gifts as presented in this parshah, which forms a partnership of unity between the kohanim and the nation in general.
By this, the nation enabled the kohanim to devote themselves to eternal spiritual service. The cooperation thereby accomplished is called the covenant of salt, in accordance with the meaning of salt, which is a mixture and unity of disparate matters. ↩︎
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5. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”👉 Could earth (eretz) here mean Land of Israel - as in Matthew 5:5 "inherit the eretz"? ↩︎
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11. I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.
12. Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13. For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,
14. if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.
15. For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
16. For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18. do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19. You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.”
20. Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22. Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. -
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12. that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. -
=>[!Quote] acts 15:19-21 KJV
Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: but that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
Many scholars agree that the apostles acknowledge that Gentiles would learn Torah every week at synagogues so that they should not put more pressure unto them for now than these 2 things. These 4 things Gentiles should abstain from are not a means to an end; it was the beginning of their faith journey. As we read in other passages, believers should go from 'milk' to 'solid food', i.e. understanding of faith, understanding of Torah, applying everything they learn. ↩︎
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https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4137/kjv/tr/0-1/ ↩︎
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8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
9. not of works, lest anyone should boast.
10. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. -
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23. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
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17. “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
19. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Romans 10:4 ("Christ is the end of the law")?
Compare Paul’s Jewish context (e.g., "end" as goal in Greek/telos, not termination). ↩︎