Two “Tills”

by Terry Wane Benton

Matthew 5:18 has two "tills."

"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished" (Matthew 5:18).

The meaning of Matthew 5:18 in giving us two “tills” is this: “Until heaven and earth pass” is not speaking of the length of binding nature but of its certainty of being upheld. In other words, heaven and earth could more readily pass away than any part of the Law and the Prophets until all be fulfilled. The second “till” qualifies the first "till." “Until all is fulfilled” qualifies the first "till."

What happens to the Law and the Prophets once they are fulfilled? They pass into a different role. They don’t pass out of existence, but they do pass into a different role, that of testifying of Jesus the Christ and telling men of their need for Jesus. They pass from the role of binding law to a role of testimony and faith building. One that testifies does not carry binding authority but does carry the force of a truthful and dependable witness. This is how the New Testament uses the Old Testament. It verifies the truth about Jesus and the truth about moral righteousness.

Jesus did not fulfill and then destroy the testimony of the Old Testament. It still testifies of Jesus, of sin, and of righteousness. But, in fulfilling it, Jesus brought its binding regulations to a close, taking over the rule of the Law and annulling the previous program for a better program in Himself. Not until He fulfilled it would anything change. So, He was not here to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. Filling up what it demanded, He could then move it aside into a testimonial role and replace it with a better covenant. After fulfilling it (Luke 24:44), He could then

• “wipe out the handwriting of requirements” (Colossians 2:14),
• “abolish in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments” (Ephesians 2:15), and
• “annul the former commandment” (Hebrews 7:18)

and become “a surety of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22), and “change the law” (Hebrews 7:14) from a fleshly Levitical system (Hebrews 7:16) to an eternal and spiritual system (Hebrews 7:24; 9:10-15) with better atoning sacrifice, better priesthood, better provisions in Christ.