Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 5:18

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished." — Matthew 5:18 (ASV)

“I tell you the truth [amen; GK 297]” signals that the statement to follow is of the utmost importance; v.18 further explains and confirms the truth of v.17. The “jot” (KJV) refers to “the smallest letter” (NIV) of the Hebrew alphabet. “The least stroke of a pen” may refer to the small stroke that distinguishes several pairs of Hebrew letters. In any event Jesus here upholds the authority of the OT Scriptures right down to its individual letters. His is the highest possible view of the OT.

But vv.17–18 do not wrestle abstractly with OT authority but with the nature, extent, and duration of its validity and continuity. The nature of these has been set forth in v.17. The reference to “jot and tittle” (KJV) establishes its extent to the entire OT Scriptures, not just the Pentateuch or moral law. That leaves the duration of the OT’s authority. The two “until” clauses answer this. The first—“until heaven and earth disappear”—simply means “until the end of the age.” The second clause—“until everything is accomplished”—is more difficult, but “everything” is best understood as referring to everything in the OT, considered under its prophetic function. In other words, the entire divine purpose prophesied in Scripture must take place; not a single element will fail of its fulfillment (cf. 11:13). The OT reveals God’s redemptive purposes and points to their fulfillment, their “accomplishment,” in Jesus and the eschatological kingdom he is now introducing and will one day consummate.