by Stephen Forister
Authors: Tom Wells and Fred Zaspel
Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8: An Analysis of Matthew 5:17-20
In this series of chapters, Zaspel turns his focus upon what is arguably the crucial text concerning the New Testament’s understanding of Old Testament Law, Matthew 5:17-20. This short passage receives disproportionately lengthy treatment in the book, over sixty pages, but rightly so. For if these words of the Lord Jesus Himself are properly understood, not only does one begin to grasp the full meaning of the Sermon on the Mount, but also the entire New Testament and indeed all Scripture. Discerning whether or not the Mosaic Law is binding upon the believer today, or to what degree it is binding, immediately impacts not merely the theology, but the spiritual life of every believer. Careful analysis of this text is in order; this Zaspel does generally quite well.
Chapter 5 is an overview of the various positions on this passage throughout history, from the patristic fathers, to the Reformation, even to contemporary theologians. This chapter clips along at an uncomfortably brisk pace, at least for this reviewer. It could have improved by decelerating the tempo a little and interacting with the historical writers with more than just one- or two-word quotes. It is also unclear whether the chapter is portrayed as a disinterested historical overview. It seems to start that way, but value judgments keep surfacing, especially near the end. Nevertheless, Zaspel delivers an equitable sense of the progression of thought concerning Matthew 5:17-20.
The Ante-Nicene commentators spoke frequently of Matthew 5 and of this passage. They saw it as a “qualitative advance on the older revelation.” 4 This idea of qualitative advance initially strikes the reader as somewhat nebulous, until it is contrasted with the views of later writers. It is clear that the Fathers commenting on this passage saw Jesus’ own commands as either an extension or perfection of Mosaic Law. Centuries later, Thomas Aquinas introduced the creative but tentatively supported idea that Jesus’ precepts in the Sermon on the Mount are but “evangelical counsels” 5 – safeguards that are not morally binding (except to monks) but helpful in keeping the laws already established by Moses. While it seems to be a step backward from the Patristics’ ideas, Zaspel rightly observes that “it does preserve the idea of Jesus’ law as a qualitative advance.” 6
Luther and especially Calvin vehemently overturned the “qualitative advance” idea. They took aim at any commentary, notably those of the Scholastics, that saw New Testament revelation as adding to or extending God’s eternal, moral law. This posture of flattened revelation continued to be staunchly maintained through the writings of most of the Puritans and Reformed writers since the Reformation. In stark contrast, the Anabaptists were “widely recognized for their insistence on the newness of the New Covenant… the idea here is not so much that of ‘advance’ as it is change.” 7 One wishes especially in these paragraphs that Zaspel would have elaborated more.
Leaping to the 20th century, the reader is introduced to the theonomist view as espoused by Greg Bahnsen – that the Mosaic Code is preserved in not only its moral content but in its civil aspects as well, such that even modern-day governments should adopt it as their rule of law. The Dispensational view, endorsing radical discontinuity, is also briefly discussed, as are critical views that do little justice to the analogia fidei principle of hermeneutics. Sandwiched between these two sections is a needlessly brief introduction to a centrist approach that Zaspel calls “Eschatological Continuity” 8, whose proponents include such modern commentators as Robert Banks, R.T. France, Moo, Carson, and even Covenant scholar Vern Poythress. These commentators most resemble NCT, for Zaspel’s analysis makes clear that they generally believe Jesus’ law is indeed new yet does maintain some continuity with Moses, in that many of the same commands appear in the newer revelation but are elevated to higher heights, and that the new law was fully expected in the old.
4 Wells, Tom, and Zaspel, Fred G. New Covenant Theology: Description, Definition, Defense.
Frederick, MD: New Covenant Media, 2002, p. 79.
5 Ibid, p. 80.
6 Ibid, p. 80.
7 Ibid, p. 83. Emphasis in the original.
8 Ibid, p. 86.