In verse 18, Yeshua has confirmed that not even one stroke of the Torah would pass away until the complete fulfillment of God’s plan should come to fruition. Then He continues:
Whoever if then shall break one of the commands of these the least and shall teach thus the others, least he will be called in the kingdom of the heavens.
Whoever now shall keep and shall teach thus, great will be called in the kingdom of the heavens.
– Matthew 5:19
In the Greek text, the word used for “break” is lysē
- to loosen or untie; release
- relax
- break apart
This isn’t an outright rejection- the wording goes deeper than that. If you relax the commands even and teach others also, you’ll be called least. This verse isn’t about destruction- Yeshua doesn’t say you will be cut off in this instance- He says elachistos:
- smallest, least, lowest, minimal, insignificant
- It’s in the superlative form– not just “small,” but the smallest possible; lowest in rank, importance, regard or honor
Personal loosening of the commands affects your walk.
Teaching the same to others shapes their walk.
Doing both– defines your standing in the Kingdom.
This is another pattern from Scripture as well- In Malachi 2, the prophet rebukes the priests of because they have taught incorrectly:
For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge and Torah the [people] should seek from his mouth, for the messenger of YHVH of tsava (structured orders) he [is].
But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused to stumble many in Torah. You have corrupted the covenant ha’Levi says YHVH of tsava.
– Malachi 2:7-8
In Torah, the tribe of Levi was set apart for service connected to the temple, but also charged with guarding and teaching YHVH’s instructions.
- Deuteronomy 33:8–10, Levi is described as the tribe that “teaches Jacob Your judgments and Yisrael Your instruction.”
- Leviticus 10:10–11, the priests are commanded to distinguish between clean and unclean and to teach Yisrael all the statutes YHVH spoke through Moses
- Deuteronomy 17:9–11, difficult cases are brought to the Levitical priests, and their rulings are to be followed as authoritative guidance in the community.
So Levi functions as both Guardians of the sanctuary and of the instruction. The intention is that worship and instruction cannot be separated; how Yisrael approaches YHVH in the Temple is meant to align with how they live under His instructions in daily life.
If Levi’s covenant role was to guard the sanctuary and guard the instructions, then the failure of that system in later generations explains why Yeshua frames His teaching the way He does. By this time, Malachi’s warnings had become reality:
- those entrusted with instruction had added layers of interpretation
- “guarding” Torah had, in places, become about reshaping it for communal stability
- and authority over instruction had become complex and uneven; several factions that didn’t agree
So when Yeshua says, “Do not think I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets…”
He is stepping directly into that space of confusion, because the people are unsure whether what they are hearing still reflects what God actually said.
And when He continues: “Whoever loosens even the least of these instructions and teaches others to do so…”
He is echoing the exact Levitical concern from Torah and Malachi:
- Levi was meant to guard instruction so Yisrael would not drift
- but now the danger is instruction itself being “loosened” and normalized through teaching
I say indeed to you, that if not shall abound your righteousness above that of the Scribes and Pharisees, no not shall you enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
– Matthew 5:20
In Greek, perisseuō means to overflow, go beyond measure, be abundant in. Many often come to the conclusion that because Pharisees taught from Torah, that Yeshua was saying, ‘Torah alone isn’t good enough anymore’. When in actuality, He was responding to a real problem.
By the Second Temple period, Torah in it’s intended purpose was all but removed- Pharisees were focused on living Torah in daily life; Scribes were scholars and teachers who studied, copied, and interpreted Torah. A lot of these teachings focused on adding extra conditions to daily life:
Purity laws
Restrictions that were originally centered on sacred spaces (Tabernacle, the Temple) had become about ritual purity in everyday eating and handling objects:
- treating all meals as if they had a holiness standard
- careful washing of hands before eating (especially among Pharisaic practice)
- concern that food, vessels or surfaces could transmit impurity indirectly
- separating utensils used for different states of cleanliness
Avoiding defilement in daily life
While Torah lists sources of impurity (corpse contact, certain skin conditions, bodily discharges), these laws were originally temporary states that affected access to Temple and certain ritual activities. Over time, however, many of these purity concerns became applied to ordinary daily living as well:
- avoiding any contact with known impurity sources
- washing after potential exposure
- structuring daily routines to reduce risk of becoming ritually unclean
In some cases, normal human experiences- especially those connected to bodily conditions (like the woman with the issue of blood) could result in people being socially marginalized or treated as continual sources of contamination. But in Torah, ritual impurity –tumah– is not sin, moral failure or a reason to reject people from the community.
Sabbath Boundaries
Torah commands rest on the Sabbath but defines it in general terms (no labor, no lighting fires in the home). Over time, interpretation developed into detailed and burdensome categories that defined “work”. Some actual 2nd Temple era restrictions were:
- Carrying items over 1,000 cubits; carrying a child and another object at the same time
- Preparing food- food could not be ground, mixed or separated
- Tying knots; changing clothes could be a violation
- lighting fires; touching fires; lamps could not be adjusted; fear of benefiting from a public fire indirectly; cold/ darkness endured to avoid violation
- Traveling more than 2000 cubits
- agricultural activity; reaping and threshing (Matthew 12)
- writing 2 letters or creating permanent marks; learning was limited
- Home functions like patching clothes or adjusting furniture
All these extra interpretations and added laws created fear of accidental sin; people thought they could sin unknowingly by a minor act, creating constant self-monitoring and making a day which was meant to be a gift into a burden.
Separation practices
Practices that maintained covenant identity and ritual purity through separation which were not found in Torah such as:
- avoiding close association with non-Jewish people or practices considered ritually or morally defiling
- maintaining distinct community boundaries in mixed cultural environments
- careful regulation of shared meals (since eating together implied fellowship and purity compatibility)
So with that context in mind, Yeshua is not dismissing structure or Torah-bound boundaries, but reframing what true righteousness actually is. He is warning that righteousness cannot be reduced to external boundary-keeping, ritual precision or expanded protective systems alone. Those things may preserve order and prevent violation, but they are not the fullness of what God intended.
Instead, righteousness must go beyond external compliance into wholeness of alignment- where the heart, intent and actions are consistent with God’s instruction. It is integrity that reflects the purpose behind the instruction, rather than reducing obedience to technical boundaries detached from Torah’s intended purpose- Life.
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