“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 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.” 
Matthew 5:17-18

Jots and Tittles

A funny thing happened the other day. My husband offered to go to Costco for me while I was at work. I gave him my handwritten list and off he went. When he came back with the “stuff” he said, “I got everything you had on the list except the polato chips. I looked all over and found these pita chips. Is that what you wanted?” I laughed and told him, “No, it was potato chips!” (In his defense, I have to tell you that in my hurry to write the list, the “t” was not crossed, plus it did have a little loop in it that made it look like an “l”. And in my defense, we had talked about wanting potato chips for our camping trip!) That one missing tittle sure made a difference in what was purchased, and now I will have to eat that huge bag of pita chips myself because he does not care for them. 

Until this happened, I had never thought about jots and tittles before; and just what are they anyway? By definition, the jot and the tittle were small punctuation marks in Hebrew writing, and Jesus indicated that each one is important. He was referring to the fact that He came not to take away the law but to fulfill it by how He lived. The commandments are to be obeyed as explained and fulfilled by Jesus’ life and teaching, not in the legalistic ways of the religious authorities of Jesus’ day. He was upset with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who followed the letter of the law but missed the Spirit of it. It made me realize that I must be careful when I share His Word (by my words and my deeds) that I don’t take things out of context or somehow misrepresent Him or His heart for us. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, not condemn them (John 3:16-17). 

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). That is, we have to know what His Word says and means, and what it doesn’t say and mean. Since we are His body here on earth, we should be doing the Father’s will just like Jesus did. I think that sometimes I tend to let “grace abound” just a little too much, presuming that it won’t really matter if I’m a little sloppy with His Word of truth. It is our responsibility to handle His Word in such a way as not to stumble or mislead anyone. A lot more serious than being stuck with a bag of “polato” chips!

“Jesus, I am so grateful that mercy triumphs over judgment. Thank You for paying our debt on the cross. And, unlike my husband, You know what I want or need before I even ask! It is so comforting to know that Your Word is true and unchanging, and that it will stand forever. Help me to represent You well. In Your precious Name, Amen.”