law (through the idea of prescriptive usage) · noun — genitive singular masculine
to fail
πεσεῖν.¶pesein
G4098
to fall (literally or figuratively) · verb — second aorist active infinitive
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.
1 Peter 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old…
Psalms 102:25-27 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands.
Revelation 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Luke 16:1-18
We mistake if we imagine that the design of Christ's doctrine and holy religion was either to amuse us with notions of divine mysteries or to entertain us with notions of divine mercies. No, the divine revelation of both these in the gospel is intended to engage and quicken us to the practice of Christian duties, and, as much as any one thing, to the duty of beneficence and doing good to those who stand in need of any thing that either we have or can do for them. This our Saviour is here pressing us to, by reminding us that we are but stewards of the manifold grace of God; and since we have in divers instances been unfaithful, and have forfeited the favour of our Lord, it is our wisdom to th…
For heaven and earth to pass - See on Mat 5:17, Mat 5:18 (note).
John Gill on Luke 16:17
And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass,.... This is said by Christ, lest it should be thought by his saying, that the law and the prophets were until John, that they were no longer, nor of any more use; but were now abrogated and laid aside; whereas heaven and earth might sooner pass away, and the whole frame of nature be dissolved:
than one tittle of the law to fail; which, and the prophets, in all the precepts, promises, types, figures, prophecies, &c. thereof, had their full accomplishment in the person, miracles, obedience, sufferings, and death of Christ; see Matthew 5:18.
John Calvin on Luke 16:17
Luke 16:17
Matthew 5:17-19
Luke 16:17
17. Think not that I am come to destroy [381] the Law or the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18. Verily, I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass, one iota or one point [382] shall not pass from the Law, till all are fulfilled. 19. Whoever then shall break on of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whoever shall have done and taught them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
17. Now it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than for one point of the law to fail.
Matthew 5:17. Think not. With regard to the perfection of his life, Christ might justly…
The Church Fathers
"More easily, therefore, may heaven and earth pass away-as also the law and the prophets-than that one tittle of the Lord's words should fail." "For," as says Isaiah: "the word of our God shall stand for ever.
Perhaps by the iota and tittle His righteousness cries, "If ye come right unto Me, I will also come right to you; but if crooked, I also will come crooked, saith the Lord of hosts;" intimating that the ways of sinners are intricate and crooked. For the way right and agreeable to nature which is intimated by the iota of Jesus, is His goodness, which constantly directs those who believe from hearing, "There shall not, therefore, pass from the law one iota or one tittle," neither from the right and good the mutual promises, nor from the crooked and unjust the punishment assigned to them. "For the Lord doeth good to the good, but those who turn aside into crooked ways God will lead with the workers of iniquity."
It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the law to become void. Lest they think that in what he said, "The law and the prophets were until John," he was proclaiming the destruction of the law or the prophets, he clearly declares that the greatest elements of the world will pass more easily than the smallest words of the law. And indeed: for the figure of this world passes away (1 Cor. 7). And elsewhere: "We look for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells, according to his promise" (2 Pet. 3). Yet not even the smallest stroke of a letter, that is, not even the smallest and seemingly trivial or superstitious things, are devoid of spiritual significance, as all things are summed up in the Gospel. And yet the law and the prophets were until John, because it could not be prophesied what was already clear had come through John's proclamation.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Tittle — A point, (Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:17), the minute point or stroke added to some letters of the Hebrew alphabet to distinguish them from others which they resemble; hence, the very least point.
Law · 28:4,5; — 28:4,5;
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force: Although the new covenant fulfilled the Old Testament law and prophets, the law has not passed away (however, cp. Acts 15:23-29). • Heaven and earth will be destroyed and replaced by a new heaven and earth at the end of the age (Rev 21:1), but God’s word endures forever (Ps 119:89, 160; Isa 40:8; 55:10-11).
