Series 2, Lecture 6: Matthew 5:18 — Christ’s Hyperbole or Christ’s Indicative (Take two)

Tonight, 3/7 at 7:30pm EST we hold the sixth lecture of a 10-week series on the Biblical basis for the theology we call the Providential Preservation of Scripture. Lecture 6 considers the words of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount and specifically Matthew 5:18. Jesus’ teaching methods were simple; his lessons straight forward and easy for the common man to grasp. This simplicity corresponds with his “ordinary” or “intuitive” approach to the Scripture, a hermeneutic that resonated with the Jewish believers. His words and the Old Testament complemented one and other in that their subject and object was Jesus. The Old Testament was not an obstacle to the Jews that required Pharisaical comment to understand but was simply the message of Jesus written hundreds of years before. Nowhere in the Scripture does the message of Jesus cause doubt or question the cohesive relationship between the Scripture and Himself. Rather, as part of His Messianic ministry Jesus speaks of the authority and preservation of the text as a witness to who He is. Did those on the mount believe Jesus was exaggerating for effect, didn’t really mean jot and tittle, and was utilizing a common literary device, oriental hyperbole — or was he promising the preservation of the smallest elements of the Scripture thereby assuring the preservation of the Law? Don’t miss this important study of the ramification and significance of the preserved word in Matthew 5:18 as a promise of Jesus tomorrow tonight, 3/7, 7:30 EST.

Published by Dr. Peter Van Kleeck, Sr.

Dr. Peter William Van Kleeck, Sr. : B.A., Grand Rapids Baptist College, 1986; M.A.R., Westminster Theological Seminary, 1990; Th.M., Calvin Theological Seminary, 1998; D. Min, Bob Jones University, 2013. Dr. Van Kleeck was formerly the Director of the Institute for Biblical Textual Studies, Grand Rapids, MI, (1990-1994) lecturing, researching and writing in the defense of the Masoretic Hebrew text, Greek Received Text and King James Bible. His published works include, "Fundamentalism’s Folly?: A Bible Version Debate Case Study" (Grand Rapids: Institute for Biblical Textual Studies, 1998); “We have seen the future and we are not in it,” Trinity Review, (Mar. 99); “Andrew Willet (1562-1621: Reformed Interpretation of Scripture,” The Banner of Truth, (Mar. 99); "A Primer for the Public Preaching of the Song of Songs" (Outskirts Press, 2015). Dr. Van Kleeck is the pastor of the Providence Baptist Church in Manassas, VA where he has ministered for the past twenty-one years. He is married to his wife of 43 years, Annette, and has three married sons, one daughter and eighteen grandchildren.

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