What is meant by “until all is accomplished”?

Explanation:

Jesus says that not one iota or dot will drop from the law until all is accomplished [γένηται]. In order to understand what Jesus means, we need to understand the meaning of the verb γίνομαι. It is a verb used with high frequency in the New Testament and is often used to denote something coming into existence or something that happens.⁸ When we consider these meanings in the context of Matthew 5:18, Jesus is saying that not one iota will drop from the law until all has happened. We know from Matthew 5:17 that the law refers to either the Old Testament or the law as it functions prophetically.⁹ We can deduce this because Jesus says he came to fulfill the law and the prophets, and fulfill has a prophetic sense.¹⁰ Thus, when Jesus says that not a dot will fall from the law until all happens, he means that God’s desired plan as prophesied in the Old Testament (and/or the law) will come to pass.

Counterargument:

This argument depends on the notion that when Jesus says he came to fulfill the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17, he uses to fulfill in a prophetic sense. The idea is that the law and the prophets foreshadowed the Messiah, and Jesus fulfills these prophecies. Now he says that all of the prophecies in the Scriptures will come to pass. The problem with this view is that it only makes sense if Jesus uses the term to fulfill in a prophetic sense in Matthew 5:17, and this is far from obvious. When Jesus says he came to fulfill the law and the prophets he may mean that he came to live according to the law.¹¹ Or, he could mean that he came to teach the law more clearly.¹² When considered in this light, the meaning of until all things happen carries a different sense.

Response to counterargument:

Even if there are multiple ways to understand what it means that Jesus came to fulfill the law, it is hard to see what until all things happen could mean, other than until all that is meant to happen will happen. The Greek here is concise. Unless the counterargument can offer a more plausible interpretation, there is no reason to reject that until all things happen refers to God’s will being accomplished according to what is contained in Scripture or the law.

Explanation:

When Jesus says that not one iota will drop from the law until everything happens, it is hard to see what else he could mean except something like, until all of God’s plans come to fruition. He clearly has broad historical concepts in mind as he explains that not one iota of the law will pass away until heaven and earth pass away. Could he have introduced a broader vision of God’s future plan? Then he follows this up by stating, the law will not drop until all is accomplished. In other words, the law will stand until the end of time; in fact, it will stand until God’s entire plan is accomplished.

Counterargument:

It is possible for the clause until all things are accomplished is related to Jesus’ own ministry. In this case, he means that not one iota of the law will drop until his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. We know from Romans that there is no longer any condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life has set us free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). Therefore, Jesus most likely has in mind that once his ministry is complete, the law is void.

Response to counterargument:

The problem with this counterargument is that it overlooks the first clause of Matthew 5:18. Jesus begins by explaining that not one iota of the law will drop until heaven and earth pass away. This implies that the law will stand either forever or until the end of the universe. It hardly makes sense for him to then state, in the same sentence, that the law will actually pass away once his ministry is accomplished. Rather, Jesus likely has the eschaton in mind, so his point is that the law will stand until all of Scripture has been fulfilled.

Possible weaknesses:

It could be that Jesus has his own ministry in mind and so when he refers to all things being accomplished, he refers to his death and resurrection. Until his death and resurrection not one iota will drop from the law. Of course, the problem here is that the first clause, which states that not one iota will fall until heaven and earth pass away, seems to undermine this view. 

Explanation:

Jesus says that until heaven and earth pass away, not one iota will be dropped from the law. He then reiterates this phrase by offering the synonymous statement until all things are accomplished.¹³ In other words, when Jesus says that not one iota will drop from the law until all things are accomplished, he means the same thing as when he says that not one iota will drop from the law until heaven and earth pass away. All of this implies that the law of God will stand until the eschaton.¹⁴

Counterargument:

This interpretation will not do because Jesus’ point is not that the law will be valid until heaven and earth pass away. Rather, his point is that the law is as enduring as heaven and earth and will therefore never pass away. Of course, if Jesus is saying that the law is such that it will never pass away, the statement until all things are accomplished is not synonymous with that clause.¹⁵ Jesus says something similar in Matthew 24:35 when he says that heaven and earth will pass away, but his words will never pass away.

Response to counterargument:

First, Matthew 24:35 seems to undermine the view that Jesus is being ironic in Matthew 5:18. The claim is that when Jesus says the law will not pass away until heaven and earth pass away, he really means that the law will never pass away because heaven and earth will never pass. Clearly Matthew 24:35 contradicts this because here, Jesus says that in fact heaven and earth will pass away. Also notice that in Matthew 24:35 Jesus says that although heaven and earth will pass away, his words will not. In this case, what will endure is not the law but Jesus’ words. This is consistent with Matthew 5:18 which states not that Jesus’ words will pass away with heaven and earth, but that the law will.

Possible weaknesses:

The problem with this view is that the phrase until all is accomplished has enough nuance that it seems to stand on its own.¹⁶ The plural adjective for all carries a sense of every or everything, and the verb for to be has to do with things coming into existence or happening. In other words, Jesus seems to have a concrete reality of actual things happening in mind when he says, until all is accomplished. The first clause, until heaven and earth pass away, carries a temporal sense, while the second clause until all is accomplished has to do with the nature of what will take place.¹⁷

Explanation:

Matthew wants his audience to understand the practical necessity of living out the law, so he includes the final clause of Matthew 5:18. His point is that not one iota of the law will drop until all the law is done. Of course, this does not mean that the law would ever be done, for the law was universally binding. Still, Matthew’s point is to encourage his reader to live according to the law.¹⁸

Counterargument:

The notion here is that not one iota of the law will be dropped until all the law has been done. The problem with this is that law is in the genitive masculine plural, while the adjective πάς is in the nominative neuter plural. This means that the law cannot be the antecedent of πάς (all). And if πάς does not refer back to the law, or anything else, then it stands on its own. Its meaning then becomes everything. Thus, Jesus is saying not that the law must be accomplished, but that everything will be accomplished.

Possible weaknesses:

The problem with this view is that it goes against the natural meaning of the phrase in context, plus the original grammar. Further, there hardly seems to be theological precedent for the idea that until the law is obeyed (by the readers of Matthew’s Gospel) not one iota drop will fall from the law.