Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Mt 5:17-19

Have you ever listened to an album that was recorded from a live concert? I, in particular, love the live sessions that are recorded, because you can get to the core of the message that the artist is trying to portray. Inevitably, within each album, there is always some sort of audience sing along section. They are not my particular favorite parts of a song, to heat someone other than the artist signing, but hey, it is part of the track for a few seconds, I can deal with it.

This hit me on the way into work this morning, something about those sing along portions. The artist will record an album in a studio, and then releases the cut as a single to radio and satellite. People get used to singing it a certain way. Then comes along the live version, and no matter what is going on, or how the song is modified for the live show, the lyrics the people sing and the pentameter that they sure while singing it does not change from the original version. No matter how off key someone is, you hear the voices all combine into the melody, and you hear the original version of the song shine through.

That is the same thing that Jesus was getting at this morning. He knew His purpose, but he was trying to get everyone to understand the laws were not any different. They have been the same since the time of Moses, and He was not there to change them, but instead to help facilitate the singing of those laws as one voice. He was there to bring everyone together, to understand the laws, and help everyone get back to them. He wanted everyone to be back on the same note, in the same measure, singing the same melody. He was there to bring the scriptures and laws back to life, not to change what was written.