ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται

  Matthew 5:18 

For

truly

I

tell

you

,

until

heaven

and

earth

disappear

,

γὰρ2

ἀμὴν1

→

λέγω3

ὑμῖν4

ἕως5 ἂν6

ὁ8 οὐρανὸς9

καὶ10

ἡ11 γῆ12

παρέλθῃ7

not

the smallest letter

,

not

the

least stroke of a pen

,

will

by

any

means

οὐ18 μὴ19

ἰῶτα13 ἓν14

ἢ15

μία16

κεραία17

►20

◄18

←

←

disappear

from

the

Law

until

everything

is

accomplished

.

παρέλθῃ20

ἀπὸ21

τοῦ22

νόμου23

ἕως24 ἂν25

πάντα26

→

γένηται27

Ps 119:89; Isa 40:8; 55:11; Mt 24:35; Mk 13:31; Lk 16:17; 21:33

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Mt 5:18.

THE SUBSTANCE OF HIS MESSAGE

Matthew 5:18 addresses the fulfillment of the law’s promises rather than the preservation of manuscript texts. Jesus affirms he came not to abolish the Law or Prophets but to fulfill them, and states that not the smallest letter or stroke will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

The phrase “jot and tittle” refers to the smallest visual elements of written Hebrew letters. The term denotes the slight points and bends by which certain Hebrew letters are distinguished from each other.[1] However, Jesus uses this imagery to emphasize the completeness of the law’s fulfillment, not to guarantee textual preservation. The clause “till all is accomplished” cannot mean the law will pass away until Christ’s death and resurrection; the dominant chronological phrase “till heaven and earth pass away” rules out any transitional fulfillment.[2]

The context clarifies this meaning. The promise is that the Law and Prophets will not be abolished but fulfilled—meaning Christ guarantees the promises will not fail.[3] Rather than protecting manuscript accuracy, Jesus emphasizes that the Law remains valid until all is accomplished, with this accomplishment referring to Jesus’ incarnation and ministry, making his interpretation of the Law using love as a hermeneutical key central to understanding verse 18.[4]

Notably, Jesus proceeds immediately after verse 18 to reinterpret various Old Testament laws, suggesting verse 18 functions as an emphatic affirmation of the law’s rounded perfection and ideal intent rather than a statement about manuscript preservation.[1] The verse affirms the law’s enduring authority and meaning, not the inviolability of its textual transmission.

[1] J. C. Lambert, “Tittle,” in A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels: Aaron–Zion, ed. James Hastings (Edinburgh; New York: T&T Clark; Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1906), 2:733.
[2] Donald Macleod, “Jesus and Scripture,” in The Trustworthiness of God: Perspectives on the Nature of Scripture, ed. Paul Helm and Carl R. Trueman (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002), 72.
[3] Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Basic Theology: A Popular Systematic Guide to Understanding Biblical Truth (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 99.
[4] Frederick Mawusi Amevenku and John Ekem, The Sermon on the Mount and the Ewes of Ghana: Contrapuntal Readings of the Bible in World Christianity (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2023). [See here.]