Here is the passage in Matthew 5:17-19:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Yet in the gospels Jesus does not appear to be preparing us for a time when the law or any portion of it will be done away with. In apparent contradiction to Jesus, Paul teaches that the law has come to an end (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:13; 5:1-4). How do we reconcile Jesus’ words with Paul’s?
First we lay a foundation. Hebrews, which quotes from the Old Testament many times, clearly sets up the case that the Old Testament law has passed away. By “clearly,” I mean it quotes the OT to show us that God indicated way back then that the law was never to continue to the end of time. (As a matter of fact, “for ever” in the Hebrew doesn’t mean eternal; the root means “over the horizon.”)
Let’s see several examples. Hebrews 5:1-11 mentions a different priesthood (with OT references) than the one set up in the OT. We get more about this in Hebrews 7, with more OT references, to show that God did not intend the priesthood to continue. Hebrews 9 gives us more reasons why the old priesthood had to pass away for Christ’s greater priesthood. Hebrews 8 quotes from Jeremiah 31:31-34, which tells us that God will create a new covenant, rejecting the old He made with the Jews. Hebrews 9:23-10:18 shows us that the ongoing OT sacrifices never made anyone perfect; on the cross Jesus offered Himself once and did all that the OT sacrifices could never do.
The change from the OT to the New Covenant was expected way back in the OT. God knew that the laws would not change men’s hearts. He had to write them in our hearts Himself. And He does it over time as we walk by faith in Him.
Faith has always been the cornerstone of life with God. The law could never replace faith. Abraham was made righteous by faith, not law. (The law entered 400 years later!) Paul hammers this fact over and over again, that we cannot be made righteous by works, by good deeds following laws. Paul tells us what; Hebrews tells us why.
Jesus did not contradict this primary of faith. He said that this was the work of God, that you believe in Him. He said no one comes to the Father except through Him, not through the law. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever follows the law — NO! — whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
With a huge supporting cast for salvation by faith alone apart from law in the OT and NT, we can look again at what Jesus said in Matthew 5:17. It could not mean that the OT laws were to be followed for salvation, perfection, or righteousness. Jesus did not say the law will do that.
Matthew 5:17ff tells us this:
v17, “Don’t think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill.”
Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but fulfill it. The law talked about cleansing through the blood. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. He fulfilled it. The law talked about the priesthood of Melchizedek. Jesus is of that priesthood. He fulfilled it. We could go on and on about how Jesus fulfilled the types and shadows of the law. You’ll see more of this in Hebrews.
v18, “For most certainly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the law, until all things are accomplished.”
Nothing will pass away from the law until all is fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled it, so now it can pass away, exactly what Hebrews 8:13 tells us happened: “In that he says, ‘A new covenant’, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.”
vv19-20, “Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.”
No scribe or Pharisee could enter the Kingdom of Heaven by his good deeds or obeying the laws — Jesus said so. They were not of faith, so their sins remained. They were not of faith, so they were not righteous, only self-righteous. Jesus commended those who followed the law and taught others to do so, but the scribes and Pharisees did not do this; they rather followed the multitudes of laws they added to God’s word. They snarled the whole shebang so they ended up following man’s laws, not God’s.
Paul wrote that by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20). This is how we use the law today; we tell them they are sinners, then we use The Ten Commandments to help them see in what way they are sinners. The Holy Spirit uses the message to convict them of sin and of their need of a Savior. First Timothy 1:8-11 tells us that the law was not written for the obedient, but the lawbreaker — it is to convict them of sin so they will turn to the Savior in faith. It is their faith in the Savior that saves them.
Paul said that he was convicted by the law when he sought to be made righteous by the law. He wrote in Romans 7:7, “I would not have know sin except through the law. For I would not have know covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.'” The Spirit used that law to convict Paul of his sin. Paul wrote in Galatians 2:19, “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.” Convicted of sin through following the law, he learned that God had something better to do for righteousness: live for God, not rules.
So no contradiction exists between Jesus’ words and Paul’s.
https://stevehusting.com/doubtbusters/2011/01/18/arent-you-dishonest-in-picking-and-choosing-which-laws-in-leviticus-to-follow-for-instance-regarding-homosexuality-eating-pork-and-imposing-capital-punishment/
Its interesting that your question is framed “In Matthew 5:17, Doesn’t Jesus contradict the NT authors about the law continuing forever?”.
Has the question been framed to do what Paul has already done? Usurped the authority of God by questioning the intrinsic link that Jesus amplified between love and law?
What Jesus said in Matt 5 WAS authorized and anything after that? Wasn’t. Therefor why do we trivialize the original author and question HIS authority? I am much more inclined to question Paul than Jesus and therefor see no pressure or negativity applied to the law. There is one thing Jesus never said that is said often today via the writings of Paul. That what we do – the actions we take, our obedience; is anathema to salvation.
Did God/Jesus make a mistake in Matt 5 and then call upon Paul for a remedy it? Or is Jesus *already* the remedy?
Many Christians believe the entire word of God was authored by the Holy Spirit. So the words spoken by Jesus and by Paul have equal validity, since God authored both. Thus it is reasonable from that framework to investigate seeming differences among books. I agree it would be more rational to flip the question, to ask whether Paul contradicted the words of Jesus.