Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. (Matthew 5:17-18)

The Jot And The Tittle

Jesus established the authority of scripture to show that He was the Son of God. He argued with the Jewish leaders that He was the Son of God with authority through His miracles. Jesus established His authority through the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The Old Testament is about Jesus Christ, as each passage speaks of Him. When He came to earth, His mission was not to destroy the Law but, through sinless perfection, to fulfill the Law. Scripture affirms Jesus as the Son of God. Every word of God is established in Heaven. Jesus taught the Jewish leaders that scripture could not be broken, meaning it could not be undone, unloosed, or ignored for its divine authority.

To further illustrate the authority of scripture, Jesus said that until the final day of the destruction of both heaven and earth, even the smallest detail of God’s law will not disappear until its purpose is achieved. Jesus said not one jot or one tittle will pass from the law. A ‘jot’ is the Hebrew letter ‘yod,’ the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. The ‘tittle’ is the projection of a letter which distinguishes it from another letter (a serif). Nothing in the word of God will pass away, no matter how small the word or stroke of a pen. The modern version is the dotting of an ‘i’ or the crossing of a ‘t.’ Professor R. Laird Harris writes, “Jesus says very positively that this Book is perfect to the smallest detail. It is not merely verbal inspiration that He teaches here, but the inspiration of the very letters.” (Inspiration and Canonicity of the Bible)

The Bible is the mind of God revealed to man. Contained within its pages is everything a man needs to know about what he must do to be saved. Every scripture is written with a purpose and the design to storm the will of man into obedience. The grace of God fills each page with God’s dealings with sinful man. God never left man without the word. No man can stand before the Lord and suggest he was unaware of the truth. The scriptures (orally/written) were given to men from the beginning. Cain and Abel understood the command to sacrifice. Noah moved with fear because of the word of the Lord. Jesus shows in the jot and tittle of scripture that every word is valuable, important, life-changing, and divinely inspired for a purpose.

The smallest number of details is necessary in the scheme of God’s word. There is nothing in the Bible that can be ignored or removed. Ignoring or rejecting one jot or tittle is doing so at the peril of eternal life. Adding to the word of God will bring the wrath of God. Taking away from the word of God will bring the judgment of the Lord. It is a frightful thing to read a passage from God’s word and refuse to obey. The hardened heart can refuse to accept the will of the Lord, but it does not change the word of the Lord. What is declared by the Lord remains the same.

Arguing that the Bible does not teach something does not suggest that the Bible does not teach it. If God said that one must be baptized for the remission of sins, what is man that he can challenge or change what is plainly written in the word? Is Jesus the Christ, the Son of God? The Bible is the declaration of the Sonship of Jesus. Refusing to believe will only show the ignorance of the one who is condemning themselves. Who will be able to stand before God and argue that God was wrong about salvation when the Bible (every jot and tittle) declared what a man must do to be saved? God will only reply, “Not one jot or one tittle will pass away.”

The Bible is the word of God. All authority comes from Jesus Christ, who is the subject, foundation, personage, and revelation of everything between Genesis 1:1 and the closing pages of Revelation 22:21. Ferrell Jenkins concludes, “The Bible presents a high view of itself, of its own inspiration and authority. Jesus thought of Scripture as something that could be broken, and Paul taught that all Scripture has its origin with God. Our view of Scripture should be no different.” Not one jot. There will be no missing letters. Every tittle will be accounted for. Obedience is to obey to the smallest degree.