The law fulfilled; heaven and earth passed away
Matthew 5:17-20 - Christ fulfills the law
17"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
18For 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.
19Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."
In v. 18, “heaven and earth”, when cross referenced with the same phrase in the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24):
34“Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away."
...and when considered in the historical context, refers to the old covenant and its temple (the house left desolate).
The reference to the passing away of “heaven and earth” must be considered in light of the establishment of that same “heaven and earth” declared by the LORD through the prophet - Isaiah 51:
15”I am the LORD your God, Who divided the sea whose waves roared --- The LORD of hosts is His name. 16And I have put My words in your mouth; I have covered you with the shadow of My hand, That I may plant the heavens, Lay the foundations of the earth, And say to Zion, 'You are My people.'”
The LORD was not depicting the original physical creation 3,000 years previously, but rather the establishment of the old (Mosaic) covenant upon bringing His people out of Egypt. cf. Jeremiah 31:32.
[Isaiah 51:15-16] is clearly metaphorical. The same is true of Isaiah 65:17, and Isaiah 66:22, for the context in all these places confines the reference to Jerusalem and the people of God:
[Milton S. Terry, footnote in Biblical Hermeneutics, p. 489]
Isa 65:17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.
Isa 66:22“For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.
Interpreting “heaven and earth passing away” in Matthew 5:18 as the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple fits with the rest of the New Testament prophecy paradigm, which is the transition of the ages from the Old to the New Covenant.
Our Lord spoke of Israel (the “heavens and earth” of Isaiah 51:16) passing away, as the old covenant would become a thing of the past.
And while to some it may seem a stretch to refer to Jerusalem as “heaven and earth,” Jesus will more explicitly make this application in Luke 21:32–33: after describing the coming destruction of Jerusalem vividly, Jesus adds, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”. This is a clear reference to Jerusalem that would in fact (“will”) pass away, and would do so within Jesus’ generation. The meaning is certainly the same in Luke 16:17. [and Matthew 24:35 -G²]. The Law itself was eternal, and would stand as the bar by which Jesus would sue that generation’s adulterous expression of the Law.
[Joel McDurmon, Jesus Vs Jerusalem, pdf p. 108]
While the coming of Christ, and especially His death, made possible this new era of things, yet the manifestation of it was not possible until the Temple itself and all its rituals were completely abolished. As is written in Hebrews 9:8, "The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing."
In the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, after it was no longer standing, it was manifested that the old covenant had vanished away, and the new heaven and new earth (in an already/not yet sense) of this gospel dispensation was then in effect.
In all of this we see that from Christ until A.D. 70 there was a gradual transition from the old age to the new. He came in the end of the age (Hebrews 9:26). The old was ready to vanish away. The new was manifested after the Temple was destroyed (Hebrews 9:8).
[John L. Bray, Heaven and Earth Shall Pass Away, pdf p. 4-5]
The book of Hebrews spells it out clearly, describing the Old Covenant as "obsolete" and "about to disappear." The once-for-all sacrifice of the Lamb of God in 30AD ended it, but it wasn't wiped out completely until people could no longer return to the Temple for sacrifices.
In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. -Hebrews 8:13
Indeed, the Jews were about to witness the passing away of their “heaven and earth,” Jerusalem. And the passing away of Jerusalem would come as a result of judgment according to the very Law they had for so long ignored and abused.
Certainly the literal heaven and earth have not passed away, but “heaven and earth” did indeed pass away with the termination of the old covenant economy, in those “days of vengeance” (cf. Luke 21:22). If the reference is to the literal, physical world, then every jot and title of the Pentateuch’s 613 ordinances would remain in force and still be obligatory...
…and we’d have a backlog of Jubilee years to celebrate, “cities of refuge” to resurrect, and lot of bleeding lambs to burn on an altar, etc., etc., etc., etc. (a yoke even our fathers were unable to bear cf. Acts 15:10)…
We'd have to switch our Sabbath back to Saturday, throw out all our clothes that mix linen and cotton (no more 50/50 t-shirts), and perhaps worst of all: stop eating bacon & shrimp… :-]
Thankfully, with all praise and glory to God, we are in a new and better covenant, as "heaven and earth" in Matthew 5:18 is a reference to Jerusalem and the temple-centered cosmology of old covenant Israel, which would indeed pass away, as judgment came down on the world of the Jews by 70AD (note the typical 40 year time span from 30AD for those "last days" of the old covenant) as the Lord foretold - within that generation.
Interestingly, the Jerusalem Temple had been built to look like a microcosm of the universe. We typically overlook how literally true the Temple hymn preserved in Psalm 78:69 is: "He built His sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which He has founded forever."
Where Heaven and Earth was for First-Century Jews
The actual holy place and most holy place inside the Temple building were constructed like earth and heaven. The courts outside represented the sea.
[Paul Penley, When Heaven and Earth Passed Away, pdf p.2]
The destruction of the temple gave way to the new Jerusalem, the "new heavens and earth": living stones in the new living temple: the body of Christ, the church.
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