Luke 16:17

God’s Word “stands firm in the heavens.” Scripture tells us:

89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalms 119:89 (NIV)

Matthew presents Jesus addressing this same topic in the Sermon on the Mount:

17 "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. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matt 5:17-18 (NIV)

Jesus was the True fulfillment of the Law and of the Prophets extending to the smallest Hebrew letter and even down to the smallest stroke of a Hebrew letter (the dot of an “I”). Of this the writer of Hebrews states:

5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6 with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7 Then I said, 'Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--I have come to do your will, O God.'" 8 First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law required them to be made). 9 Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Heb 10:5-10 (NIV)

Praise Jesus we no longer have to sacrifice burnt offerings for our transgressions! Those who believe in Him have been made holy once and for all through His sacrifice for us upon the cross. “It is finished” were the appropriate words Jesus uttered as He was dying an indication, among other things, of the fulfillment of the ceremonial law:

28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30 (NIV)

Of these verses the Bible Knowledge Commentary states:

“The sixth word or saying that Jesus spoke from the cross was the single Greek work “tetelestai” which means “It is finished”. Papyri receipts for taxes have been recovered with the word tetelestai written across them, meaning “paid in full.” This word on Jesus’ lips was significant. When He said, “It is finished” (not “I am finished”), He meant His redemptive work was completed. He had been made sin for people (2 Cor. 5:21) and had suffered the penalty of God’s justice which sin deserved. Even in the moment of His death, Jesus remained the One who gave up His life (cf. John 10:11, 14, 17-18). He bowed His head (giving His seventh saying, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” [Luke 23:46]) and then dismissed His spirit. This differs from the normal process in death by crucifixion in which the life-spirit would ebb away and then the head would slump forward.”

God’s Word is true and stands firm. He tells us in Malachi that He does not change:

"I the LORD do not change.” Mal 3:6 (NIV)

His Word, like Himself, is immutable. This, of course, is the basis for our confident hope. Since a believer’s hope is centered on God and His promises we will never be disappointed:

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Romans 5:1-5 (NIV)