Liberal or literal or in between

How liberal or literal was Jesus’ approach to the Old Testament law? We might think that he was rather persnickety in Matthew 5:13-20, insisting that not one smallest pen-stroke of the law would disappear as long as heaven and earth exist. Is the Old Testament law now even more binding? He said that our righteousness must surpass that of Jewish religious leaders. How? Did he break the law against collecting food on the Sabbath or was he obedient to a higher principle (Matthew 12:1-13)? He often showed how the spirit surpasses the letter of the law. The rest of the New Testament carries that discussion further and perhaps the most poignant example is the law of circumcision, whereby a literal interpretation is no longer relevant for the Christian, but a more liberal interpretation, a circumcision of the heart.