Jesus Christ and His Relationship to the Law of Moses

[jeremiah1five]

In Matthew 5:17, when Jesus says, "I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them," he is making a profound statement about his relationship to the Old Testament Scriptures. This is a key passage in his Sermon on the Mount and serves to correct any misconception that he was an enemy of the Law of Moses or that He abolished the Law of Moses.

The meaning of this statement can be understood in several ways, which are all interconnected:

• Fulfillment, not destruction: The Greek word for "fulfill" (pleroun) means to "fill up," "complete," or "bring to its intended goal." Jesus is saying that he did not come to nullify or do away with the Law, but rather to bring it to its ultimate purpose. The Law and the Prophets (which is a common way of referring to the entire Old Testament) were a story pointing to something, and Jesus is the climax of that story.
• The Law's purpose: The Law was given for a specific purpose. It revealed God's character and His will for Israel. It also served to expose Israel's inability to live up to God's perfect standard, thereby pointing to the need for a savior. That savior being Himself wrapped up in the covenant of salvation for the Jews. By living a perfect life and offering himself as the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus fulfilled the Law's demands. He was the one person who perfectly obeyed every command. He did not change it and He did not abolish it. God's Law that was once written on stone are now written on Israel's fleshly tables of the 'heart.'
• The Law of the heart: Jesus's teaching in the rest of Matthew 5 illustrates this fulfillment. He takes several commandments from the Law, such as "Thou shalt not murder" and "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and re-interprets them to address not just the external action, but the internal intention. For example, he says that hatred in the heart is a form of murder, and lust is a form of adultery. He's not getting rid of the Law; he's showing its true, deeper meaning. The Law was never just about outward actions, but about a transformed heart. A 'heart' transformed by the Holy Spirit of Promise Joel said was PROMISED TO ISRAEL.
• The end of certain laws: The fulfillment of the Law in Jesus's life, death, and resurrection meant the ceremonial and sacrificial aspects of the Law were no longer necessary. Animal sacrifices, for instance, were a temporary means of atonement that foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Once he came and shed his blood, those rituals were fulfilled and became obsolete. Just as God commanded the animal sacrifice for the temporary atonement of the sins of Israel, so, too was Jesus' sacrifice to and for atonement of the sins of Israel.
• A new standard of righteousness: Jesus goes on to say in verse 20 that the righteousness of his followers must "exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees" in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is not a call for more strenuous rule-keeping, but for a different kind of righteousness—one that comes from a changed heart and is motivated by love for God and neighbor, rather than a legalistic adherence to external rules. A love God gave to Israel and a love Israel was to give to their brethren.

In essence, Jesus did not come to tear down the Old Testament, but to build upon it, complete its story, and reveal its true purpose. The Law remains a testament to God's unchanging character and perfect standard, but for those who believe in Jesus, its requirements are met through his work, and its purpose is now fulfilled through a relationship with him. Through the Holy Spirit of Promise the Law is written and imparted upon the heart of the children of Israel to give to the children of Israel of twelve tribes.

 

[TibiasDad]

In Matthew 5:17, when Jesus says, "I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them," he is making a profound statement about his relationship to the Old Testament Scriptures. This is a key passage in his Sermon on the Mount and serves to correct any misconception that he was an enemy of the Law of Moses or that He abolished the Law of Moses.

The meaning of this statement can be understood in several ways, which are all interconnected:

• Fulfillment, not destruction: The Greek word for "fulfill" (pleroun) means to "fill up," "complete," or "bring to its intended goal." Jesus is saying that he did not come to nullify or do away with the Law, but rather to bring it to its ultimate purpose. The Law and the Prophets (which is a common way of referring to the entire Old Testament) were a story pointing to something, and Jesus is the climax of that story.
• The Law's purpose: The Law was given for a specific purpose. It revealed God's character and His will for Israel. It also served to expose Israel's inability to live up to God's perfect standard, thereby pointing to the need for a savior. That savior being Himself wrapped up in the covenant of salvation for the Jews. By living a perfect life and offering himself as the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus fulfilled the Law's demands. He was the one person who perfectly obeyed every command. He did not change it and He did not abolish it. God's Law that was once written on stone are now written on Israel's fleshly tables of the 'heart.'
• The Law of the heart: Jesus's teaching in the rest of Matthew 5 illustrates this fulfillment. He takes several commandments from the Law, such as "Thou shalt not murder" and "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and re-interprets them to address not just the external action, but the internal intention. For example, he says that hatred in the heart is a form of murder, and lust is a form of adultery. He's not getting rid of the Law; he's showing its true, deeper meaning. The Law was never just about outward actions, but about a transformed heart. A 'heart' transformed by the Holy Spirit of Promise Joel said was PROMISED TO ISRAEL.
• The end of certain laws: The fulfillment of the Law in Jesus's life, death, and resurrection meant the ceremonial and sacrificial aspects of the Law were no longer necessary. Animal sacrifices, for instance, were a temporary means of atonement that foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Once he came and shed his blood, those rituals were fulfilled and became obsolete. Just as God commanded the animal sacrifice for the temporary atonement of the sins of Israel, so, too was Jesus' sacrifice to and for atonement of the sins of Israel.
• A new standard of righteousness: Jesus goes on to say in verse 20 that the righteousness of his followers must "exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees" in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is not a call for more strenuous rule-keeping, but for a different kind of righteousness—one that comes from a changed heart and is motivated by love for God and neighbor, rather than a legalistic adherence to external rules. A love God gave to Israel and a love Israel was to give to their brethren.

In essence, Jesus did not come to tear down the Old Testament, but to build upon it, complete its story, and reveal its true purpose. The Law remains a testament to God's unchanging character and perfect standard, but for those who believe in Jesus, its requirements are met through his work, and its purpose is now fulfilled through a relationship with him. Through the Holy Spirit of Promise the Law is written and imparted upon the heart of the children of Israel to give to the children of Israel of twelve tribes.

The law had two overriding purposes:

1) To reveal that we are sinful and incapable of pleasing God. (Rom 7:13) and,

2) To be our guardian until Christ came and faith became the standard for righteousness. (Gal 3:23-25)
This includes being a mechanism for tempering the behavior of man through the presence of the Holy Spirit through common grace.

In short, the law reveals our need of a savior and points us to him that we might believe in him and be saved.

Doug

 

[Soyeong]

In Matthew 5:17, when Jesus says, "I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them," he is making a profound statement about his relationship to the Old Testament Scriptures. This is a key passage in his Sermon on the Mount and serves to correct any misconception that he was an enemy of the Law of Moses or that He abolished the Law of Moses.

The meaning of this statement can be understood in several ways, which are all interconnected:

• Fulfillment, not destruction: The Greek word for "fulfill" (pleroun) means to "fill up," "complete," or "bring to its intended goal." Jesus is saying that he did not come to nullify or do away with the Law, but rather to bring it to its ultimate purpose. The Law and the Prophets (which is a common way of referring to the entire Old Testament) were a story pointing to something, and Jesus is the climax of that story.

"To fulfill the law" means "to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as should be" (NAS Greek Lexicon pleroo), so Jesus immediately proceeded to fulfill the law by teaching how to correctly obey it. In other words, he filled up or completed our understanding of how to correctly obey the law as intended.

• The Law's purpose: The Law was given for a specific purpose. It revealed God's character and His will for Israel. It also served to expose Israel's inability to live up to God's perfect standard, thereby pointing to the need for a savior. That savior being Himself wrapped up in the covenant of salvation for the Jews. By living a perfect life and offering himself as the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus fulfilled the Law's demands. He was the one person who perfectly obeyed every command. He did not change it and He did not abolish it. God's Law that was once written on stone are now written on Israel's fleshly tables of the 'heart.'

God's way is the way to know Him and Jesus by embodying His likeness through being a doer of His character traits, which is the narrow way to eternal life (John 17:3). In Exodus 33:13, Moses wanted God to be gracious to him by teaching him to walk in His way that he and Israel might know Him, and in Matthew 7:23, Jesus said that he would tell those who are workers of lawlessness to depart from him because he never knew them, so the purpose of the law is to teach us how to know God' and Jesus and by walking in His way, which is His gift of eternal life.

• The Law of the heart: Jesus's teaching in the rest of Matthew 5 illustrates this fulfillment. He takes several commandments from the Law, such as "Thou shalt not murder" and "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and re-interprets them to address not just the external action, but the internal intention. For example, he says that hatred in the heart is a form of murder, and lust is a form of adultery. He's not getting rid of the Law; he's showing its true, deeper meaning. The Law was never just about outward actions, but about a transformed heart. A 'heart' transformed by the Holy Spirit of Promise Joel said was PROMISED TO ISRAEL.

In Exodus 20:6, God wanted His children to love Him and obey His commandments so it was never just about external action. We are commanded not to hate our brother (Leviticus 19:17), so Jesus was not teaching anything brand new. If we correctly understand what is being commanded by the 7th and 10th Commandments against committing adultery and coveting in our hearts, then we won't lust after a married woman in our hearts.

• The end of certain laws: The fulfillment of the Law in Jesus's life, death, and resurrection meant the ceremonial and sacrificial aspects of the Law were no longer necessary. Animal sacrifices, for instance, were a temporary means of atonement that foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice of Christ on the cross. Once he came and shed his blood, those rituals were fulfilled and became obsolete. Just as God commanded the animal sacrifice for the temporary atonement of the sins of Israel, so, too was Jesus' sacrifice to and for atonement of the sins of Israel.

Jesus said that he came to fulfill the law in contrast with saying that he came not to abolish it and he warned against relaxing the least part of it, so you should not interpret fulfilling the law as meaning the same thing as abolishing it or as relaxing the least part of it. Jesus said nothing to allude to his death and resurrection in Matthew 5, so it is anachronistic to try to shoehorn it back into Matthew 5, but rather you should seek to understand what Jesus meant in the way that his audience would have understood him. In Galatians 6:2 bearing one another's burdens fulfills the Law of Christ, yet you do not consistently interpret that as meaning that is is no longer necessary. The only way that God's laws can be temporary is if what they reveal about how to be a doer of God's character traits is also temporary, but God's character traits are eternal. For example, God's righteousness is eternal (Psalms 119:142), therefore all of God's righteous laws are also eternal (Psalms 119:160).

• A new standard of righteousness: Jesus goes on to say in verse 20 that the righteousness of his followers must "exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees" in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. This is not a call for more strenuous rule-keeping, but for a different kind of righteousness—one that comes from a changed heart and is motivated by love for God and neighbor, rather than a legalistic adherence to external rules. A love God gave to Israel and a love Israel was to give to their brethren.

Jesus proceeded to correct what Pharisees had been teaching, so better rule-keepomg is precisely the point. God has not commanded any external rules, but rather they are all motivated by love.

In essence, Jesus did not come to tear down the Old Testament, but to build upon it, complete its story, and reveal its true purpose. The Law remains a testament to God's unchanging character and perfect standard, but for those who believe in Jesus, its requirements are met through his work, and its purpose is now fulfilled through a relationship with him. Through the Holy Spirit of Promise the Law is written and imparted upon the heart of the children of Israel to give to the children of Israel of twelve tribes.

It is contradictory to hold the position that God's law remains a testament to God's changing character and that it is also temporary.