What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law, but did not abolish it?



Question: "What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law, but did not abolish it?"

Answer: In Matthew’s record of what is commonly called The Sermon on the Mount, these words of Jesus are recorded: "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. 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" (Matthew 5:17-18).

It is frequently argued that if Jesus did not “abolish” the law, then it must still be binding. Accordingly, such components as the Sabbath day requirement must be operative still, along with perhaps numerous other elements of the Mosaic Law. This assumption is grounded upon a misunderstanding of the words and intent of this passage. Christ did not here suggest that the binding nature of the law of Moses would remain forever in effect. Such a view would contradict everything we learn from the balance of the New Testament record (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-25; Ephesians 2:15). Consider the following points.

Of special significance in this study is the word rendered “abolish.” It translates the Greek term kataluo, literally meaning to “loose down.” The word is found seventeen times in the New Testament. It is used, for example, of the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans (Matthew 26:61; 27:40; Acts 6:14), and of the dissolving of the human body at death (2 Corinthians 5:1). The term can carry the extended meaning of “to overthrow,” i.e., to “render vain, deprive of success.” In classical Greek, it was used in connection with institutions, laws, etc., to convey the idea of “to invalidate.”

It is especially important to note how the word is used in Matthew 5:17. In this context, “abolish” is set in opposition to “fulfill.” Christ came “...not to abolish, but to fulfill.” The meaning is this. Jesus did not come to this earth for the purpose of acting as an opponent of the law. His goal was not to prevent its fulfillment. Rather, he revered it, loved it, obeyed it, and brought it to fruition. He fulfilled the law’s prophetic utterances regarding Himself (Luke 24:44). Christ fulfilled the demands of the Mosaic law which called for perfect obedience, or else imposed a “curse” (see Galatians 3:10,13). In this sense, the law’s divine design will ever have an abiding effect. It will always accomplish the purpose for which it was given.

If, however, the law of Moses bears the same relationship to men today, in terms of its binding status, as it did before Christ came, then it was not fulfilled, and Jesus failed at what He came “to do.” On the other hand, if the Lord did accomplish what He came to accomplish, then the law was fulfilled, and it is not a binding legal institution today. Further, if the law of Moses was not fulfilled by Christ, and thus remains as a binding legal system for today, then it is not just partially binding. Rather, it is a totally compelling system. Jesus plainly said that not one “jot or tittle” (representative of the smallest markings of the Hebrew script) would pass away until all was fulfilled. Consequently, nothing of the law was to fail until it had completely accomplished its purpose. Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus fulfilled all of the law. We cannot say that Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial system, but did not fulfill the other aspects of the law. Jesus either fulfilled all of the law, or none of it. What Jesus' death means for the sacrificial system, it also means for the other aspects of the law.

For the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

I love that verse.

indeed, for it is already rent even now, and UNPORFESSING satans and devils first recieve of the water of forever life, while the professed knowers of god and good sit outside the door, and knock, and whine as gogs without the gate, but for anything to come in, one must first cleanse itself of evil, the sight and worship of good as god..........

for it god did create a universe, and the earth, and none of these were made with what entreat man to only good of comfort, so then neither has any creator made "perfect beings" into pitchers of tall water called wisdom, before each come unto hell and perdidtion, with the seeing of self in the mirror of self, that reflect not back images of only what one hast done good, but most the images of all that was done in the name of good, as in the name of god, seeing that these things only serve to measure self based on an idea of god as good, and not with any true sight of infinite, that if one know GOD, ONE BECOME AS A CREATOR OF MOST BETTER BY REACTING WITH UNFIEGNED WORDS AND ACTIONS, for the only "true self" of god within all things to COME OUT TO PLAY, to kill the only "lessor energy" that stare at only good...........

good is poison to the mind, and negative as god, be the only thing that OPEN PORTALS INTO ALL REALMS OF ETERANL, WHICH IS ALL BLISS???