Christ Fulfilled the Law

Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to destroy the law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For 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”. (Nelson, 1997, pp. Matthew 5:17-18). When Jesus hung on the cross there were seven things that he had said; one of those was 3 simple words; “It is finished” (Nelson, 1997, p. John 19:30). These two scriptures, though from different books, are important regarding the argument some may have about whether or not we still live by the law or that we no longer live by the law but by grace. Many say that the law must still be followed in addition to accepting grace and the ultimate sacrifice of love through the crucifixion. So, how about we take a closer look at the biblical facts as provided through scripture; through the very words and actions of our Lord, The Christ; Jesus.

Let’s break it down a little shall we? Hopefully you already know and understand that the original Old Testament text was in Hebrew and the New Testament was in Greek. So, since we are in the New Testament, I want to use my other bible and verse 17 reads “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until [no translation] may pass away [no translation] heaven and [no translation] earth, one letter or one stroke may in no way pass [no translation] from the law until everything takes place” (Eck, 1990, p. 14). Notice anything different between the two bibles? There are sometimes words in Greek that simply cannot be translated in English. There were some Greek words that had no translation, hence the brackets indicating so. The translation would be left up to the author’s best educational guess. And of course, the author is human and fallible. Therefore, the author is not always correct in his/her translation. This is why I believe it is so important to have a relationship with The Lord because The Holy Spirit is the one to assist us in learning and knowing the truth.

Now, Jesus reassures us that He did not come to earth to abolish or destroy the law which is the Old Testament or the Old Covenant which contains many of the laws for His people including the Ten Commandments. These would be the many mentioned in the book of Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, etc.; and He didn’t. What He did was “finish it, or, in some bibles the word accomplished is used. He said that the law would not be destroyed or abolished until when? “………. Till all is fulfilled”; “…….until everything takes place”. What had to be fulfilled? What had to take place? The prophecy had to be fulfilled. The final and ultimate sacrifice had to take place. Paul said that the wages of sin was death and when he said that he wasn’t necessarily talking about a physical death but a spiritual one. Why? Because our physical bodies are mortal and eventually die and return to the dust from whence it came, but our spirit lives are immortal; it lives eternally with, or without, being in the presence of God.

Jesus fulfilled the law, it was finished; no longer do we have to live by the law because Jesus fulfilled all obligation of the law when He died on the cross for our sins. Does that mean we now have cart blanch to do whatever we want; to sin? No. It was made clear that the Ten Commandments were still in place when the discussion between the young ruler and Jesus took place (Nelson, 1997, pp. Mark 10:17-22). In fact, not only do the Ten Commandments still have to be followed, but Jesus added another commandment. He said “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another” (Nelson, 1997, p. John 13:34). The commandment to love one another as He loves us is so important that He said it twice. The law was fulfilled; finished when Jesus died on the cross. Now, we live by the grace of God through His love act through the ministry, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus The Christ; Immanuel; The Son of God. Knowing and understanding the things of the OT are important as we need to know and understand the power of God as well as the love of God. Much of what we learn in the OT can be utilized in our lives today; but it is no longer the current law, nor the current commandments that we are to live by. It IS the New Testament; it is what Jesus taught; that is why we are Christians; we follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ.

Do you have to believe this? Absolutely not; however, I do and it is what Jesus said, what He taught while He was on earth, and now, what the Holy Spirit teaches me that I believe. Am I right and someone else wrong? Well, I believe I’m right based on what I have learned thus far, but no, it doesn’t mean I believe I’m right and you’re wrong. It just means that this is what I believe to be true regardless of what anyone says. I am confident in what I believe and I can only hope and pray that you are totally confident in what you believe to be true. In the end, we will all find out when we finally come face to face with The Father because it’s not just the sinners that get judged, but the Christians still get judged as well. Becoming a Christian does not exempt us from judgement day before God. As long as we follow the teachings of Christ and follow His commandments we shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Our job now, our responsibility now is to spread the Gospel; the good news of Jesus the Christ. To let everyone know just how very much God loves them and wants them to have a relationship with Him. It really is that simple.  It’s about a relationship; not about a religion; big difference. It’s not about the laws of the Old Testament and the atonement of sins, but now about the New Testament and the forgiveness of all sin through the sacrifice of Jesus; it’s about mercy. I don’t know about you but I am much happier with building and maintaining a relationship with The One who created and formed all things than, well, not.

 

Eck, O. V. (1990). The New Greek English Interlenear New Testament. Tyndale House Publishers.

Nelson, T. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible. Nashville.