Matthew 5:17
I usually point people to this verse to show them that Yeshua’s mission on earth was not to come and destroy the law. A common response I get is this, "I agree with you, but he did come to fulfill the law."
Many Christians believe that fulfill (in this text) somehow means the law is no longer applicable. “Jesus fulfilled the law, so we don’t have to worry about keeping it anymore.”
If this is the case then the text is self-contradictory. Fulfill must mean the opposite of destroy for the text to make sense. If fulfill was synonymous with destroy, Yeshua would be saying, "I came not to destroy the law, but to destroy the law.” What Yeshua is saying is that he didn’t come to do one thing, but rather another thing, instead of the first thing. It’s like if I were to say to my children: “Dad is here to help you, not harm you.” Help and harm are two different things.
I think people have in their minds that Yeshua fulfilling the law is like a prophecy being fulfilled; a prophecy is given, and in the future, it is fulfilled. This is not the context of Yeshua's words. It’s important to recognize the context of his words, by reading what he said just before this.
Yeshua is speaking to an audience about their obedience to the law. Matthew 5:16 (just before) has Him saying to the crowd, "Let your light so shine among men so that others may see your good works." A bit later (Matthew 5:19) he explains that whoever breaks even the least of the commandments (and teaches others to do so) will be least in the kingdom of heaven. However, the one who practices and teaches the commandments will be great in the kingdom.
So the context is the law being kept by the students of Yeshua. Their good works, and whoever of them.
In what sense did Yeshua fulfill the law? He fulfilled the law in that he obeyed the law. He calls us to strive for obedience too (Matthew 5:16, 19).
He also fulfilled the law in the sense that he accurately handled and interpreted the law. During the first century it was common for people to listen to the teaching of various Rabbi's (teachers) in the Hebrew faith. If a Rabbi accurately interpreted the Torah, he was said to have fulfilled the Torah. If a Rabbi misinterpreted the Torah he was said to have destroyed the Torah.* This fits beautifully in the context of Matthew 5, because Yeshua goes on to contrast what the scribes and Pharisees were saying about certain laws with what he taught about those laws.
So Yeshua is teaching the people not to think He came to give a misinterpretation of the Torah, but rather to give them the correct interpretation of the Torah to follow.
———--
*See David Bivin’s book “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus”
Many Christians believe that fulfill (in this text) somehow means the law is no longer applicable. “Jesus fulfilled the law, so we don’t have to worry about keeping it anymore.”
If this is the case then the text is self-contradictory. Fulfill must mean the opposite of destroy for the text to make sense. If fulfill was synonymous with destroy, Yeshua would be saying, "I came not to destroy the law, but to destroy the law.” What Yeshua is saying is that he didn’t come to do one thing, but rather another thing, instead of the first thing. It’s like if I were to say to my children: “Dad is here to help you, not harm you.” Help and harm are two different things.
I think people have in their minds that Yeshua fulfilling the law is like a prophecy being fulfilled; a prophecy is given, and in the future, it is fulfilled. This is not the context of Yeshua's words. It’s important to recognize the context of his words, by reading what he said just before this.
Yeshua is speaking to an audience about their obedience to the law. Matthew 5:16 (just before) has Him saying to the crowd, "Let your light so shine among men so that others may see your good works." A bit later (Matthew 5:19) he explains that whoever breaks even the least of the commandments (and teaches others to do so) will be least in the kingdom of heaven. However, the one who practices and teaches the commandments will be great in the kingdom.
So the context is the law being kept by the students of Yeshua. Their good works, and whoever of them.
In what sense did Yeshua fulfill the law? He fulfilled the law in that he obeyed the law. He calls us to strive for obedience too (Matthew 5:16, 19).
He also fulfilled the law in the sense that he accurately handled and interpreted the law. During the first century it was common for people to listen to the teaching of various Rabbi's (teachers) in the Hebrew faith. If a Rabbi accurately interpreted the Torah, he was said to have fulfilled the Torah. If a Rabbi misinterpreted the Torah he was said to have destroyed the Torah.* This fits beautifully in the context of Matthew 5, because Yeshua goes on to contrast what the scribes and Pharisees were saying about certain laws with what he taught about those laws.
So Yeshua is teaching the people not to think He came to give a misinterpretation of the Torah, but rather to give them the correct interpretation of the Torah to follow.
———--
*See David Bivin’s book “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus”