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 (Yahweh's Law through the agency of Moses). A common response I get is this, "I agree with you, but he did come to fulfill the law." Many Christians think that fulfill (in this text) somehow means the law is no longer applicable.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 (compare a similar statement in Matthew 10:34). If fulfill was synonymous with destroy, Yeshua would be saying, "I came not to destroy the law, but to destroy the law.” Yeshua is rather saying is that he did NOT come to do one thing, but came TO DO another 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 opposites.
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, but this is not the context of Yeshua's words here in Matthew 5. It's important to always remember that words are defined by their context.[1]
Yeshua is here speaking to an audience about their obedience to the law. Think about Matthew 5:1-12. When Yeshua says "Blessed are the poor in spirit (the humble)," the crowd listening to him would understand that he was instructing them to have a certain attitude or way of life. Same with "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness," or "Blessed are YOU when men revile YOU and persecute YOU." No one listening would have though Yeshua was speaking of himself. Then we have the famous Matthew 5:14-16 where he says to the crowd, "YOU are the salt of the earth, YOU are the light of the world, let YOUR light so shine among men so that others may see YOUR good works." So the context is: the Law being kept by the students of Yeshua, THEIR good works.
Get your Bible out and compare Matthew 5:17's "destroy" and "abolish" with Matthew 5:19's "break" (annul, loosen) and "practice (do) and teach." Verse 19 is explanatory of verse 17, that's why verse 19 begins with "Therefore" or "Whoever then." Because Yeshua didn't come to destroy the Law (in his teachings to others), the people he teaches must not break the Law but practice and teach the Law.
Yeshua fulfilled the law by accurately handling and interpreted the law.[2] 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.[3] This fits beautifully in the context of Matthew 5, because Yeshua goes on to contrast some of the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees with his own teachings (interpretations) of Torah. Second Temple period Jews all believed in obeying the Law that Yahweh gave through Moses (Malachi 4:4; Ezra 7:16), but they didn't always agree on how certain laws were best fulfilled. Yeshua though is the Master Torah-teacher. When he gives you his intepretation, you can be assured it is the best (correct) one, seeing he was directly sent/commissioned by Almighty Yahweh, the prophet LIKE Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:20-26)
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[1] The technical Greek word used in Matthew 5:17 for fulfill is "plerosai," and it is only used one other place in Matthew's gospel. Yeshua answers Yochanan (about needing to be baptized) by saying, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Plerosai is what is called an active verb. It is not in the passive form (like in Matthew 4:14's "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying." There the Greek reads plērōthē, a passive verb. Matthew 3:15's "fulfill all righteousness" means to do something that is righteous, and it doesn't mean that after Yeshua does something righteous there is nothing left for him to do. It's the same in Matthew 5:17, except for the contextual difference of fulfilling the Law in his teaching whereby others may know how to properly live.
[2] I've been chastised for saying that fulfill in Matthew 5:17 refers to Yeshua properly handling (that is interpreting the law), but here is the definition Thayer's Greek Lexicon gives for that exact use: "To cause God's will (as made know in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment."
[3] See David Bivin’s book “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus”
If this is the case then the text is self-contradictory. Fulfill must mean the opposite of destroy for the text to make sense (compare a similar statement in Matthew 10:34). If fulfill was synonymous with destroy, Yeshua would be saying, "I came not to destroy the law, but to destroy the law.” Yeshua is rather saying is that he did NOT come to do one thing, but came TO DO another 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 opposites.
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, but this is not the context of Yeshua's words here in Matthew 5. It's important to always remember that words are defined by their context.[1]
Yeshua is here speaking to an audience about their obedience to the law. Think about Matthew 5:1-12. When Yeshua says "Blessed are the poor in spirit (the humble)," the crowd listening to him would understand that he was instructing them to have a certain attitude or way of life. Same with "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness," or "Blessed are YOU when men revile YOU and persecute YOU." No one listening would have though Yeshua was speaking of himself. Then we have the famous Matthew 5:14-16 where he says to the crowd, "YOU are the salt of the earth, YOU are the light of the world, let YOUR light so shine among men so that others may see YOUR good works." So the context is: the Law being kept by the students of Yeshua, THEIR good works.
Get your Bible out and compare Matthew 5:17's "destroy" and "abolish" with Matthew 5:19's "break" (annul, loosen) and "practice (do) and teach." Verse 19 is explanatory of verse 17, that's why verse 19 begins with "Therefore" or "Whoever then." Because Yeshua didn't come to destroy the Law (in his teachings to others), the people he teaches must not break the Law but practice and teach the Law.
Yeshua fulfilled the law by accurately handling and interpreted the law.[2] 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.[3] This fits beautifully in the context of Matthew 5, because Yeshua goes on to contrast some of the teachings of the scribes and Pharisees with his own teachings (interpretations) of Torah. Second Temple period Jews all believed in obeying the Law that Yahweh gave through Moses (Malachi 4:4; Ezra 7:16), but they didn't always agree on how certain laws were best fulfilled. Yeshua though is the Master Torah-teacher. When he gives you his intepretation, you can be assured it is the best (correct) one, seeing he was directly sent/commissioned by Almighty Yahweh, the prophet LIKE Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Acts 3:20-26)
———--
[1] The technical Greek word used in Matthew 5:17 for fulfill is "plerosai," and it is only used one other place in Matthew's gospel. Yeshua answers Yochanan (about needing to be baptized) by saying, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Plerosai is what is called an active verb. It is not in the passive form (like in Matthew 4:14's "That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet saying." There the Greek reads plērōthē, a passive verb. Matthew 3:15's "fulfill all righteousness" means to do something that is righteous, and it doesn't mean that after Yeshua does something righteous there is nothing left for him to do. It's the same in Matthew 5:17, except for the contextual difference of fulfilling the Law in his teaching whereby others may know how to properly live.
[2] I've been chastised for saying that fulfill in Matthew 5:17 refers to Yeshua properly handling (that is interpreting the law), but here is the definition Thayer's Greek Lexicon gives for that exact use: "To cause God's will (as made know in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God's promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment."
[3] See David Bivin’s book “Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus”