Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
(Matthew 5:17-18)

To say that the modern religious world is tragically and pathetically divided is to state the very obvious. What some teach as truth is what others condemn as error. How do we account for this distressing situation?

We would like to humbly suggest that one of the basic causes for this religious division is a tragic failure to distinguish between the Old Testament system of religion and that of the New. Many people today resort to the Old Testament law to justify such practices as paying and receiving of tithes, using mechanical instruments of music in worship, observance of Sabbath, burning of incense and maintaining a special priestly caste. These and many other doctrines, which we shall very soon see to be false, are taught today by sincere and well-meaning people simply because they do not, and cannot, differentiate between the Law of Moses and the Gospel of Christ.

When the attention of such people is called to facts relating to the need to distinguish between Judaism and Christianity, or rather between the Old Testament system of religion of the Jews (Leviticus 27:34), and that of Christ in the New Testament which is for the whole world (Matthew 28:19), they holler, "But Christ has said He did not come to destroy the law or the prophets!"

What is the import of this statement by our Lord Jesus Christ? What is the nature of the Law of Moses? How can we establish the abrogation of the Old Testament? Finally, what are the consequences of mixing the practices of the Old and New Testaments? These questions constitute the burden of this write-up.

What Does Jesus Christ Mean In Matthew 5:17?

What does the Lord mean by saying He did not come "to destroy the law or the prophets"? First of all, we need to understand the Lord Jesus used the word "destroy" in antithesis with fulfill. He did not employ the word "destroy" as an antithesis with perpetuate. Read it again: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17). Fulfill is one thing; perpetuate, which many erroneously read into the passage, is another. But Christ emphatically said He came to fulfill the law.

What is "the Law or the Prophets"?

In the scriptures, "the law" is sometimes used to refer basically to the Ten Commandments. In Romans 7:7, Paul argues, "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, 'Thou shalt not covet.'" Evidently, the reference here is to the Decalogue (Exodus 20:17).

Sometimes, the word "law" refers to the entire first five books of the Old Testament, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. When Jesus Christ stated in Matthew 12:5: "Or have you not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?...," He was referring, not just to the Ten Commandments, but to the provisions of the law of Moses in the Pentateuch in Numbers 28, particularly verse 9.

At times, "the law" encapsulates the book of Psalms. The Lord said, "...Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?" (John 10:34). But this passage is an allusion to Psalms 82:6.

The "law" also incorporates the writings of the Old Testament prophets. In John 12:34, we read, "...we have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever." Now a question: Where in the law do we have it stated that "Christ abideth for ever"? This is stated in the writings of the prophets of old in Micah 4:7.

From these premises, therefore, it is palpably evident that "the law" includes as well the prophets, the psalms, and the entirety what we consider today as the Old Testament. To underscore this fact, after His resurrection, but shortly before His ascension, the Lord declared to His disciples:

These are the words which I spoke to you, while was yet with with, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.
(Luke 24:44)

What Is the Meaning of "Fulfill"?

Jesus said He came to the earth for a specific purpose. That purpose was to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17). In this context, to "fulfill" simply means "to finish or bring to an end." This is made clearer when it is viewed from the perspective of a covenant. Indeed, it is a covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It is the first covenant which gave way for the second (Hebrews 8:7-13).

Now what remains after a covenant has been fulfilled? In other words, it is generally understood that the fulfillment of an agreement or a covenant is the end of that particular covenant.

How Did Christ Fulfill the Law?

By fulfilling what the prophets said of Him, Jesus completed the law. There is not one prophecy of the Old Testament that Jesus failed to fulfill. He said, "...all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the propphets, and in the Psalms, concerning me." (Luke 24:44).

Jesus Christ also fulfilled the Law by living perfectly or sinlessly. Under the Law, the only way man could stand justified before God was to keep all of the law, all of the time (Galatians 2:16). From this standpoint, the law could not justify any man because no man except Christ kept all of the law, all of the time. So, "the law made nothing perfect" (Hebrews 7:19). It became a curse because it condemned man (Galatians 3:13).

But again, Jesus fulfilled the law by keeping it. He "committed no sin" (1 Peter 2:22). Satan, the Pharisees, and the religious leaders of His days used extreme situations to tempt Jesus Christ to sin, but He did not succumb to these temptations.

The sinlessness of Christ is underscored by the action and the statement of the one who scourged Him, when "he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person" (Matthew 27:24). The one who betrayed Him also declared His innocency, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood" (Matthew 27:4).

By perfectly obeying the law through His sinless life, Jesus Christ honoured and fulfilled the law. Thus, He fulfilled the demands of the law and brought redemption to man (Galatians 4:4-5).

Apart from that, Jesus fulfilled the law by offering His life as a perfect sacrifice for sin. He was "a lamb without blemish or spot" (1 Peter 1:19). He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (Hebrews 9:26). The death of Christ fulfilled the law by being the perfect sacrifice required for the penalty for our sin. He "is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:2).

Therefore, Jesus fulfilled the law and the prophets by fulfilling what the prophets said of Him, by His perfect obedience, and by His death on the cross. Against this backdrop, He was able to say, "it is finished" (John 19:30). His death on the cross "wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14). Because the law has been fulfilled we are no longer under it (Galatians 3:19, 23-25).

Matthew 5:18

"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."

Like the previous verse, some have read into the passage much more than our Lord said. To some people what Jesus is saying is that till heaven and earth pass away, the law will not pass away. That idea betrays a woeful ignorance of logic and grammar.

Consider this illustration: If a labour leaders says, "till heaven and earth pass away, workers will not return to work until all our demands are met," would anyone understand the labour leader to be saying workers would not return to work until heaven and earth passes away? How does that follow from the premises? Rather, people who understand the use of language know that the labour leader is saying workers would return to work only after their demands are met.

Besides, the word "till" implies temporariness. It also denotes a termination point. Jesus is simply saying the law would not pass away till all is fulfilled. It logically follows that when it is fulfilled, it would pass away.

Now, the big question is Has Christ fulfilled the law He declared He did (Luke 24:44). Because He had fulfilled the law, He took it out of the way and nailed it to His cross (Colossians 2:14).

(to be continued)