To Fulfill the Law
Matt. 5:17-20
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. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
As Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount, He told this passage to those assembled. Jesus was just starting His ministry and He was laying the groundwork that people would need to know for the coming three years. He had just finished telling the crowd to let their light shine before men so they could see the good works which glorifies God. Jesus then proceeded to tell the people about Himself.
Jesus told the crowd He did not come to destroy the Law and the prophets but to fulfill them. With this He made clear His position with regard to the Law. The teaching of the Kingdom, the Gospel which He came to proclaim, is a doctrine radically different from the teachings of Moses; the thou shalts and thou shalt nots of the Ten Commandments is very strict and rigid. We are told what is good and what is bad behavior. We are told what we have to do and what we will not do. We also know that God demands we follow the Law perfectly, not as good as we can, but perfectly. There are no degrees of perfection, no “yeah buts” in regard to following the Law, we have either followed the Law or we haven’t. We know we cannot follow the Law as we are required to by God, and this knowledge cannot make us happy or bring us any comfort. We see daily where we fail God and break His Laws, we understand that with each and every breaking of the law, we break God’s heart and we disappoint Him.
But Jesus told us He came to fulfill the Law. He came to live His life without breaking any part of the Law. As Jesus was born true man, He was subject to the Law, He was under the Law. But as Jesus is also true God, and He could live that perfect life. And He did from conception to death. Philippians 2:8 tells us “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus followed the will of the Father, being obedient to His Father, to the cross and death.
The teaching of the Gospel is opposite to the teaching of the Law. The Law can only show us our sins, if can offer nothing but remorse and shame, all the Law does is condemns us. The only thing the Law can bring is death. The Gospel shows us our Savior. The Gospel tells us that God loves us so much that He does not want to be separated from us. The Gospel tells us that God gave to His creation a Savior, someone who would trade places with us in our punishment; take our sins as His own. The Gospel tells us our sins have been forgiven. The Gospel offers us a conscience that is at ease and free of guilt. The Gospel releases us from the burden of the Law and offers us life in Heaven.