what does this mean that Jesus fulfilled the law?

Question

what law

Answer 1

Millions of people believe he did not fulfill the law:

< Judaism, unlike Christianity, does not believe that the Messiah is Jesus. The noun moshiach (translated as messiah) annotatively means "anointed one;" it does not, however, imply "savior." The notion of an innocent, semi-divine being who will sacrifice himself to save us from the consequences of our own sins is a purely Christian concept that has no basis in Jewish thought or scripture.

In Judaic texts, the term messiah was used for all kings, high priests, certain warriors, but never eschatological figures. In the Tanach, moshiach is used 38 times: two patriarchs, six high priests, once for Cyrus, 29 Israelite kings such as Saul and David.

Not once is the word moshiach used in reference to the awaited Messiah.

Even in the apocalyptic book of Daniel, the only time moshiach is mentioned is in connection to a murdered high priest.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, the Pseudepigrapha, and Apocrypha never mention the Messiah.

The man destined to be the Messiah will be a direct descendant of King David (Isaiah 11:1) through the family of Solomon, David's son (1 Chronicles 22:9-l0). He will cause all the world to serve God together (Isaiah 11:2), be wiser than Solomon (Mishnah Torah Repentance 9:2), greater than the patriarchs and prophets (Aggadah Genesis 67), and more honored than kings (Mishnah Sanhedrin 10), for he will reign as king of the world (Pirkei Eliezer).

Amongst the most basic missions that the Messiah will accomplish during his lifetime (Isaiah 42:4) are to:

* Oversee the rebuilding of Jerusalem, including the Third Temple, in the event that it has not yet been rebuilt (Michah 4:1 and Ezekiel 40-45)

* Gather the Jewish people from all over the world and bring them home to the Land of Israel (Isaiah 11:12; 27:12-13)

* Influence every individual of every nation to abandon and be ashamed of their former beliefs (or non-beliefs) and acknowledge and serve only the One True God of Israel (Isaiah 11:9-10; 40:5 and Zephaniah 3:9)

* Bring about global peace throughout the world (Isaiah 2:4; 11:5-9 and Michah 4:3-4).

There are over a dozen additional prophecies which the Messiah will also achieve (there is no mention of any "second coming" in the Tanach or the New Testament). In order to avoid identifying the wrong individual as Messiah, the Code of Jewish Law dictates criteria for establishing the Messiah's identity (Mishnah Torah Kings 11:4):

"If a king arises from the House of David who meditates on the Torah, occupies himself with the commandments as did his ancestor King David, observes the commandments of the Written and Oral Law, prevails upon all Israel to walk in the way of the Torah and to follow its direction, and fights the wars of God, it may be assumed that he is the Messiah.

If he does these things and is fully successful, rebuilds the Third Temple on its location, and gathers the exiled Jews, he is beyond doubt the Messiah. But if he is not fully successful, or if he is killed, he is not the Messiah."

Over 1,000 years before the attributed birth of the historical Jesus, it was recorded in the Tanach:

* Numbers 23:19: God is not a man, that He should be deceitful, nor the son of man, that He should repent. Would He say and not do, or speak and not confirm?

* Psalms 146:3: Do not rely on princes nor in the son of man, for he holds no salvation.

Even the New Testament concurs that Jesus, in fact, is not the Messiah:

* Matthew 20:28: Just as the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve. >

Answer 2

i have never quite understood the contention that someone can come and "fulfill" the laws given to the Jews and I'll tell you why. First off, the text that conveys those laws takes pains to say that fearful observance is an eternal requirement. So the need to follow them cannot be removed. Then there is the English/semantic problem. In the same way that a birthday party can't be eaten, a law can't be fulfilled -- the verb does not describe an action which is appropriate for that noun. Laws are obeyed...wishes are fulfilled. The English construction claiming that a law is "fulfilled" makes no logical sense.

Answer 3

When Jesus said that He fulfilled the law (Matthew 5:17), what did He mean? The word translated fulfill means to “make full, to fill up and to fill to the full” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon). In the remainder of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus illuminated the meaning of the law. He revealed its spiritual purpose and intent.

For example, in magnifying the Seventh Commandment Jesus stated, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28, emphasis added throughout). By saying this, Jesus magnified the law against adultery—a lingering, lustful thought breaks the commandment as much as the actual act does.

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus explained that the commandments speak to our innermost thoughts in addition to our actions—because thoughts are the doorway to actions. In the same section of Scripture He magnified the Sixth Commandment that forbids murder by explaining that His disciples should not even harbor hateful attitudes and demeaning thoughts about another person (Matthew 5:21-22).

What is clear about Jesus’ teaching is the intensity He gave to loving God. He brought forward the teaching of the Old Testament to love Him “with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). At the same time, we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39).

Instead of doing away with or replacing God’s laws, Jesus affirmed the law, stated His commitment to it and built His sermon on that foundation. He had strong words for any who claimed to worship Him and failed to obey God’s commandments.

Answer 4

Part of Jesus's work on earth was to overthrow the old law, the law of the Hebrews--which is in the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It includes the ten commandments, but also thousands of other restrictions, about things like food, money, and hygeine. He said that it was less important to obey the letter of the rules and more important to obey the spirit--that human lives should be devoted to loving God.

Lots of Jews in his timeperiod were scared of this huge change, so the Gospel writers made sure to mention that even though Jesus overthrew the old laws, he still obeyed them. He was a practicing Jew, and followed all of the rules from the Hebrew Scriptures.

Answer 5

Jesus fulfilled the law by not making it only physical like it has always been from time past but now it is also spiritual. For he gave an example of this.
Mt 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mt 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
SOME BELIEVE THAT HE DID AWAY WITH THE LAW BY SAYING HE FULFILLED THE LAW, THIS IS AN OUT RIGHT LIE.
NONE OF THE LAWS OF GOD ARE DONE AWAY WITH.
Mt 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mt 5:18 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.
Mt 5:19 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.
YOU ASK WHAT LAW, IT WOULD BE THIS LAW
1jo 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1jo 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Answer 6

Apparently he fulfilled the old Mosaic/Jewsih law by being perfect. That means that Christians are no longer under that law and don't have to follow it, they just have to follow the new laws Jesus gave them.

If that is true, what i don't understand is why they even have it in their Bible then and why they feel the need to follow the Ten Commandments or the need to have them posted in public places. That makes no sense.

Answer 7

Jesus lived under the Mosaic Law and did it perfectly.
But his sacrifice ended the requirement for God's people to live by it. He was the end of the law, fulfilling it.
Christians now have Christ's Law, his admonitions given to us by the apostles, his commandments to live by. They are not the burdensome laws of the Jews.

Here is just one aspect of Christ Law:

Galatians 6:2 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
2Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

And we fulfill the law through love.
Romans 13:8 (King James Version)
King James Version (KJV)

8Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

It's by love, we live under Christ's Law, honor his admonitions given to us by the apostles, and his commandments

Answer 8

The purpose of the Law of Moses, as it's called, was to offer a method of reconciliation between God and man.
Jesus Christ did this through His sacrifice thereby fulfilling the purpose of the Law.
As HE said I did not come to do AWAY with the LAW but to fulfill it.

Answer 9

He lived perfectly in the law and fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament about the Savior!

Answer 10

The Mosaic Law... the law given to God by Moses. It means he came to Earth and lived sin free, he did not break any of God's laws. Therefore, he fulfilled the law.