When Christ said He came not to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it what did He mean?

Question

Does this mean, even though we're Christians, we should be following Mosaic dietary laws and so on? Should we be worshipping on Saturdays and not Sundays?

Answer 1

The Apostle Paul wrote at Galatians 3:

"19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."

Jesus is "the Seed" mentioned at verse 19. It was His birth and earthly ministry which fulfilled the promises God made within the Bible, including Jeremiah 31:31-34, which promised a New Covenant. Once Jesus arrived to give that Covenant, the need for the Mosaic Covenant (with its endless burden of work) was obsolete. Jesus' blood cleanses us from sin, while the Mosaic Covenant only atoned (covered) sin.

Christians and Messianic Jews are not bound by the Mosaic Law (INCLUDING the Ten Commandments) for the reasons given by Paul. Read Romans 7 very carefully and you will see that we are not under the Mosaic Law, but under God's grace; notice that Paul lists NO exceptions -- he doesn't write "you are under grace and free from the Law, except the 10 Commandments." He writes that we are ABSOLUTELY free. Therefore, we are ONLY bound by the Commandments given by Jesus. In some cases, His Commandments mirror commandments given in the Mosaic Law. In that case, it is Jesus' Law we follow and NOT the Mosaic Law.

Since we're under grace and not the Mosaic Law, and since Jesus didn't give a renewed command to worship on any particular day, there is no "Sabbath" to observe. Seventh Day Adventists firmly believe God never abolished the Sabbath; however, they have a faulty understanding of exactly how Jesus fulfilled the law. Similarly, we are free from the Levitical dietary laws. (See Matthew 15:1-20 and Acts 11.)

This is a VERY complex subject, but I hope this is helpful. If you need more information, please contact me through YA.

EDIT: "Theo," we cannot know the Aramaic word Jesus used, but here's information about the Greek word Matthew used: http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/words.pl?book=Mat&chapter=5&verse=17&strongs=4137&page=

Answer 2

You are concentrating on the wrong part of that verse.

Mat 5:17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.

The key words come at the end, and qualify all the rest of it.

"TILL ALL BE FULFILLED."

Jesus said that he came to fulfill every part of the law, and if he didn't succeed in doing so, then the law would last until the end of the world.

But Jesus DID fulfill the law, as well as all that was written about him in the psalms, and in the prophets.

When Jesus died and rose again, all the old laws passed away, not just some of them.

For a while, all we had to go one were the 2 new commandments Jesus gave us ... Love God ... Love your neighbor.

But the church is the authentic government of the new covenant, and the church later readopted and readapted the old commandments to the new realities of the age of grace.

That's the only reason we still have 10 commandments today.

But they are definitely NOT the exact same ones we had back in Moses' day. And anyone who attempts to keep the old law ends up on the wrong end of things, anyway.

To view the 10 Commandments of the authentic, new covenant, universal Church, go here:

http://catholicism.about.com/cs/basicbeliefs/a/tencommand04.htm

Answer 3

He meant that no man is able to keep the laws and commandments without love. The entire commands are hinged onto love like a door is hinged to keep it up. For example. Matthew 22:37 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important. Love your neighbor as yourself. The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments." So you can worship on a Saturday or a Sunday and if you do not have love you have nothing. Read 1 Cor. 13. Love, be bless.

Answer 4

...Jesus lived the law perfectly, and was the Lamb of God, the spotless sacrifice for our sins. The law is over.
...The Sabbath day is a type or picture of Christ's finished work on the cross - God rested on the seventh day, the Sabbath, and we rest in His complete salvation (in Hebrews somewhere).
...The early Christian believers began to worship on Sunday, celebrating His resurrection. If you want to worship on Saturday or believe that you should, and some do, that is between you and the Lord - but none of us should try and make Saturday worship doctrine, as some do.
...Under the New Covenant, we are under the law of love - we owe every person the debt of love.
...We do not have to follow the dietary laws of the Old Testament, but if you do, you will be eating in a healthy manner (i.e. omitting seafood items like crabs, shrimp, scallops, etc) will help you avoid certain sicknesses.
...If you search the Scriptures and dig out the principles of money management, you will find some very smart advice, like not co-signing for the purchases of others.
...I think of Romans 15:4, which says:
..."For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through the perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
...The Bible is there to instruct us.
...And in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read:
...16 "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
...17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
...The Bible is the guidebook for the Christian's life; read it, memorize it, master it; be mastered by it.
...Don't surprised if you are made fun of and criticized by others. This is to be expected, because Jesus said if they hated Him, they would hate us also. Non-believers do not have the Holy Spirit and cannot understand God's word - it is foolishness to them.
...I urge all to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Acts 16:31
...Whosoever will, may come.

Answer 5

if you take it in its fullest context.

' Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

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.

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.

now if you read this it doesn't seem to suggest that mosaic law is being altered or abolished. what Jesus seems to be saying is that he is here to obey the laws and that no one should disobey them. it would be interesting to know the exact word in Aramaic that fulfilled has been used for, because i have noticed that the christian idea of hell has replaced the original Jewish Gehenna, two totally different concepts. there may be a similar distortion in the interpretation into Greek and English. even if you read it in English at its most literal, without trying to tease out any gnostic meanings, i think that he is confirming the law not changing it. any other interpretation would seem to be sophistry.

Answer 6

The Law of Moses was designed to get the idolatrous Israel to look to Christ. The rulers of the Jews had over time added many things to the Law that we read about in the New Testament when the Saducees and Pharisees tried to enforce their additions on to the Savior. However in the book of Acts chapter 10 we read about a vision that Peter had wherein the Lord told Peter that he had cleansed the animals. the vision had multiple applications as is often the case with revelation of that nature. For example that vision was one of the reasons that Christianity spread beyond the Jews.

Answer 7

You know that verse gave me fits also when I first went to Bible college and it still is tough to try to interpret. I think the point of thise verse was to communicate the argument that...

A. God WAS revealed in the OT. The very first charge upon hearing Jesus' amazing message was that he was rejecting Moses and the prophets. And wasnt that really the only charges the Jews ever came up with? -That Jesus was a lawbreaker (didnt affirm the OT) and that he was a blasphemer (he was trying to take the place of God) I believe Jesus said this to silence the critics that he was here to replace the law with his own religion and in that context that is not what he did at all. He fullfilled them by fullfilling Scripture.

Now should we follow the OT? I hear this argument over and over luckily though just from unbelievers and I tell you what I tell them. There is a difference between purely Jewish law and universal law in the OT. Some of the laws were destined to be characteristic of Jews only and some are universal. (True for all people all time) It doesnt exactly take a Bible scholar to see the differences. Of what we read in the NT, ALL sexual sin is STILL forbidden. That is stated so many times in the NT I fail to see how there is still any debate today over it. Actually I do see, because a number of people are trying to justify their unGodly lifestyles by knowlingly confusing and clouding the Scriptures.

So in this way, Jesus wasnt literally telling us that the OT law was universal for everyone for all time, it was destined to perish with them and the reason he told them to follow it carefully was because they were Jews and that was the only way they knew how to be faithful to God.

Answer 8

He fulfilled the old prophecies. He created a new covenant. For example, by his sacrifice, we have no need of animal sacrifices today, hence the old biblical laws on sacrifice became unnecessary. He didn't come to do away with all of the old laws, they are still useful guidelines and principles for us today. But he did fulfill the expectations for messiah and completed everything he set out to do. Hence the dietary laws, as much as they were useful at the time, are not binding to us today. Worship of God is to be with "your whole heart, mind, body and soul" - so timing is not exactly specifically necessary - but it should be done on a regular basis.

Answer 9

No, He didn't refer to that. He came to fulfill the law concerning Him, His resurrection and ascension.
1. That He must suffer (Psalm22:1-21, Isaiah 53:1-9)
2. That He must rise again from the dead the third day (Ps 16:10,Jonah 1:17, Hos. 6:2)
3. That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Answer 10

It means that under the New Covenant, we do not have to follow the ancient rules and traditions, like diet for example. Those are not laws.

But it also means that the OT laws, like the 10 Commandments, are not abolished.

That's the extremely short version answer.