Jesus said he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it. However, his instructions in Matthew 5:21-48 and elsewhere (e.g. his teaching on divorce in Matthew 19:1-12) went beyond the written law in several respects. He required more of his disciples than the law of Moses asked; he called them to a level of purity of heart which could not be reduced to a list of commandments, but which would produce right behaviour. Yet at the same time he made their lives simpler in that his teaching and example clearly abolished some parts of the ceremonial law. Jesus kept the law for the most part but at times he clearly acted and spoke as one who stood above the law. He not only abolished the Pharisees’ interpretations of the Law; at certain points he sovereignly overturned the stipulations of the actual written Law of Moses.
Jesus violated the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Sabbath commandment in order to heal someone on the Sabbath (Luke 13:10-17). He and his disciples also ate grain from a field on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-8) which according to the Pharisees was a violation of the law forbidding work on the Sabbath. Although this act was really only a violation of the Pharisees’ tradition, not the law of Moses, what is significant is the way Jesus defended himself. He used the example of David who had clearly violated the law and yet Jesus declared that David was innocent, and then declared himself to be Lord of the sabbath. This can only mean that Jesus was dictating the terms of what was acceptable on the Sabbath and what was not. In saying this he was stating that he was above the Law of Moses. Jesus also violated the actual written law of Moses when he touched lepers, even though he was not a member of the Levitical priesthood who were the only ones authorized to declare lepers clean under the Law ( Matthew 8:1-3; see Leviticus 13:3 on leprosy as a form of uncleanness, and Leviticus 5:2-6 on the consequences of touching that which was unclean). In addition, Jesus clearly taught (Mark 7:14-23) that the dietary restrictions of the law were no longer in force.
In all these cases, Jesus’ words and actions make it clear that He was introducing a new order. When He died the veil of the temple was torn in two, indicating that the way to the Holy Place was now open, and the Book of Hebrews makes it clear that for believers in Jesus, the Old Covenant is no longer in force. So when Jesus said he was not abolishing the law but fulfilling it, I take this to mean that he was “fulfilling” it in the sense of completing it, or giving the law its actual, intended, true meaning. He did also say that not one jot or tittle of the law would pass away until all was accomplished, but I understand this to mean that the whole law remains in effect for those who choose to live under it, as Paul also said. If anyone is inclined to live under the law, they must keep the whole law (Galatians 3:10-14). But if we recognize that our salvation is in Christ then we are no longer under the law of Moses, we are living in a new order of grace in which purity of heart comes by his mercy and leads to right behaviour.
When Jesus spoke of these commandments in Matthew 5:19-20, I believe he was speaking of the commandments he was about to give in the subsequent verses, which take obedience to a whole new level – introducing requirements that clearly are impossible for man but possible only with God. This was the disciples’ response when he spoke of divorce (Matthew 19:10-11) – they recognized that this requirement was more than they could handle, and Jesus’ response was that the ability to keep this commandment was a gift of grace.
Jesus’ teaching and example takes us beyond the realm of keeping works of the law by our own effort, into a realm of depending totally on God’s grace to purify and transform our hearts, so that we produce good fruit which we would be incapable of producing by ourselves. This is the law of the Spirit of life which Paul spoke of, it is the law of liberty which James spoke of, and I believe this is also what Jesus meant when he said he had come not to abolish the law but to fulfil it, and then followed it up with teachings that in fact go well beyond the law of Moses. I believe he was saying that he had come to fulfil the law by taking it beyond itself. As Paul said in Romans 10:4, Christ is the end of the law – the word end (Greek telos) meaning both goal and termination.
There is certainly effort involved in walking in this new way, but there is also rest. The effort we are to expend is not the effort to keep a list of laws, but rather the daily choice to keep on entering his rest, keep on surrendering our will, keep on choosing the path of faith and love, keep on crucifying the flesh (the old nature), keep on following the leading of the Spirit. If we do this, the righteous requirements of the law are fully met, as Paul said (Romans 8:1-4).
Completely agreed except for one point, which may seem picky but I actually believe it is important … After considerable reflection on the whole of NT teaching, which must be considered alongside Jesus’ words in Mattthew 5 (just finished reading all the NT epistles last week) I do not believe that for New Covenant believers the law is the way we are to be holy, but rather that Jesus is the way we are to be holy (the law is the way that holiness is attained for those under the Old Covenant – but since that didn’t work so well for them, we have been given a new and living way, Jesus – He is the way that holiness is attained under the New Covenant ). I do completely agree however that if we truly focus on Him, with understanding, we will need to pay attention to what he says in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere about the “higher righteousness” — which, as I said in my original post, takes us well beyond the specific requirements of the written code, but which I agree sums up the heart of the Law (i.e. love God and love neighbour). I also agree fully that this involves continual sacrifice but the sacrifice is for the sake of a person, not a code. I agree that the instructions of Jesus in the Sermon in the Mount, as well as the instructions and exhortations to holiness in the Epistles, are of crucial importance in living out a holy life – but I do these things not to fulfil a code but out of love for a person who has set me free from condemnation and shown me the way to be free. That to me is an expression of the “law of the Spirit of life” (Romans 8).
And maybe another very minor quibble – really an extension of my point above about relying on Jesus more than we follow a written code : Jesus actually did break some of the ceremonial commandments (touching an unclean person – leper – although not a Levitical priest – to take only one example) before his sacrifice on the cross, thereby indicating his sovereignty. Obviously he did this for the sake of a higher priority – to heal the leper – and since He knew himself to be clean and knew where true cleanness came from, he wasn’t in violation of God’s will at all, but my point is that in terms of the written code of Moses, when he touched a leper, or declared all foods clean, or said David was innocent for eating the showbread which only the priests were allowed to eat, he clearly saw Himself as sovereign over these regulations – evidently he could do this because He alone was truly holy and understood and embodied true holiness. But since for a Jew the whole written law was considered to be one, he could thereby technically be considered a lawbreaker by someone who did not understand Who he was. I am not saying this to suggest that the moral law is not important but to indicate that the true Word of God is a person first and a book second. Jesus embodies, sums up, and expresses the true logos (word), torah (teaching), and ruach (spirit) of God … His example is so challenging that I don’t see how anyone could think it was possible to follow him without effort even though it is all by grace.
I like your 5 dollars/ million dollars analogy … 🙂
i agree that we’re not to focus on the law, and that we’re to focus on Jesus. Completely. i’m not saying that we’re to focus on the law as a list of rules to obey if we want to be holy…but i am saying that we can’t ignore all the exhortations to be holy…and the law is the way laid out by God that holiness is attained (thru Jesus of course because we can’t fulfill the requirements of the law on our own). if we’re focused on Jesus, and what he’s asked us to do and how he’s asked us to live, if we do that then in effect we will be trying to follow the law because the standards he’s asked us to live by are the same standards found in the law…it’s just now because of grace if we fail (which we will) we no longer have to offer sacrifices to make up for our failure…we turn to Jesus as our sacrifice…it’s a combo of sorts of his perfection and sacrifice and perfect obedience, partnered with our weak effort (which will come short every time and he knows that)…but he still wants our weak effort and our weak yes to him..that’s the setting of our hearts to follow him…
i’ve heard it like this….Jesus has all the money in the world…you have 5 dollars. he takes ur five dollars, mixes it in with his massive pile of money and says to you “look at all our money!” he requires our weak yes, and he does the rest and calls it even 🙂
Good thoughts – really nothing substantial to add
We might differ on a few minor points but I like your overall thrust. I guess I would add this reflection, however – prompted by the “grace” teaching I have heard – that when I look at Paul’s epistles I realize that we are not called to focus on the the law, but rather to focus on Jesus. If Adam and Eve had not taken the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil there would have been no need for a written code of law but there will always be a need for the “law of the Spirit of life”. However the core of the law is about love of God and neighbour anyway, so we are really saying the same thing in a different way.
Agreed completely that crucifying the flesh is an ongoing choice !
Bless you
Love from Dad
Wes i really like what you had to say. I agree 100%. It seems like this issue of the law has become a hot topic again the last while 🙂 In the sermon on the mount and the couple chapters following (it’s all one message), Jesus addresses the issue of the law. Basically the pharisees and teachers of the law had interpreted the law to be something attainable. They had broken it down into all sorts of little quite keepable rules, and if you kept those rules then you’d kept the law. It was solely based on external actions and did not deal at all with the heart of the law..the motivation of our hearts. I believe in the sermon on the mount Jesus was not attacking the law and saying it had no more value, but rather that he was correcting what the common view and interpretation (as taught by the religious leaders of the day) of the law was. Since the religious leaders had so grossly misunderstood and misinterpreted the law Jesus had to address the issue and correct the missunderstanding and provide the proper interpretation of the law (what the heart of God truly was in the giving of the law). What Jesus did in the sermon on the mount was to declare that he had authority apart from the law of Moses, but not in contradiction to it. Jesus added nothing to the law apart for one thing, perfect obedience. He often challenged mans interpretation of the law, but he never broke it.
Jesus fulfilled the law completely by his death and resurrection. He conquered sin, and fulfilled the need for sacrifices to cover over sin. Therefore the sacrificial part of the law has no more relevance for us as believers today (although animal sacrifice will be reinstuted in the temple in Jerusalem for 3 1/2 years before Jesus returns … that is one of the “signs of the times”…but that’s a whole other discussion :)) There was another part of the law that dealt with the day to day Jewish way of life which also has no relevance for us today. However the moral part of the law…you can argue grace all you want (i’m all for grace…a huge fan!!!), but i don’t think you can make a biblical case (taking all of scripture into account and not just the verses that suit your argument) for the moral law not having relevance for New Covenant believers. I believe that the word of the Lord stands forever. Is the old testament the word of the Lord? Yes. Therefore it will have a valid application forever. The bible we have now will be our bible forever. We cannot be saved by fulfilling the requirements of the law on our own, that is impossible, however through Jesus and his saving grace, we have fulfilled the requirements of the law in God’s eyes.
In Matthew 5:19 where Jesus is talking about the law he says first that not one iota (stroke of a pen, tittle, jot etc) will disappear from the law until heaven and earth disappear (i believe that refers to the end of this age), and everything is accomplished. Jesus accomplished everything for salvation on the cross. Therefore we do not have to keep the requirements of the law in order to attain salvation. On another note, not everything is accomplished yet. Jesus is not yet here reigning on the earth from Jerusalem. There are masses of prophetic scripture that is not yet fulfilled (accomplished). Therefore the argument can be made that not everything is accomplished, and therefore the law still has application. “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” The commandments are to be obeyed as explained and fulfilled by Jesus’ life and teaching , not as in the legalistic thinking of the religious authorities of Jesus’s day. An example would be animal sacrifice as mentioned before. It was commanded by the law, but fulfilled in Jesus, therefore we don’t run the risk of being called least in the kingdom by not observing animal sacrifice. “Whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven”. The christian is done with the law as a means of gaining a righteous standing before God. Galatians 2:21 says that if righteousness comes through the law then christ died in vain. However..the law stands as the perfect expression of God’s ethical character and requirements. The law sends us to Jesus to be justified, because it shows us our inability to please God in ourselves. But after we come to Jesus, he sends us back to the law to learn the heart of God for our conduct and sanctification. How can our righteousness exceed that of the scribes and pharisees? We must exceed their righteousness in kind , not degree. Paul describes 2 kinds of righteousness in Phillipians 3:6-9: Concerning the righteousness which is the law, [I was] blameless. But what things were gain to me, I have counted loss for Christ. But indeed, I count all things loss … that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness wihch is from God by faith.” So, we are not made righteous by keeping the law, when we see what keeping the law really entails, we have to turn to Jesus and his righteousness. Jesus is showing the true meaning of the law in this section of scripture. It isn’t Jesus against Moses, rather Jesus is confronting the false and superficial interpretations of Moses. In regard to the law, the two errors of the religious leaders of that day were that they both restricted God’s commands (as in the law of murder) and extended the commands of God past his intention (as in divorce).
Ok, so now that we’ve established that we can do nothing for our own salvation..we can’t keep the law on our own, we need Jesus, and it’s only through him, and his obedience, and fulfillment of the law that we can be right before God where does that leave us? After we say yes to him are we then his puppets and he does everything for our salvation and we have no more responsibility? I have heard it taught that if you strive to obey God’s commands then you think that you can do something to attain your own salvation..that we shouldn’t even make an attempt to live holy lives because we’ll only fail, and by trying we are saying Jesus sacrifice isn’t enough. I think that is a complete lie. Paul said to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Jesus called us to be perfect as our heavenly father is perfect, and instructed us on how to live holy lives. There is way too much scripture in the New Testament commanding us and instructing us on how to live holy lives for it to not be applicable to us! I want to live a holy life before God. Will I fail? Of course, i’m human. That does not give me an excuse however to stop trying. Jesus when teaching about money in Matthew 6, says that “where your treasure is, there your heart will also be”. Is Jesus my treasure? If so then that’s where my heart will be. If my heart is there, then my actions will follow my hearts desire. if my hearts desire is Jesus, and to know him, then i will strive with all my being to obey his commandments (which as established earlier are not contradictory in any way to the law of moses), out of love and desire for him. My striving to keep his commands is not because i think that by keeping them i can somehow contribute to my own salvation, but rather it is out of love for him. Love is a choice, love takes action. Jesus summed up the law with 2 commandments..to love the lord your god with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. If you keep these commandments of Jesus then you have fulfilled the old testament law. These 2 commandments encompass the entire moral part of the law of moses. It takes Jesus to love Jesus. I need his help in order to love him! With love you don’t always feel the warm tingly feelings either. It is a choice to love. Even when there are tough situations, when you’re not feeling especially close to God, we still need to make the effort to pursue him, and to live a holy life. I want to make Jesus proud of me. I want him to call me his friend and welcome me with open arms when he returns to the earth as the righteous judge. Because of this, i want to spend my life, waste my life at his feet in order to know him. I want to say no to many permissible things today in order to say yes to him, and live for that day. My 70-80 years on this earth now is not the end, it’s merely the beginning. This life is simply an intership for the age to come. I want to be found faithful in this age in order to live for the age to come. I want to be faithful with what i’ve been given in this age so that Jesus will be able to entrust me with much in the age to come.
Living a holy life is hard, it is hard to say no to our flesh. But as the reality of the kingdom grips our hearts, and the reality of the age to come, when Jesus will rule on the earth forever, when this becomes the reality that we’re living for..when we’re living for our reward in the age to come it changes everything. I simply cannot get by all the exhortations and teachings in the new testament to live holy lives and to conduct ourselves rightly before God to just pass over them and say that we don’t have any responsibility, and that if we try to live rightly that we’re thinking we can attain our own salvation.
Thanks Wes. One of the analogies I find helpful in understanding this ongoing positive function of the Law in our lives – even though we do not live “under the Law” – is that it functions like the guard rails on either side of a winding country road. I remember several of these roads from the years when I lived in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. We do not stay on the road by fixing our eyes on the guard rails. We focus on the road itself (in this analogy – without pressing the point too far – the road or WAY could be thought of as Jesus – His person, what He has done for us, as well as the body of his teaching). On a dark night when the road seems hard to see we may focus on the tail-lights of the car ahead of us (the example of others), we may also focus on the white centre line (could be thought of as Jesus’ call to purity and the conviction of the Holy Spirit). If we live in this way we won’t normally need the guard rails of the law. But if we get off track the guard rails are there to keep us from going off the road entirely. When we hit the guard rail we realize we need to get back on track. It will not tell us how to stay on track – that is the function of the Holy Spirit. But considering the guard rails can be very instructive because they are usually constructed where the road can be tricky and the consequences of going off the road would be especially dangerous. The moral law is like that. We cannot – and should not try – to be holy by conforming to the law, but it does show us areas of danger, areas we need to pay attention to. In these areas we need the blood of Jesus and the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts to create obedience in us – an obedience to Him, not just to the written code, because He takes us well beyond its requirements.
I also agree with your observation that the moral law of Moses shows us positive attributes of God’s character. The teaching contained in the Books of Moses is still instructive and useful as we consider who God is and what His priorities are – although at the same time I would say that Jesus Himself is the fullest revelation of all these attributes and priorities, and I have found that as I have grown in Christ, it is meditation on who Jesus is and what He has done for me – his grace, his kindness, his majesty, his humility, his integrity, his courage, his sacrifice, his vision for his bride, his judgements, his coming reign – that has produced the best fruit.
Great post.
I would like to examine this from another angle.
Jesus said that all scripture testified of HIM.
In discussing the LAW, people tend to focus on the negative aspects of it, how it exposes guilt and the need for a Saviour. It does do those things.
But that is NOT what David wrote the 119th Psalm to celebrate, now is it?
What is the significance of the MORAL aspect of the Law?
Let us not make the mistake of our Islamic friends, who say a thing is not inherently good or wicked, except that God declares it so. Or of our Secular friends who do not acknowledge objective good or evil at all.
The LAW, in the moral sense of it, gives us an understanding of WHO God is. It is an expression and declaration of HIS moral character.
God, being Holy does not lie. Neither should we. God does not covet things that He should not. God does not have unjust anger. And so on.
For purposes of being right with God, the Law is no help. It provides the Rules, but not the transformed heart to fulfill them.
That is NOT to say the Law has no usefulness. It can STILL help us identify areas in which we, being weak, STILL need to call upon His grace.
The problem Israel had, is that when they read the Law, they did it with their faces veiled.
2 Corinthians 3:14-16 (New King James Version)
But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.