Hey everybody! Thank you for taking the time to join me in daily Bible reading as we seek to glorify Jesus, know Him more, and interpret the truth of His Word.
If this is your first time going through the Bible, I am incredibly excited to have you here. If this is your 5000th time, I am humbled that you are here and hope you grow in your relationship with Jesus along with me. May we all seek to know Him more and apply what we learn to further our mission of spreading the gospel. If you missed a day and want to catch up, you can visit the archives page HERE! But there is no shame if you start today! Today, we continue Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount! Day 38, Matthew 5:17 — The Sermon on the Mount Matthew 5:17 (NASB1995) “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Discussion Following Jesus’ introduction about how His followers are to be separate from the world (vs. 13-16), He addresses potential critics. Many religious leaders, including the Pharisees, criticized Jesus’ teachings imploring that He was teaching blasphemies against Moses’ Law and Old Testament Prophets (e.g., claiming to be the Son of God, changing the Law, etc.).* In one of the more powerful statements of His entire ministry, Jesus rebukes these religious leaders by declaring that He did not come to abolish or alter the Law and Prophets, but to fulfill them. This is a statement that is commonly misunderstood. A clearer way to interpret this statement is that Jesus did not come to abolish or change the ‘authority and principles of the Old Testament’ but to fulfill them. But fulfill them how? What does it mean when Jesus says He ‘fulfills’ the Law and Prophets? The Greek word for fulfill is plēróō which means ‘to complete,’ ‘to perfect,’ or ‘to consummate.’ Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law and Prophets is the absolute, veritable, finalized, completed, and perfected discharge of them. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets as in He does not pull the rug from under their feet to usurp them but to establish and consummate them. The entire Law (Pentateuch) and Prophets (Old Testament) point to the coming of the Jewish Messiah. This is the foundational truth throughout history for the Jewish people. That Messiah would come and that Messiah is Jesus. The Jamieson Fausset & Brown Commentary says Jesus came “not to subvert, abrogate, or annul, but to establish the law and the prophets—to unfold them, to embody them in living form, and to enshrine them in the reverence, affection, and character of men, am I come.”** Matthew’s Gospel demonstrably proclaims Jesus as the Jewish Messiah and consistently references His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies. As we studied before, Matthew’s genealogy establishes Jesus as the true Messiah the Jews were awaiting. Throughout history, not one Israelite was holy, righteous, or sinless to perfectly fulfill the Law—until Jesus. Numerous sacrifices were a foundational part of the Law for God’s people to obey to receive atonement for their sins. But Jesus' proclamation as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets establishes Himself as the One perfect sacrifice whose blood atones for sins—thus, subjugating sacrifices unto Himself as the perfect sacrifice. An Old Testament covenant God makes with His people about forgiveness of sins and sacrifice is in Jeremiah 31:33-34: “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:11-17 confirms this stating, “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12 but He [Jesus], having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET. 14 For by one offering He [Jesus] has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying, 16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART, AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,” He then says, 17 “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.” Jesus, the perfect atoning sacrifice, is the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets, providing salvation to all who believe in Him. Application I sit here in awe, not knowing what to apply to today’s passage. Other than just being reverent in His presence, what else can I do? Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law and Prophets is so significant. It is hard to do anything but be still and just meditate on this. Jesus fulfills the Law and Prophets by living a perfect, sinless life and becoming the perfect sacrifice to forgive sins, providing salvation to those who put their faith and trust in Him. None of us are deserving of His sacrifice—of this salvation. This truth should humbly bring us to our knees. There is nothing we can do to receive salvation. No sacrifice. No obedience to the Law. Nothing. God’s Law is fulfilled through Jesus Christ—God’s plan of salvation is fulfilled through Jesus Christ. Thank you, Jesus. May we praise, worship, honor, and glorify Jesus every day in all that we do while continually pursuing righteousness, holiness, and forgiveness as He forgave us. Looking Ahead Thank you for joining today’s daily Bible reading! Tomorrow, we read Matthew 5:18-20. I hope you join me! I have made commenting available, so please please please feel free to discuss the reading and ask questions. If you do not want to discuss publicly, please reach out to me privately. We are on this journey together! Footnotes *The Law refers to the first five books of the Bible, or The Pentateuch. The Prophets refers to what we call the Old Testament, or more specifically, the prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc. **Fausset, A. R., Brown, David, and Jamieson, Robert, “Jamieson Fausset & Brown's Commentary on the Whole Bible. 1961. Grand Rapids Mich: Zondervan Pub. House.
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