# Matthew 5:17



## JesusIsLord (Jun 1, 2016)

Gents, I am sure there has been plenty of discussion on this passage, However , I am going to a new covenant theology group and last night this passage was brought up and defended by a NCT guy in the group. He explained that when Jesus says " come to Fulfill" he means a completion and then in the following verses gives "new" law. There was alot said in the group last night but the thing that stuck out was when I did some of my own studying on the passage, it seems that the same kind of phrase is used when Jesus is Fulfilling prophecy in chp 4 of Matthew and also in matt 5:17. Is this true? 

Also, How do I properly understand this passage?


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## KeithW (Jun 1, 2016)

Ah, yes, Matt. 5:17. A few years ago I was curious if people were using this verse correctly so I went looking for similar phrases in the New Testament. I found something interesting by reading all of the verses in the list below. Matt. 5:17 is the only place were the New Testament was not exactly specific on what is was that Jesus _fulfilled_.

*Christ - Fulfilled That Which Was Spoken By The Prophet*



KJV said:


> Matt. 1:22,23 Now all this was done, that it might be *fulfilled *which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
> 
> Matt. 2:14,15 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be *fulfilled *which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
> 
> ...



*Christ - All Things Accomplished*



KJV said:


> Luke 18:31-34 Then he took [unto him] the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be *accomplished*. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge [him], and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.
> 
> Luke 22:37 For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be *accomplished *in me, And he was reckoned among the transgressors: for the things concerning me have an end.
> 
> ...



And the verse in question.



KJV said:


> Matt. 5:17,18 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to *fulfil*. 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.



There are a few verses which say love is the fulfilling of the law. But the summary of the verses in this post is:


Matt: 5:17 - Jesus _fulfilled _the law
everywhere else - Jesus _fulfilled what was written about Him in_ the law, the prophets, and the Psalms


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## rickclayfan (Jun 1, 2016)

Romans 10:4--"For Christ is the end [telos] of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."

He is the telos of the law, not the destroyer of it (Rom. 3:31).


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## JesusIsLord (Jun 1, 2016)

So if Christ is the telos of the law, then how should we view the law as believers ? Also, what about the sabbath? Aren't we relaxing the law when we worship on Sunday instead of saturday? (These are all questions that I have encountered in the group but don't know how to answer )


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## Contra_Mundum (Jun 1, 2016)

Christ obeyed God's law, perfectly. He did this for the believer's sake, who could not fulfill the law's demands though required to do so. We could not do what we were bidden; we could not refrain from what we were prohibited; we could not pay our penalty. Christ does all that, including paying our penalty, and gives it all away. This is, perhaps, the chief way Jesus Christ fulfills and is the focal-point of God's law.

He came to fulfill the Scriptures (Law and Prophets is a description of OT revelation) in every way they could be fulfilled. They were "about" him, as the Promised One; so he fulfilled all prophecy; and he kept God's law, even in its most exacting and minute expression as taught under Moses. This would include universal moral law, and particular positive law that happened to be given to Israel alone. Moses gave out an especially rigorous and exacting form of divine law as a key element of biblical pedagogy.

It's important to note that God's _moral_ law exists before Moses' legislation, and the same law is embedded in Moses' revelation, and the same moral law is present after Israel's national purposes are complete and the NT age is upon us. Moral law was and is always God's standard for love--man's toward God and toward his fellow man. Jesus changes none of the essence of that which is summarized in the Ten Commandments. Cain was a murderer, and he was such without any experience of Sinai. Stealing didn't become a sin at Sinai. Nor idolatry, adultery, sabbath-breaking, covetousness--none of them became sin at first in the Wilderness.

Jesus fulfillment of our duties to remove our condemnation doesn't end our duties! The fact we do not fear eternal consequences for failure should not make us indifferent to God's express will for creaturely behavior. Christ the "telos," means Christ the GOAL of the law, and that it's Mosaic presentation was aimed at his entrance and eventual performance as the One True Israelite.

Now, the book of Hebrews, and Jesus' own teaching found in the Gospels, and the book of Acts, explain how Christ fulfilled the ceremonies and rituals of Israel's religion; and how separation-law and dietary restriction are no more. Meanwhile, God's moral standards are all over the NT! They do not change in essence from one age to another. It is true that God has "fine-tuned" moral expression for man over time, to keep it in harmony with nature as created order. But that admission is a far cry from the claim that the moral law has been fundamentally altered in any way from the dawn of time.

As for the Sabbath, it is instituted in Gen.2--a long time before Sinai. It is observed by Israel before they get to Sinai, Ex.14. Ex.20:10 is proof that "Sabbath" and "seventh day" are distinct concepts which are united for divine purpose. What is the purpose for a Sabbath? It is to provide rest for man from his ordinary labor, so that he can... go fishing? No, so that he is free to worship God, the highest kind of personal fulfillment man can know (even if he refuses to appreciate it; it was still appointed for him and not he for it).

God sets the day he wants man to set aside. That's not man's decision. Jesus is God. Jesus clearly showed the disciples by and after his Resurrection that he chose to have special meeting with them on the first day of the week, the day he rose from the dead. The day he completed Redemption. The OT Sabbath was a commemoration of both Creation (Ex.20:11) and Redemption (Dt.5:15). Now, Redemptive commemoration has definitely superseded Creation's, inasmuch as Christ has appointed a new day of the week. We are celebrating Re-Creation (not recreation) and New Birth on Sunday.


A post like this is not going to give you all the "answers" to the people who reject the idea that morals are fixed by God, and are universal and invariant--i.e. lawlike. You are probably not dealing with people who are inclined to think in binary terms: law and gospel, covenants of works and grace, as permanent aspects of life in the world. Non-reformed types tend to think the Bible-part that pertains to them starts in Matthew or in Acts. NC-theology people talk as if people who are Spirit-led just "know" what's the loving thing to do. Right-living is hardly purposeful and intentional at all in this mindset; it just happens as one listens and adjusts to the Spirit.

I'm all for recognizing that God (not I) is responsible for sanctification. But having an allergy to the law's proper functions is no way to grow in grace.


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