Bible Study: The Fulfillment of the Law

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

• Matthew 5:17-20

In these verses, Jesus explains the connection between the Old and the New Testament. Verse 17 starts with a bold statement that the Law and the Prophets are not abolished by Him. The fulfilment which He brought did not create a cancellation of the Old Testament’s Laws and prophecies. Today Christians tend to ignore the Old Testament and most focus on the teaching of the New Testament. According to Jesus’ statement, a view on only the New Testament will know to give a proper understanding of the will of Father. The teaching of verse 17 is that the law of the Old Testament will stay in place until the prophecies are fulfilled. If this is the case that the laws of the Old Testament are also applicable to the New Testament without any changes to it, why is it that the Christians do not live a life like the Jews of the Old Testament?

The answer lies in the rest of chapter 5 where Jesus explains how the fulfilment of the law must be seen. In verse 20 Jesus explanations for any to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, their righteousness must surpass that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. In those days these were the guys were kept to the letter of the law. They were the example of righteous living. How can one be more righteous than them? To explain that Jesus took statements from the Law to illustrate His fulfilment of the law means.

In verse 21 to 26, Jesus explains what the statement in the law also means from a New Testament point of view. In the Old Testament, it only has one meaning and that is that you may not kill someone else. In the New Testament that is still applicable, but so are our thoughts about other people. When we think thoughts of anger against another person, we are also trespassing on the law by “killing” this person. In verses, 27 to 30 Jesus explains the point again, but this time with the law “You shall not commit adultery”.

From these teaching, it becomes very clear that the application of obedience to the same law in the Old and New Testament differ. In the Old, it was only physical obedience which was required, but in the New Testament, it is a physical and psychic (in the soul) obedience which is required. When a man thinks wrong about a woman he is disobedient to the law.

This brings us back to verse 20 where we need to be more righteous than the Pharisees. The more righteousness must then be obtained from an inner process and not only a physical process as applied by the teachers of the law. From other teachings in the Bible, we know that that the inner process to be saved, is more than an alignment with what happens in the soul. It requires an action from the spirit of man. Here we notice a very important split between what happens in the soul and what happens in the spirit of man. The obedience in the soul of man can not bring righteousness. For a Christian to live a life dedicated to Father, he/she needs to apply the obedience in the soul after the change in the spirit (saved). For this reason, James can make the following statement: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” - (James 2:17).

What does this mean? The law must be obeyed in the New Testament as it was obeyed in the Old Testament and it has not changed. But how we apply the obedience is where the difference come in. In the Old Testament, it was all about the person physical behaviour. When a person behaviour was in line with the law, he is obedient. The fulfilment of the law in the New Testament changes the focus of obedience from an outer action to an inner consideration.

As the Jews of the Old Testament made sure they obey the law to the letter in their outer behaviour, we as Christian must make sure we obey the law to the letter not only in our outer behaviour but also in our soul. Therefore, what a Christian thinks and want are on the same level as the actions of the Jews in the Old Testament. Therefore, Christians need to take the 10 commandments and translate the instructions from a demand on the physical behaviour to one which explains what is required in the soul of man. When the man is obedient to the law in his soul, his behaviour will follow as a result of his inner obedience.