Fulfillment, not Abolishment

Introduction

This morning we find our selves at a turning point in the Sermon on the Mount. The next four verses contain words of our Lord Jesus that have been deliberately misinterpreted, often misunderstood and quite honestly discarded by so many of those in this world who claim to be believers. This section of text is so rich and important that instead of trying to deal with all of it in one day we are going to break this apart over the next few weeks so that we may savor the word of our Lord and allow it to dwell richly within each of us. We will see, as we deal with each of these verses in turn, that this simple four verse passage deals with just about every major doctrine or teaching that we find in God’s word. Over the course of our time looking at this passage we will see that the King that Matthew proclaims is the one who fulfills God’s word completely, the one who affirms the authority of that very word, then commands faithful obedience to and teaching of that word and finally that this King exposes the reality that we have a need for a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, in fact more than we could ever possibly hope to give.

We start our journey in verse 17 where Jesus anticipates a serious misunderstanding. To those listening and understanding the teaching that has just been given it becomes obvious that this demand is much different than that of the scribes, Pharisees and other religious leaders, the very ones who are supposed to emulate that which God has taught His people. This can lead to questions such as, “Is Jesus overthrowing the old, setting Himself against Moses, loosening the commandments, or is He introducing a new religion detached from the Law and the Prophets?” Verse 17 contains the response to such unspoken question and stands like a gate at the entrance of the rest of chapter 5. Everything that follows must pass through this verse. When Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said... but I say to you,” He is not correcting God, or improving Moses, by saying that the Father gave a crude law and the Son came to provide a kinder replacement. No, He is correcting the shallow and corrupted interpretations of the religious teachers. He is recovering the law’s true spiritual meaning. William Perkins rightly said that in this portion of the sermon Christ goes about to “restore the moral law to its true sense and meaning.”

That must be clear in our minds. Christ is not standing beneath Moses as a student nor beside him as a rival. The Lord Jesus Christ is standing above Moses as the Lawgiver, the greater Prophet, the King, and the One to whom all Scripture bears witness.

Text

Please stand for the reading of God’s holy, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, sufficient, complete and certain word:

Matthew 5:17–20 LSB

“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, 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 surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Our Father in heaven, we bow before You as those who need the light of Your Word and the help of Your Spirit. We confess that Your law is holy, righteous, and good, and that we have not loved You or obeyed You as we ought. Open our eyes now to behold the glory of Christ, the One who did not come to abolish Your Word, but to fulfill it. Guard us from careless religion, from empty legalism, and from lawless presumption. Teach us to see the beauty of Your holiness, the perfection of Your Son, and the grace that writes Your law upon the hearts of Your people. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Questions and Answers

As I mentioned a few moments ago, the stark contrast between the statements of Christ at the beginning of His teaching in chapter 5 and the religious leaders of the day likely left many with questions regarding exactly what He came to do, which is why Christ begins by heading off such thought with the words: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets…”

That opening command matters. “Do not think.” This is Christ correcting error before it has time to settle into the mind. He is blocking a false conclusion. He is saying, “Do not misunderstand My mission. Do not misread My authority. Do not imagine that My kingdom comes by tearing down the Word of God.”

This beginning is important because sinful man is always tempted to misunderstand grace. Some misunderstand grace by turning it into permission for disobedience ultimately leading to the error of antinomianism. Others misunderstand law by turning it into a ladder by which they think they can climb into heaven, and by so doing jump into the ditch on the other side called legalism. There are those want a Christ who saves them from guilt but not from sin and others who want a law they can manage, reduce, and perform outwardly so they can congratulate themselves. But Christ allows neither error. He will not be made the servant of lawlessness, nor will He be made the servant of self-righteousness.

The Law and the Prophets

Notice first, then, what Christ denies: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets.”

The phrase “the Law or the Prophets” refers to the Old Testament Scriptures. It includes the commandments, the covenants, the promises, the types, the sacrifices, the prophecies, the wisdom, the psalms, the historical dealings of God with His people, and the whole unfolding revelation that pointed forward to Christ. Jesus is not merely speaking about a few moral instructions. He is speaking of the Scriptures that God had given.

And He says He did not come to abolish them.

To abolish means to tear down, dissolve, overthrow, render void, make useless, or set aside as though it no longer carries divine authority. Christ did not come to do that. He did not come to treat the Old Testament as a failed experiment, or say that God’s former revelation was defective and needed correction. His work of grace was not accomplished by lowering the standard of God, making sin less sinful, obedience less necessary, worship less regulated, or righteousness less demanding. That is the movement of modern religion where it often departs from Christ. That religion wants to portray that Jesus came to soften God, dull holiness, make commandments into suggestions, and replace genuine repentance with emotional playacting. But Christ, as He is fully displayed in scripture, will not fit inside that imagination. He says plainly, “I did not come to abolish.”

John Calvin wrote that Christ’s doctrine was not at variance with the law, but “agrees perfectly with the law and the prophets.” That is the point, but the problem is that in the sinful corruption of humanity we proclaim disagreement and descension, we are the ones who see contradictions where they do not exist. This is why it is imperative that we rightly interpret scripture, using scripture, and not with the age old question, what does this verse mean to me...

There is no disagreement between Christ and Moses when Moses is rightly understood, or between grace and holiness when grace is rightly understood, and certainly not between the gospel and the moral law when the gospel is preached as Christ and the apostles preached it. There is disagreement between Christ and the traditions of men, the Pharisaic hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and the lawlessness of man, but make no mistake, there is never any disagreement, descension or contradiction between Christ, the living Word, and the inspired written word of Almighty God.

J. C. Ryle rightly states that this verse testifies that the belief system of the Old and New Testament is “one harmonious whole.” The Old Testament is not the dark background from which Jesus saves us. It is the inspired promise, preparation, shadow, and testimony that leads us to Him. The New Testament is not the rejection of the Old Testament; it is the unveiling of the Christ to whom the Old Testament pointed.

That is why it is important to recall that the Bible has one divine Author, one saving purpose, one unfolding covenantal plan, and one central Redeemer. Genesis begins with creation, covenant, fall, judgment, and promise. The seed of the woman will crush the serpent’s head. The promises to Abraham narrow the line. The law exposes sin and orders the covenant nation. The sacrifices preach substitution in shadow form. The priesthood points to mediation. The kingship points to righteous rule. The prophets announce judgment, restoration, new covenant, obedience, and the coming Servant-King. Then Matthew opens and says, “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” The King has come. The promised Seed has come. The true Israel has come. The Son called out of Egypt has come. The light in Galilee has dawned. The kingdom is at hand.

Not Abolition, Fulfillment

So Christ does not abolish the Law and the Prophets. He fulfills them.

That is the second and greater emphasis in the verse: “I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

Fulfillment is a rich word, it is bringing what is written in the Old Testament to its appointed goal, completing what it anticipated, ultimately it establishes the truth of what was revealed by bringing it to completion. We need to take care to recall that it does not mean mere continuation with no change, as though nothing redemptive-historical has happened. Nor does not mean cancellation, as though fulfillment makes the Word irrelevant.

Christ fulfills the Law and the Prophets first in His person. The Scriptures are about Him. He does not merely teach the Bible. He is the Christ towards whom the Old Testament moves. He also fulfills the Law in His obedience. He was made under the law. He obedient where humanity was and is disobedient. He loved the Lord His God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength. He loved His neighbor as Himself. He honored His Father perfectly. He worshiped rightly, spoke truthfully, never coveted, never lusted, never hated sinfully, never manipulated, never worshiped falsely, never took the name of God in vain, never sinned in thought, word, deed, motive, affection, desire, or omission.

The Second London Baptist Confession states that Christ willingly undertook the office of Mediator and, to discharge it, “was made under the law” and “did perfectly fulfill it.” That is not a minor doctrinal point. That is gospel ground. We do not only need pardon for what we have done wrong. We need righteousness we have never performed. We need a Savior who dies for our disobedience and lives in perfect obedience. R. C. Sproul captured this truth when he wrote, “He is our Savior, not merely because He died, but because He lived.”

This is why Christ’s fulfillment of the law is not merely an example to admire. It is righteousness for sinners. If Jesus had died but not been obedient, then His righteousness would be no better than ours, conversely, if He was obedient but did not bear the curse then there is no forgiveness and we would not be able stand before God as accepted sons? But He did both. He bore our curse and He provided our obedience.

Proper understanding of this truth helps us recognize that gospel does not weaken the law. The cross proves the law cannot simply be waved away. The cross declares that God’s law is not disposable. Sin must be punished. Righteousness must be fulfilled. Justice must be satisfied. Mercy must come through a righteous Mediator.

Spurgeon warned, “To tamper with the law is to trifle with the gospel.” The truth is if the law is lowered, the cross is emptied of its meaning. When we lower the law we lighten sin and the atonement is unnecessary. When we lower the law and lighten sin, we are in essence saying righteousness is negotiable, which means Christ’s obedience is ornamental rather than essential.

But if the law is holy, if God is holy, if man is guilty, then Christ crucified and risen is the only hope of sinners.

Now this is where we must make careful distinctions. When we speak of the law, we are not speaking as though every command given under Moses functions in the same way after the coming of Christ. We recognize the law under three categories: moral, ceremonial, and judicial. These distinctions are a way of reading the whole counsel of God carefully, covenantally, and Christologically.

The moral law reveals the abiding righteousness of God. It is summarized in the Ten Commandments and reaches into the whole duty of man toward God and neighbor. It reflects God’s holy character. Therefore, it does not expire. It does not become sinful. It does not become irrelevant. Christ fulfills the moral law in perfect obedience, bearing its curse, and then by writing it upon the hearts of His people. For the believer the moral law continues as the rule of life.

The ceremonial law consisted of those ordinances, sacrifices, priestly actions, and temple regulations that God gave to Israel as shadows pointing forward to Christ. These were not empty rituals. They preached Christ beforehand. The sacrifices pointed to His blood. The priesthood pointed to His mediation. The temple pointed to God dwelling with His people in and through Christ. The feasts pointed to redemption, provision, atonement, and consummation. The clean and unclean distinctions taught holiness, separation, and the need for cleansing. But when Christ came, the substance arrived. Therefore, the shadows are not despised, but neither are they continued as though Christ had not come. They have reached their goal in Him.

The judicial law consisted of the civil laws given to Israel as a distinct covenant nation under God’s theocratic rule. Those laws governed Israel’s national life in the land. These judicial laws expired together with the state of that people, while their general equity remains of moral use. We are not to take Israel’s civil code and simply impose it upon the church or upon modern nations as though redemptive history has not moved forward. Yet neither do we discard those laws as useless. These laws still reveal principles of justice, righteousness, equity, punishment, restitution, neighbor-love, and public order that remain instructive because they came from the righteous God.

So the confessional balance is this: the ceremonial law is fulfilled in Christ and no longer observed because the substance has come. The judicial law expired with Israel’s national covenantal administration, though its general equity continues to instruct us. The moral law abides because it reflects the holy character of God. Christ does not dissolve that moral obligation. He strengthens our understanding of it, fulfills its demands for us, and by His Spirit brings His people into true, though imperfect, conformity to it.

That balance protects us from several errors at once. We are not Judaizers, dragging the ceremonial system back after Christ has fulfilled it. We are not treating Israel’s civil code as if the church were a rebuilt Old Testament nation-state. But neither are we antinomians, speaking as though the moral law no longer reveals the will of God. Thomas Watson said, “Though the moral law be not a Christ to justify us, it is a rule to instruct us.” That is the balance we must keep. The law is not our Savior. Christ is. The law is not our righteousness. Christ is. The law is not the ground of our acceptance. Christ is. But the law is still holy. It still reveals God’s character. It still exposes sin. It still restrains evil. It still directs the believer in the path of obedience. It still tells the child of God what pleases the Father.

This is why Matthew 5:17 prepares us for the searching words that follow. Jesus will speak about murder, but He will press beneath murder to anger. He will speak about adultery, but He will press beneath adultery to lust. He will speak about oaths, retaliation, and love, but each time He will expose the heart. He is not loosening the law. He is showing that the law always reached the heart. The Pharisees reduced the law to manageable externals. Jesus opens the law and shows its spiritual depth.

That is why the righteousness of the kingdom must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Not because Christians become more outwardly impressive than Pharisees, but because grace reaches deeper than Pharisee religion ever could. Which means that verse 17 is not an abstract theological statement. It confronts every soul in this room.

It confronts the careless hearer that may imagine that Jesus came to make holiness optional?

It confronts the self-righteous hearer imagining that their outward morality, church attendance, doctrinal knowledge, family heritage, or religious seriousness can stand before God?

It confronts the preacher, teacher and each believer. Do we love the law of God because we love the God whose character it reflects? Can you say with the psalmist, “Oh how I love Your law,” not because you are under its curse, but because you are under grace?

And it confronts the unbeliever. The law you have broken has not been abolished. The God you have sinned against has not lowered His holiness. The commandments you have ignored still testify against you. You may have hidden sin from others and even yourself, but not from God. The Word stands. Heaven and earth will pass away before one stroke of God’s Word fails.

However, do not come to the law as though it can save you. It will expose you and condemn you. Come to Christ, the fulfiller of the Law and the Prophets, the One who is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

The question each of us are face with is: Have you come to the Christ who fulfilled what you could not fulfill, bore what you could not bear, and gives what you could never earn? And if you have come to Him, are you now learning to love what He loves, honor what He honors, and obey what He commands?

Do not think He came to abolish. He came to fulfill.

Closing Prayer

Our gracious God and Father, we thank You for the Lord Jesus Christ, the King who fulfills the Law and the Prophets. We confess that Your law is holy, and we are not. Your commandments are righteous, and we have broken them in thought, word, desire, and deed. We thank You that Christ did not come to lower Your holiness, but to fulfill all righteousness for His people. Teach us not to trust in ourselves, not to hide behind outward religion, and not to turn grace into lawlessness. Fix our eyes upon the perfect obedience, atoning death, and victorious resurrection of Christ. By Your Spirit, write Your law upon our hearts, deepen our repentance, strengthen our faith, and make us a people who love what You command. Let our righteousness be found in Christ alone, and let the fruit of His grace be seen in lives of humble obedience. We ask this for Your glory and in Christ’s name. Amen.