Not To Abolish but Fulfill

“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. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

At least six days a week, I know I can walk into the kitchen for dinner and be greeted by Ginga ready to practice his Wing Chun forms.   

And, when I tell him enough,  I can almost be certain to have to block at least another ten to twenty punches.   

And when I say “ENOUGH!”  I know there are at least five more.

As any parent knows, telling a young boy not to do something is almost like sending them a written invitation to try it.   

So, it comes as no surprise to me that when Jesus says “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets” many  will explain that Jesus has abolished the Law by establish the New Covenant. 

The author of Hebrews even seems to say something similar in chapter 8 verse 13.   It reads, “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

The new covenant would represent the covenant of Grace we have through Jesus which we will remember this afternoon through the Holy Communion.    The “first one” which is about to vanish would represent the Mosaic Covenant - the Law. 

At least six days a week, I know I can walk into the kitchen for dinner and be greeted by Ginga ready to practice his Wing Chun forms. And, when I tell him enough, I can almost be certain to have to block at least another ten to twenty punches. And when I say “ENOUGH!” I know there are at least five more in the chamber ready to be thrown.

So here is a question for you:  if Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, how has He made the old covenant obsolete?

Historically, there have been several answers to this question and most of them hinge on the relationship between two Greek words: καταλύω (katalyo) meaning to destroy and πληρόω (pleroo) translated as “fulfill”.   

The first understanding of this relationship is probably the most common today and it would be to understand them in terms of Jesus’ activity.

Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law, meaning that he  kept the law perfectly and since it has been kept perfectly through his obedience, death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, bringing them to their final conclusion, their goal, and so it is finished. 

Any parent knows, telling a young boy not to do something is almost like sending them a written invitation to try it. So, it comes as no surprise to me that when Jesus says “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets” to hear some people explaining to others that Jesus has abolished the Law.

The second understanding of the relationship between katalyo and pleroo is in terms of Jesus’ teachings.  If Jesus makes no changes in the law, the pleyoo would be understood as “to give true meaning” or “completely express” the Law and the Prophets.   If Jesus’ teaching do change the law, then pleyoo would be understood as “to make complete” or “to finish the law.”

We can see this final meaning directly in .  After saying that He did not come to abolish, but to fulfill the Law and Prophets, Jesus starts to give us examples of the law and then make them even more restrictive. 

He begins by saying “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”  ()

He continues with a second law saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

He continues through the law touching on divorce, bearing false witness, judgement and forgiveness.   All of these are drawn from the Old Testament law and like he does with murder and adultery, he expands the law beyond the simple action taking it to the intent of the law. 

The author of Hebrews even seems to say something similar in chapter 8 verse 13. It reads, “ In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

To put that another way, He expands them from being matters of the body and society, to being matters of the mind and the heart. 

It expands the law beyond simple behaviors and even beyond Israel. It makes the law a matter of the heart both for Jews and Gentiles. 

So we can see that Jesus does change the law, but not in the sense of removing anything, but by expanding the law to its natural conclusion and making it complete.  He fulfills the law.

But, most of the early Christians didn’t understand the interplay between ‘abolish’ and ‘fulfill’ in that way.   Rather, they really did understand it in terms of His actions.  They understood it in the context of , where Jesus says to John the Baptist, “ ...it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

The new covenant would represent the covenant of Grace we have through Jesus which we will remember this afternoon through the Holy Communion. The “first one” which has been made obsolete would represent the Mosaic Covenant, or the Law, as Hebrews begins to explain in the following verse. “Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.” These are descriptions given by God to Moses which would establish a covenant between God and His people whom he had brought out of Egypt.

The context of right action is even within Jesus own words in verse 20 where Jesus says “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

So you see, the interplay between ‘abolish’ and ‘fulfill’ is sandwiched between the issues of ‘right action’ which comes before and ‘right teaching’ which comes after. 

As with many things, humans have a tendency to think in binary terms; black and white, true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, faith and work, and in this context Jesus’ obedience or Jesus’ teachings. 

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

But what Jesus does here is creates a deep tie between doing the will of God and holding a right understanding of the will of God.  He fulfills the obligations of the law in righteousness and fulfills the law by making it complete.   

Jesus places his insistence that he did not come to abolish the law, directly after speaking of the need to let your good work speak to others about God’s grace.   

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

So here is a question for you: if Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, how has He made them obsolete?

Jesus places his insistence that he came to fulfill the law directly before his explanation that not only is the law still enforceable, but that simply doing the law outwardly is not enough; your thoughts and your heart have to be aligned to the spirit of the law. 

Jesus takes even more time to tell us that the law will remain by saying “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

For those learning Greek with me, you’ll notice that the iota is the simplest letter in the Greek alphabet, it’s just a single line, and the dot, known as a keraia is a simple breathing mark. 

Some have misunderstood this to mean that when Jesus says “it is finished” on the cross, that all was accomplished and the Old Testament Law was no longer effective, but look at the whole sentence, not a iota or a dot will pass away until heaven and earth pass away.   

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Often times you might here someone then say, “Of course, the answer is in the second part of what Jesus said, He didn’t come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. By fulfilling them, they are finished and so then they have become obsolete.”

He uses this same phrase in saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”   

This is a reference to the time we see in the middle of the book of Revelation,  and clearly stated by Peter in :   

“But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. “

Jesus is telling us that not the smallest stroke in the letter of the law will pass away until the end of the world and the judgment of the ungodly.   

It stands, literally until the end of time, as a reminder of our sin for which Christ willingly suffered to redeem us from.   Christ fulfilled the law and the prophets both through His obedience and His teaching the completeness of the law of God.   

Historically there have been a few different interpretations of this passage and they all hinge on the relationship between two Greek words: καταλύω (katalyo) meaning to destroy and πληρόω (pleroo) translated as “fulfill”.

There was an old Jewish belief that the Messiah would overturn the Law of Moses and bring a new law to the nation of Israel, but Jesus addresses that saying “Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.”  He upholds the Law in it’s completeness and in doing so He took our place in judgment and stands as our righteousness before God. 

Jesus tore down the separation between God and man, between Jew and gentile and between the law and the heart.   

The first understanding of this relationship would be to understand them in terms of Jesus’ activity.

The law is obsolete in it’s rote ceremonial duties and the letter of the law remains, even being written on the hearts of believers who don’t simply strive to keep the law with their bodies, but who’s hearts are being aligned to God’s will through the Holy Spirit until the day that the heaven and earth pass away and the new heavens and new earth are established where we will live in God’s righteousness. 

Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the law and the prophets in his life of obedience, meaning that he kept the law perfectly and since it has been kept perfectly, or more simply, that through his obedience, death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets by bring them to their final conclusion, their goal, and so they are finished.

Today, let us remember what Christ has done, what the Holy Spirit continues to do and our Father who‘s will brings it to us.   

Let us remember Christ’s final commandment “… just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

The second understanding of the relationship between katalyo and pleroo is in terms of Jesus’ teachings and asking if Jesus teaching change the law. If Jesus makes no changes in the law, the pleyoo would be understood as “to give true meaning” or “completely express” the Law and the Prophets. If Jesus’ teaching do change the law, then pleyoo would be understood as “to make complete.”

We can see this final meaning directly in . After saying that He did not come to abolish, but to fulfill the Law and Prophets, Jesus starts to give us examples of the law and then explain them in what seems like a new way.

He begins by saying “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. (Matthew 5:21-22

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

He continues with a second law saying, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

He continues through portions of the law, touching on divorce, the roll of a witness, judgement and forgiveness. All of these are drawn from the Old Testament law and like he does with murder and adultery, he expands the law beyond the behaviors that are a part of the law of Moses, and brings them into the intent of the law, which is to have right motive.

To put that another way, He expands them from being matters of the body, to being matters of the heart.

So we can see that Jesus does, in the sense He does change the law, but not in the sense of stopping anything, but in expanding the law to its natural conclusion making it complete.

But, most of the early Christian writers didn’t understand the interplay between ‘abolish’ and ‘fulfill’ in that way. Rather, they really did understand it in terms of His actions. They understood it in the context of , where Jesus says to John the Baptist, “ ...it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” and in the verse just proceeding it where Jesus says “… let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

BUt

Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

The context of right action is even within the very section, in verse 20 where Jesus says “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

So you see, the interplay between ‘abolish’ and ‘fulfill’ is sandwiched between the issues of ‘right action’ and ‘right teaching.’

What Jesus does here is creates a deep tie between doing the will of God and holding a right understanding of the will of God.

As with many things, humans have a tendency to think in binary terms. Black and white, true and false, good and bad, right and wrong, faith and work, and in this context Jesus’ work or Jesus’ teachings.

However, as with many things in scripture, it’s not one or the other, it is both/and. Jesus places his insistence that he did not come to abolish the law, directly after speaking of the need to let your good work speak to others about God’s goodness. He places his insistence that he came to fulfill the law directly before his explanation that not only is the law still enforceable, but that simply doing the law outwardly is not enough, but that your thoughts and your heart have to be alined to the spirit of the law.

So when Jesus fulfills the law, he not only fulfills it through his obedience, but he fulfills it through bringing it into it’s final form through His teachings.

Jesus takes even more time to tells us that the law will remain in force by saying “until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.”

Some have misunderstood this to mean that when Jesus says “it is finished” on the cross, that all was accomplished and the Old Testament Law was no longer necessary. But, look at the whole sentence, “until heaven and earth pass away”, he uses this same phrase in saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” This is a literal reference to the time we see in the middle of the book of Revelation, and clearly stated by Peter in :

“But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. “

So until this time, the law remains, and for my Greek students, not an iota, nor a dot will pass from the law.

But by the same word rthe heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and sdestruction of the ungodly.

The iota is the simplest letter in the Greek alphabet, it’s just a single line, and the dot, or the keraia is a simple breathing mark. Jesus is telling us that not the smallest stroke in the letter of the law will pass away until the end of the world and the judgment of the ungodly. It stands for all time as a reminder of our sin which Christ has fulfilled, both through His obedience and His teaching the completeness of that law.

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The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

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Of course this was opposed by those who had learned directly from the first generation of the apostle’s students, and there became an urgent need to explain what the verse ment from a correct perspective. Ptolemy,

Around 180AD, Irenaeus wrote an entire dissertation on Marcion’s misunderstanding in “Against Heresies”