Understanding the Mission of Jesus Christ
Matthew 5:17-20

Understanding is very powerful. It enables us to act sensibly. Understanding the mission of Jesus Christ helps us to make sensible decisions in life. Jesus came to fulfil the law and the prophets. What does this mean? First, you need to know that the keyword in this text is “fulfil”. There are some false interpretation of the keyword.

The laws and the prophets refer to all of the old testaments. The first five books in the old testaments are the laws, the ones after are the prophets. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law and the prophet, He came to maintain it. This is one of the false interpretation of the keyword “fulfil”. If you read Matthew 5:21-48. For example, verse 38-39 show how Jesus made a modification to the law. To say Jesus came to maintain the law is an understatement. Some other people say Jesus is referring to some of the laws e.g. the moral laws. In Matthew 5:18, we see that Jesus was referring to all of the law not just some.

Let’s see how the word “fulfil” was used in some verses from the book of Matthew.

– Matt 2:13-15; 8:16-17; 27:5-10

The most common meaning of the word fulfil in Matthew refers to what will happen in the future or the last things. Fulfil means God doing what He has promised. Jesus came to do all what the law and prophet had predicted. This is what the keyword “fulfil” means.

However, there are still some laws and prophets that are yet to be fulfilled. This is what is referred to in Matthew 5:18. All of it will be fulfilled (accomplished) before the end of the age.

The other implication of the law is the direction. All of the laws and prophets points to Jesus Christ – Luke 24:25-27; 44 and Romans 10:4. Christ is the end of the law. You don’t go past someone that something points to. All the law and prophet is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The law and prophet are abolished in Jesus. It is in Jesus that expectations of the law and prophet were and will be fulfilled.

The new testament is fulfilment – the fulfilment of all the law and prophet.

Take a fresh look at the Bible. The explanations given above should give you an understanding about the Bible and Jesus Christ. It has a ripple effect that gives you more and more understanding of what God is all about from the scriptures. Enjoy reading your Bible because you now have an idea of the overall picture. You can fill in te details by reading your Bible.

One important thing we need to look at is righteousness. To gain righteousness is by grace. In Gal 2:21, we see that even though the end of the law is Christ, righteousness is not gained by fulfilling the law. It is gained by following Christ.