Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it.
When people quote Messiah’s words, in Matthew 5:17, they seem to think He is saying we don’t need to obey God, especially in honoring the Sabbath, because Jesus fulfilled the law for us. One of the problems with many false conclusions is that they are based on partial and misquoted verses
Let’s read the entire statement of Messiah, because people are leaving out some important information when they just elevate the word, “law”.
Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
When Messiah said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” He was taking about His personal mission to fulfill all that was spoken of Him in the Torah and the Prophets.
Luke 24:25-27 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
John 5:39-40 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.
Messiah’s mission was to fulfill everything that was written about Him in the Torah and the Prophets. This has nothing to do with us obeying the law, but rather, what Messiah needed to fulfill that was spoken of Him. For example, Luke 4:16-22.
Luke 4:16-22 So, He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”
Messiah’s statement, in Matthew 5:17, has nothing to do with us not having to obey God, but everything to do with Messiah’s foreordained mission and revealing and verifying Messiah’s true identity.
John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Torah, and also the Prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
When Messiah said, He must fulfill the Law and the Prophets, He was referring to His mission, which had been all spelled out for Him in the Scriptures to accomplish.
1 Corinthians 15:3-4 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.
Amen…