Jesus and the Law

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. – Matthew 5.17-18

When I read the Law and understand that keeping this law is God’s standard for human perfection I could get overwhelmed and confused and perplexed. Then I read that if I fail in any point of the Law I fail in it all. I can see why people would have wondered what they were possibly supposed to do with the Law. How are we supposed to do it? What hope is there for any of us?

Jesus comes along to bring the message of grace, but then He says that He didn’t come to destroy the Law because until the end of time not the most seemingly insignificant aspect of the Law is going to pass away. It is not going anywhere.

But Jesus said something special about the Law. He is not coming to wipe it out, but to fulfil it.

There is no way you or I could fulfil the Law, only the perfect Man, the Second Adam, could do that because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s perfect glory. The cost of that failure is eternal separation from God.

So if we could not fulfil and satisfy the Law we would have no hope – and that is why Christ came. He came to satisfy the demands of the Law. The Law shows us how much we need Christ, and he satisfies the Law for us when we accept Him.