“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 tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Now immediately we need to deal with some of our western assumptions. I was often raised with the teaching that Jesus “fulfilled the Law” or that He “fulfilled all prophecies.” What was being communicated to me was that Jesus had “accomplished” those things. What was never explained, however, is why that doesn’t even make logical sense. It treats the Torah and its mitzvoth as a video game that has 613 levels. When Jesus accomplished all 613, He “beat the game” and we were able to put it away.
The mitzvoth is not a game show. It’s not a challenge to be accepted and completed. It was God’s directive of how to live. So, in order for us to understand what’s being said, we’ll need to understand the rabbinic language.
When a rabbi says that he is “fulfilling” Torah, it means that he is interpreting it correctly. If another rabbi were to interpret Torah in a radically different way, he would accuse the other of “abolishing” Torah. To fulfill and abolish refers to the proper or improper interpretation of the Text, respectively. This would usually be accompanied by action. A rabbi claiming to fulfill Torah would also be issuing an invitation to watch his “walk”; in the way that he walks out the Text, his literal and practical interpretation would show the Text to mean what it says.
If anyone doubts this reading of abolish and fulfill, they may consider the following words of Jesus, which state that not even the least stroke of a pen will pass away from the Law until heaven and earth disappear. And His next statement, that any man who teaches someone not to obey the Law is the least in the Kingdom.
This will also make sense in that the following page of your Bible will be full of Jesus interpreting the Law.
Once we understand this, it raises a question: Why is Jesus making this statement in the first place? Is somebody accusing Him of abolishing Torah?
This is a great place to realize that the teachings of Jesus (for now, particularly those found in the Sermon on the Mount) are so radically different that people may be tempted to assume He is throwing out Torah, or teaching against some of its writings. Jesus is clarifying that, in fact, He is fulfilling it in His interpretation. This is a hefty claim, as Jesus would be saying this is how God has always intended it to be interpreted. From the day the Law was given at Mt. Sinai, God has always had these following principles in mind.
So what is it that makes Jesus’s interpretation so radical? Well, we’re about to see it over and over and over again. Jesus is pretty adamant about loving people — all people. Loving your neighbor, loving your brother, loving your persecutors — even loving your enemies. Jesus will be insistent that mercy is the way of righteousness (see the center of the Beatitudes), forgiveness is the path of restoration, and radical love is the heart of God.
The question now is whether or not we believe Jesus is who He said He is. Because if He is, then His teachings will give us much to wrestle with, as they will come with an authority that has never been seen in a human interpretation.
We face the same wrestling match as anyone who heard His words on the hillside that day.
"The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple."
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