Fulfilling the Law

Sunday, February 6, 2011, Fifth Sunday after Epiphany
Evening Service

Matthew 5:17

“Fulfilling the Law”

Matthew 5:17 – “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

This verse has challenged the church for centuries…

This seemingly simple sentence is the source of constant debate over how modern-day Christians should embrace and keep the Law of Moses…

It sounds like Jesus is saying that everything in the Law stands exactly as written.

However, does this really mean that we are supposed to avoid eating pork and that stoning a disobedient child is still okay?

I don’t think so.

So, what does Jesus mean here?

Jesus is clear that he does not intend to abolish The Law…

However, he is equally clear throughout his ministry that he does not affirm the status quo

The key to understanding this passage is in discerning the word “fulfill”

For Matthew the word “fulfill” is complex…

It does not mean merely “to do,” as though Jesus claims that he performs everything required by the Law…

It is not “interpret” either, as if what he offers is only a new interpretation of the meaning of the Law…

It does not mean “sum up,” as though Jesus claims his teaching is only a summary of the Law…

While Jesus does not come to abolish the Law, he is changing it…

His radical preaching tells us that he is re-imagining the Law for a contemporary audience, to fit with their contemporary practice…

Matthew’s theology of fulfillment leads us to understand that the Law and the Prophets point beyond the context of their own contemporaries to a future realization of God’s will.

This is a Messianic Christology that affirms Jesus as the One who teaches God’s will and demonstrates how to live it out in a more contemporary world.

This does not mean mere repetition or continuation of the original Law; it means that the principles of mercy, justice, love, and covenant loyalty are what matters in the Law

Jesus declares that his life and teaching reveal the will of God for the world…

He tells us that it is not strict adherence to the Law that makes us holy…

It is the way we live out the will of God found within the Law that brings holiness…

Jesus exercised great freedom in his living over and against the traditional understandings of the Torah…This caused much discussion about the continued validity of the Law…

The church has wrestled with this issue ever since…

I believe that Jesus’ message is clear – God is not concerned about strict adherence to ancient Law – hear “Pharisee” – rather, God is looking for us to follow his will for the world as it is described in the spirit of the Law

How does this understanding fit into our contemporary culture?

I wonder if it opens us up to new ways to imagine what God’s will is for the 21^st Century

I wonder if this offers new opportunities for tolerance and compassion

I wonder if Jesus is speaking to us about how the principles of mercy, justice, love, and loyalty are what really matters in the Law

I wonder if the spirit of God’s Law might lead us into different ways of treating one another

Certainly, I do not have all the definitive answers to these challenging questions…

Remember, Christians have been debating this passage for two thousand years…

But I want us to be part of the conversation and seek ways to settle in to our own contemporary reading of Jesus’ words: “I come to fulfill the Law.”

What does that really mean for us, I wonder?

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…Amen