MATTHEW 5 - "I Did Not Come To Destroy But To Fulfill"

Let’s look at what Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) said in Matthew 5:17-20 about God’s Law and the writings of the Prophets.  First, He clearly states that He did NOT come to destroy the Law or the Prophets.  This statement appears to be straightforward, meaning He would not delete, remove, or wrongly interpret anything from God’s Law or its application.   Second, the phrase, “to fulfill” cannot contradict the meaning of “destroy,” and third, “all is fulfilled” is talking about in the future when the heavens and earth are renewed and the New Jerusalem descends from heaven:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the Law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (NKJV)

Many Christian teachers believe that Yeshua fulfilled many, if not most, of God’s Commandments through His life and death on earth.  Therefore, Yeshua’s followers no longer need to obey certain Commandments like the Sabbath and dietary guidelines.  Their interpretation of the phrase “to fulfill” is to complete or finish.  How could this be when Yeshua equates keeping these Commandments with rewards in the coming kingdom?

We know that heaven and earth have NOT passed away and the end of all things has not yet occurred.  Also, God’s Law is still perfect (Psalms 19:7) and God does not change His mind (Malachi 3:6) about His own guidelines and instructions.

Yeshua follows the above statement, “all is fulfilled” with “whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven...” This shows a continuance of God’s Law into Yeshua’s coming kingdom where rewards will be given for faithful obedience to God’s Law.  He said those who teach faithful obedience “shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

DEFINING “FULFILLED”

Yeshua stated that He came to “fulfill,” NOT to “destroy” or do away with the Law or Prophets. David Biven, a Hebrew linguist and language professor, provides an explanation.  In rabbinic discussions, when someone misinterpreted God’s Law, they were said to be “destroying the Law.”  We believe this was the case when Yeshua used the phrase “I did not come to destroy.”  Of course, He upheld the Law and was reassuring them that He would correctly interpret it in His teachings and by His own example.

The same Greek word for “fulfill” used here in Matthew 5:17 is also used in Matthew 3:14-15:

“And John tried to prevent Him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" But Yeshua answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he allowed Him.” (NKJV)

It is clear, in this context, that Yeshua was not abolishing or destroying righteousness by having a water immersion (baptism).  He was simply being obedient to God’s Law. We know He was without sin. Therefore, His water immersion was not one of repentance, but one of righteousness. Here we have His example of fulfilling an aspect of God’s Law and we still fulfill this immersion (baptism) requirement today.

John the Baptist (Immersor), in Matthew 3:14, told the people to turn back to God’s Law or repent from breaking it.  At the same time, Yeshua was telling them, and showing them, HOW to correctly obey God’s Law.  He not only spoke with authority, but He corrected the wrong understanding they had been taught. In doing so, He was both confirming and establishing the Law.

ESTABLISH-CONFIRM THE LAW

We believe a better English translation for the word “fulfill” would be “confirm” or “establish.” Our understanding is based on Deuteronomy 27:26 where God states:

“Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this Law. 'And all the people shall say, 'Amen!'”

The Hebrew word translated confirm in Deuteronomy 27:26 is the Hebrew word “koom.” Another word that could have been used by translators was establish. Other words included in the meaning of this Hebrew word “koom” in Strong’s Concordance #6965:

• (cause to) rise

• (cause to) stand

• (to be) valid

• (to be) proven

Also, Paul uses the word confirm in Romans 15:7-9:

“Therefore receive one another, just as Messiah also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Yeshua Messiah has become a servant to the circumcision (Jewish people) for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: "For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles, and sing to Your name.” (NKJV)

Again, Paul uses the word establish in one of his letters to emphasize that non-Jewish believers, who were part of the assembly in Rome, were also responsible for establishing God’s Law. He states in Romans 3:31:

“Do we then make void the Law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the Law!” (NKJV)

Yeshua’s final instructions to His Apostles in Matthew 28 was to go to ALL the nations and teach them WHAT He had taught them.  The only Apostle not present at this meeting was Paul, but we must believe that Yeshua gave him the same set of instructions.   After all, Paul told one assembly that they need to imitate him (Paul) as he imitated Messiah (1 Corinthians 11:1).  So, Paul CANNOT teach anything different than what Yeshua taught. Paul’s teachings must be interpreted through the life and words of Yeshua, not the other way around!

Sadly, many have used the Apostle Paul’s writings to support their “taking away” from God’s commandments.  The Apostle Peter warned this would occur as people in his day were already twisting Paul’s letters.  Peter said this would result in the breaking of God’s Law, called sin (2 Peter 3:14-18).  Yeshua issued a stern warning to these people in Matthew 7:22, labeling them as those who practice lawlessness or literally, workers against the Law.  Clearly, we do not want to be a part of this group!

MORAL, CIVIL, AND CEREMONIAL GROUPING

Christian teachers have divided God’s Law (or Torah) into three groups: moral, civil, and ceremonial.   Nowhere do we find in Scripture where God divided His Commandments into these groups.  We do know that God gave Moses two tablets of Commandments that were written on both sides.  God also spoke to Moses and gave him instructions on HOW to keep those words on the tablets.

We see God’s Commandments divided through their application of responsibility.  This way it is very easy to determine which commandments apply to us personally.  There are some commandments that apply only to:

• the Levitical priesthood,

• the Temple,

• those living in the land of Israel,

• those living outside the land of Israel,

• leaders,

• men,

• women, foreigners, and 

• everyone who is part of His family.

God does not make mistakes or change His mind.  His Commandments were given to us as guidelines for holy living.  They are eternal and perfect!  Yeshua did not come to die because God’s Torah was a burden or too difficult for man to obey.  He came to give us the perfect example of HOW we can keep God’s Commandments. 

We can only be righteous through faith in Yeshua and obedience to God’s Word.  James 2:17 states:

“Thus, also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

In contradiction to Christianity’s teaching that all of the “ceremonial” laws no longer apply like the Sabbath; we find an example in Acts 21 where James and all the elders in Jerusalem had Paul go up to the Temple and participate in the offerings with other Believers to demonstrate that he was NOT teaching against the Torah.  Paul’s participation in these Nazirite vow offerings would have fallen under modern teacher’s so-called fulfilled ceremonial laws.  This Temple offering occurred long after Yeshua’s death.  Clearly, this contradicts what modern teachers are promoting!

God tells Israel in Numbers 15:16 and 29 there is only one Torah for the native born and the foreigner (stranger).  Paul reinforces this commandment in Ephesians 2:18-19 when he wrote:

“For through Him [Yeshua] we both [Jews and non-Jews] have access by one Spirit to the Father. Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God…” (NKJV)

We must look at the Bible as a whole.  The second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E.  We read in the book of Hebrews that the Levitical priesthood and Temple offerings have been set aside (this also occurred when the 1^st Temple was destroyed) until the future time when Yeshua returns and sets up His physical reign on earth, and once again, all of God’s Commandments will be obeyed (Isaiah 66, Zechariah 14).  In Isaiah 56:6-7, God promised a special blessing during that time for those who are keeping the grouped “ceremonial laws”:

“Also, the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.” (NKJV)

There is also a special blessing in the last days of the tribulation period for obedient followers of Yeshua. We read in Revelation 14:12:

“Here is the perseverance of the saints; here are those who KEEP the Commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (Yeshua).” (NKJV)

The Apostle John, in writing the above verse, would have understood the Commandments of God to be just as Yeshua taught them, and the same as Moses wrote them down.

Also, keep in mind that the Temple “burnt offerings and sacrifices” were never meant to take away all sin.   This was accomplished only through the blood of the Lamb (Yeshua), who was slain from the foundations of the world (Revelation 13:9).

 However, the offerings do serve a purpose for man and they will be restored in the future Ezekiel’s Temple.  Paul tells us in Colossians 1:14-16;

“In whom we have the redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creations. For by Him ALL things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.  ALL things were created through Him and for Him.” (NKJV)

Please let Paul’s words sink in.  It was Yeshua who set everything up so we do not have the authority to remove or try to explain away His Commandments.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Let’s take a close look at Yeshua’s Sermon on the Mount or also called the Beatitudes.  In Matthew 5:1, it states that Yeshua, upon seeing the multitudes, went up on the side of a mountain, sat down, and began teaching.  Yeshua begins by speaking about the blessings His disciples and all the people would receive by living within the covenant God made with Abraham.  He promotes characteristics of:  dependence on Him, mournful about sin, meekness, wanting righteousness, merciful, pure, peaceable, and resilience in persecution. He states in Matthew 5:3-10:

• Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

• Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

• Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

• Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

• Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

• Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

• "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.

After Yeshua’s teaching on the beatitudes in Matthew 5 and before He proceeds to discuss issues that go beyond the “letter of the Law” to the “spirit of the Law.” He warns them, in a very strong way, that teachers are NOT to teach against God’s Law or diminish His standards of righteousness.

THIRST FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS

The first time the word righteousness appears in the Hebrew Bible is in Gen 15:16. God said this about Abraham:

“He believed in God, and he credited it to him as righteousness.”

We find righteousness being defined in Deuteronomy 6:25:

“And if we are careful to obey all this Law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” (NKJV)

In Luke 1:6, Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist (Immersor) were described as righteous, and why:

“And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." (NKJV)

Wait!  We were taught that no man or woman was capable of doing such a thing!  However, if we understand that God’s Commandments also includes repentance and forgiveness, then by keeping them in the way they were given, we can also be considered righteous and blameless. This does not take away from our faith in Yeshua.  

In 1 John 3:7, John, the Apostle, re-emphasizes our need for this righteousness:

“Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” (NKJV)

Obviously, from these verses, Yeshua was teaching righteousness is a crucial part of the kingdom of God.  Obedience to the Torah is fundamental for righteousness because the Torah defines both righteousness and sin for us.

“LIGHT” DEFINED IN THE BIBLE

In Matthew 5:16, Yeshua tells them that by obeying God’s commandments, they will be a “light” that will cause others to “praise your Father in heaven.”

Light is another word that Yeshua’s audience would have been familiar with since they had been taught the Law, Prophets, and Psalms by the scribes. God inspired the psalmist to write in Psalms 119:105:

“Your Word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (NKJV)

We find an important teaching on light in Matthew 25, where Yeshua gives a parable that describes ten virgins who went out to meet their bridegroom with their lamps trimmed. Only five had enough oil to produce light from their lamps. Yeshua is saying to the people, your blessings will come when you walk in obedience to God’s Law, which reflects His light.

We believe the “beatitudes” of Yeshua in Matthew 5 are teaching us the correct attitude we should have as we obey God’s Law.  Yeshua emphasizes that we should be:

• dependent on Him;

• mournful about sin;

• meek (strength under control);

• merciful;

• pure; and

• peaceful.

These are characteristics of a true Holy Spirit-filled life. He tells us not to think it strange if we are persecuted for keeping His Law because the Prophets were also persecuted for doing the same.

AN EXAMPLE OF THE MODERN CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON MATT 5:17

Pastor John Piper, founder and teacher of Desiring God.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, states the majority view of Christians in his commentary on Matthew 5:17. This excerpt is from his discussion on eating pork entitled, “Should we obey Old Testament Law?”

“In other words, the bad impulse fails to see in Jesus the kind of fulfillment and the kind of accomplishment of the Law and the Prophets that God always intended in the Old Testament as the consummation and the end of the ceremonial laws. So, the effort to hold on to the prohibition of eating pork is, in effect, a refusal to submit to God’s plan for the fulfillment of the Law in Jesus.”

He also uses the Matthew 5:17 verse as a basis for his perspective on Mark 7:16-19, to teach against God’s Law:

“4. The food laws that set Israel apart from the nations have been fulfilled and ended in Christ. Mark 7:18–19, “[Jesus] said to them, . . . ‘Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him?’ . . . (Thus he declared all foods clean.)””

We know the context of Yeshua’s discussion in Mark 7 was eating “without properly washed hands” according to the “tradition of the elders.” It is NOT giving people a license to disobey God’s commandments regarding food. Most modern translators have added the phrase, “Thus he declared all foods clean,” which is not in the oldest manuscripts. This has resulted in myriads of people breaking God’s commandments.

In Leviticus 11 & Deuteronomy 14, God defines what He considers to be our “food.”

If we use Yeshua’s words to abolish God’s Law, then we risk falling into the group Yeshua mentions in Matthew 7:15-23 at the end of His teaching session in Matthew, Chapters 5 - 7:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (NKJV)

PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS

The Greek word translated as “lawlessness” in Matthew 7:23 is “Anomia.” It means:

the condition of without law; because ignorant of it; because of violating it; contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness.

The King James Version of the Bible translates “practice lawlessness” as “workers of Iniquity.” This includes those who work against God’s Law by replacement or annulment.

None of Yeshua’s disciples, including Paul, divided God’s Law into sections (ceremonial and moral) like the majority of Christian teachers are doing today. John states in 1 John 3:4:

“Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (NKJV)

The Apostle John told his disciples to only follow Yeshua, not past or modern teachers.  He states in 1 John 2:4-5:

“He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His Commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (NKJV)

FINALLY

It is clear that Yeshua never intended for His words to be used to destroy God’s Law.  He embodied the “perfect law of liberty.”  This is why Yeshua is called the “Living Torah.”  He showed us that we can obey all of God’s commandments with the right attitude and with help from His Holy Spirit.

1 John 5:1-3 tells us:

“Whoever believes that Yeshua is the Messiah is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” (NKJV)

FINALLY

We serve a God who calls us to be holy as He is holy. Although we live in this world among many different types of people, we must strive to maintain the appropriate separateness that God requires of His people. The only way to know His set-apart ways is to study His Holy Word. Paul tells us in Romans 12:2:

“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (NKJV)