Why Jesus Came, part 1

The Fulfiller

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. __Matthew 5:17__

In Jewish thinking to abolish a law was not about getting rid of a particular law, negating its validity, as we tend to read the word “abolish.” Abolish, in the sense that Jesus is using it, as a first century rabbi, means to interpret or live something wrongly. So, in the context that Jesus uses it here he is saying, “I didn’t come to interpret or live the Torah wrongly.” On the flip side, “fulfill” meant to live or interpret a law correctly. Again, in our present context, Jesus says, “I came to live fully and completely the Torah, the words of God, the will of God for humanity.” Essentially, Jesus’ fulfillment of the Torah is showing us that God’s way of living has existed forever and that watching him, following him, shows us the way to live in God’s rhythm. 

Jesus came to show us how to live fully the Way of God.