Accomplished
“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. 18 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.
Matthew 5:17-18
The 10 commandments and the many other laws of God given through Moses have a foundational place in Australian and Western culture. But where once many regarded these laws as healthy guardrails for justice and morality in a sinful world. Now, there is a tendency to see God’s law as restrictive, unjust and unhelpful.
Jesus doesn’t take this angle. He says He hasn’t come to abolish the law (as many might prefer). Neither has He come to simply reiterate it (say it again). He has come to fulfil the law so that the law’s purpose might be accomplished at the end of the age. But what does that mean?
What was the purpose of the law? Was it to restrict and oppress human freedom? No. The law had several purposes but one primary purpose above them all. This was to establish God’s holy and righteous Kingdom on earth.
Jesus will fulfil the law and its purpose by doing this very thing. He will keep the law perfectly and make a way for humans to live by it more faithfully while they wait for Jesus’ return, when heaven and earth pass away and are replaced by a new creation. Then the ultimate purpose of the law in the Kingdom of God/Heaven will be accomplished.
But for now. We wait. And while we wait. We pursue keeping Jesus’ commands as a taste of the good life to come.
For Today:
Pray:
Matthew 5:17-18
The 10 commandments and the many other laws of God given through Moses have a foundational place in Australian and Western culture. But where once many regarded these laws as healthy guardrails for justice and morality in a sinful world. Now, there is a tendency to see God’s law as restrictive, unjust and unhelpful.
Jesus doesn’t take this angle. He says He hasn’t come to abolish the law (as many might prefer). Neither has He come to simply reiterate it (say it again). He has come to fulfil the law so that the law’s purpose might be accomplished at the end of the age. But what does that mean?
What was the purpose of the law? Was it to restrict and oppress human freedom? No. The law had several purposes but one primary purpose above them all. This was to establish God’s holy and righteous Kingdom on earth.
Jesus will fulfil the law and its purpose by doing this very thing. He will keep the law perfectly and make a way for humans to live by it more faithfully while they wait for Jesus’ return, when heaven and earth pass away and are replaced by a new creation. Then the ultimate purpose of the law in the Kingdom of God/Heaven will be accomplished.
But for now. We wait. And while we wait. We pursue keeping Jesus’ commands as a taste of the good life to come.
For Today:
- Do you see God/Jesus’ commands as helpful or unhelpful to your life? Why?
- What is one of Jesus’ commands you need to live out more faithfully today?
- What are you looking forward to in the new creation?
Pray:
- Praise the Father for His promise of a new creation.
- Give thanks for Jesus who has fulfilled the law and its purposes.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others be faithful to Jesus’ commands while we wait.
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