Teaching 2 of 11
Jesus Came to Fill It Full
He did not smash the glass. He filled it to the top.
“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
Picture an empty glass and a pitcher of cold water. You pour until it reaches the top. Did you break the glass? No. You filled it. That is what Jesus did with the Law.
Two words side by side
Some people read the first half of Matthew 5:17 and stop. Keep reading. Two Greek words stand side by side. “Abolish” is καταλύω katalyō: to tear down, like a crew taking a building apart. “Fulfill” is πληρόω plēroō: to fill all the way up and bring to its goal. Jesus did not tear down the Law. He filled it full.
Every picture in the Law pointed to Him. The lambs pointed to the Lamb of God. The priests pointed to our great High Priest. The Sabbath pointed to our true rest.
Until all is done
Not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Matthew 5:18
That verse has an “until” built in. The Law would stand until its work was done. So when was it done? On the cross Jesus cried out one Greek word: τετέλεσται tetelestai. “It is finished.” It could be written on a bill that was paid off. He did not say “I am finished.” He said “It is finished.”
After He rose He told His friends, “Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). The Law was a story that pointed to Jesus. He was the point all along.
Lord of the Sabbath
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.
Mark 2:27-28
“Lord” is κύριος kyrios, the one in charge. The Sabbath was the sign of the Sinai covenant, and Jesus said He is in charge of it. The sign is not the master. In the same way, Mark notes that Jesus “declared all foods clean” (Mark 7:19), setting aside a whole section of the Law with one sentence.
He kept it for you
Only one Person ever kept the whole Law with a perfect heart. Jesus lived the perfect life you could not live and died the death you should have died. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
How do you get His perfect score on your test? Not by keeping a day or paying a tenth. “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29). Once a glass is full, you stop staring at it and drink. Jesus is the living water.
Remember this
Jesus did not tear down the Law; He filled it all the way up and cried, “It is finished.” He is Lord of the Sabbath, and the rest we need is found in Him.
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