\n<\/p>\n
Jesus begins his famous Sermon on the Mount with this:<\/p>\n
17 \u201cDo 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. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.\u201d (Matt. 5:17-20)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been puzzling for a while now on what Jesus means here by \u201cfulfill.\u201d<\/p>\n
Growing up, I was taught this meant Jesus was urging us to view the rules of the Bible as still valid. See for example this article by Brandon Crowe: \u201cWhat Did Jesus Mean When He Said, \u201cNot an Iota, Not a Dot<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n There are four steps to this line of thinking:<\/p>\n 1. Jesus Says the Old Testament Law is Still Valid & Binding (this is what it means not to abolish the law)<\/p>\n 2. Jesus Obeys All the Law Perfectly (this is what fulfillment means)<\/p>\n 3. FREEDOM!* Because of #2, We Don\u2019t Have To Obey the Law Anymore\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n 4. *Some Restrictions Apply (We Still Have Rules But We Won\u2019t Call Them Rules. Now They Are Renamed \u201cProper Responses To Grace.\u201d)<\/p>\n There are a lot of problems with this line of thinking but I don\u2019t want to get off track so let\u2019s just go back to the original question: what is fulfillment?\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an idea: what if the Sermon on the Mount is itself an example of fulfillment? <\/p>\n This seems to be what Jesus does. As soon as he gives us the preface, he starts into his famous \u201cYou Have Heard It Said, But I Say To You\u201d sections.\u00a0<\/p>\n He starts with a pretty obvious Law, one of the 10 Commandments.<\/p>\n 21 \u201cYou have heard that it was said to the people long ago, \u2018You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.\u2019 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.<\/p>\n It seems like Jesus isn\u2019t just \u201cnot murdering people\u201d to fulfill this Law but is actually changing some of the parameters of the Law.<\/p>\n Of course, these are just some initial thinking but what got me on this track was remembering another time Matthew uses this word, \u201cfulfillment,\u201d in his Gospel.<\/p>\n If we look just a few chapters back, in Matthew 2, we can see how Matthew uses \u201cfulfillment.\u201d If you remember, Herod is out killing babies when Jesus is born because he heard that a \u201cNew King\u201d was to be born. To protect their son, Mary and Joseph relocate to Egypt and then return when the coast is clear. Matthew ends this episode with this: \u201cthis was to fulfill what was written .\u00a0 . .\u201d<\/p>\n Now, if we take a minute and look at Hosea 11, it\u2019s explicitly not about Jesus. Hosea 11 is clearly about Israel. So in what way does Jesus \u201cfulfill\u201d the prophet\u2019s words?<\/p>\nWhat if fulfillment is adding creative interpretations onto the Law to keep them alive and relevant in our day?\u00a0<\/h2>\n