The Law Fulfilled, Matthew 5:17-20
The Law Fulfilled (Matthew 5:17-20)
In Matthew 5:17–20, Jesus addresses the relationship between His ministry and the Law and the Prophets. He makes clear that He has not come to abolish the testimony of God in the Old Testament, but to fulfill it. The kingdom Jesus proclaims is not a new movement detached from God’s eternal purpose, but the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan.
This sermon considers the eternal nature of God’s kingdom, the kingdom’s definition of greatness, and the perfection required to enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus exposes the insufficiency of outward religion and makes clear that the righteousness required by God cannot be reduced to human effort or religious appearance.
The hope of the gospel is not that God ignores His law or overlooks sin. The hope of the gospel is that Jesus fulfilled the law’s demands through His perfect obedience and sacrificial death. Those who are saved by Christ stand before God not in their own perfection, but in the perfection provided through Jesus.
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