Matt 5:17-20 – ‘Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Four points defining Christ’s fulfillment of the Law:

1) As a revelation, the Law of Moses is a description, and prophecy of Jesus Christ, written in the form of legal principal.

2) Jesus fulfilled (‘performed’) the Law; not by legalistic adherance, but by the natural inclination of His character (for the Law reveals His character to begin with).

3) As the Law is a moral description of the Messiah, and a prophecy of His Person, the Law, itself, is not fulfilled (‘complete’) without Jesus.

4) Following the man, Jesus Christ, in obedience is perfect submission to the Law, because Jesus both fulfilled the Law [(by his actions)] AND is the fulfilment OF [(by His being)] the Law.

1) As a revelation, the Law of Moses is a description, and prophecy of Jesus Christ, written in the form of legal principal.

John 5:39 – Search the scriptures; for in them he think that ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

The entirety of the Old Testament was preperatory revelation given in advance of the revealing the coming Messiah. As seen in the verse above (John 5:39), Jesus claimed that ALL of the scriptures ‘testify of’ Him. Every prophecy, every principal and – yes – every Law testifies of Jesus Christ.  (See also, The Prophet Moses Predicted pt. 1, & pt. 2)

God revealed to Moses the ‘pattern’ of all things he was to build for the tabernacle (Ex 25:9 & 40; Heb 8:5). That pattern was Jesus who would one day come, and tabernacle among us (John1:14); the fact that it was a tabernacle, and not yet a temple was a prophesy that God would be housed in a temporal (temporary) human body.

David also received the pattern as a revelation from the Spirit of God when it was time to build the temple (1 Chron 28:11,12); the fact that God’s dwelling was now a permanant temple, rather than a temporary tabernacle, was a prophecy that when Messiah died (just as David died before Solomon built the temple), He would be an eternal dwelling place – one that will never be taken down, and can never be moved – to the inhabitants of New Jerusalem (in New Jerusalem, there is no temple, for Jesus Christ is the utter fulfilment of the temple (Rev 21:22)).

The Law is called the ‘form of knowledge and of the truth.’ (Rom 2:20) Just as the tabernacle was patterned after Jesus Christ, so the Law, itself was likewise written as a descriptive pattern of His character. Prior to Christ’s coming, the only way to be righteous was by behaving perfectly like Christ: by perfect obedience to the Law. Yet the Law is only a list of rules, and not the True character of Christ, just as it is written:

‘[Christ] is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.’ (Heb 7:16)

Just as the tabernacle, and the temple could be prophecies of the form of Christ’s coming, but could never actually BE the fulfilment of His coming (for they were but types and shadows), so also the Law is a prophecy revealing the goodness of His character, yet the Law could never actually BE the fulfilment of righteousness.

2) Jesus fulfilled (‘performed’) the Law; not by legalistic adherance, but by the natural inclination of His character (for the Law reveals His character to begin with).

I believe I have satisfactorily proven this point with the description above, but if not, I’ll point out that Christ followed the Law entirely although He did not have to strive, or struggle to do so. In fact, the only areas in which some might claim that He failed to obey the Law were areas in which He followed the Spirit (or essense) of the Law without being legalistically bound to the letter of it.

While He was in the earth, there was some question as to whether He obeyed the Law of Sabbath. Why was this in question? Because He wrought MIRACLES on Sabbath days. On anotther occassion, He allowed His disciples to pluck and eat food on the Sabbath. The instances of His ‘breaking’ the Sabbath (as the legalists accused Him) were either outright working the works of God, alone, or of maintaining the body of necessary food. He not only followed the Law of the Sabbath, but He followed it RIGHTLY (understanding the intent behind the Law) rather than legalistically (mindlessly adhering to a rule, whether appropriate or not).

3) As the Law is a moral description of the Messiah, and a prophecy of His Person, the Law, itself, is not fulfilled (‘complete’) without Jesus.

I think this is also sufficiently shown above, but it begins to play into a foundational premise for understanding the difference between the religion of the Old Testament, and the spirituality of the New:

Heb 7:18, 19 (w/ commentary added in brackets) 18 For there is verily [or, ‘truly’] a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof [In other words, in order for Christ to become our priest (more on that in a momment), the specific commands of the Law (being unprofitable for righteousness) must be lifted from us.]

19 FOR THE LAW MADE NOTHING PERFECT, but the bringing of a better hope [Jesus Christ] DID; by the which we draw nigh unto God. [That is, we draw nigh to God not by following the Law, but by following Jesus Christ.]

The point of the Law has always been to lead us to faith in Christ; our salvation is from faith to faith (Rom 1:17), as it is written: the just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

Galatians 3:24 – Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

4) Following the man, Jesus Christ, in obedience is perfect submission to the Law, because Jesus both fulfilled the Law [(by his actions)] AND is the fulfilment OF [(by His being)] the Law.

Romans 10:4 – For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.

Romans 7:4 – Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

The book of Hebrews gives a pretty clear explanation of WHY we follow Jesus, rather than the Law:

Hebrews 7:12 – For the PRIESTHOOD being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the Law.

Jesus Christ became our priest. He is a priest under the order of Melchizidek (Heb 7:21; Psalm 110:4), meaning He is the eternal priest, superior in righteousness to every man; the only priest who has ever made the perfect, and final sacrifice; the only priest who intercedes ceaselessley for His children.

Under the New Covenant, we obey not a law of moral commandments, but the Perfect Priest, which Priest is alive and living within His children – able to save to the uttermost, able to lead (command, direct, teach, counsel) each of us personally and constantly because He is Immanuel (God with us).

He is, Personally, the Law of the New Testament.

Romans 8:2-4 – For the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.