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The text
in question reads as follows:
Matthew
5:17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the
Prophets; I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18
Truly I say to you, Until the heaven and the earth pass
away, in no way shall one iota or one point pass away
from the Law until all comes to pass.
Jesus is
clear when he said that he did not come to destroy the
Law, so the question becomes what he meant when he said
that he came to fulfill it. According to A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian
this statement can be interpreted in one of two ways.
They state that "depending on how one prefers to interpret
the context, πιηροω is understood here either as
fulfill=do, carry out, or as bring to full expression=show
it forth in its true m[eaning], or as fill up=complete."
Carrying with it either the sense of "show its true
meaning" or "complete," we need to look elsewhere to find
the proper interpretation, for it is not defined in the
context.
The
Apostle Paul taught of how the Law was to be viewed by
Christians, making it clear how we should understand this
text. He explained: "So that the Law has become a trainer
of us until Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
But faith coming, we are no longer under a trainer; for
you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus."
(Gal. 3:24-26)
The Law
lead God's people to the Messiah. It served as a standard
of obedience, but it could never be followed perfectly.
Something more was necessary, which was Christ. He
justified us because we are unable to do it ourselves. He
completed the Law by perfectly following it to the point
of death, and so per this text that is how we should
understand his words in Matthew 5. As he completed it for
us we are no longer under the burden of following it,
though at the time he spoke the words it was necessary for
them to follow it as it had not yet been fulfilled. (Mat.
5:19)
The issue
of following the Law came up in the 1st century, and the
apostles then addressed it. In Acts 15:5 we find that
some from the Pharisees who had become Christians were
saying that it was necessary to follow the Law. But
notice how the apostles responded.
Act
15:7 And much disputation having occurred, rising up
Peter said to them... 10 Now, then, why do you test God
by putting a yoke [the Law] on the neck of the disciples
which neither our fathers nor we had strength to bear?
11 But through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we
believe to be saved, according to which manner they also
believed."
The
apostles recognized that the Law could not be followed by
imperfect man. It would always be violated. At the same
time, Christ came and it was by him that we are saved
because of belief. Quite simply, the apostles rejected
the idea of still being under the Law.
In their
rejecting the notion of being under the Law, they were
careful to make it clear that there were certain things
that Christians should still avoid that were included in
the Law. It was not that the Law itself was to still be
followed in part, but that even though we are not under
the Law there are things that God continues to not approve
of. We are told to avoid "idol sacrifices, and blood, and
that strangled, and fornication." (Act. 15:29) The
Sabbath was not listed among those things that God still
required.
What we
have so far considered deals with the Law in general as
defined by Jesus in Matthew 5, showing that he came to
complete it for us. This would include the Sabbath as
well. We can confirm this when we observe that the
Apostle Paul made a specific reference to the observance
of the Sabbath. He explained: "Let no man therefore judge
you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or
a new moon or a Sabbath day." (Col. 2:16) In other words,
they were not to be concerned with how others viewed them
simply because they did not observe various events,
including the Sabbath.
While it
might be objected that the word Sabbath is a plural within
Colossians 2:16, it is understood as the weekly event.
The same plural is used for the Sabbath in Exodus 20:8
within the Septuagint. The New Linguistic and Exegetical
Key to the Greek New Testament explains the following for
Galatians 2:16: "This describes the monthly festival and
the following word σαββατων refers to the weekly holy day
(Lightfoot)."
Further, The Expositor's Greek Testament relates: "The
Sabbath is placed on the same footing as others, and Paul
therefore commits himself to the principle that a
Christian is not to be censured for its non-observance.
Sabb., though plural in form, means a single Sabbath day."
It is
clearly seen then that a Christian is not under obligation
to observe the Sabbath. This principle would also apply
to other customs unique to the Mosaic Law. This does not
mean that Christians are free to do anything they desire.
They are expected to love and with love comes a strict
moral law that a true Christian would always strive to
follow. (Rom. 13:8-10)
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