Jesus told His disciples that He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill. And what was meant when He said that not one jot or tittle will pass from the law? Does this contradict what Paul said about the law having been abolished by Jesus in His flesh?
For those who might suggest the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 imply that the Mosaic law continues to function in some way, shape or form ... they may want to pause and carefully examine what that would look like—every jot and every tittle. In addition, Jesus said the law would not pass ... (wait for it) ... "until all is fulfilled" (or accomplished).
This is a follow-up to our last couple of programs relating to the New Covenant and what it means for Jesus to be declared as High Priest. Jesus completed the job that He was sent to do by fulfilling the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
Nullified. Cancelled. Abolished. Annulled. Set aside. Ended. Obsolete. After the cross and resurrection, these are some words used to describe the Mosaic law of stone tablet commandments contained in ordinances within a covenant between God and the Jewish people. It had a purpose for a certain period of time but was destined to reach an expiration date ... which was until the time of Christ and His fulfilling of the law and the prophets.
Some misunderstood or misinterpreted writings within the New Testament pages have led to even some who consider themselves people of grace to suggest the ministry of the law still functions today. But we're in danger of contradicting ourselves with such talk ... because if any of that old law is still to be considered as an active ministry, then Jesus cannot be considered a legitimate High Priest as described in Hebrews 7. If any leftover jots or tittles from the law package have not been thoroughly and permanently abolished and replaced with something new and better, then all of it should continue to apply for those (Jews) who were under it—leaving Gentiles who never had the law in a place of hopelessness.
Let's compare within the proper context what the writer of Hebrews, the Apostle Paul, and also Jesus had to say as they communicated to the people of their day.
The world is filled with people wanting to know they are forgiven and in right standing with God. Even professing believers in Jesus may struggle in fear and uncertainty. The foundation of the Christian religion is sometimes a confusing mishmash of works and faith which often puts the focus on behavior and a modernized version of law keeping.
Just exactly what is it that changed when Jesus shed blood and was declared to be the one and only eternal High Priest? Something significant changed and it had to do with the old Mosaic law of commandments being set aside, nullified, cancelled, abolished and declared obsolete. It resulted in a change of law which could not bring perfection—not an amendment to the existing law—but a removal of something that was to be completely replaced, resulting in Jesus becoming the guarantee of a better covenant.
There seems to be no shortage of contrasts when it comes to comparing the New Covenant to the Old. Sadly, most won't ever hear about it within the walls of their church building, so welcome to our podcast!
Perhaps nobody explains it better than whoever wrote the letter called Hebrews. While they were attempting to bring a revelation of Jesus to their Jewish brothers and sisters of that time, we have so much to gain by latching onto their explanation of what it would mean for all believers in Christ. The Old Covenant contained many offerings which couldn't take away sins, featuring many priests that were weak and sinful—who came and went because of death. It was a covenant deemed to be unprofitable with its many commandments which nobody could do.
Jesus came to fulfill the law within that Old Covenant by offering himself one time (once) for the sins of the world ... to be taken away forever. The Old way of stone tablet commandments given to Israel would be annulled, abolished, cancelled, and made obsolete. It would be completely out of service, null and void, because the new High Priest would be declared ... not by the law, but by the word of the oath (from God). Unlike the priests appointed by law, Jesus would hold his priesthood permanently, forever. Through his blood and the word of the oath, Jesus is now the mediator of a better covenant, it's a more excellent ministry than the Old, established upon better promises.
Galatians 3 explains the law was a guardian for the Jews to point them to Christ in order for them to be justified by faith. But once faith came—or once Christ came—the Jewish people would no longer be under that guardian/tutor. This isn't meant to be chicken feed for Gentiles who were never under the law.
In order for Jesus to be declared High Priest by God, there had to be a change of priesthood so there could be a change of law. Why? Because according to the law given by Moses to the Jews, priests were required to come from the tribe of the Levites. Jesus was from a different tribe (Judah) which the law said nothing about concerning priests.
The law was received by the Jews through the (Levitical) priesthood. They fit together like a hand in a glove, and you could not eliminate one without doing the same with the other. Those many priests ministered within a covenant that was weak and useless ... and would be replaced by a superior priesthood—Jesus—who was not appointed by the law like the other priests, but would carry on an eternal priesthood. If the Mosaic law still had any function whatsoever, then Jesus could not be considered as a legitimate priest. It had to end.
In Hebrews 7, the writer is explaining why that law had to completely be annulled and cancelled—not revised or tweaked.
In the early days of the church, there were intense disputes and disagreements among Jewish believers in Jesus regarding non-Jewish people (Gentiles) and how they would fit into the bigger picture. Since Gentiles had never been under the law, but seemingly could still be saved, how would all of this work? Most believing Jews still assumed the Mosaic law would continue to be in effect and remain part of the “Christian” culture in a post-resurrection world.
There were even those named as apostles who were advocating for a gospel catering to Jews and another for Gentiles. Paul came along with a revelation on how the establishment of a New Covenant by Jesus resulted in a bringing together of these two groups—not a separation with different gospel messages. And the obsolete and abolished law would have nothing to do with the one gospel message to be ministered to all people.
Okay, okay, we admit it. Last week was going to be our final program in “The Law Abolished” series. But in case you didn’t read the fine print in our podcast contract, we reserve the right to change our minds. We felt another round would be beneficial to finish this series or topic to further address questions that may still be lingering … and there is a handful of potential “light bulb” moments here as we attempt to help bring further consistency to the message of the gospel of pure grace … fully apart from a law of commandments.
Today, God has a very different ministry than before Jesus died and rose. It’s the ministry of the Spirit, which completely surpassed the previous ministry of works from a former covenant which has absolutely no place since Jesus Christ fulfilled it.
At the time we recorded this episode, we were thinking it would be our final program in the series, so you will hear us talk about that. However, the next time we sat down to record, our brain cells started firing and we ended up having a few more thoughts to share, so there will be one more after this one!
This particular episode provides us an opportunity to tie a number of thoughts together regarding the Mosaic law, its purpose and why it is no longer needed today in a covenant of grace. What once had glory has come to have no glory at all … because of the greater and more superior ministry of the Spirit of God.
Our fourth program in the series brings us to a conversation which challenges the idea that the law of commandments from Mount Sinai is still meant to be ministered to people after the cross as a tool to bring them to Christ. There is an effective way to look back on this obsolete law package from the Old Covenant … and the writer of the book of Hebrews shows an example of explaining how it was once the way that Jews attempted to attain righteousness by works—and that it couldn’t be done.
It’s not hard for we grace folks to fall into a similar trap that the legalists have been stuck in—picking and choosing selective bits and pieces of that old law while ignoring other parts that seem more obsolete or abolished. The law only spoke to Jewish people before the cross. It never spoke to Gentiles. So let’s consider a radical idea: stop trying to use the law of sin and death to persuade people and just start sharing the good news of Jesus. He did what the law never could—He fulfilled it in us.
Our third program in the series takes a look at how the Mosaic law was something that had kept people from God, from righteousness, and from a covenant of grace. While it had been meant to ultimately lead the Jewish nation to a Savior, in this New Covenant, we don’t use it in the same way (because nobody is under it). It was a ministry that brought guilt, death, condemnation, and bondage, while bringing a reminder of sins … the precise opposite of what Jesus brings. It came to an end when Jesus became High Priest. It was nailed to the cross and in Paul’s words, it was abolished.
As Paul stated, the law spoke to those who were under it (Jews). Since it has been made obsolete with a new and better covenant, it doesn’t say anything to anyone today. If the law were truly not abolished, that would mean none of it was and it would (all) still have a place … which brings confusion and inconsistency to the message of the gospel of grace.
