The Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets

2007/3/17

The Fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets

@ 08:29 PM (22 months, 3 days ago)

The Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets

When speaking to the Jews, Jesus often used the phrase "this was done to fulfill the words of the prophet....". The Jews were familiar with the words of the Law and the Prophets and some of them must have been saying, "Ooooh, cool, that's what that meant!" What a eureka it must have been to those who had ears to hear! Many, however, even though they knew Moses writings and the Prophets, did not have ears to hear.

I will be examining and bringing to light some scriptures that state very clearly how the old is fulfilled in the new, beginning with the book of Matthew since it was specifically written to Jews. As Paul says, the message came first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, even the judgment came first to the Jews (Rom 2:9,10). Jesus said He was sent to the lost sheep of Israel and said to His disciples: "I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves" (Matt 10).

Paul and Barnabas later boldly said to the Jews, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles." (Acts 13:46) Later Paul said, "I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." (Romans 11:25) God's order is "first the natural, then the spiritual" (1 Cor 15:46) even in how the gospel went forth. It was first given to natural Israel and was rejected by them, then the door was opened to bring the gospel to Spiritual Israel. Everything shifts from the natural to the Spiritual as the process of "out with the old, and in with the new" takes place. (More about this another time)

Hebrews 8 says the priesthood of the old covenant were a "copy and shadow of the heavenly things to come" and that Christ's ministry is a "more excellent ministry" and that "He is mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises...for if the first had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second." By making a new covenant "the old has become OBSOLETE" (obsolete #3822-to declare worn out) and was "growing old and ready to vanish away" already in the day. The old covenant provides us with a shadow...a dark, vague, outline, of what was to come but when it had come the lights went on for those who had eyes to see! How exciting it must have been for believing Jews in that day to have those eureka moments as the Lord opened the eyes of their understanding. How exciting it is for us today as we read the words of Jesus and the new covenant writers, that the eyes of our understanding are opened! Here is how scripture says it in Luke 24:

44 "Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures."

Everything comes to light in Christ, He is the substance of the old, in Him the veil of spiritual blindness is removed and the eyes of our understanding are opened. Without the new, the old covenant remains a dark shadow and our understanding remains veiled. In the new we can clearly see the fulfillment of the old. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:14:

For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

The scriptures I have quoted above are so important I felt it necessary to include them them here in there entirety for further study before going on to the scriptures from Matthew.

Hebrews 8:

¹ Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ² a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
³ For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer. ⁴ For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; ⁵ who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.” ⁶ But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

⁷ For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸ Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ⁹ not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ¹¹ None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. ¹² For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
¹³ In that He says, “A new covenant, ” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 10

¹ For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

⁵ Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

      “ Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
      But a body You have prepared for Me.
       ⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin
      You had no pleasure.
       ⁷ Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
      In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
      To do Your will, O God.’”

⁸ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them ” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹ then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second. ¹⁰ By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

2 Corinthians 3

Christ’s Epistle

¹ Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? ² You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; ³ clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

The Spirit, Not the Letter

⁴ And we have such trust through Christ toward God. ⁵ Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, ⁶ who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Glory of the New Covenant

⁷ But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, ⁸ how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? ⁹ For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. ¹⁰ For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. ¹¹ For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious.
¹² Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— ¹³ unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. ¹⁴ But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. ¹⁵ But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. ¹⁶ Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ¹⁷ Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. ¹⁸ But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

All things concerning Christ fulfilled:

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

Matthew 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

Matthew 26:55 In that hour Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs to take Me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you did not seize Me. 56 But all this was done that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples forsook Him and fled.

Luke 18:31 Then He [Jesus] took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished.

Luke 24:44 Then He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” 45 And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.

Luke 16:16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.

Scriptures from the book of Matthew that speak of the fulfillment of specific words of the prophets of old:

Matthew 1:21-23

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.” 22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,”(Is.7:14) which is translated, “God with us.”

Matthew 2:14-23

¹⁴ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, ¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Num. 24:8, Hos. 11:1) ¹⁶ Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. ¹⁷ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

      ¹⁸ “ A voice was heard in Ramah,
      Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
      Rachel weeping for her children,
      Refusing to be comforted,
      Because they are no more.” (Jer. 31:15)

¹⁹ Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰ saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead.” ²¹ Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.
²² But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. ²³ And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Judges 13:5)

Matthew 4

¹² Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee. ¹³ And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

      ¹⁵ “ The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
      By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan,
      Galilee of the Gentiles:
       ¹⁶ The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
      And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death
      Light has dawned.” (Is.9:1,2)

¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 8

¹⁶ When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

“ He Himself took our infirmities
And bore our sicknesses.” (Is. 53:4)

Matthew 12

¹⁵ But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. ¹⁶ Yet He warned them not to make Him known, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

      ¹⁸ “ Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
      My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
      I will put My Spirit upon Him,
      And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
       ¹⁹ He will not quarrel nor cry out,
      Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
       ²⁰ A bruised reed He will not break,
      And smoking flax He will not quench,
      Till He sends forth justice to victory;
       ²¹ And in His name Gentiles will trust.” (Is. 42:1-4, 49:3)

Matthew 13

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

“ I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” (Ps.78:2)

Matthew 21

³ And if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”
⁴ Allthis was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:
       ⁵ “ Tell the daughter of Zion,

      ‘ Behold, your King is coming to you,
      Lowly, and sitting on a donkey,
      A colt, the foal of a donkey.’” (Zech. 9:9)

Matthew 27

³ Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”
And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” ⁵ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. ⁶ But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” ⁷ And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. ⁸ Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.
⁹ Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, ¹⁰ and gave them for the potter’s field, as the LORD directed me.” (Zech. 11:12, er 32:6-9, Zech. 11:12,13)

³⁵ Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

“ They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.” (Ps. 22:18)