Love Fulfills the Law

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20 NKJV

How has Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law and the Prophets? How has Jesus kept the Law and Prophets? The answer is in love the Son Jesus Christ obeyed the Father God. Jesus Christ was the Lord of all and given power even to create another universe and yet he obeyed the Father even to the point of death. That’s the secret of keeping the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets represent the holy character of God. They cannot be broken and neither violated. They shall stand as they are forever.

The Law makes us sin all the more. Sounds nonsense! But it is true. Apostle Paul describes his own experience in Romans 7 that what he would not do he did and what he would do he did not. He cried out “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24) That is the reason God has given the Law to His people. God knew that it was impossible for them to keep the Law of God. God gave them to reveal the reality of wickedness and evilness in humanity.

But many a people think that they can keep the Law by trying hard like the Pharisees and scribes. They considered the regular fasting and prayers and offerings as the fulfilment of the Law. They made numerous regulations and precepts in order to keep the Law of Moses. You don’t have to break many laws to be a law-breaker. By breaking a single law, you are already a law-breaker. They broke the law of God to honor their parents by making the precept of ‘Corban’ in order to evade the responsibility (Mark 7:11-12).

Although they made tremendous efforts in an attempt to keep the Law of God, they were hypocrites. Jesus Christ pronounces that we must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. What does it mean? Only righteousness acceptable and satisfactory in the sight of God is the righteousness from heaven above.

“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:2-14 NIV)

Only when we are clothed with the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we can enter into the throne of grace with full confidence and boldness without fear. Only when we are righteous before God, we can keep the Law and the Prophets in perfection. It is no longer we who keep the Law but Christ in us does. The Law of God says that you cannot keep it by yourself but can do in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Jesus Christ the Son has fulfilled the Law and the Prophets in love which He obeyed the Father unto death. Love is the most powerful weapon of all to fulfill the Law. In fact, the Ten Commandments are the commentary for the true love of God. Love must be spelled out so that we may understand what the true love is. Likewise, we can keep the Law of God in love, the love which we have received first through the Son Jesus Christ.