When Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets… I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them,” He located His entire mission inside the story God had already written and promised to complete (Matthew 5:17). Far from lowering Scripture’s weight, He heightened it, insisting that not the smallest letter or least stroke would pass away “until everything is accomplished,” and warning that His disciples must treat even the least commands with reverence (Matthew 5:18–19). Then He pressed further still: unless righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).
Those sentences, set at the start of the Sermon on the Mount’s ethical core, carry the ring of both continuity and change. They affirm the unity of God’s revelation from Moses through the Prophets and into Messiah, while announcing that the time of fulfillment has arrived in Christ Himself (Luke 24:44–47; John 1:17). Read with the whole Bible in view and with the church age in mind, they teach believers to hold Scripture high, to see Christ as its center, and to walk by the Spirit under the law of Christ with hope toward the coming kingdom (2 Timothy 3:16; Galatians 6:2; Romans 8:3–4).
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Historical and Cultural Background
Jesus addressed hearers shaped by the Torah’s rhythms, prophetic promises, and Second Temple practices. Israel had received the Law at Sinai, a covenant charter that marked them as a holy nation and treasured possession, with moral commands, civil structures, and ceremonial ordinances that set them apart among the nations (Exodus 19:5–6; Deuteronomy 4:5–8). The Prophets called Israel back when hearts drifted, exposed hollow ritual without justice, and held out hope for a coming Servant, a righteous King, and a new covenant that would write God’s law on the heart (Isaiah 1:11–17; Jeremiah 31:31–34; Ezekiel 36:26–27).
By the first century, devotion to Scripture was often guarded by traditions that risked obscuring its intent. Jesus confronted that drift, charging that some nullified the word of God for the sake of human tradition, even while tithing herbs and neglecting weightier matters like justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Mark 7:13; Matthew 23:23). Yet He never dismissed the Law; He honored it, read it messianically, and embodied its goal. He healed lepers and sent them to the priest as Moses commanded, even as His touch made the unclean clean, a sign that fulfillment had come near (Leviticus 14:2–4; Luke 5:12–14). He celebrated Passover while pointing to His own blood as the covenant’s cup, binding the old story to the cross where it meets its completion (Exodus 12:11–13; Luke 22:19–20).
From a dispensational vantage point, this moment sits at the hinge of progressive revelation. Israel remains Israel in God’s plan, with promises awaiting their appointed time, while Jesus inaugurates the new covenant realities by His death and resurrection, forming a multi-ethnic church not as a political nation but as a Spirit-indwelt body (Romans 11:25–29; Hebrews 8:6–13; Ephesians 2:14–22). The Law is neither scrapped nor simply repeated; it is carried forward in Christ to its intended goal, with its moral heart clarified, its civil and ceremonial guardians fulfilled, and its prophetic hopes alive with fresh certainty (Matthew 5:17–18; Colossians 2:16–17).
Biblical Narrative
The Bible’s storyline moves law-ward and then Christ-ward. God redeemed Israel from Egypt and gave the Law not as a ladder to earn His love but as the charter for a rescued people, calling them to love Him with heart, soul, and strength and to love their neighbor as themselves (Exodus 20:1–17; Deuteronomy 6:4–5; Leviticus 19:18). The sacrificial system taught that sin brings death and that God provides atonement through a substitute, while the priesthood mediated holiness and access (Leviticus 1:3–4; Leviticus 16:15–17). The Prophets exposed hypocrisy and pointed toward a righteous Branch who would reign with justice and a Servant who would bear iniquities, and they promised a new covenant with internal transformation (Isaiah 11:1–5; Isaiah 53:5–6; Jeremiah 31:31–34).
Jesus steps into that stream. He is the Prophet like Moses who speaks God’s words and the Son of David whose kingdom is everlasting (Deuteronomy 18:15; Luke 1:32–33). He keeps the Law perfectly, doing always what pleases the Father, and He challenges readings that stop at the surface by tracing murder back to angry contempt and adultery back to lustful intent, revealing the Law’s true reach into the heart (John 8:29; Matthew 5:21–28). He declares Himself Lord of the Sabbath while honoring the Sabbath’s purpose, showing that the day was made for man and pointing to rest fulfilled in Him (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:27; Hebrews 4:9–10). He insists that Scripture cannot be broken, yet claims that its promises are finding their yes in Him as the One greater than the temple, Jonah, and Solomon (John 10:35; Matthew 12:6; 2 Corinthians 1:20).
At the cross, fulfillment comes into sharp focus. The Lamb of God takes away the sin of the world, accomplishing what bulls and goats could only prefigure, and when He cries, “It is finished,” He seals the once-for-all offering that opens a new and living way to God (John 1:29; Hebrews 10:11–14; John 19:30; Hebrews 10:19–22). The curtain tears, signaling both access and transition, and the resurrected Lord breathes peace and commission upon His disciples to carry the Scriptures’ message to all nations (Matthew 27:51; Luke 24:46–49). The apostles preach not lawlessness but life in the Spirit, declaring that righteousness comes by faith in Christ apart from works of the Law, and that those justified by faith now fulfill the Law’s righteous requirement as they walk by the Spirit in love (Romans 3:21–26; Romans 8:3–4; Galatians 5:13–14).
Theological Significance
To say that Jesus fulfills the Law and the Prophets is to say that He brings them to their goal. Fulfillment includes obedience, exposition, embodiment, and completion. He obeys the Law without sin, the only Israelite who keeps it in full, and thus becomes the spotless sacrifice who can bear our guilt (1 Peter 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21). He expounds the Law’s depth, moving from external compliance to internal transformation, a righteousness that proceeds from a new heart rather than a managed reputation (Matthew 5:21–30; Ezekiel 36:26–27). He embodies the types and shadows, from Passover to temple, so that their significance is not discarded but realized in Him, like a sketch filled with color and life (Colossians 2:16–17; John 2:19–21). He completes the sacrificial economy by offering Himself once for all, replacing the many offerings with His single sufficient gift and sitting down at the Father’s right hand (Hebrews 10:12; Hebrews 1:3).
This fulfillment clarifies the Law’s threefold use without flattening it. Its civil structures fit Israel’s national life and foreshadow the King’s righteous rule; its ceremonial ordinances taught holiness and atonement and now find completion in Christ’s priestly work; its moral core reflects God’s character and continues to instruct the church as it is summed up in the law of love (Deuteronomy 16:18–20; Leviticus 16:30–34; Romans 13:8–10). The believer is not under the Mosaic covenant as a binding code, yet is not lawless; he is under the law of Christ, which gathers the moral will of God, interprets it through the cross, and empowers it by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2). Thus “fulfill” neither means “keep everything as it was” nor “set it all aside,” but “bring all God said to its intended end in Christ,” with lasting implications for holiness and hope (Matthew 5:17; Romans 10:4).
The surpassing righteousness Jesus requires is not a call to outperform Pharisees at their own game. It is a call to receive a righteousness not our own and to live out a righteousness that flows from being made new (Philippians 3:9; Titus 3:4–7). Justification is by grace through faith, and sanctification proceeds by the Spirit’s power as we behold the Lord and are transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory (Ephesians 2:8–10; 2 Corinthians 3:18). The Sermon on the Mount’s commands are not a new legalism; they are the life of the kingdom expressed in people who have been given new hearts and the Spirit of adoption (Romans 8:14–16; Matthew 5:3–12).
A dispensational reading preserves God’s distinct dealings with Israel and the church while honoring the single plan of redemption centered in Christ. Israel’s national promises still await their appointed fulfillment, and the King will return to reign in righteousness, vindicating the covenants and the prophetic hope (Jeremiah 33:14–17; Zechariah 14:9; Acts 1:6–7). Meanwhile, the church bears witness among the nations, living out the Law’s moral heart under the law of Christ and anticipating the day when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea (Matthew 28:19–20; Isaiah 11:9). Fulfillment therefore looks backward with gratitude, upward with worship, outward with mission, and forward with hope (Luke 24:27; Romans 11:33–36; Acts 13:47; Revelation 22:20).
Spiritual Lessons and Application
First, hold a high view of Scripture because Jesus does. He declared that not the smallest letter would pass until all is accomplished and that greatness in the kingdom is tied to doing and teaching God’s commands faithfully (Matthew 5:18–19). In practice this means reading the Old Testament not as a relic but as living testimony that points to Christ, and reading the New Testament not as a cancellation but as the Spirit’s inspired interpretation of what the old promised (John 5:39; Luke 24:27). It means letting the whole counsel of God shape conscience, comfort, and conduct, trusting that every word proves true and that the God who speaks cannot lie (Proverbs 30:5; Titus 1:2).
Second, let Christ be the key that unlocks your reading and your living. When you encounter a command, ask how Jesus fulfilled it and how the law of Christ now directs your obedience. Sabbath points to rest in Him and to a rhythm of worship and mercy; sacrifices point to His cross and to a life of praise and self-giving love; purity laws teach holiness that now flows from the Spirit dwelling within (Matthew 12:12; Hebrews 13:15–16; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20). This Christ-centered lens does not shrink moral demand; it deepens it, moving from mere restraint to active love that fulfills the Law (Romans 13:10; John 13:34–35).
Third, pursue the surpassing righteousness that begins with grace. Do not settle for external religion that polishes the cup while leaving the heart untouched; seek the inside-out transformation Jesus describes when He traces murder to anger and adultery to lust and calls for plain speech, enemy love, secret generosity, and prayer that trusts the Father (Matthew 23:25–26; Matthew 5:21–48; Matthew 6:1–6). This is not self-improvement by willpower; it is the Spirit’s fruit in those who abide in Christ and walk by the Spirit, crucifying the flesh with its passions and desires and sowing to the Spirit unto life (John 15:5; Galatians 5:22–25; Galatians 6:8).
Fourth, distinguish without dividing. The civil and ceremonial structures were good and holy for their time, yet their guardianship gives way to their goal in Christ, while the moral center continues with clarified brightness in the law of love (Galatians 3:24–25; Colossians 2:17; James 2:8). This protects believers from both legalism and license. Legalism forgets that righteousness is a gift and tries to earn what the cross already won; license forgets that grace trains us to say no to ungodliness and to live upright lives as a redeemed people eager to do good (Romans 3:24; Titus 2:11–14). The way forward is gratitude-fueled obedience that delights to do the Father’s will because we have been loved first (Psalm 40:8; 1 John 4:19).
Fifth, let fulfillment fuel hope and mission. Because Scripture is being accomplished in Christ and will be completed at His return, believers work and wait with confidence. We teach all that Jesus commanded, knowing that He is with us to the end of the age, and we look for the blessed hope of His appearing when righteousness will dwell and promises to Israel and to the nations will stand complete (Matthew 28:20; 2 Peter 3:13; Romans 15:8–12). Until then, we heed Jesus’s warnings against relaxing His commands or using grace as a cover for sin, and we aim to glorify the Father by doing His will from the heart (Matthew 5:19; Romans 6:1–4; Ephesians 6:6).
Finally, bring your struggles under the banner of fulfillment. When conscience accuses, remember that Christ fulfilled the Law for you and bore its curse, so there is now no condemnation for those in Him (Galatians 3:13; Romans 8:1). When temptation rises, remember that the Spirit writes God’s law on your heart and empowers obedience that once felt impossible (Hebrews 8:10; Romans 8:9–13). When you wonder whether any of this matters in a world bent by injustice and sorrow, remember that the King who fulfilled Scripture will also fulfill the rest, returning to judge and to renew, and that your labor in the Lord is not in vain (Acts 17:31; Revelation 21:5; 1 Corinthians 15:58).
Conclusion
Jesus’s claim to fulfill the Law and the Prophets is not an aside; it is the frame around His teaching and the key to His cross. It guards us from despising the Old Testament, from emptying the New of its depth, and from confusing the grace that saves with a grace that shrugs at sin. It preserves Israel’s place in God’s purposes while welcoming the nations into one body in Christ by faith, and it lifts our eyes toward the day when every promise will be yes in Him and the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Romans 11:26–27; Ephesians 2:14–16; 2 Corinthians 1:20; Habakkuk 2:14). Until that day, we take Jesus at His word, treat all of Scripture as the Father’s voice, trust the Son who fulfilled it, and walk by the Spirit who writes it on our hearts.
“For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17)
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For Further Reference: A Detailed Study on the Entire Sermon on the Mount