Fulfillment of the Law
Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent
Matthew 5:17-19
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031126.cfm
In today’s gospel, Jesus speaks of the law and the prophets and his role with them. He has come to fulfill or complete them. His role is to bring them to fruition. He’s not here to abolish it but to bring the fullness of their intent into being. The law for Jesus is part of the fabric of the universe, thus, he says that the law will remain until heaven and earth have passed away and all of time has taken place.
For violating the law, Jesus doesn’t offer torment or punishment. He states that if you break even the simplest commandment or teach others to do so, you will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven. I don’t think he’s considering this in a sense of there being a ranking. It’s more of an expression of what the Kingdom is and less about the individual and their lack of abiding by the commandments. The Kingdom will happen when we all live in unity. When we all chose to love each other as ourselves and love God with our entire beings. If we are living in such a way, what law is there left for us to break? To not abide fully by the law is to be a full bringer of the Kingdom. Yes, we are forgiven, but we are also called to make God’s vision for the world a reality. We are to participate in God to bring our original existence back into being.
For Jesus too, abiding by the law is not intended to be stringent, but a choice for the spirit and heart behind. As Jesus was often judged by religious leaders for not strictly following the rules on the Sabbath, Jesus showed the deeper meaning behind that commandment. The interpretation of the law and the prophets must always go back to the spirit behind them which is love of God and others. When our power dynamics get mixed into it, we can lose sight of love for our neighbor in the name of love for God. This is not Jesus’s way. The laws don’t compete with one another, but are one and the same.
Jesus came to fulfill the law. He came so that we could understand it more clearly and live in such a way to follow him and fulfill the mission of the Kingdom.
