What does it mean to fulfill the law?

Someone recently wrote me:

“When Jesus said, ‘Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill’ (Matthew 5:17), He wasn’t saying the Old Covenant would go on forever—He was saying His mission was to complete it, not discard it prematurely. To fulfill means to bring to its intended goal. Jesus perfectly kept the Law, fulfilled the Messianic prophecies, and satisfied its righteous requirements. Once fulfilled, it had served its purpose.”

My Response:

To fulfill a law of the Torah in the context of first-century Judaism was to interpret it correctly. If you are reading in English and thinking in English, you will miss a lot of what Jesus meant. We must read Scripture not only in translation but also in context—especially the context of Second Temple Judaism. That means understanding how phrases like "to fulfill the Law" were understood by Jewish audiences in Jesus' day.

Blessed is he who comes… do you know what it means?

For example, when Jesus says to the orthodox Jews of Jerusalem you will not see Me again until you say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” most do not know that the phrase, Baruch haba “Blessed is he who comes…” is a greeting. He was saying that one day you will welcome me back to Jerusalem. The phrase is also used between a bride and a bridegroom in a wedding. When the groom comes in, the people chant, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” That’s just one example that if you don’t know the context, you’ll miss a big part of the meaning.

The law applied to our hearts

Getting back to fulfilling the law, Jesus correctly interpreted that adultery was not merely a physical act but included lustful intent. Murder was not simply the act of killing but included hatred in the heart. The entire Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) focuses not only on external behavior but on internal motives. Thus, when Jesus says He came to "fulfill the Law," it doesn't merely mean He completed a checklist of legal requirements; it means He revealed its truest meaning and essence. He interpreted it as it was meant to be understood.

Please don’t take my word for it. Consider these respected scholars:

Craig Keener writes, “To fulfill the law was a Jewish idiom meaning to properly interpret or carry out its meaning.” 1 In other words, when Jesus says He came to fulfill the Law, He is not nullifying it but explaining and embodying it in its fullest form.

R.T. France agrees and elaborates: “Jesus fulfills the law and the prophets by bringing them to their intended goal... by authoritatively interpreting and completing them.” 2 For France, Jesus’ fulfillment involves both living out the law and guiding His disciples into its deeper application—centered on love, mercy, and justice.

David Flusser, a Jewish scholar of Second Temple Judaism, offers additional clarity. He notes that “fulfilling” the Torah in Jesus’ day meant to live it out faithfully and to bring out its true intention. 3 So when Jesus declares, “You have heard it said... but I say to you,” He is not overriding Moses but restoring the Torah’s divine intention.

This is why Jesus says several times in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard that it was said... but I say to you.” Each time, He takes a well-known commandment and exposes the deeper heart issue beneath it. This is not abolishing the Law—it is the very definition of fulfilling it.

Understanding this point also helps make sense of Matthew 5:18, where Jesus continues: “For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” And clearly, all has not been accomplished. We are still awaiting the arrival of the Messianic Kingdom and its king.

It’s also important to clarify: this doesn’t mean believers today are under the Mosaic Covenant in a legal sense. Paul is clear that we are not justified by works of the Law (Gal. 2:16), and the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 did not require Gentile believers to come under Torah observance. But the moral and spiritual truths embedded in the Torah are still vital because they point us to the character of God and His desire for justice, humility, and covenant love.

Yeshua is not the end, but the destination

Paul confirms this when he says, “For Messiah is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4, TLV). The word “end” (Greek telos) here means “goal” or “culmination.” Jesus is not the termination of the Law, but its destination. Everything in the Torah pointed toward Him. Once its prophetic and pedagogical function reached fulfillment in Him, it was not discarded—it was fulfilled, completed, and brought to its goal.

Naked before God

So yes, Jesus fulfilled the Torah. But that does not mean it had no further significance or that God’s moral expectations have disappeared. It means that Jesus became the lens through which the Law must now be understood. He is the greater Moses, the righteous interpreter, and the embodiment of Torah in human flesh. He didn’t discard the Law—He showed us what it truly meant.

By applying the Law to the motives of our hearts, he was preparing us to see our need for salvation. Someone could say I do not need salvation because I have never murdered, nor have I ever committed adultery. But the true law would respond, “Have you ever lusted in your heart or hated someone? Then you are guilty.” With that in mind, these passages in the book of Hebrews have a greater meaning.

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Jesus takes the old covenant commandments and makes them far more difficult to keep. He does this not to condemn us, but to show us the truth about our sin. In doing so, he calls us to himself for not only forgiveness but Holy Spirit empowerment to live a new life.

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[1] Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009), 178.

[2] R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 182.

[3] David Flusser, Jesus (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1998), 117.