This article is part of the What Does It Mean? series.
“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.”
—Matthew 5:17
Abolish vs. Fulfill
Jesus summarized his relationship to the Old Testament with this surprising statement in the Sermon on the Mount: “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” (Matt. 5:17). If we understand what Jesus means here, it will shine clarifying light on other important questions: What do the Old Testament commands have to do with New Testament Christians? Should Christians seek to obey the Old Testament just like the Israelites? Can we “unhitch” ourselves from it altogether?
We can rule out one interpretation right away: Jesus is not abolishing the Law and the Prophets—he says as much explicitly. But, on the other hand, he…
