Day 10 - Jesus is Perfect

Read Matthew 5:17-20

Jesus is the perfect fulfillment of the law.

In this passage of scripture, Jesus makes it clear that He was not sent to destroy the law, but instead that he was the perfect fulfillment of it. In fact, He was the only one who could fulfill it because He is the only one to perfectly obey it. The “jot and tittle” Jesus refers to is the perfection of God’s word, and how it will never stop convicting of sin, and how it will always confine man to its demand for perfection. The demand for perfection is in many respects bad news for human beings because we in the weakness of our fallen state will never be able to do this on our own.

When Jesus speaks of “breaking the least of these” he is referring to relaxing the rigid requirement of the law. If teachers do this, they are at risk of turning a blind eye to sin. On the opposite end of this spectrum is the legalism of the scribes and Pharisees. Both are equally wrong and miss the point Jesus is making.

In pointing out that He is the fulfillment of the law, Jesus offers hope to us who call Him Lord and Savior. The reason for this hope is as the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:4, that Jesus fulfills the law “in us.” That is to say, the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan is found in the redemption of those who are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and walk not according to the flesh but by the leading of the Holy Spirit. We would never be able to keep the law perfectly ourselves, but in Christ, the law is fulfilled, the ultimate sacrifice is made on our behalf and we are now free to live under grace by the leading of the Holy Spirit. When we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16), for where the Spirit of the Lord is THERE is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17). Today, let us thank the Lord Jesus for His sacrifice and let us walk in the Spirit by grace through faith.

©2022 Tracy E. Tucker, Calvary Chapel of Charleston