***
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
Jesus divides Jews from Christians the same way he divides the bible in half. There’s the Old Testament and the New Testament with Christ as the hinge. Jews are still awaiting the Messiah, while Christians say Christ is the Messiah, God in the flesh.
At the very center of this debate is Christ’s identity, and by extension, his teachings.
As he says in today’s Gospel, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.”
So, what aspects of the Old Testament does the Lord fulfill and how?
***
First, he fulfills the Law. As one scribe asks him in Mark’s Gospel, “Which is the greatest of all the Commandments?”
Jesus responds, “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, body, and soul. And your neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus fulfills these commandments by dying obediently on a cross, while asking his Father to forgive his executioners, “for they know not what they do.”
***
Secondly, Jesus fulfills nearly three hundred prophecies from the Old Testament, some of which were beyond his control, including where the Messiah would be born; the miracles he would perform; how he would suffer; even how he would die.
As the prophet Isaiah foretells, “The eyes of the blind shall see, and the ears of the deaf be opened. The lame shall leap like a stag, and the mute sing for joy.”
The blind, the sick, and the dead who were raised all give testimony to him.
***
Whereas some may see a separation between the Old and New Testaments, Christians see a unity – or better a fulfillment – with Christ as the hinge.
In him, everything fits together. May we give him glory and praise today.
***
***
Image credits: (1) Pantocrator, Sinai (2) Magnific (3) The Jordan Valley