April 21

“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

When we come to the end of the Old Testament, we’re not thinking, “What a glorious history Israel had since God gave them the law on Mount Sinai.” No. It’s a history of failure. The historical books of the Old Testament record the details of that failure; the poetic books weep and mourn over it, and the prophetic books preach about it.

But Jesus came on the scene with good news. Many had hoped it might be to abolish the laws, reduce them or at least make them easier. But Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished’ (Matthew 5:18). He came to fulfill the Law.

The Law expresses the moral character of God, and therefore is eternally true, right and good, but it cannot produce what it demands. It is external to us, imposing demands upon us from the outside. The Gospel, however, restores the life of God to human experience and makes possible an expression of the moral character of God in us, not by our keeping an external law, but by our availability to the internal Spirit of Christ.

Paul writes in Galatians 2:19, “For through the law, I died to the law so that I might live for God.” That is, I have stopped living under the demands of a law imposed upon me, and which I cannot keep myself, but have instead turned to God who alone is capable of producing the demands of the law. Paul follows it up with, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Therein lies the key to the Christian life. Under the New Covenant, Christ living in us imparts to us divine life and the moral character of God, and He is our empowering to live as the law requires.

We will not understand the requirements of the Ten Commandments apart from the work of Jesus Christ. It is in relationship with Him, faith in Him, obedience to Him, and full dependence on Him, that we are enabled to express something of the character of God. The law does not impart righteousness, and cannot impart life, but was given as our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ. The law exposes our need for a Saviour and drives us back to Christ. What the law demands, Christ alone fulfills.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for your presence in me, enabling me to live more and more as the law demands. Empower me, Lord, to reflect deeply and richly what You are like every day of my life. Thank You, Lord.

TO REFLECT UPON: How often do I find myself struggling under my own steam to become the faithful Christian I want to be?