Key Thought

Jesus' statement is shocking! To the devoted Jewish believer, nothing was more sacred than the Law. But Jesus comes and says he is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. In other words, he is claiming that the goal of Scripture is found in him. This incredibly audacious claim of Jesus leaves no middle ground. He is either self-deluded or he must be taken seriously. If we are to understand the heart, the character, the holiness, the righteousness, and the will of God, Jesus claims that we must look to him. He embodies and completes what the Law had as its goal. He didn't come to offer some cheapened form of grace (cf. Jude 4 & 2 Tim. 3:2-5). Instead, God wants us to look to Jesus and see what he intended in his Law -- he wanted to benefit us with his righteousness and bring us closer to him!

Today's Prayer

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Holy and Righteous God, thank you for sending Jesus. While I can read and understand your demands for character, holiness, and righteousness in your Law, in Jesus I see more fully your call to me to be righteous. Please, dear Lord, work your work of salvation, and conform me to the character of Christ. In the name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

"Don't think that I have come to destroy the law {of Moses} or the {teaching of the} prophets. I have not come to destroy their teachings. I came to give full meaning to their teachings. I tell you the truth. Nothing will disappear from the law until heaven and earth are gone. The law will not lose even the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter until all has happened. A person should obey every command, even a command that does not seem important. If a person refuses to obey any command and teaches other people not to obey that command, then that person will be the least important in the kingdom of heaven. But the person that obeys the law and teaches other people to obey the law will be great in the kingdom of heaven. I tell you that you must do better than the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. If you are not better people, then you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

— Matthew 5:17-20 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.