Skip to main content

Yeshua came to fulfill the Law not abolish it.

In the past few blogs we have learned what the words that have been translated jot, tittle and verily meant to Yeshua. Go back and read those blogs if you haven’t do so yet. In the last blog, we also learned how to recognize the three-fold teaching pattern Yeshua used to make his points. We are examining Matthew 5:17-18.

1. Significant statement -- 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.

2. Amen!

3. Added statement strengthening the Amen -- I tell you till heaven and earth pass, not one yod or one qotz shall pass from the Law till all be fulfilled.

Now let’s discover what “the Law or the Prophets” meant to Yeshua. The transliterations of the Hebrew words he used were – TORAH or NEVI’IM. Today, the TORAH (Law) and NEVI’IM (Prophets) are two sections of the Tanakh,  the Jewish Bible. It also has a third section called KETUVIM (Writings). Click here to view a Tanakh online -- http://www.ishwar.com/judaism/

Matthew 5:18 has been used by many to mistakenly support their theological claims of “replacement theology,” which basically states that “Jesus fulfilled the Law, so Christianity has replaced Judaism as God’s chosen people.” That wasn’t what Yeshua had in mind.

The first place to look when you want to find out what something means, if you can’t directly communicate with the speaker or author, is turn to his or her culture. There are a number of examples of what “abolish or fulfill the Law” means in the Jewish culture. The account below provides a good example of what they meant to Yeshua:

"[116a] Imma Shalom, R. Eliezer's wife, was R. Gamaliel's sister.  Now, a certain philosopher lived in his vicinity, [116b] and he bore a reputation that he did not accept bribes.  They wished to expose him, so she brought him a golden lamp, went before him, [and] said to him, `I desire that a share be given men in my [deceased] father's estate.'  `Divide,' ordered he.  Said he [R. Gamaliel] to him, `It is decreed for us, Where there is a son, a daughter does not inherit.'  [He replied], `Since the day that you were exiled from your land the Law of Moses has been superseded and another book given, wherein it is written, `A son and a daughter inherit equally.'  The next day, he [R. Gamaliel] brought him a Libyan ass.  Said he to them, `Look at the end of the book, wherein it is written, I came not to destroy the Law of Moses nor to add to the Law of Moses, and it is written therein, A daughter does not inherit where there is a son.' . . ."[i]

The point Rabbi Gamaliel made was that his interpretation did not “take way from” or “add to” the words of the Torah. An interpretation that “took away from” or “added to” the words of the Torah and incorrectly explained the words of the Torah, destroyed, or in other words, abolished the Law. On the other hand, an interpretation that correctly explained the words of the Torah fulfilled the Law.

Now, using the three-fold teaching pattern model, let’s take another look at what Yeshua said through his Jewish eye:

1. Significant statement -- Do not think that I have come to misinterpret the Torah or the Prophets; I have not come to misinterpret them, but to interpret them correctly.

2. Amen!

3. Added statement strengthening the Amen -- I tell you till heaven and earth pass, not one yod or one qotz shall pass from the Torah till all be interpreted correctly.

Now that we know that what Yeshua meant here, we can understand why and what he taught next. Apparently, some had been misinterpreting what was written in the Torah and the Prophets about the following, so Yeshua decided to correctly interpret them for his followers:

● Murder (5:21-26)
● Adultery (5:27-30)
● Divorce (5:21-32)
● Oaths (5:33-37)
● Eye for Eye (5:38-42)
● Love your Neighbor (5:43-48)
● Giving to the Needy (6:1-4)
● Prayer (6:5-15)
● Fasting (6:16-18)
● TZEDAQAH (Righteousness) (6:19-7:13)
● True and False Prophets (7:15-29)

This brings us to the close of the second full week of The Real Yeshua blogs. What do you think about the blogs? Do they help? Do you like them? Give me some feedback. We need 14 more people to “Like the Real Yeshua Facebook Page,” too. Help us do that and share this with your Facebook friends too. Hopefully, some of you will want to see more blogs on The Real Yeshua, so I will plan on doing some more next week.

Shabbat Shalom!

If you like our posts on The Real Yeshua Blog, please go to Facebook and “Like” our page -- https://www.facebook.com/therealyeshua?ref=hl -- also share it with your friends.

If you consider this information important and valuable, help fund the work it takes to produce it. Donate at -- http://www.biblicalheritage.org/yeshua_donate.htm


[i] Talmud; Shabbat 116a-b

Comments

  1. Theodore A. JonesMay 11, 2014 at 8:54 PM

    The law was fulfilled by making an addition to it. Rom. 5:20, Heb. 7:12 The change was put into effect through angels by the Mediator who authored the change. Acts 7:53, Gal. 3:19 Neither angels or a Mediator were involved in putting the Sinai code into effect. The new wine was not put into old wineskins nor is an old garment patched with new cloth.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jim MyersMay 11, 2014 at 10:41 PM

    I completely agree that Paul and the Real Yeshua taught completely different things. Yeshua said he came to correctly interpret the law, that's what "fulfill" meant in his Jewish culture. The unnamed author of Hebrew said a whole section of Yeshua's Bible should be removed. The question is, should Christians do what Yeshua taught or what Paul taught?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Isabelle EslingAugust 15, 2014 at 1:44 PM

    One should follow Yeshua of course...he is the Master, not Paul...

    ReplyDelete
  4. TysonJuly 8, 2016 at 1:03 AM

    Jim I would say that Paul's does not teach anything contrary to what Yeshua or YWWH our LORD taught. I think the problem is with people misinterpreting them just as the brother Peter said they would. I may go so far as to say that many many many these day's bare false witness against Paul just as they did 2,000 years ago. I would also say that these false interpretations of Paul's writings, and their subsequent basis for the establishment of what we now see as 30,000+ denominations of "christianity" has led to many many brother in the house of Judah to be unable to accept their Messiah Yeshua, because they look to Deuteronomy 13 and then say "well modern Christianity can't be right, they teach a "new" law."

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It’s a Yod -- NOT a Jot and Tittle!

Not only did Yeshua read and speak Hebrew, so did his followers and disciples! Two very well known, but not accurately understood words in the Gospel of Matthew prove it – jot and tittle . For some reason jot and tittle stick in the minds of Christian Bible readers. But when you ask them what jot or tittle mean, you get a lot of conflicting and some really weird answers. Today, you are going to get the facts about what Yeshua originally said and how they ended up in English translations of the Bible as jot and tittle . Let’s begin by reading Matthew 5:18 from the King James translation: For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. If you have not read the article “ From Yeshua to Jesus ” in Yeshua’s Kingdom Handbook please take a moment to read it online by clicking here before you continue. In it you will see how we began with the name “ Jesus ” and traced it through Lati...
Post a Comment
Read more

Do Not Say RAQA! - Yeshua on Anger (Part 2)

In the last blog, we covered the first part of Yeshua’s lesson on Anger -- An Angry Person Should be Tried in Court like a Murderer – keep in mind that “anger” is the focus of Yeshua’s lesson. “Whoever says to a brother, ‘ RAKA ,’ shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin.” [i] Yeshua reveals that the seriousness of the offense has become greater by elevating the crime to the next highest court – the Sanhedrin . It is the highest court in the nation and would be the equivalent of our Supreme Court. What makes this offense more serious than murder, to keep things in the context established by Yeshua? It is because of what the angry person said out of anger – “ RAKA !” RAKA is the English transliteration of the Greek word found in the ancient manuscripts of Matthew. Interestingly, the Greek word is also a transliteration of a Hebrew word into Greek. Keep in mind that when a translator working on a translation of a Greek manuscript transliterates a Greek word, he only finds ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Prayer Yeshua Prayed Twice Every Day

One of Jesus’s earliest memories was no doubt watching and listening to his family when they gathered to pray the Shema at sunrise before the day’s work began and after the working work day was over at sunset . He also heard and participated in praying the Shema at their synagogue. He was surrounded by neighbors who also prayed the same prayer in their homes every day. The Hebrew word for prayer is tefilah . It is derived from the root Pe-Lamed-Lamed and the word l'hitpalel, meaning “ to judge oneself .” This surprising word origin provides insight into the purpose of Jewish prayer. The most important part of any Jewish prayer, whether it be a prayer of petition, of thanksgiving, of praise of God, or of confession, is the introspection it provides, the moment that we spend looking inside ourselves, seeing our role in the universe and our relationship to God. [1] Most of Jewish prayers are expressed in the first person plural, "us" instead of "me," an...
Post a Comment
Read more