Christ did not come to destroy the law but to magnify it. He magnified the law from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law by saying to lust after a woman in one’s mind is equivalent to adultery. But in magnifying the law how can the Sabbath be moved from one day to the next when Christ himself said to keep the commandments?<\/p>\n\t
The reference to lust and adultery is found in\u00a0Matthew 5:27-28, but I would like to focus on your allusion to Christ’s mission that is found in\u00a0Matthew 5:17-18: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.<\/i>” Notice that you altered the word “fulfill” to “magnify.”<\/p>\n
The word “fulfill” comes from the Greek word\u00a0pleroo<\/i>, which means “fill, make full, supply fully, complete.” Its meaning can be seen in how it is used in other passages. For example, there are numerous passages that speak of something being done in order that a prophecy might be fulfilled, such as in\u00a0Matthew 1:22,\u00a02:15,\u00a017, etc. The word means that the prophecy was answered in full and brought to completion. When something is made completely full by a task, the task is finished. We say this in English when we say we went to the gas station and filled up the car. In other words, we stopped pumping gas into the car once it reaches the full mark because no more gas could be added. This sense of a completed purpose is seen in\u00a0Luke 7:1, “Now when He\u00a0concluded<\/b> all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.<\/i>” The word “concluded” is the Greek word\u00a0pleroo<\/i>. Jesus fulfilled his purpose in that particular lesson. There was nothing more that needed to be said at that moment, so he stopped. It is also seen in Acts 19:21, “When these things were\u00a0accomplished<\/b>, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”<\/i>” Paul had completed what he set out to do in Ephesus, so he looked to move on to another region. The same Greek word\u00a0pleroo<\/i>\u00a0is being used, though it is translated as “accomplished.”<\/p>\n
Jesus explained what he meant by “fulfilled” when he emphasized that the Law would not end until all was fulfilled. This “fulfilled” comes from a different Greek word,\u00a0ginotai<\/i>. It means, “to be, to come into being, to be made, be done, become, or to be celebrated.” In other words, Jesus is saying that the world would have a better chance of ending before God accomplished His purpose for the Law.<\/p>\n
Another verse that speaks to this same topic is\u00a0Romans 10:4, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.<\/i>” The word translated “end” is from the Greek word “telos<\/i>,” which means “end, termination, conclusion, aim, result, goal, outcome.” In other words, the purpose of the Law culminated in Christ Jesus. Jesus was its goal. With His death, he brought the law to its conclusion. “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross<\/i>” (Colossians 2:14). Or as Paul said in another letter, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor<\/i>” (Galatians 3:24-25).<\/p>\n
But in completing the purpose of the Law, I don’t want to leave the impression that Jesus left us lawless. “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God,\u00a0who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant<\/b>, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory? For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory. For indeed what had glory, in this case has no glory because of the glory that surpasses it. For if that which fades away was with glory, much more that which remains is in glory<\/i>” (II Corinthians 3:5-11). The glory of the old Law was fading, but what remains is more glorious. The Hebrew writer put it this way, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also\u00a0Mediator of a better covenant<\/b>, which was established on better promises<\/i>” (Hebrews 8:6). But also notice that Paul said that what remained was a\u00a0new<\/i>\u00a0covenant. “In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away<\/i>” (Hebrews 10:13).<\/p>\n
Now just in case you are inclined to argue that the Ten Commandments were not apart of the covenant: “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone<\/i>” (Deuteronomy 4:13).<\/p>\n
No one “moved” the Sabbath. It’s purpose, along with the rest of the Old Law, was brought to an end and replaced with something more glorious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Christ did not come to destroy the law but to magnify it. He magnified the law from the letter of the law to the spirit of the law by saying to lust after a woman in one’s mind is equivalent to adultery. But in magnifying the law how can the Sabbath be moved from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[115,268,348,176],"class_list":["post-2474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-old-law","tag-old-testament","tag-sabbath","tag-ten-commandments"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41561,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/back-to-basics-christ-and-the-law\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":0},"title":"Back to Basics: Christ and the Law","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Frank Jamerson When brethren are confused about whether Christ came to fulfill the law and prophets or to perpetuate them, it is time to get back to basics! One brother said, \"Continuity of law is evident in Matthew 5:17, in that there is nothing about following Jesus that would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2461,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/since-jesus-said-to-keep-the-commandments-shouldnt-we-keep-the-sabbath\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":1},"title":"Since Jesus said to keep the commandments, shouldn’t we keep the Sabbath?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 5, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Christ was asked in the Bible, \"Lord, what must I do to enter the kingdom of Heaven?\" Christ replied, \"keep the commandments\" and named a few of them. Since keeping the Sabbath was one of them, shouldn't we keep the Sabbath today? Answer: You are referring to the question\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19289,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/were-the-ten-commandments-nailed-to-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":2},"title":"Were the Ten Commandments Nailed to the Cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Clem Thurman via Gospel Minutes, Vol. 56, No. 20, May 18, 2007 QUESTION: I understand that the Old Testament was \"nailed to the cross\" when Jesus died. \u00a0Would that\u00a0also include the Ten Commandments? \u00a0If so,\u00a0what about idolatry, murder, and the other\u00a0moral commandments? ANSWER: The first listing of the Ten\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55516,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-christians-sabbath\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":3},"title":"The Christian\u2019s Sabbath","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton based on an ad by Floyd Chappelear Some people teach that the Ten Commandments are a set of permanent laws established by God at the creation of the world. They believe that Christians are still supposed to be in obedience to these laws, including the law\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/11\/resting-300x130.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":68221,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/law-of-god-and-law-of-moses-are-they-the-same\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":4},"title":"Law of God and Law of Moses: Are They the Same?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Seventh-Day Adventists have long made the claim that the \"law of God\" is the moral and permanently binding \"Ten Commandments\" that were kept inside the ark of the covenant, while claiming that the \"law of Moses\" was different. They claim it was \"ceremonial\" law and placed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3989,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christian-situation-ethics\/","url_meta":{"origin":2474,"position":5},"title":"\u201cChristian\u201d Situation Ethics","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Gatlin In Matthew 12:1-8 (and its parallel in Mark 2:23-28 and Luke 6:1-5) we have recorded a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath: \u201cAt that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/02\/PluckingGrain.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2474\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}