Bible: Jesus & The Law

As stated in the previous article, Paul preached that when Jesus died the requirement for his followers to uphold the Law of the Torah was abolished, and that it was faith in Paul’s understanding of Jesus’ function that would determine whether one would be admitted into Paradise. The focus of this article is to show that Jesus, according to the Gospels, preached to his followers to uphold the Law of the written Torah.

Fulfillment of the Law

One of the strongest verses in the Gospels confirming that Jesus did not want his followers to abandon the law can be found in the following passage in Matthew 5. In this passage, Jesus uses incredibly strict language, saying that he did not come to abolish the law, but for people to follow the law without the least bit of relaxation.

17  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.  18  For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  19  Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  20  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5