Date

7-22-2025

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Master of Arts in Biblical Languages (MA)

Chair

Sorin Sabou

Keywords

Matt 5:17, Matthew 5:17, πληρόω, fulfillment, John 7:8, John 13:18, John 15:11, John 15:25, John 16:6, John 16:24, John 17:12, John 17:13, Luke 4:21, Luke 21:24, Luke 22:16, Luke 24:44, Mark 1:15, Mark 14:49, Matthew 3:15, Matthew 13:48, Matthew 23:32, Matthew 26:54, Matthew 26:56, Law, Law and Gospel, Law and Church, Law and Christian, Torah, Discourses of Jesus, Sayings of Jesus, Law abolished, Law abolition

Disciplines

Christianity | Practical Theology

Abstract

One of the central questions of the church with respect to Christian orthopraxy, or right living, concerns the relationship between the Christian and the Old Testament (OT) Law. Historically, the church has not obeyed many commands clearly laid out in the OT, such as observing a seventh-day Sabbath, the dietary laws, and other laws that perhaps are viewed as cultural more than didactic. Christians understand the OT to be inspired Scripture, and these commands to be genuine orders of God, so the question of why the church has historically ignored these commands is easily raised. While answers to this question vary widely, most revolve around the central theme that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ brought about substantial changes in Christian orthopraxy, reducing the relevance of a sizeable portion of the OT Law for the church. In this line of argument, one of the main passages referenced is Matt. 5:17. With its statement that Jesus came to fulfill the OT, the verse is traditionally understood by the church to mean that Jesus brought the Law to a divinely ordained close, reducing the relevance of the Law for the church. However, a few scholars of varying persuasions, mostly Messianic Jews and Pronomian Christians, have challenged this view, and among other passages they cite Matt. 5:17 to prove the exact opposite point, arguing that the OT Law should, in fact, form the core of Christian orthopraxy. This study offers a key piece of evidence regarding this larger dispute by conducting an analysis of the Greek word normally translated as “fulfill” in Matt 5:17, and considering the other uses of this verb in the discourses of Jesus to find the most likely meaning in Matt 5:17. Based on the evidence of this study, which suggests that the traditional interpretation of Matt 5:17 is unlikely to reflect Jesus’ true intention, the relevance of the Law for the Christian church is revealed.

Download

Share

COinS