Monday, February 13, 2012

Jesus fulfilled the Law & the Prophets - Part 1 - Matt. 1-15

I am starting a study - verse by verse, chapter by chapter, book by book - to see how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament (the Law & the Prophets) and how the new covenant has replaced the old covenant. Here are some of my notes.

  • Matt. 1:22-23 - fulfillment of Isa. 7:14
  • Matt. 2:4-6 - fulfillment of Micah 5:2
  • Matt. 2:15 - fulfillment of Hosea 11:1
  • Matt. 2:17-18 - fulfillment of Jer. 31:15
  • Matt. 2:23 - fulfillment of "He will be called a Nazarene."
  • Matt. 3:1-3 - fulfillment of Isa. 40:3
  • Matt. 3:15 - "Jesus replied, 'Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. (This was pertaining to Jesus' baptism)
  • Matt. 4:12-16 - fulfillment of Is. 9:1-2
  • Matt. 5:17-20 - "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. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Jesus isn't destroying them - but He is fulfilling/completing them. Their purpose was to point to Him, and He has fulfilled their requirements.
  • He then goes on in the rest of Matthew 5 to teach a new way. Note that He views the law as a whole (the 10 Commandments as well as the other laws). He starts each section by saying things like, "You have heard that it was said," or "It has been said" or "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago..." And then He lists certain laws that God gave to the Israelites in the law - Do not murder (Ex. 20:13), do not commit adultery (Ex. 20:14), anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce (Deut. 24:1), and eye for an eye (Ex. 21:24, Lev. 24:20, Deut. 19:21), love your neighbor (Lev. 19:18). He replaces those commands with His commands - "But I tell you..." Those were the laws that God had given through Moses for the Children of Israel, but Jesus was changing them. Jesus gave a completely new set of guidelines for those who were listening to Him. He goes from Matt. 5 through 7.
  • Matt. 7:12 - "So in everything, do to others what you would have them to do you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." If we love we don't need a list of rules. Not only will we not kill people (which only a few people do this), but we won't even hate others. Better yet, we'll love them and be compelled to help them.
  • Matt. 7:29 - "teachers of the law" (the law was viewed as a whole)
  • Matt. 8:1-4 - Jesus healed a leper and then commanded the man to offer the gift that Moses commanded (remember, the law came from God thru Moses. While Jesus was here, He started the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant. The new covenant began at Jesus' death, but Jesus was born under the law and kept it Himself).
  • Matt. 8:17 - fulfillment of Isa. 53:4
  • Matt. 9:12 - Jesus quotes from Hos. 6:6
  • Matt. 10:35-36 - Jesus fulfilled Mic. 7:6
  • Matt. 11:10 - fulfillment of Mal. 3:1
  • Matt. 11:13 - "For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John."
  • Matt. 11 ends and Matt. 12 begins talking about rest. In Matt. 11:28-30, Jesus says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Chapter 12 starts of by saying, "At that time..." then goes into the story about Jesus and the disciples picking grain on the Sabbath and Jesus healing a man with a shriveled hand on the Sabbath. Jesus then compares what they did to King David & his friends eating consecrated bread (which broke the laws that God had given the Israelites). He also compared it to the priests in the temple breaking the Sabbath to fulfill what was required of them by law and saying they were innocent of breaking the Sabbath. In verse 6, Jesus says that He is more important the the temple. And in verse 8, Jesus said that He is Lord of the Sabbath - just as He is Lord over everything He has made! The Sabbath was symbolic of the rest we have in Jesus.
  • Matt. 12:15-21 - fulfillment of Is. 42:1-4
  • Matt. 12:38 - "teachers of the law"
  • Matt. 12:39-42 - Jesus compares Himself to Jonah & Solomon
  • Matt. 13:13-15 - fulfillment of Is. 6:9-10
  • Matt. 13:34-35 - fulfillment of Psalm 78:2
  • Matt. 15:1 - "teachers of the law"
  • Matt. 15:1-9 - Jesus says that the Pharisees and teachers of the law are breaking God's laws and keeping their own. Among what Jesus says are "the command of God" and "the word of God" are - "Honor your father and mother" (Ex. 20:12 & Deut. 5:16) and "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death" (Ex. 21:17, Lev. 20:9). They are both from "the law", although they are not both part of the 10 Commandments.
  • Matt. 15:7-9 - fulfillment of Isa. 29:13
  • Matt. 15:10-20 Jesus talks about the "clean/unclean" laws. He says, "What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean." (verse 11) Verses 17-20 describe it even more - "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.'" The clean/unclean laws given to the Israelites were symbolic, just like most other things given to them.

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