He Came Not to Destroy, But to Fulfil.

It is often said that Jesus came to establish something new, change his Fathers instructions or do away with them completely. However, according to Jesus himself, “he did not come to destroy the Torah or the Prophets, but to fulfil”.

“Fulfil” is the word “Pleroo” and when used in this context it means to make Gods word fully known, to reveal or to fully preach.

The best example we have of this is when Christ brings out the proper understanding of the Torah and the Prophets during his sermon on the mount.

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Before we dive into it one thing has to be made clear, the Jews in Jesus’s time lived under two separate laws: one being the Oral Law, and the other called the Written Law.

This is important because Christ makes a distinction between the two throughout his sermon:

“You have heard it said” - Oral Law (Pharisee)

“It is written” or “I say unto you” - Written Law (The Most High)

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Now let’s see what Christ is revealing in the sermon.

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

1. Notice “you have heard it said” which indicates that this is an oral law.

2. We also notice a modification to the commandment, it says “they shall be in danger of the judgment”. (meaning trial by a lesser court)

However this is wrong, what God’s Torah actually says is this:

“Thou shalt not kill.”

‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death.”

‭‭Leviticus‬ ‭24‬:‭17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

As you can see, the Pharisee changed this commandment, from put the man who kills to death; to put him on trial.

(And no, the Pharisee was not showing grace, it was purely for profit.)

As we look at the next verse it’s important to remember that Christ isn’t doing away with Exodus 20:13 and Leviticus 24:17, he’s bringing out the deeper understanding. Let’s check it out.

“but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭22‬ ‭KJV‬‬

1. If you’re “angry” with your brother for no reason you’ll be in danger of a trial by the Lesser Sanhedrin.

2. Whoever says “Raca” you will be in danger of the Great Sanhedrin.

3. BUT, whosoever says “Thou Fool” shall be in danger of hell fire (Gehenna).

Now, these words may seem trivial to us today but in the ancient Israelite culture they were what we would call “fighting words”.

We know that Christ never teaches outside of the Torah and Prophets, so where is he drawing inspiration from? Let’s check out a few examples.

In Genesis 4:4-8, we see how the jealousy of Cain led to anger, which ultimately caused him to murder his brother.

In 2 Samuel 6:16-23, we see Michal despised king David in her heart, calling him a vain fellow (raca - H7386), for that reason she brought a curse upon herself.

Christ teaches us to deal with sin where it starts, in the heart (mind). When it comes to murder he was showing us the emotional stages that leads up it.

Jealousy + Anger + Hatred = Murder

Shalom.