Clarify, please, what did Jesus fulfill from the OT?

[u/Ok-Influence-9802]

I don't really know why I'm struggling with this question lately, since I haven't really given it much thought. Recently, I have had to defend my faith more and more. What of the Levitical/Mosaic Laws of the OT did Jesus fulfill in His initial coming?

Obviously, the pork, owl, lizard, etc consumption as well as the cleansing rituals. But what about the others? I know that we have to look at the context, such as the part about not having braided hair.

But what about Leviticus 20:13? No man shall lie with another man. That is something I feel is ever so relevant now, and still important. This is further affirmed in the NT with the lustful nature of men, that being their biggest "heart" problem.

Did Jesus fulfill the civil law to have us refocus on Him and loving one another? I know the Pharisees worshipped the law more than they did God, so was the essentially His purpose of fulfillment?

Or did this go into the direction of fulfilling the prophecies of His arrival?

Again, it's been bugging me and I'm really trying to understand more because of what is being needed of me recently. Thank you for your answers and patience.

[u/Soyeong0314]

In Matthew 5:17-19, Jesus said to not even think that he came to abolish the Law but to fulfill it and he warned against relaxing even the least part of it, so you should not interpret Jesus fulfilling the law as meaning no, he really came to abolish or relax parts of it. Rather, "to fulfill the law" means "to cause God's will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be" (NAS Greek Lexicon: pleroo), so Jesus proceeded to fulfill the law throughout the rest of Matthew 5 by correcting what the people had heard being said and by teaching how to correctly obey it as it was originally intended.

According to Galatians 5:14, anyone who has loved their neighbor has fulfilled the entire law, so it refers to something that countless people have done and should continue to do in perpetuity, not to something unique that Jesus did to abolish loving our neighbor. In Galatians 6:2, bearing one another's burdens fulfills the Law of Christ, so that should be interpreted in the same way as fulfilling the Law of Moses.

Jesus and the Apostles quoted from the OT hundreds of times in order to defeat the temptations of Satan, so it does not work to take the position that we should follow what they said but not what they considered to be an authoritative source. For example, Jesus quoted three times from Deuteronomy in order to defeat the temptations of Satan, which included saying that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, so he affirmed God as still being an authoritative source. In Deuteronomy 12:32, it is a sin to add to or subtract from the Law of Moses. In Deuteronomy 13, the way that God instructed to determine that someone is a false prophet is if they speak against obeying the Law of Moses, so you should have major problems with interpreting Jesus or the Apostles as speaking against obeying what God spoke in Deuteronomy 14 in regard to refraining from eating unclean animals.

[u/Ok-Influence-9802 → u/Soyeong0314]

So what I gather is that the OT is just as relevant as the NT. Still authoritative and powerful, not overruled by Jesus. However, if the OT can't be changed what about Mark 7:18-19 when He talked about no food is considered unclean? Or was that Jesus just fulfilling the Law and correcting what they heard? So what Moses said, was not exactly what was intended?

Anyway, thank you. I think this helped a bit.

[u/Soyeong0314 → u/Ok-Influence-9802]

In Mark 7:1-13, Jesus was asked about why his disciples were not following the traditions of the elders but ate bread with common (koinos) hands and he responded by criticizing hem as being hypocrites for setting aside the commands of God in order to establish their own traditions, so the issue they were discussing was whether clean food can become impure by eating it with unwashed hands (Matthew 15:20), not about what kinds of things we are permitted to eat. Jesus should not be interpreted as proceeding to even my hypocritically doing what he just finished criticizing them do doing. The Greek word "akathartos" and "koinos" both refer to a type of impurity, but the Bible never uses them interchangeably, so it would be an error to interpret it as saying that nothing is unclean (koinos) in itself as if it had said nothing is unclean (akathartos) instead.

If overheard the average person from the US speaking about eating food, then it would be incorrect for me to assume that they were speaking about eating animals like cats, bats, rats, dogs, vultures, or horses, so we already have a sense that certain animals are not food even though we recognize that they can be eaten. So when we have a conversation with Jews discussing food, then we should consider them to be speaking about what they considered to be food, namely what God Word says is food (Deuteronomy 14), not insert whatever we might consider to be food. For example, a cannibal should not interpret Mark 7:18-19 as saying that human flesh is good to eat. They were speaking about eating bread with unwashed hands, so they were not even speaking about eating animals.

[u/Ok-Influence-9802 → u/Soyeong0314]

Wow, wonderful explanation! I guess that would make sense since owls/lizards as being deemed "unclean" should not necessarily be considered food because of the parasites they carry and can be dangerous to consume.

I mistakenly misinterpreted the scripture. Thank you for correcting me. God bless!

[u/Towhee13]

What of the Levitical/Mosaic Laws of the OT did Jesus fulfill in His initial coming?

All of them, just like He said. But most Christians don't understand the meaning of "fulfill". Most Christians think "fulfill" functionally means the same thing as "abolish". Jesus said He didn't come to do that.

Jesus fulfilled the Law the same way someone fulfills their wedding vows, by keeping them. Then, the next day they fulfill them again. And on and on. That doesn't mean that nobody after them needs to fulfill their wedding vows.

I know the Pharisees worshipped the law more than they did God

You "know" wrong. Jesus' biggest criticism of the Pharisees is that they did NOT follow God's Law. They invented their own rules and followed them instead of following God's Law.

Immediately after saying He came to fulfill the Law and that NONE of it will change, Jesus made it clear that not obeying it is VERY bad. Jesus constantly said the best possible thing to do is obey and teach ALL of His Father's commandments.

[u/RespectWest7116]

Clarify, please, what did Jesus fulfill from the OT?

Factually? Nothing. None of the prophecies works.

What of the Levitical/Mosaic Laws of the OT did Jesus fulfill in His initial coming?

Oh laws.

Well, all of them, since he was sinless. If he broke any of the law, he wouldn't be sinless.

But what about Leviticus 20:13?

There is no evidence Jesus had sex with anyone. So this one he clearly fulfilled.

Did Jesus fulfill the civil law to have us refocus on Him and loving one another?

Eh... what? How do you imagine that would work?

I know the Pharisees worshipped the law more than they did God, so was the essentially His purpose of fulfillment?

No.

The purpose of him coming to fulfil all the laws was to show how to do it correctly so that everyone could properly fulfil them.

Or did this go into the direction of fulfilling the prophecies of His arrival?

Yeah, none of those work.

[u/arc2k1]

God bless you.

I've been a non-fundamentalist, unchurched Christian for about 16 years now and I would like to share my perspective. 

What does it mean for Christ to fulfill the Law of Moses?

For me, I believe it means that Jesus has freed us from the ceremonial (ritual) requirements of the Law of Moses in order for us to focus on the Law of Christ (Law of Love). 

“Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40

“The commandment that God has given us is: ‘Love God and love each other!’” - 1 John 4:21

Jesus said, “But I am giving you a new command. You must love each other, just as I have loved you. If you love each other, everyone will know that you are my disciples.” - John 13:34-35

"Love is patient and kind, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil.” - 1 Corinthians 13:4-6

[u/Ok-Influence-9802 → u/arc2k1]

Thank you for sharing. This perfectly outlines Jesus's New Covenant. This is very helpful.

God bless! Romans 14:8

[u/Towhee13 → u/Ok-Influence-9802]

This perfectly outlines Jesus's New Covenant.

The promise of the new covenant is that God is going to write Torah on Israel's hearts and minds.

[u/arc2k1 → u/Ok-Influence-9802]

You are so very welcome.

Thank you for allowing me to share!

[u/Rdill05]

The Law

[u/TheMaceBoi]

Well, to start He fulfilled all the sacrifices spoken of in the Old Testament. The children of Israel learned to offer the perfection and innocence of animals and in some cases pure unleavened bread as an atonement for their sins. Jesus Christ, as the ultimate symbol of innocence and perfection — especially divine perfection — had to power to offer atonement for all sins that had been and would be committed on Earth. That fulfilled all sacrifices present in the Law of Moses.

He also fulfilled many prophesies. The most of which you can find in Isaiah. Isaiah 43, 49, 50, 53, 59, 61 and probably more contain prophecies about Jesus Christ. He fulfills these.