One need not to look further than this verse itself to see that such an interpretation is incorrect, as:
The word plerosai (fulfill) DOES NOT mean to "do away with" or to "overthrow‖.
The word katalusai (destroy) DOES mean to "do away with" or to "overthrow‖, and Y‘shua said He did NOT
come to do that.
Y‘shua tells us to not even THINK he came to destroy the law or prophets, let alone believe it! If you say that
He came to abolish the law, then you are saying He came to destroy. Well, that‘s what Satan does! A more
accurate meaning of ―fulfill‖ here is to "obey". For instance, if I told my daughter to do something and she did
it, then she has "fulfilled" or obeyed my request. Here is an instance of Y‘shua fulfilling something:
―(16) And evening having come on, they brought to Him many having been possessed by demons. And He
cast out the spirits by a word, and He healed all those having illness, (17) so that it might be fulfilled that
spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, He took upon Himself our weaknesses, and bore our
sicknesses‖. (Matt 8:16-17 LITV)
You see, Y‘shua ―fulfilled‖ or "obeyed" the Scripture that was speaking of Him. He also obeyed the law. We
should do likewise.
Y‟shua the law keeperFor many centuries, most Christians have been taught that there is dramatic discontinuity between the Old
and New Covenants, between "Law" and "Grace‖, and between Israel and the Church. While there are
distinct and greater advantages to the New Covenant instituted by Messiah Y‘shua, there is also much
continuity between Old and New Covenants. There is grace in the Torah, and there are laws and commands
in the New Covenant. There are differences between Israel and the Church, but there is a lot of overlap as
well. If you have ever heard people express thoughts like, "Christians should not be concerned with the Old
Testament‖, then I encourage you to consider the following:
The Founder of the Faith, Messiah Y‘shua, was Himself very Jewish. Y‘shua was a Sabra (a native-born
Israeli). Since He was born from the tribe of Judah and is a descendant of King David, He is Jewish royalty.
He was circumcised on the eighth day. He was given a Jewish name – Y‘shua. Godly parents raised him in a
pious Jewish home. He regularly went to synagogue, as was His custom (Luke 4:16). The life He lived was
that of an observant Jew who kept the Torah (Gal 4:4). He was able to say, "Which of you convicts Me of
sin?" because He never sinned by breaking the commandments of the Torah. Messiah Y‘shua taught that He
fulfilled, not set aside, the Torah (Matt 5:17-19).
Orthodox scholar Pinchas Lapide made this observation: "Jesus never and no where broke the law of
Moses, nor did he in any way provoke its infringement - it is entirely false to say that he did... In this respect
you must believe me, for I do know my Talmud more or less... This Jesus was as faithful to the law as I
would hope to be. But I suspect that Jesus was more faithful to the law than I am - and I am an Orthodox
Jew‖. (Dr. John Fischer, "Foundations of Messianic Theology: Following In Yeshua's Steps?", page 14.)
See Matt 23:30-34 under ―The Death of the Prophets‖ for the explanation on ―Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets...‖
5:18 Jot or Tittle
―For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled‖.
Furthermore, Y‘shua then goes on to emphasise in verse 18, that not even the tiniest part of the Torah (the
"Law") is done away with—and won't be until the heavens and the earth are no more.
Not even the most insignificant change in the sacred Scriptures was permissible, according to the Saviour.
The Hebrew yod, ―jot‖ (in Greek it is the iota) was the smallest Hebrew letter. The ―tittle‖ was the small
projection on the stroke of a letter which distinguished one Hebrew letter from another (Hebrew = kotz).
Where does one find those original 613 commandments?
They come straight from the Torah. You can see these commandments in sprinkled throughout the Torah in
places such as Gen 26:2-5; Exod 15:25-27; Exod 16; Exod 20:6; Lev 22, 26, 27; Num 15, 36; Deut 4-8, 10,
11, 13, 26- 28 , 30, 31. See chapter 5 of this study for the details.