What does it mean for Jesus to fulfill the law?

Question

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says he didn't come to abolish the law or Prophets but to fulfill them. What does it mean to "fulfill the law"?

Answer 1

Some possible meanings:

1. The Old Testament - particularly the legal and sacrificial systems - are types (examples, shadows, mirrors) of Christ. In other words, they point to some aspect of His ministry or work.
2. From Paul's writings in Romans, the Law brings death so that we grasp the life found in Christ as both a satisfaction and a contrast.
3. The prophets pointed out many key indicators by which the Christ would be recognized or identified.
4. Some of Jesus' teachings were directly aimed at wrong practices or wrong interpretations that had accrued within the Jewish system. However, just because someone was using the Law or prophecies incorrectly does not mean that the underlying articles are invalid.
5. Possibly, He meant that He would be the only Person throughout history to fully and perfectly keep the Law.

Answer 2

To Fulfill

To fulfill the law means to complete it in every aspect. The Greek word is πληρῶσαι (lexical form πληρόω). Τελειόω is a synonym; it has a sense of bringing something to completeness in its end, in its finality. Πληρόω has the sense of to complete something in fullness. And this sense indeed applies to Jesus' fulfillment of the law: it was not a meager point-by-point legalistic accomplishment. It was a perfect, full, absolute, complete accomplishment.

The Law

This fullness of completeness is due to the fundamental nature of the law. Let's stay in the book of Matthew. If we are to talk about what law Jesus fulfilled, we must go to the passage in which he himself expresses what the law is.

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”

Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” —22:36-40

In its most fundamental aspect, then, Jesus' keeping of the law was his perfect, passionate, perpetual love of the Father, and his gracious, humble, compassionate love to sinners. This is certainly played out in a detailed way, as expressed in Galactic Cowboy's answer, but let us not loose sight of the fact that everything Jesus did was out of love for the Father.

It's all about communion.

Answer 3

"The law, having a shadow of the good things coming..." Hebrews 10.1

Jesus fulfills the prophecies which are hidden in the law.

The law says a clean animal is one which ruminates (meditates on the word) and that meditation produces a separated (holy) walk.

Jesus fulfills the prophecy contained in the law of the leper. His Father forsook him (shaved head), his prayer (remove this cup) was not answered (covered lip). He bore our sin completely (leper covered completely with sin) and became our high priest (ceremony of cleansing like the one for priests).

He fulfills the law of murdering by killing without becoming culpable of murder by laying down his own life in love for us.

He fulfills all the law of sacrifices since they are all types of his sacrifice.

He fulfills the law of lying by lying without becoming culpable of sin by speaking in parables.

He 'does not honor his parents' when he was twelve without sinning by 'being about His Father's business'.

He comes as the thief in the night.

All the law has a shadow which is fulfilled in Christ.

Answer 4

I've always thought "fulfill the Law" referred to the death and resurrection of Christ. In the sense that, it was the Law that condemns us, and it is faith that justifies us. In other words, God had always intended that the Law be perfected/completed/revealed in Christ.

Galatians 3:23-25 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

That said, in studying this question I came across a few verses that have me wondering if there is more to what "fulfill the law" means than what I've thought...

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

Galatians 5:14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I'll need to chew on that and am looking forward to somebody else shedding light.