By Will Heydel
“Begin with the end in mind” is a phrase I like to use with people when they meet with me to discuss their next steps in faith. For example, if someone says they want to spend more time resting than doing, I will say, “Let’s begin with the end in mind. What would rest look like six months from now if you were resting?” Regarding the Mosaic law, I wonder what a Hebrew man, woman, or child would say was that law’s ultimate end or destination. There’s a good chance they would say shalom, or peace. In other words, the end in mind would be a person wholeheartedly devoted to God in mind, soul, and strength.
For years, God spoke to his people through the law and prophets. These were, as one commentator put it, “a spiritual guide for the people.” While the law was central for God’s people, “it was weakened by the flesh” (Romans 8:3). The law was necessary to reveal sin, but it was unable to rescue from sin, and therefore, incomplete. This is why Jesus says, “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). Christ was bringing all Old Testament prophecy to its fulfillment by being the complete revelation of God
In its wake, sin leaves us incomplete, divided at heart, and tempted to rely upon our self-righteous, broken effort to push our way into the kingdom Jesus was offering. Externally speaking, the Pharisees and teachers of the law didn’t miss a beat. People pointed at them and said, “That’s the standard!” yet they felt like they couldn’t measure up. Jesus showed up on the scene, rejected their self-righteousness, and said, “You must be born again”. That is, you must be reborn spiritually. Your heart is distant from God and divided.
Eyes began to turn away from the religious elite and toward Jesus. He was not just commanding us to live a certain way; He was fulfilling the way to God so that we can live in unity with Him. While Jesus wasn’t what they expected, He was the true end they had in mind. His fulfillment of the law is how we can look at Jesus and say with a trusting heart, “He is our Prince of Peace.” It’s not about the number of laws you have tried to keep, but the One who kept them perfectly and completely.
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