Fulfill vs. Destroy

When something isn’t working well or has outlived its usefulness, it may be tempting to “burn down the house:” to throw away the existing processes and structures and start from scratch. It might seem invigorating to say, “Out with the old, and in with the new.” You might feel like a pioneer or an innovator, breaking new ground and outshining the people who have preceded you.

You might have heard that Jesus introduced a higher law which superseded the Law of Moses. But that is not how He described it. He didn’t abolish the prior law; He brought it to fruition:

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

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.

3 Nephi 12:17-18, Matthew 5:17-18

When He made that statement in the Americas after His death and resurrection, some of His listeners were confused. What did His coming mean for the scriptures and the religious practices they were accustomed to? Jesus explained:

The law is fulfilled that was given unto Moses….

Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end.

Behold, I do not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled. …

The covenant which I have made with my people is not all fulfilled; but the law which was given unto Moses hath an end in me.

3 Nephi 15:4-6, 8

To fulfill a law means to comply with it. Some practices specified in the Law of Moses were anticipatory, turning the minds and hearts of the people toward the Savior’s future sacrifice. In that sense, He fulfilled the law by completing the action that the law foreshadowed.

But even then, He didn’t brush aside the law as if it were no longer relevant. “One jot or one tittle,” He said, will not disappear. The word translated “jot” is iota (ι), which is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet. “Tittle” is a translation of keraia (κεραία), which is a tiny mark that distinguishes one letter from another. The point is that, when it comes to the law, Jesus cares about the details. He will comply with it until its demands are entirely met.

Interesting then, that He follows this declaration with a call for His disciples to demonstrate similar conscientiousness:

I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.

3 Nephi 15:9

Enduring to the end doesn’t mean surviving. It means flourishing. It means following the Savior’s guidance and receiving His grace until you become complete, until you are fulfilled. We don’t neglect or ignore the law; we strive to fulfill it, and in that striving we grow closer to the Lawgiver and become more like Him.

Today, I will strive to follow the Savior’s example of conscientiousness in fulfilling the law. I will strive for incremental improvement, knowing that the law points me toward a perfection or completeness which the Savior can eventually help me attain.