Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
John 19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
That's pretty simple, isn't it?
Thanks for posting the verses.
I wish it was as simple as you make it sound, but we have to remember:
Revelation 12:9
9 The huge dragon was hurled down. That ancient serpent, called the Devil and Satan, the
deceiver of the whole world, was hurled down to the earth, along with its angels.
I believe there is a lot of confusion around John 19 and Matthew 5 because of church tradition and language/translation.
There are four words that are found in these sections that are similar, but do not always convey the same message when used interchangeably....
Fulfill, Come to be/Came to be, Finish and Accomplish.
The word
fulfill is the most distinct of the four, and means "
to carry into effect" or "
to make whole". This commonly refers to something that was said will happen (hence prophesy), and to make that prophesy happen is to "
fulfill" it.
That is the Greek word found at the end of Matthew 5:17:
Matthew 5:17
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy them, but to
fulfill them,
This is also the same word found in Luke 24:44:
Luke 24:44
44 Then he told them, “These are the words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be
fulfilled.”
The same Greek word can
not be found in John 19:28-30, but rather you see the words that are generally translated as
finish and
accomplish. So I believe those words in that passage should be translated something like this...
John 19:28-30
28 After this, when Jesus realized that everything was now
finished, he said (in order to
accomplish the Scripture), “I’m thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was standing there, so they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. 30 After Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “
It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
Now the fact that the same word for "fulfill" is not specifically mentioned in this passage of John does not necessarily mean that this is not where the Messiah "fulfills" the law..... However, as we just saw in Luke 24:44,
everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms had to be fulfilled. So the question is, do you believe that there is no prophesies about the Messiah's second coming in those writings?
Why isn't it a possibility that "it is finished" in John 28:30 can't just be referring to the Messiah's role in the flesh? Or what about the possibilty that he was just referring to the scripture he accomplished from verse 28?
For the sake of argument, let's just say that the law was "fulfilled" here at the Messiah's death and there aren't still components of law to be fulfilled at the second coming.... We still have an issue in Mathew 5.
Now this is a literal translation, so it may look a little weird; but I'm only using it to point out two words...
Matthew 5:17-18
Young's Literal Translation
17 `Do not suppose that I came to throw down the law or the prophets -- I did not come to throw down, but to
fulfill;
18 for, verily I say to you, till that the heaven and the earth may pass away, one iota or one tittle may not pass away from the law, till that all may
come to pass.
Now the KJV uses the word "fulfil" in both verses when it is not the same Greek word. Why is this important? Because it helps us understand that "
fulfilling" the law in verse 17 is not the same as all "
coming to pass" in verse 18... which needs to happen in order for the law to pass away.
When you look for the same words in their original language in scripture, everything starts to line up. Both Luke 16:17 and Mathew 5:18 say that none of the law will disappear until "
heaven and earth pass". So where in scripture can we find heaven and earth passing as well as the same word in Greek that the KJV translated as "
fulfill" in Mathew 5:18??? :
Revelation 21:1-6
21 Then I saw a
new heaven and a new earth, because
the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared, and the sea was gone. 2 I also saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 I heard a loud voice from the throne say,
“See, the tent of God is among humans!
He will make his home with them,
and they will be his people.
God himself will be with them,
and he will be their God.
4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes.
There won’t be death anymore.
There won’t be any grief, crying, or pain,
because the first things have disappeared.”
5 The one sitting on the throne said, “See,
I am making all things new!”
He said, “Write this: ‘These words are trustworthy and true.’”
6 Then he told me, “
It has happened! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give a drink from the spring of the water of life to the one who is thirsty.
Where it says "
it has happened" is the same Greek word used in Mathew 5:18. This passage in Revelation fulfills that verse, not John 19:28-30.
To "fulfil the law" means to make it whole by carrying out what it says.... It does not mean to remove it or replace it. That will happen at the second coming as stated in Rev 21:1-6.