Sermon Snippet – Jesus Fulfills and Fills
INTRODUCTION – Some of you may remember the Sunday school song “Let’s Talk about Jesus.” Today, let us speak about the Savior and find that He both fulfills and fills.
1. THE ABSOLUTE STATEMENTS OF THE SAVIOR MUST BE TAKEN ABSOLUTELY
Early in His public ministry, Jesus stated that He fulfilled the entire Old Testament (the meaning of “the law, or the prophets” in Matthew 5:17-18). Impeccable in His character, Jesus kept all of the requirements of Scripture, “for we have not an high priest [Who] cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:16 – see also II Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 7:26; and I Peter 1:18-19 and 2:22). Additionally, all of the Old Testament points us to the promise of the Messiah, with passages such as Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, Micah 5:2, and Zechariah 9:9 providing startling specifics centuries in advance of the earthly ministry of our Lord. Jesus confirmed the complete accuracy of the Old Testament in Matthew 11:13 and Luke 16:16, again using the same terminology of the Law and the Prophets to indicate that all of the Old Testament is important. I remember a conversation with a seminary graduate, an ordained minister, who disdained both the historicity and necessity of the Old Testament. People like him are “double minded” (James 1:8 – literally, “double souled”) and thus “unstable in all [their] ways.” Such cavalier dismissal of the centrality of the Old Testament to the Christian faith creates the further problem of having to reject the New Testament passages that we have considered today. Logically, it would further mean the casting aside of Matthew 7:12 (the Golden Rule) and Matthew 22:34-40 (Jesus’ clear teaching regarding the two greatest commandments, which together encompass all of the Christian life), both of which employ the same language of “the law and the prophets.” I often say that we do not get to pick and choose what Scripture we believe. First, why would we want to discard any of God’s Word? Second, Jesus directly connects the New Testament to the Old. No verse exists alone.
2. THE ABSOLUTE STATEMENTS OF THE SAVIOR MUST BE TAKEN PERSONALLY
John 1:45 is a fine illustration of this point: “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, ‘We have found Him, of Whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’” Both Philip and Nathanael (likely also named Bartholomew, one of the twelve disciples listed in Matthew 10:2-4; he is also linked with Philip there) had to decide individually if following Jesus was the correct choice. The theological statement of Romans 3:21 follows logically: “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” This “righteousness” reveals the status of Jesus, God the Son, in relation to God the Father. It is also His gift to us, for He makes all believers righteous with His righteousness (Romans 3:22-26). The key point of verse 21 is that without the Old Testament and Jesus’ fulfillment of it, we would not have this righteousness made available to us. This one sentence of Scripture becomes a pivot point for the book of Romans – really, for the entire New Testament.
CONCLUSION – The New Testament teaching is that the Old Testament is authoritative. Jesus’ fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets is a key reason to believe in Him. It is also the basis for His filling of each believer with righteousness. Thus, Jesus both fulfills all righteousness and fills each Christian with that righteousness. May each of us trust in Jesus as Savior. May each of us then value the entire Word of God.