It is not uncommon for curious seekers to find arguments that teach that the Mosaic Law and the Ten Commandments are identical and equal. One popular website even states, “It is frequently argued that if Jesus did not ‘abolish’ the law, then it must still be binding. Accordingly, such components as the Sabbath-day requirement must be operative still, along with perhaps numerous other elements of the Mosaic Law.

Did Christ teach that the Sabbath was not binding in this passage from Matthew?

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (5:17–19).

Many assert that this text teaches Christ abolished the law of the Ten Commandments—that when Jesus came to earth and died for us, He somehow “did away” with the requirement to keep God’s laws. After all, the Bible says we are saved by faith, not by keeping the law.

But the very text used to support the idea that God’s moral law was tossed on the trash heap does just the opposite. The objection that Christ, in fulfilling the moral law, abolished it is a mere assertion. Yet, five times it is squarely contradicted by the Savior in this very text.

First, Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.” Christ certainly did no do the very thing that He came not to do.

Want to know more? Read the other four points by clicking this link!