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what were the common Jewish understandings of 'the law and the prophets' in jesus' day?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Matthew 5:17-18

“Don’t think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy, but to fulfill. For most certainly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle will in any way pass away from the Law, until all things are accomplished.”

Jesus is giving what's known as the Sermon on the Mount, speaking to his disciples and a large crowd. This passage comes early in the sermon, where he is setting out the principles of his teaching and how it relates to the existing Jewish scriptures and traditions.

What does 'fulfillment' mean to you in light of something you value deeply?

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Read alongside it

  • Luke 24:44

    Jesus explicitly refers to 'the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms' as pointing to him.

  • Acts 28:23

    Paul, while in Rome, tried to persuade people about Jesus 'both from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets.'

  • Romans 3:21

    Paul speaks of 'the righteousness of God... being testified by the Law and the Prophets.'

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