January 28, 2026 - Fulfilling the Law and the Prophets
When we discuss the Sermon on the Mount, there’s significant debate about who this message is meant for. Is Jesus speaking to Israel, talking about himself, or addressing the church? The answer is yes—all three.
The Sermon on the Mount primarily addresses Israel. Jesus is urging Israel to fulfill its purpose—to be salt and light to the world. When Israel fails in this mission, Jesus steps in to fulfill it himself. Likewise, the church, aiming to follow Christ’s example, adopts this same mission.
One of the main themes of the sermon is that Jesus has come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matt 5:17).
Jesus was often accused of breaking the law during his ministry, but this usually meant challenging the Pharisees’ interpretation rather than the Mosaic Law itself. However, if we ask, “What does Jesus mean by ‘fulfill them?’” we might receive a different answer than we expect.
Jesus doesn’t mean fulfill in the way we think of prophecy and fulfillment. He’s talking about Israel’s vocation—and his own—to obey or fulfill the law and thus be salt and light in this world. This meaning becomes clearer at the end of the sermon.
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matt 7:12).
Jesus’s entire moral ethic is summarized in this one verse. At its core, the law wasn’t about individual commands but about this fundamental principle: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
This ethic conflicts with our most natural instincts. As finite creatures whose instincts are governed by the lowest parts of our brains, we are naturally wired for self-preservation—to have our own needs and desires fulfilled and to prioritize ourselves. To do unto others as we would have them do unto us means to turn ourselves inside out. It requires honestly and realistically facing our basic needs and desires, and wishing them for others rather than ourselves.
The ethic of Jesus isn’t just counter-cultural. It’s counter-instinctual, which is why he called his disciples to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him.
If we could live like this—even in small ways—then we fulfill Israel and Christ’s vocation to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world.
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored?” (Matt 5:13).
In the ancient world, salt was used for preservation. There’s a recurring theme in the Bible that the righteous serve as a reason for God to hold back judgment on the world. That’s one of the reasons why God chose one family and gave them his law—so there would be a people to be the salt of the earth.
And just as Israel was called to be the salt of the earth, it was also called to be the light of the world. Jesus says that this shining, this radiance by which the world will come to know the true God of Israel, happens when God’s people fulfill the law and the prophets by doing unto others as they would have done unto them.
So ask yourself: Where can you practice this ethic today? Who in your life needs you to give your best for them, just as you would for yourself? That’s what it looks like to be salt and light in this world and to fulfill the Law and the Prophets.