Jesus Promised He's All You Need

​Jesus Promised He’s All You Need
 
Matthew 5:17-18 “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. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
 
HOW do you receive Jesus’ promise? If you consider the Law and the Prophets’ words as restrictive rules and judgment, you may see Jesus’ ministry in the same way. His teaching require a constant pursuit of God’s holiness. Who can do that?
   Or you may see Jesus’ promise as God’s bold statement that you can, indeed, live into the Bible’s truths. You might rejoice that one day the Law and the Prophets will become the standard for all people in the Kingdom of God.
   If Jesus had abolished the Law or changed one letter of a word, what point would there be to read, study and know what is spoken in the Old Testament? If he had removed the Prophets’ words, he would have been saying, “The LORD had no part in what happened before me.” We thank God the evidence of Jesus’ Lordship comes through our understanding of the Law and the Prophets’ words.
   For example, we see the illustrations of Jesus’ atoning death in the sacrificial laws. We also learn of Jesus’ expected humility, power, suffering and triumph in Daniel, Isaiah, Micah and others.
   Before Jesus’ incarnation, the Law and the Prophets were words to guide Israel’s religious and cultural life. Those words gave hope to the faithful. When Jesus came, the words became the Living Word. The faithful, inspired students of Scripture in Jesus’ time could exclaim as the disciple Philip, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the Prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)
   How different Jesus’ ministry would have been if the Jews had truly believed Jesus’ promise and Philip’s confession. What joy and celebration would have exploded throughout Judea if all had confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:16) And how eager they would have been to learn and submit to Jesus if they had recognized he is the transcendant God who came to his own: John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. Instead, the ruling Jews saw the Living Word as a threat to their self-serving laws. The Jews had killed the prophets, and they killed the One the Prophets proclaimed.
   Does your faith trust that Jesus’ teachings are enough for you? Or are you looking for something more – or less – from Jesus? Jesus has promised he completed God’s Word. His words do require a constant pursuit of God’s holiness. What joy to know you can do that when you know Jesus is all you must know.   
 
John 15:3-4 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.