I am thinking this morning that some of the conversation about Christ and the Law have resulted in through developments in English language regarding the word “fulfilled.” The Greek word, used in the New Testament, carried the idea of “bringing something into its fullest expression.” Over time, we have seen “fullfilling” as meaning that something is over, done, and replaced. Granted, the writer to the Hebrews does speak of the former covenant as being nearly obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) but that will warrant a whole other post. For now, the language of Christ’s fulfilling the Law carries the idea in the mind of some English speakers, that because of him the Law is over, done and replaced. If we don’t word it that strongly, we might at least move away from the idea that in Christ the Law has been brought to its fullest expression, even though that is how He, himself seems to be using the word in Matthew 5-6. And yet there is a sense of the Law being fulfilled in that our relationship with the Law has changed. The writer to the Hebrews speaks of Jesus as a better priest, of a heavenly sanctuary, and a mediator of a better covenant with better promises and better sacrifices. Why would all these things exist or be argued if the Law were no longer in place? I would like to suggest that an aspect of what Christ has done for us can be expressed in the word “subsumed.” To subsume is to “take up into a larger category.” I am hoping to have some push back on this, since I have heard the word used in this context but it seems apt. If I understand the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews correctly, he is saying Christ has taken into Himself, in the heavenly sanctuary, all the functions of the priesthood and sacrificial system. Not that these things have ended. Though we no longer do them, they are being done for us by the continuing work of Christ. In this way, Christ, in his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension into the heavenly realms has subsumed aspects of the Law into Himself. What do you think of this wording?
Leave a Reply