Abolish / Fulfill

Did Jesus Abolish the Torah?

What “Abolish” and “Fulfill” Really Mean in Matthew 5

Few passages have shaped Christian theology more profoundly—and more problematically—than Matthew 5:17–19. In just three verses, Yeshua addresses the Torah, the Prophets, the future of God’s commandments, and the responsibility of teachers. How these words are understood determines whether the Hebrew Scriptures are read as a living foundation or as a relic surpassed by something new.

Yeshua begins with a warning: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets.” The fact that He has to say this tells us something important. Whatever He is about to explain could easily be misunderstood as abolition if taken out of context. So He names the misunderstanding first—and then rejects it.

To understand why, we must look closely at the language He uses.

“Abolish” — kataluō (καταλύω)

The Greek word translated “abolish” in Matthew 5:17 is kataluō. It does not mean “complete” or “bring to fulfillment.” It means to tear down, dismantle, overthrow, or destroy.

This word is used elsewhere in the New Testament in very concrete ways. In Matthew 26:61, false witnesses accuse Yeshua of saying He would destroy (kataluō) the Temple. In Acts 6:14, Stephen is accused of teaching against Moses and claiming that Yeshua would destroy (kataluō) the Temple and change the customs handed down by Moses. In Galatians 2:18, Paul uses the word metaphorically: “If I rebuild what I tore down (kataluō), I prove myself a transgressor.”

In every case, kataluō refers to demolition, not transition. It is not the language of fulfillment but of removal. When Yeshua says He did not come to kataluō the Torah, He is explicitly denying that He came to dismantle, invalidate, or overthrow it.

That point alone should set firm boundaries on how “fulfill” can be understood. Whatever “fulfill” means, it cannot result in what Yeshua explicitly denies.

“Fulfill” — plēroō (πληρόω)

The word translated “fulfill” is plēroō, which means to fill, to bring to fullness, to complete in the sense of bringing something to its intended expression. It does not inherently mean “bring to an end.”

Scripture itself shows us how plēroō functions. In Matthew 1:22, prophecy is “fulfilled” when it comes to pass—not cancelled afterward. In Matthew 3:15, Yeshua says He must be baptized “to fulfill all righteousness,” clearly meaning to carry it out properly, not to abolish righteousness. In Colossians 1:25, Paul speaks of “fulfilling the word of God” by proclaiming it fully, not by replacing it.

Most importantly, in Jewish thought, “fulfilling the Torah” was a common idiom meaning to interpret it correctly and live it faithfully. Rabbinic literature regularly contrasts “fulfilling” the Torah with “abolishing” it—not by disobedience, but by misinterpretation. To teach the Torah wrongly was to abolish it; to teach it rightly was to fulfill it.

This makes Yeshua’s statement internally consistent. He did not come to tear down the Torah (kataluō), but to bring it to its proper fullness (plēroō)—to reveal its true intent and live it out perfectly.

A Talmudic Witness: Abolishing vs. Upholding the Torah

This contrast between abolishing and upholding the Torah appears explicitly in the Talmud and helps clarify how Yeshua’s words would have been understood in a Jewish setting.

The Jerusalem Talmud states:

“Whoever upholds the Torah is considered as though he has fulfilled it, and whoever nullifies the Torah is considered as though he has abolished it.”
(cf. Sifre Deuteronomy 84; Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 1:7)

The language is strikingly similar to Matthew 5. In Jewish literature, abolishing the Torah does not require denying it outright. It happens when someone weakens its authority through careless teaching, selective obedience, or distorted interpretation. Conversely, to “fulfill” the Torah means to guard it, teach it accurately, and live it faithfully.

This background makes Yeshua’s warning to teachers unmistakable. He is not introducing a new category where commandments quietly expire. He is reinforcing a well-established Jewish principle: how you teach Torah determines whether you fulfill it or abolish it.

“Until Heaven and Earth Pass Away”

Yeshua then anchors His statement with a time marker that cannot be ignored:
“Truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18).

In Scripture, heaven and earth are symbols of permanence and covenant stability. Moses calls them as witnesses in Deuteronomy 30:19. Isaiah contrasts their endurance with human frailty while affirming the eternal nature of God’s word (Isaiah 40:8). Psalm 119 ties the faithfulness of God’s Torah directly to the created order, declaring that His ordinances stand fast “to this day” (Psalm 119:89–91).

Nowhere in Scripture does “heaven and earth passing away” describe the cross, the resurrection, or the birth of the church. It describes the end of the age and the renewal of creation (Isaiah 65:17; Revelation 21:1). Paul confirms that creation is still waiting for redemption (Romans 8:19–22).

If the Torah were abolished at the cross, then Yeshua’s time marker is misleading at best. But if the Torah remains until the renewal of all things, His words make perfect sense.

The Warning to Teachers

Yeshua then draws an unavoidable conclusion:
“Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19).

This statement is decisive. It rules out any definition of “fulfill” that results in loosening, minimizing, or dismissing commandments. The Greek word translated “relax” implies making something lighter or less binding. Yeshua places responsibility squarely on teachers, echoing Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32, where Israel is warned not to add to or subtract from God’s commands.

If “fulfillment” meant that commandments no longer applied, then Yeshua would be condemning the very thing He supposedly accomplished. That interpretation collapses under its own weight.

Instead, Yeshua affirms a hierarchy of faithfulness, not of relevance. Commandments may differ in scope or application, but none are disposable. Faithfulness to God includes careful teaching, humility before His instructions, and refusal to treat any part of His word as unnecessary.

Why This Matters for Gentile Believers

For Gentile believers, this clarity is not about becoming Jewish or adopting a foreign identity. It is about reading Scripture honestly and resisting theological shortcuts that fracture the Bible into obsolete and relevant sections. Paul insists that the Torah is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12), and that faith does not nullify the law but establishes it (Romans 3:31).

When Yeshua speaks of fulfillment, He is not closing the book on the Torah. He is opening it fully—showing what it has always been pointing toward: a life of covenant faithfulness shaped by love, empowered by the Spirit, and grounded in the unchanging word of God.

Read this way, Matthew 5 does not announce replacement. It announces restoration—of meaning, of obedience, and of trust in a God whose instructions endure as long as heaven and earth remain.