“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”  (Matthew 5:17)

The ceremonial law governed the form of Israel’s worship.

When Jesus died on the cross, He fulfilled that law as well as the judicial.

Sacrifice was the heart of all Old Testament worship, and as the perfect sacrifice, Jesus brought all the other sacrifices to an end. While He was on the cross, “the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom” (Matt. 27:51).

Christ Himself became the new and perfect way into the Holy of Holies, into which any man could come by faith. In this way, the Levitical priestly sacrificial system ended.

Though the temple was not destroyed until A.D. 70, every offering made on its altar after Jesus died was needless. Symbolically, they had no more significance.

Of course, the Tabernacle and Temple sacrifices that were offered even before Christ’s death never had power to cleanse from sin. They were only pictures of the Messiah-Savior’s work of cleansing, pictures that pointed to the supreme manifestation of God’s mercy and grace.

The ceremonial law ended because it was fulfilled. Since the reality had come, the pictures and symbols had no more place or purpose. From Genesis 1:1 through Malachi 4:6, the Olr Testament is Jesus Christ.

It was inspired by Christ, it points to Christ, and it is fulfilled by Christ.[1]

John MacArthur

___________________________________________________________________________

End notes:

[1] John MacArthur, Daily Readings From the Life of Christ [Chicago: Moody, 2008], March 31.

See also:

MARCUS BORG AND CHRISTIANS WHO DON’T BELIEVE IN JESUS

YOU LOVE JESUS; GOOD FOR YOU, BUT WHICH ONE?