Jesus and the Law

What can we say about Jesus and the Law?

First of all, Jesus is the author of the Law. He is the Lord. The Lord has authority. The Lord rules. The Lord gives the Law. Even when it comes to the Jewish law about the Sabbath, the Gospels tell us that Jesus is “Lord of the Sabbath.” In fact, Scripture declares that He is Lord of everything. Jesus is the Lawgiver.

But here’s the surprising part: the very One who gave the Law, chose to place Himself under it. He was born of a woman, born under the Law. And He obeyed it perfectly—without ever slipping, not even once. Jesus is the only person in all of human history who kept the Law completely, from start to finish.

And the greatest wonder of all is this: the Author of the Law, the One who fulfilled it perfectly, was punished by that very same Law. He took on the penalty of death. The innocent Lawgiver was condemned by the Law!

And He did all of this for us.

The punishment He suffered was the punishment that should have fallen on us—the sinners who broke His Law. The penalty that brought us peace with God fell on Him instead. And because of Him, we are no longer guilty. We are free.

Now that we have been redeemed, Jesus becomes the pattern for our lives. He is our example. This is the whole point of salvation: that we might become like Him, that our lives might be transformed into His likeness. Since we live in Him, then we are called to walk as He walked—in love and in righteousness.

Jesus, who freed us from the curse of the Law, has put into our hearts a new love for His Law. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Once, we had no desire at all for God’s Law. But now, like the Psalmist, we can say: “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Psalm 119:72).

So, in the end, it comes back to these simple words of Jesus: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).