The Treasure Hunt

I wrote this short paper in 2007 in order to clear up any misunderstanding of my teaching on the difference between law and grace. Nearly every time I was teaching on this passage, I would hear someone complain, "The ten commandments are not ten suggestions!".
Hopefully this helps clear some things up.

The Treasure Hunt – regarding Matt.5:17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law
or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”

An analogy: There is a treasure hidden and for many years’ men have had a map that contains the clues to finding the treasure, yet the location of the treasure has remained a mystery. A man
finally comes along who understands the meaning behind the clues that lead to the treasure. It can be said afterward, that this man did not "abolish" or reject the clues that lead him to the treasure, but that he “fulfilled” the intended purpose of the clues.

In a similar way, Jesus took the clues (the mystery) of the Old Testament law and prophecies and revealed to us that it was He Himself that these clues were speaking of. Jesus was
the "fulfillment" (i.e., completion) of the Law and Prophets.

Jesus did not come to destroy or “abolish” the Law of Moses or the prophecies, but He
came to show that the treasure was now found, "completed" in Himself.

Jesus is the Treasure!

We can now look back at the clues in the
OT and realize, in hindsight, that although the answer was right in front of
us, failing to see Christ, we fail to find the Treasure.

For example, the clues regarding the Sabbath day are now seen to be, not a "day” (24 hours as such) of rest, but were only a shadow (a clue) that the "Sabbath rest" was speaking of our eternal rest in Christ (“For we who have believed enter that rest…” Heb.4:3,10). If we continue to
see the Sabbath (or Sunday) as a 24 hour period where no physical work is allowed, we fail to see Christ as the Treasure already revealed and will find ourselves restlessly searching for something that has already been given to us.

This same truth may be applied to understanding such things as the Passover in Egypt (“For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed…” (1Cor.1:7), or the holy sacrifices (…"But as it is, He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” Heb. 9:26), and countless other examples in the Scriptures.

Jesus said "These are My words which I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the
Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He
opened their minds to understand the Scriptures" (Luke 24:44,45).
"Fulfilled" is the same word as in Matt.5:17. Not meaning "to continue", but "made
complete".

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17 are not to be understood that the Law is to continue in the same manner as previously understood, but that Jesus Himself is the fulfillment of the Law.

Pray that God would open our minds to better understand the shadows, types and patterns in the OT that picture our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us not be like the Israelites, “But their minds were
hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.” (2 Cor. 3:14-16)