Christ Fulfilled the Law by His Atoning Death

Yesterday, we saw that Jesus accomplished the law by completely and perfectly keeping the law. He fulfilled the law in another sense by His atoning death on the cross.

“Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth... who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness.” (1 Pet. 2:22,24)

Himself without sin, Christ took upon Himself the sins of all those who had been under the law and then paid in full on behalf of them the law’s final penalty, which is death. With the full penalty thus paid by Christ, it became possible for God, without compromising His divine justice, to offer full and free pardon to all who by faith accept Christ’s atoning death on their behalf.

Thus Christ fulfilled the law first by His life of perfect righteousness and second by His atoning death, through which He satisfied the law’s just demand upon all those who had not perfectly observed it.

Third, Christ fulfilled the law by combining in Himself every feature prophetically set forth in the law concerning the Saviour and Messiah whom God had promised to send. Even at the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry we read how Philip said to Nathanael:

“We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)

Again, after His death and resurrection, Christ said to His disciples:

“These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” (Luke 24:44)

We see, then, that Christ fulfilled the law in three ways:

1. By His perfect life.
2. By His redeeming death and resurrection.
3. By fulfilling all that the law foretold and foreshadowed concerning the Saviour and Messiah who was to come.