HOW JESUS KEPT ALL 613 LAWS:
(AND WHY IT MATTERS FOR YOUR SALVATION)
One of the most overlooked but foundational truths in the Gospel is that Jesus Christ kept every single law God gave through Moses. The Torah contains 613 commandments, known in Jewish tradition as the mitzvot. These laws include 248 positive commands (things required) and 365 negative commands (things forbidden). Together they governed moral righteousness, civil order for Israel, and ceremonial worship practices involving sa... moreHOW JESUS KEPT ALL 613 LAWS:
(AND WHY IT MATTERS FOR YOUR SALVATION)
One of the most overlooked but foundational truths in the Gospel is that Jesus Christ kept every single law God gave through Moses. The Torah contains 613 commandments, known in Jewish tradition as the mitzvot. These laws include 248 positive commands (things required) and 365 negative commands (things forbidden). Together they governed moral righteousness, civil order for Israel, and ceremonial worship practices involving sacrifices, priesthood, and purification.
Many people assume Jesus came to relax or abolish these laws. Scripture says the opposite.
Matthew 5:17 records Jesus saying,
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
The Greek word translated “fulfill” is plēroō, meaning to complete, accomplish perfectly, or bring something to its intended fullness. Jesus did not lower God’s standard. He met it completely.
UNDERSTANDING WHY PERFECT LAW KEEPING MATTERS:
Scripture teaches that breaking even one command makes a person guilty under the entire law.
James 2:10 says,
“For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he is guilty of all.”
This means salvation could never come through human effort. Every person has failed God’s standard. If salvation required personal law keeping, no one could be saved. Jesus stepped into history to succeed where humanity failed.
HOW JESUS KEPT ALL 613 COMMANDMENTS:
JESUS LIVED IN PERFECT SINLESS OBEDIENCE.
Jesus obeyed every moral command of God without failure.
1 Peter 2:22 says,
“He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.”
Hebrews 4:15 declares,
“He was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin.”
He experienced real temptation but never sinned once. That alone qualifies Him as the spotless Lamb required for redemption.
JESUS WAS BORN UNDER THE LAW:
Galatians 4:4 states,
“God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”
Jesus did not bypass Torah requirements. He lived fully inside them. Scripture records that He was circumcised on the eighth day, presented at the Temple according to Mosaic instruction, observed Jewish feast days, and faithfully lived as an obedient covenant Israelite. His life was not accidental righteousness. It was deliberate, complete obedience.
JESUS FULFILLED THE CEREMONIAL AND SACRIFICIAL LAW:
The entire sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ. Hebrews 10:1 explains that the law was a shadow of good things to come. Animal sacrifices never removed sin permanently. They foreshadowed a perfect sacrifice.
John 1:29 identifies Jesus as,
“The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”
Jesus fulfilled the Passover lamb, the Day of Atonement sacrifice, the role of High Priest, and the true Temple presence of God among His people. He did not simply obey sacrificial law. He became the final sacrifice that ended the need for it.
JESUS FULFILLED MESSIANIC PROPHECY WITHIN THE TORAH:
The Law and Prophets contain specific requirements about the coming Messiah. Jesus fulfilled them precisely, including His virgin birth, His birth in Bethlehem, His descent from the tribe of Judah and the line of David, His entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, His betrayal for silver, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. These fulfillments demonstrate that He completed the prophetic expectations embedded within the law.
JESUS FULFILLED THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW, NOT JUST THE LETTER:
Religious leaders in Jesus’ day often focused on outward rule keeping while ignoring inward righteousness. In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus revealed the deeper intent of God’s law. He taught that hatred violates the command against murder, lust violates the command against adultery, and true righteousness begins in the heart. Jesus lived this inward obedience perfectly, fulfilling the true meaning of God’s commands.
JESUS SUCCEEDED WHERE ISRAEL FAILED:
Israel was called God’s covenant son but repeatedly failed to keep covenant obedience. Jesus succeeded where Israel failed. He passed wilderness testing where Israel fell. He perfectly obeyed covenant law and became the faithful representative of God’s people.
WHY THIS IS CENTRAL TO THE GOSPEL:
Many believers focus only on Christ’s death, but Scripture teaches that His perfect life is just as essential.
Romans 5:19 says,
“By one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
Jesus did not only die for sin. He lived the righteous life humanity could not live. That righteousness is credited to believers through faith.
2 Corinthians 5:21 declares,
“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
The Greek word often used for this transfer of righteousness is logizomai, meaning credited, accounted, or placed into someone’s account. Through faith, believers receive Christ’s perfect obedience as their own.
CHRIST ALSO COMPLETED THE LAW’S COVENANT PURPOSE:
Romans 10:4 explains,
“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
The Greek word for “end” is telos, meaning goal, completion, or culmination. The law was never designed to save. It was designed to reveal sin, demonstrate humanity’s need for redemption, and point toward the Messiah. Galatians 3:24 describes the law as a tutor leading people to Christ.
DID JESUS KEEP ALL 613 LAWS INDIVIDUALLY?
Yes, but not merely as a checklist. Jesus fulfilled the Torah through perfect personal obedience, complete prophetic fulfillment, and final sacrificial completion. Every category of the law finds its fulfillment in Him.
THE MASSIVE THEOLOGICAL REALITY:
If Jesus had broken even one command, He could not be Savior. He would require salvation Himself. The entire Gospel depends on the sinless perfection of Christ.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR BELIEVERS TODAY:
Because Jesus fulfilled the law, believers are justified apart from works of the law. They are counted righteous through faith, freed from condemnation, and led by the Holy Spirit rather than bound to the Mosaic covenant system.
Romans 8:3–4 says,
“What the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son… so that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us.”
Salvation is not earned. It is received. It rests entirely on the finished obedience of Jesus Christ.
The 613 laws reveal God’s perfect standard. Jesus reveals God’s perfect solution.
✠ Sir John Scivoletti ✠
✠ Turco Joan of Arc Priory ✠
✠✠Act and God will Act (Actus et Deus Act)✠✠
As hard as it seems we all should strive to be as Christ is.
Wonderful post
CAA Luis A Matos III
Priory of St Michael the Archangel
MC Glenn
Fides Et Veritas