Hebrew Bible, so he elaborates. The relationship of Jesus’ coming to the law and to the prophets is a watershed issue for the interpretation of Matthew and for biblical theology. The contrasting terms “abolish” and “accomplish their purpose” (lit. “fulfill”) set the agenda for a general statement (5:17–20) that is expanded in the six so-called “antitheses” (5:21–48) that take up the rest of the chapter. The mention of the law and the prophets here and in the summary statement of 7:12 is an inclusio,
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