towards which Israel’s whole life and tradition had pointed. This passage, following the striking introduction to the Sermon on the Mount in verses 3–12, introduces the main theme that will occupy Jesus in what follows. He has come to fulfil the law and the prophets. Most of the rest of the Sermon explains exactly what that means, right through to 7:11; then 7:12, echoing 5:17, sums it all up. Do to others, he says, what you would like them to do to you, because this is what the law and the prophets