The first five books of the Bible are known by Jewish people as the Torah, which in English means “the law.” The Torah is where you’ll find these 613 commands, the most famous of which are the ten commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai.

But the Torah isn’t just a list of laws. It’s an epic story about how God is partnering with humans to bring his blessing to the world. When Jesus spoke about the Torah, he talked about how he was bringing the storyline of the Torah to its fulfillment.

This command is not as easy as it seems. For example, Jesus explains that treating others poorly or holding resentment for them is equivalent to murdering them in our hearts. And loving others doesn’t just mean loving those who love you. Jesus explains that we are to extend love even to our own enemies.

Human hearts are flawed, and apart from the transforming work of God, we can’t love others in the way we are called to. But where humanity has failed, Jesus has succeeded, demonstrating love even unto death. For followers of Jesus today, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us and help us to fully love others and love God, fulfilling the law that God put in place at the very beginning of the biblical story.