Did Jesus Fulfill or Destroy Tithing?

As we continue our ‘Tithing on Trial’ series, we will evaluate the most common tithing arguments used to defend its practice.

When many inquire how authoritative the Mosaic laws are at governing the Church, a portion of Matthew 5:17 is invoked, which states that Jesus fulfilled the Law for us. This seems to end the Law’s jurisdiction over the Church. Although, when it comes to the authority of tithing over the Church, many invoke a more complete version of Matthew 5:17, which states, that Jesus did not come to destroy but to fulfill the Law. Now a very simple interpretation becomes convoluted. So, let’s inquire about what it means for tithing when Jesus said he did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

Jesus did not come to destroy the Law – there’s no argument there. So let’s focus on what he did when he fulfilled the law. We have an article dedicated to defining what fulfill means. 

I don’t want to rehash everything that’s written in the article, but to use that illustration imagine you have two buckets that are both supposed to be filled with water. If one bucket was filled to the brim and the other bucket was empty, which bucket would you say had fulfilled its purpose? Which bucket would you say cannot be used anymore to gather more water? Would either bucket need to be destroyed for any reason? The answer is obvious.

All that Jesus was saying is that the old bucket is used up and can no longer be used to gather more water. The new bucket can be used and has replaced the old bucket. Jesus did not destroy anything. 

The Old Testament is still relevant to us. It offers glimpses of God’s promises and his truth. There are thousands of other reasons why Jesus did not destroy the Law. Fulfilling the Law can be like paying a doctor’s bill. You can pay a bill and fulfill the obligation for it, but that doesn’t mean the bill didn’t exist or the evidence of your medical treatment didn’t exist. The bill isn’t destroyed just because you paid it. Fulfilling the obligation doesn’t mean the obligation is continuously ongoing. 

The same is true for us. Fulfilling the law has nothing to do with confirming its practice in the church. If Jesus came to continue the law for us, we are going to be in trouble because we would be bringing back a lot more than tithing. 

The answer is yes, Jesus fulfilled tithing, but it doesn’t mean to continue. He completed its purpose for us, so we should not continue to fulfill tithing for ourselves. Let’s not cherry-pick verses in the bible to encourage the usage of certain Laws that we want to fit into the church. 

You Be The Judge

Now it’s time for the jury to weigh in: