Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]

February 15, 2026

Matthew 5:17-37

Jesus makes it crystal clear that He came to fulfill the Law rather than abolish it. However, a deeper question remains: “Why is the Old Testament Law so vital that Jesus Himself felt bound to fulfill it?”

We often view laws and regulations as constraints that bind our freedom and limit our movement—something external imposed upon us. Yet, when we look at the bigger picture, we realize that laws are an integral part of almost all human communities. Even in the smallest contexts, such as the family, children obey their parents’ commands, even though they are often unwritten. Certainly, the larger and more complex a society becomes, the larger and more sophisticated the body of laws required.

Laws are necessary precisely because they guarantee the common good. By incentivizing those who contribute to society and punishing those who harm it, laws ensure the proper functioning and flourishing of the human community. Just as we use our minds to control our passions and govern ourselves toward genuine personal growth, we create laws to check our collective harmful behaviors and guide our society toward progress. Laws are not merely external impositions; they are the products of human reason designed to help us live better.

We can also view laws as tools to help us “domesticate” ourselves. Just as we domesticate wolves to transform them into dogs—taming their wildness to make them into helpful companions—so too do we subject our aggressive and violent natures to the rule of law to make ourselves into more mature individuals.

This brings us back to Jesus. While human minds are imperfect and therefore create imperfect laws, God’s mind is perfect and creates laws that are infallible (Ps 19:7). This is why Jesus clearly revealed His purpose: to fulfill God’s laws, not to abolish them. If human laws are designed to form us into better members of human society, then God’s laws are designed to form us into perfect men and women, ready for the Kingdom of Heaven.

However, Jesus also recognized that some regulations in the Old Testament were directed specifically at the ancient Israelites rather than at all people of all times. In fact, some laws, such as the regulation on divorce (Matt 5:31), were obviously enacted as a result of God’s concession to the hardness of human hearts.

Therefore, fulfilling the Law does not mean that Jesus simply endorsed all Old Testament regulations. Rather, He purified and re-taught them with greater clarity, specifically revealing the “heart” of the laws themselves. For instance, when Jesus reaffirmed the Ten Commandments, He pointed to the truth that killing and violence toward fellow human beings are rooted in the wrath within our own hearts. Unless we are able to control this internal anger, we are bound to harm others, leading to the destruction of life (Matt 5:21-22).

Ultimately, Jesus demonstrates that the Law is not a set of cold restrictions, but a path toward spiritual maturity and internal transformation. By fulfilling the Law, He invites us to move beyond mere outward obedience and instead embrace a heart aligned with the perfect love of God.

Rome

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

Guide questions:

Do I view God’s commandments as burdens that restrict my freedom, or as a loving pathway designed for my genuine growth and happiness? Jesus teaches that violence begins internally; what hidden anger or resentment am I holding onto that prevents me from having a truly pure heart?Am I merely following the rules to appear “good” on the outside, or am I allowing God’s Law to tame my nature and transform me for His Kingdom?