Jesus’ fulfilling was to be seen in contrast to annulling. Jesus would bring a new mindset to the Torah. He was not the first to do this. The prophets had consistently interpreted and studied the Torah in depth, teasing out its consequences, purifying it and applying it to the ever-changing social conditions. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisee movement had elaborated a complex body of detailed traditions by which it aimed to relate the Torah to the particulars of everyday living. In protesting Jesus’ faithfulness to the Torah, Matthew was responding to the criticisms of many of the Jews of his own day who accused Christians of abandoning the law. It is significant, however, that Jesus did not see the details of the Torah as absolute and eternal. They would apply only until everything comes about.  In Matthew’s mind, that accomplishment would happen at the moment of Jesus’ death, when the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom [27:51]. The final key to the interpretation of Torah would be the new covenantal relationship between God and humankind brought about by Jesus’ death and resurrection [26:28], and the profound and mysterious trust and intimacy to which it gave rise.