Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach

THE SABBATH IN THE GOSPELS
If you read through the book of Matthew and through
each of the Gospels the word “fulfilled” is repeated over
and over. Get an exhaustive concordance and check it out.
Here are a few examples. Matthew 1:22-23 refers to the
fulfillment of the prophecy about the virgin being with
child. Matthew 2:15 discusses the prophecy that he would
be called out of Egypt. Matthew 8:17 is about the fulfilled
prophecy concerning His healing ministry. The list goes on
and on. Finally, after finding this recurring theme through
each Gospel account, we come to John 19 where we find
these words:
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now
accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
said, “I thirst!” Now a vessel full of sour wine was
sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine,
put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. So when
Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is
finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His
spirit.
Jesus did not come to destroy but to "fulfill.” Jesus
came to be the fulfillment of all the Old Covenant laws,
ceremonies, rituals, and symbols. These were a shadow or
prefiguring of what was to come. To my surprise this
fulfillment motif fit perfectly with what I had learned
repeatedly throughout the Epistles and the rest of the
application section of the New Testament. There was no
contradiction at all! So I kept reading and came to this
intriguing verse, Matthew 11:28-30, where Jesus calls
Himself the rest provider. “Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Jesus then encourages His followers to take His yoke
upon them. (Remember what Acts 15 and Galatians 5 call
the Law: a yoke of bondage too heavy to bear.) Here Jesus
discusses His way of freedom and rest. Jesus appears to be
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