Matthew 5:17 (DRB)

Passage

Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house.

Matthew 5:16 So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Matthew 5:17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Matthew 5:18 For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled.

Matthew 5:19 He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "think", "come", "destroy", "prophets", and "fulfil". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "think" and "come", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 16's "So let your light shine before men..." into verse 18's "For amen I say unto you till...", so "think" and "come" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "think" and "come" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.