5:17-19 What exactly does Jesus mean by what He says here?

This passage is used by many in the church to prove that the Old Covenant has not been completely abolished. That is not correct however, as scriptures clearly teach. Jesus abrogated the Old Covenant by fulfilling it (cp Ro 3:21-22; 10:4; 2Cor 3:6-13; Ga 4:21-31; Eph 2:15-16; Col 2:13-17; He 7:12, 18-25; 8:6-13; 9:11-15; 10:1-10).

These scriptures all teach the same thing: the Old Covenant in its entirety has been abolished and replaced with the New Covenant. In 2Cor 3:13 we learn that as far back in time as when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt Sinai, the Old Covenant was being prepared for abolition. Moses put the veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the fading reflection of God’s glory in it, which represented the fading glory of the Old Covenant.

Many in the church do not believe that the Old Covenant in its entirety has been abolished in Christ. They argue that only the ceremonial law has been done away with, not the moral law as well, but as scriptures clearly teach, the entire Old Covenant has been abolished and replaced with the New Covenant. Nine of the Ten Commandments have been reaffirmed under the New Covenant.

The only commandment excluded is the fourth commandment – to keep the Sabbath – because its sole purpose was to commemorate God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt (cp Deut 5:15). The Old Covenant was for Israel only, whereas the New Covenant is for all peoples (cp Ex 31:12-18 and Eze 20:9-13 with Hos 2:23; Ro 2:14, 9:22-26, 30-33). See also comments on Ro 3:19-23, 3:24-26 (B), Ro 10:4, 2Cor 3:6, 3:12-16,Ga 4:21-31, Eph 2:15-16 (A), Col 2:14, He 7:18-19, 8:6, 8:10-11,

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