Jesus said that He came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. Christians can sometimes be dismissive of The Old Testament. But the story of God is intentional from beginning to end.
The great value of The Old Testament is the truth it establishes. The truth of who God is. The truth about the world He created. The truth about people and how they fit within God’s system.
The reason Luke makes it clear the law is not something that merely fades away but is fulfilled by Jesus is because he wants people to know that the truth is still the divine barometer. The Old Testament law lets us know what truth is and what it takes to live in communion with the truth.
The sad reality is that none of us are able to do it. The standard of truth is set and we all fall short. In this way, The Old Testament gives us the great gift of showing us how much we need Jesus. On our own, we inevitably betray the truth. With faith in God, we have the opportunity to participate in the truth. It is not an abolishment or a loophole or a work around. Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. The truth.
And this reality, in a way, sets us free. It gives us hope in the possible (Jesus) rather than the impossible (our own ability to interpret and uphold the truth). It changes our source of power, our source of hope, and the way we engage with reality.