Mathew 5:17 says the law was fulfilled. Im no biblical scholar, so Im not sure why Jesus would say “not to abolish, but to fulfill” because in my mind and in that context, those two words are almost identical or very synonymous at the very least.

It should be observed that Jesus did fulfill the law. I wouldn’t call this quote contradictory, Id say its just Jesus being pedantic because of other outside context that its important to say the law was fulfilled and not abolished.

Probably because of his cruxifixction, there is a difference between throwing something out the window and doing something meaningful (like laying down his own life) to fulfill something. I think it means we shouldn’t take his sacrifice for granted.