Description | NT Reference | Prophetic Passage(s) Cited/Fulfilled |
The virgin birth | Matt 1:22–23 | Isa 7:14 (LXX) |
The Messiah originating from Bethlehem | Matt 2:5–6 | Combination of Mic 5:2 and 2 Sam 5:2 |
The holy family escapes to Egypt | Matt 2:15 | Hos 11:1 |
The massacre of the infants | Matt 2:17–18 | Jer 31:15 |
The holy family settles in Nazareth | Matt 2:23 | No clear OT referent; possibly alluding to Isa 11:1, or to the OT concept of a Nazirite (e.g., Judg 13:5, 7; 16:17; 1 Sam 2) |
John the Baptist as precursor to Jesus | Matt 3:3; Mark 1:2–3; Luke 3:4–6 | Combines elements of Mal 3:1; Isa 40:3; and Exod 23:20 |
Jesus settles in Capernaum, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali | Matt 4:14–16 | Isa 9:1–2 |
Jesus claims to fulfill the Law and the Prophets | Matt 5:17 | No specific OT referent |
Jesus’ ministry of healing and exorcism | Matt 8:17 | Isa 53:4 |
Jesus appeals to Isaianic prophecy as proof that he is the “one who is to come into the world” | Matt 11:4–6; compare John 6:14 | Likely based on Isa 29:18–19; 35:5–6; 61:1–2 |
John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus | Matt 11:10; Luke 7:27 | Based on Mal 3:1 |
The secrecy of Jesus’ ministry | Matt 12:17–21 | Isa 42:1–4 |
Jesus offers the sign of Jonah | Matt 12:39–40; 16:4; Luke 11:29–30 | Jesus here refers to the story of Jonah more broadly rather than to a specific prophetic quote |
The reason for Jesus’ parabolic teaching | Matt 13:14–15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10 | Isa 6:9–10 |
More prophetic support for Jesus’ parabolic teaching | Matt 13:35 | Ps 78:2 |
Jesus sitting on a donkey’s colt | Matt 21:4–5; John 12:15 | Zech 9:9; compare Isa 62:11 |
“Blessed is he (or, the king) who comes in the name of the Lord” | Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38; John 12:13 | Psa 118:26 |
The suffering death of the Son of Man at the hands of Gentiles, and the resurrection | Luke 18:31–33 | “the prophets” |
The betrayal of the Son of Man | Matt 26:24; Mark 14:21 | No clear OT references |
The desertion by the disciples | Matt 26:31; Mark 14:27 | Based on Zech 13:7; compare Isa 53:6 |
Jesus’ violent arrest | Matt 26:56 | “the scriptures of the prophets” |
The chief priests use Judas’ abandoned blood money to purchase a field | Matt 27:9–10 | Matthew attributes the quote to Jeremiah (possibly thinking of both Jer 18:1–3 and 32:6–15), though the text is a paraphrase of Zech 11:13 |
The mistreatment of the Son of Man | Mark 9:12 | No clear OT references Perhaps based partly on Ps 22:7 |
The rejection of Jesus | Mark 12:10–11; Acts 4:11; Eph 2:20; 1 Pet 2:7 | Ps 118:22–23 |
Jesus presents himself as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies | Luke 4:18–21 | Combines elements of Isa 61:1–2; 58:6 |
Jesus counted as one of the criminals | Luke 22:37 | Based on Isa 53:12 |
The resurrected Jesus interprets scripture with reference to Himself | Luke 24:26–27 | No clear OT reference |
“everything that is written about me … must be fulfilled” | Luke 24:44 | “the law of Moses and the prophet and psalms” |
Jesus, the one about whom Moses and the prophets wrote | John 1:45 | No explicit OT reference |
The cleansing of the temple | John 2:17 | Ps 69:9 |
Moses wrote about Jesus | John 5:39, 40, 46, 47 | No explicit OT reference |
Jesus is the prophet like Moses | John 6:14; Acts 3:22–23 | Deut 18:15–20 |
The Messiah is descended from David, and from Bethlehem | John 7:42 | Ps 89:4; Mic 5:2 |
Authorities deny that scripture predicts a prophet from Galilee | John 7:52 | No explicit OT reference |
The rejection of Jesus | John 12:38–40 | Quotes from Isa 6:10; 53:1 |
Hatred of Jesus | John 15:25 | Likely based on Pss 35:19; 69:4; 109:3 |
Roman soldiers divide Jesus’ clothes and cast lots for his tunic | John 19:24 | Psa 22:18 |
The Messiah must rise from the dead | John 20:9 | No explicit OT reference |
Christ’s death took place according to God’s plan | Acts 2:23 | Here “plan” may allude to prophetic fulfillment, i.e., that God’s plan concerning Christ is discernible in the OT |
Christ’s resurrection was spoken of by David | Acts 2:25–28 | Ps 16:8–11 |
The Messiah’s resurrection | Acts 2:31; 13:32–33; 26:22–23 | Pss 2:7; 16:10 |
God, through the prophets, foretold the suffering of the Messiah | Acts 3:18 | Referring back to the proof-texts in Acts 2:23–31 |
Gentile authorities stand against the Messiah | Acts 4:25–26 | Ps 2:1–2 |
Philip teaches the Ethiopian eunuch that Isaianic prophecy refers to Jesus | Acts 8:32–35 | Isa 53:7–8 |
The prophets testify to Jesus and forgiveness of sins through his name | Acts 10:43 | “the prophets” |
Jesus the savior from the seed of David | Acts 13:22–23 | No specific OT reference |
The death of the Messiah | Acts 13:29; Acts 26:22–23; 1 Pet 1:10–11 | “the prophets and Moses” in Acts 26:22 |
The Messiah’s resurrection and protection from corruption | Acts 13:34–35 | Isa 55:3 (LXX); Ps 16:10 |
The gospel promised beforehand in the scriptures | Rom 1:2 | “through his prophets” |
The righteousness of God through faith in Christ is attested by the Law and the Prophets | Rom 3:21–22 | “the law and the prophets” |
The Deliverer from Zion | Rom 11:26–27 | Isa 59:20–21 |
“Christ did not please himself” | Rom 15:3 | Ps 68:10 |
Christ became a servant of the Jews so that Gentiles would come to glorify God | Rom 15:8–12; Acts 26:22–23 | Ps 18:49; Deut 32:43 (LXX); Ps 117:1; Isa 11:10 (LXX) |
“Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures” | 1 Cor 15:3–4 | No specific OT reference |
Christ became a “life-giving spirit” as a natural development from the fleshly Adam | 1 Cor 15:45 | Gen 2:7 |
Christ became a curse | Gal 3:13 | See Gen 12:3; Deut 27:15–26; 28:15–68 |
God’s Son was temporarily made “a little lower than the angels” | Heb 2:7 | Ps 8:4–6 |
The Messiah’s death and resurrection |
John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).
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