Old Testament Prophecies Relating to the Crucifixion of Jesus.

                                                                                                             page created November 2005

The trial, torture and crucifixion of Jesus was foretold in remarkable detail in the Old Testament.

Jesus Himself repeatedly appealed to the scriptures in support of His claims. See for example Luke 24v25-27;"He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Did not the Christ^] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself."

All the New Testament writers also consistently appealed to the Old testament in support of their claims about Jesus. See for example Acts 17v2,3; "As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures (i.e. the Old Testament), ³explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ" he said."

In the Old Testament there are agreed to be 60 major prophecies relating to Christ, but some believe as many as 270 in total. A great many of these relate to the death of Jesus.

What follows is a brief summary of some of the major prophecies relating to His final few days in Jerusalem.

1) He will enter Jerusalem riding a donkey (the colt of an ass) (Zechariah 9:9). Fulfillment: Matt. 21:5; Luke 19:32-37.

2) He will be hated for no reason (Psalm 69:4). Fulfillment: John 15:25.

3) He will be betrayed (Psalm 41:9). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10.

4) More specifically, He will be betrayed by a friend (Psalm 41:9). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10; 26:47-48.

5) The price of his betrayal will be thirty pieces of silver (Zech. 11:12). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10.

6) The betrayal money will be cast onto the floor (Zech. 11:13). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:5.

7) More specifically, it will be cast onto the floor of the Temple (Zech. 11:13). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:3-10.

8) The betrayal money will be used to buy a potter's field (Zech. 11:13). Fulfillment: Matt. 27:6-10.

9) He will not open his mouth to defend himself (Isaiah 53:7). Fulfillment: Matthew 27:12.

10) He will be beaten and spat upon (Isaiah 50:6). Fulfillment: Matthew 26:67; 27:26-30.

11) He will be "numbered with the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12). Fulfillment: Jesus was crucified as a criminal in between two thieves (Mat 27:38).

12) He will be pierced (Zechariah 12:10). Fulfillment: John 19:34

13) His hands and feet will be pierced (Psalm 22:16; cf. Zechariah 12:10; Galatians 3:13). Crucifixion foretold. Psalm 22 graphically prophecies the Messiah's manner of death. At the time the psalm was written (and long after), the penalty for blasphemy was stoning. Therefore, this prediction of crucifixion is particularly astonishing.

14) The Jewish Passover sacrifice and Jesus Christ's sacrificial death coincide exactly. The dates on which Jesus was taken by the Roman authorities, and then slain, also coincided precisely with the Jewish Passover. Jesus became the Passover Lamb, "without blemish." Just as the angel of death passed by those Israelites who put blood on their doorposts - so Jesus' sacrifical death also results in freedom from death and hell for those who accept His blood.

15) His bones will not be broken (Psalm 34:20; Exodus 12 states that the Passover Lamb's bones are not to be broken.). Fulfillment: John 19:33.

16) They will divide his clothing and cast lots for them (Psalm 22:18). Fulfillment: John 19:23-24.

17) He will be given vinegar and gall to drink (Psalm 69:21). Fulfillment: Matthew 27:34, 48.

18) He will say: "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Psalm 22:1). Fulfillment: Matthew 27:46.

19) He will be buried with the rich (Isaiah 53:9). Fulfillment: Matthew 27.

20) He will not decay (Psalm 16:10). Fulfillment: Acts 2:31

21) He will be resurrected from the dead (Psalm 16:10). Fulfillment: Acts 2:31, etc.

22) He will ascend into heaven (Psalm 68:18). Fulfillment: Acts 1:9.

These are a small selection of some of the prophecies relating to the death of Christ.

What is the likelihood that these prophecies would be fulfilled in one person unless He were the Messiah?

Objection! Such Fulfilled Prophecies are Coincidental.

It is frequently argued that it is mere coincidence that these Old Testament scriptures seem to bear a resemblance to the life and death of Christ. After all, it would be possible to find scriptures that seem to relate to the life of anyone; Tony Blair, the Queen or even you.

This, of course, is true. It is perfectly possible that it is coincidental. Possible.....but very unlikely.

If you tried hard you may be able to find a handful of prophecies that relate to Tony Blair. But you certainly could not find in excess of 60 that clearly match certain incidents in his life. The probability of so many prophecies getting fulfilled in one person by chance is hundreds of thousands to one. Professor Stoner says that by using probability theory in relation to just 8 of the prophecies related to Jesus "we find that the chance that any man might have lived down to the present time and fulfilled all eight prophecies is 1 in 1017. That is 1 in 100 000 000 000 000 000."

Objection! Jesus Himself tried to fulfill the prophecies.

This would seem to be plausible. For example, Jesus' last words on the cross were of His choosing. He clearly decided what to say so that it would fulfill the prophecies of Psalm 22.

True enough. But a great many prophecies were completely beyond His control. For example, Jesus had no say over how much silver was paid to Judas for his betrayal. What about the manner of His death? The reaction of the people? The mocking and the spitting? The casting die for his clothing? The non-tearing of His main robe?

More than 50% of the prophecies fulfilled in Christ were completely outside His power to influence one way or another.

This page was originally published with crucifixion spelt "crucifiction", and as a consequence was not found when the correct spelling was typed in. we a[pologise for this. We have now updated it, and include here the sentences with the old spelling so that those who found it with this spelling will still be able to.

Old Testament Prophecies Relating to the Crucifiction of Jesus  Should read:

Old Testament Prophecies Relating to the Crucifixtion of Jesus

The trial, torture and crucifiction of Jesus was foretold in remarkable detail in the Old Testament. Should read: The trial, torture and crucifixion of Jesus was foretold in remarkable detail in the Old Testament.