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Evidence ID: HIS-EV66
Evidence: Prophecies Regarding Jesus' Death
Summary:
Jesus death is predicted by numerous Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself on several occasions.
These prophecies are also corroborated by numerous extra-biblical writers.
Description: Jesus' tribulations during his final hours are accurately predicted in both the Old and New Testaments [HIS-EV31].
The Old Testament prophecies related to Jesus' death are summarized in the following table. These prophecies are attested by Gospel accounts.
| # | Prophecy | Old Testament Prophecy | New Testament Fulfillment |
| 1 | Messiah crucified with criminals | Isaiah 53:1-12 | Matthew 27:38 Mark 15:27-28 |
| 2 | Messiah's hands and feet pierced | Isaiah 53:5-7 Psalm 22:16 Zechariah 12:10 Zechariah 13:6 | John 20:25-27 |
| 3 | Messiah's bones not broken | Exodus 12:46 Psalm 34:20 Exodus 12:46 | John 19:33-36 |
| 4 | Soldiers pierce Messiah's side | Zechariah 12:10 | John 19:34 |
In the New Testament, Jesus predicts his death and resurrection on five separate occasions. These predictions are summarized in the following table.
| # | New Testament Prophecy | Summary |
| 1 |
Mark 8:31 Matthew 16:21 Luke 9:22 | "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed." |
| 2 |
Mark 9:31 Matthew 17:22-23 | "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him." |
| 3 |
Matthew 20:17-19 Mark 10:32-34 | "The Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. |
| 4 | Matthew 26:1-2 | "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified." |
| 5 | John 12:23-24 | "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." |
During a post-resurrection appearance, Jesus enlightened his disciples that he fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies concerning his life and death.
44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead. (Luke 24:44-46).
Both the New and Old Testament prophesies are corroborated by the extra-biblical sources of Tacitus [HIS-EV61], Lucian of Samosata [HIS-EV62], Josephus [HIS-EV64], and the Jewish Talmud [HIS-EV63].
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