Messianic prophecy.

Old Testament prophecies fulfilled in Jesus, and how each is fulfilled. Each passage is read in its original setting, with the full research assessment alongside.

Messianic prophecyEnd-times prophecyTemple watch
Fulfilled in Jesus16of 17 passages
The suffering servant, "wounded for our transgressions" · Fulfilled in his life "They pierced my hands and my feet"; "they part my garments" · Fulfilled in his life A prophet like Moses · Fulfilled in his life A forerunner: "the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness" / "my messenger" · Fulfilled in his life Entry to Jerusalem on a donkey · Fulfilled in his life "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced" · Fulfilled in his life Anointed to proclaim good news to the poor; healings · Fulfilled in his life Born in Bethlehem · Attested by witnesses Of David's line, an everlasting throne · Attested by witnesses Not abandoned to Sheol; will not see corruption · Attested by witnesses Born of a virgin (almah) · Fulfilled typologically Seventy weeks "unto the Messiah the Prince" · Fulfilled typologically The sceptre shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes · Fulfilled typologically "Out of Egypt have I called my son" · Recorded in the Gospels Rachel weeping for her children · Recorded in the Gospels Thirty pieces of silver; potter's field · Recorded in the Gospels The Messiah rebuilds the Temple, gathers the exiles, and brings universal peace and knowledge of God · Awaiting his return
Isa 7:14

Born of a virgin (almah)

Matthew and Luke record Jesus' birth to the virgin Mary; Matthew sees Isaiah's sign to Ahaz fulfilled in him.

Fulfilled typologically
Isa 52:13-53:12

The suffering servant, "wounded for our transgressions"

Jesus was rejected, suffered and died; the New Testament and the church see Isaiah's innocent servant fulfilled in him.

Fulfilled in his life
Ps 22:16, 18

"They pierced my hands and my feet"; "they part my garments"

Jesus was crucified, and the Gospels record the soldiers dividing his clothes, as the psalm describes; Mark records him praying its opening words on the cross.

Fulfilled in his life
Mic 5:2

Born in Bethlehem

Matthew and Luke both record his birth in Bethlehem, the town of David.

Attested by witnesses
Dan 9:24-27

Seventy weeks "unto the Messiah the Prince"

Christians have long read Daniel's seventy weeks as pointing to the time of the Messiah's coming and death.

Fulfilled typologically
2 Sam 7:12-16; Isa 11:1; Jer 23:5

Of David's line, an everlasting throne

Paul and Jesus' own relatives attest that he was of David's line.

Attested by witnesses
Deut 18:15-18

A prophet like Moses

John records the crowd hailing Jesus as "that prophet", and Acts records Peter and Stephen proclaiming him the prophet like Moses (Acts 3; 7).

Fulfilled in his life
Gen 49:10

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes

The New Testament presents Jesus as the Messiah from Judah's royal line, a verse Jews at Qumran also read messianically.

Fulfilled typologically
Hos 11:1

"Out of Egypt have I called my son"

Matthew records the holy family's return from Egypt, with Jesus retracing Israel's exodus.

Recorded in the Gospels
Jer 31:15

Rachel weeping for her children

Matthew records Herod's massacre of the children of Bethlehem.

Recorded in the Gospels
Isa 40:3; Mal 3:1; 4:5

A forerunner: "the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness" / "my messenger"

John the Baptist, a renowned prophet, preached immediately before Jesus; the Gospels present him as the one who prepared the way.

Fulfilled in his life
Zech 9:9

Entry to Jerusalem on a donkey

Mark and John record Jesus entering Jerusalem humbly, riding on a donkey.

Fulfilled in his life
Zech 11:12-13

Thirty pieces of silver; potter's field

Matthew records the thirty pieces of silver and the purchase of the potter's field.

Recorded in the Gospels
Zech 12:10

"They shall look upon me whom they have pierced"

Jesus was pierced on the cross; John's Gospel records the spear thrust and presents it as eyewitness testimony.

Fulfilled in his life
Ps 16:10

Not abandoned to Sheol; will not see corruption

Acts records Peter and Paul proclaiming this fulfilled in his resurrection (Acts 2; 13).

Attested by witnesses
Isa 61:1-2; 35:5-6

Anointed to proclaim good news to the poor; healings

The Gospels remember Jesus healing and bringing good news to the poor; his opponents conceded his reputation for wonders, and a scroll from before his time links such works to the Messiah.

Fulfilled in his life
Ezek 37:24-28; Isa 2:4; 11:9; Jer 23:5-6

The Messiah rebuilds the Temple, gathers the exiles, and brings universal peace and knowledge of God

Christians hold that the rebuilt Temple, the gathering of the exiles and universal peace await his return.

Awaiting his return
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Rachel weeping for her children

How fulfilledRecorded in the GospelsResearch ratingEngineered

King James Version
The prophecy
Jer 31:15

15Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

Read the surrounding verses

12Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.

13Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.

15Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.

16Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.

18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.

The fulfilment
Matt 2:17-18

17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

Read the surrounding verses

14When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

15And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.

17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet, saying,

18In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

19But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.

21And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

The Christian case

Matthew records that Herod, hearing of a newborn king, had the young children of Bethlehem killed, and that "then was fulfilled" Jeremiah's word (): "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children" (). Rachel was buried by tradition near Bethlehem (), and that tradition is the basis of Matthew's link. Matthew writes "then was fulfilled", not his usual "that it might be fulfilled". The strongest case for the event itself rests on Herod's documented cruelty, including killings he ordered after a prediction about a coming king (Josephus, Antiquities 17.2.4), and on the size of the village: Bethlehem was small enough that a dozen deaths might have gone unrecorded.

What the research found

The massacre appears only in Matthew, and the story closely follows a well-known Jewish account of Moses' birth. On the evidence, the massacre is judged more likely to have been composed than remembered. Jeremiah's passage itself is a word of consolation about the exile, not a prediction.

Explore the counterarguments

In Jeremiah, Rachel weeps for the children taken into exile and is told to stop, for "thy children shall come again to their own border" (); Ramah was where the exiles were gathered (). One tradition places Rachel's tomb near Bethlehem, but another places it elsewhere (). Matthew 2 follows the Jewish Moses-birth legend that Josephus also tells (Antiquities 2.9.2-3): learned men foretell a deliverer, the king kills the infants, and a father is guided in a dream; and quotes the angel's words to Moses. Luke's independent infancy story has no threat from Herod, and Josephus, who reports Herod's killings in detail, does not mention it. The only other ancient mention, Macrobius (about 430), is late, places the killings "in Syria", and depends on the Christian story.

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