John 12:38-39

12:38 so that the word ¹  of Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled. He said, ²  “Lord, who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord ³  been revealed?” ⁴  12:39 For this reason they could not believe, ⁵  because again Isaiah said,

John 19:28

Jesus’ Death

19:28 After this Jesus, realizing that by this time ⁶  everything was completed, ⁷  said (in order to fulfill the scripture), ⁸  “I am thirsty!” ⁹ 

John 19:36-37

19:36 For these things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled, “Not a bone of his will be broken.” ¹⁰  19:37 And again another scripture says, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced.” ¹¹ 

Matthew 5:18

5:18 I ¹²  tell you the truth, ¹³  until heaven and earth pass away not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter ¹⁴  will pass from the law until everything takes place.

Matthew 24:35

24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ¹⁵ 

Matthew 26:53-56

26:53 Or do you think that I cannot call on my Father, and that he would send me more than twelve legions ¹⁶  of angels right now? 26:54 How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?” 26:55 At that moment Jesus said to the crowd, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me like you would an outlaw? ¹⁷  Day after day I sat teaching in the temple courts, yet ¹⁸  you did not arrest me. 26:56 But this has happened so that ¹⁹  the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Matthew 27:35

27:35 When ²⁰  they had crucified ²¹  him, they divided his clothes by throwing dice. ²² 

Luke 16:17

16:17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter ²³  in the law to become void. ²⁴ 

Luke 24:26-27

24:26 Wasn’t ²⁵  it necessary ²⁶  for the Christ ²⁷  to suffer these things and enter into his glory?” 24:27 Then ²⁸  beginning with Moses and all the prophets, ²⁹  he interpreted to them the things written about ³⁰  himself in all the scriptures.

Luke 24:44-46

Jesus’ Final Commission

24:44 Then ³¹  he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me ³²  in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms ³³  must be fulfilled.” 24:45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, ³⁴  24:46 and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ ³⁵  would suffer ³⁶  and would rise from the dead on the third day,

Acts 1:16

1:16 “Brothers, ³⁷  the scripture had to be fulfilled that the Holy Spirit foretold through ³⁸  David concerning Judas – who became the guide for those who arrested Jesus –

[12:38]  ¹ tn Or “message.”

[12:38]  ² tn Grk “who said.”

[12:38]  ³ tn “The arm of the Lord” is an idiom for “God’s great power” (as exemplified through Jesus’ miraculous signs). This response of unbelief is interpreted by the author as a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Isaiah (Isa 53:1). The phrase ὁ βραχίων κυρίου (Jo braciwn kuriou) is a figurative reference to God’s activity and power which has been revealed in the sign-miracles which Jesus has performed (compare the previous verse).

[12:38]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Isa 53:1.

[12:39]  ⁵ sn The author explicitly states here that Jesus’ Jewish opponents could not believe, and quotes Isa 6:10 to show that God had in fact blinded their eyes and hardened their heart. This OT passage was used elsewhere in the NT to explain Jewish unbelief: Paul’s final words in Acts (28:26-27) are a quotation of this same passage, which he uses to explain why the Jewish people have not accepted the gospel he has preached. A similar passage (Isa 29:10) is quoted in a similar context in Rom 11:8.

[19:28]  ⁶ tn Or “that already.”

[19:28]  ⁷ tn Or “finished,” “accomplished”; Grk “fulfilled.”

[19:28]  ⁸ sn A reference to Ps 69:21 or Ps 22:15.

[19:28]  ⁹ sn In order to fulfill (τελειωθῇ [teleiwqh], a wordplay on the previous statement that everything was completed [τετέλεσται, tetelestai]) the scripture, he said, “I am thirsty.” The scripture referred to is probably Ps 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Also suggested, however, is Ps 22:15, “My tongue cleaves to the roof of my mouth, and you [God] lay me in the dust of death.” Ps 22:1 reads “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?,” a statement Jesus makes from the cross in both Matt 27:46 and Mark 15:34. In light of the connection in the Fourth Gospel between thirst and the living water which Jesus offers, it is highly ironic that here Jesus himself, the source of that living water, expresses his thirst. And since 7:39 associates the living water with the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ statement here in 19:28 amounts to an admission that at this point he has been forsaken by God (cf. Ps 22:1, Matt 27:46, and Mark 15:34).

[19:36]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, and Ps 34:20. A number of different OT passages lie behind this quotation: Exod 12:10 LXX, Exod 12:46, Num 9:12, or Ps 34:20. Of these, the first is the closest in form to the quotation here. The first three are all more likely candidates than the last, since the first three all deal with descriptions of the Passover lamb.

[19:37]  ¹¹ sn A quotation from Zech 12:10. Here a single phrase is quoted from Zech 12, but the entire context is associated with the events surrounding the crucifixion. The “Spirit of grace and of supplication” is poured out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the first part of v. 10. A few verses later in 13:1 Yahweh (typically rendered as “Lord” in the OT) says “In that day a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for impurity.” The blood which flowed from Jesus’ pierced side may well be what the author saw as the connection here, since as the shedding of the blood of the sacrificial victim it represents cleansing from sin. Although the Jewish authorities and Roman soldiers certainly “looked on the one whom they have pierced” as he hung on the cross, the author may also have in mind the parousia (second coming) here. The context in Zech 12-14 is certainly the second coming, so that these who crucified Jesus will look upon him in another sense when he returns in judgment.

[5:18]  ¹² tn Grk “For I tell.” Here an explanatory γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[5:18]  ¹³ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[5:18]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “Not one iota or one serif.”

[24:35]  ¹⁵ sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.

[26:53]  ¹⁶ sn A legion was a Roman army unit of about 6,000 soldiers, so twelve legions would be 72,000.

[26:55]  ¹⁷ tn Or “a revolutionary.” This term can refer to one who stirs up rebellion: BDAG 594 s.v. λῃστής 2 has “revolutionary, insurrectionist, guerrilla” citing evidence from Josephus (J. W. 2.13.2-3 [2.253-254]). However, this usage generally postdates Jesus’ time. It does refer to a figure of violence. Luke uses the same term for the highwaymen who attack the traveler in the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30).

[26:55]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “and” (καί, kai), a conjunction that is elastic enough to be used to indicate a contrast, as here.

[26:56]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “But so that”; the verb “has happened” is implied.

[27:35]  ²⁰ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[27:35]  ²¹ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[27:35]  ²² tn Grk “by throwing the lot” (probably by using marked pebbles or broken pieces of pottery). A modern equivalent, “throwing dice,” was chosen here because of its association with gambling. According to L&N 6.219 a term for “dice” is particularly appropriate.

[16:17]  ²³ tn Or “one small part of a letter” (L&N 33.37).

[16:17]  ²⁴ tn Grk “to fall”; that is, “to drop out of the text.” Jesus’ point may be that the law is going to reach its goal without fail, in that the era of the promised kingdom comes.

[24:26]  ²⁵ tn This Greek particle (οὐχί, ouci) expects a positive reply.

[24:26]  ²⁶ sn The statement Wasn’t it necessary is a reference to the design of God’s plan (see Luke 24:7). Suffering must precede glory (see Luke 17:25).

[24:26]  ²⁷ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:27]  ²⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:27]  ²⁹ sn The reference to Moses and all the prophets is a way to say the promise of Messiah runs throughout OT scripture from first to last.

[24:27]  ³⁰ tn Or “regarding,” “concerning.” “Written” is implied by the mention of the scriptures in context; “said” could also be used here, referring to the original utterances, but by now these things had been committed to writing.

[24:44]  ³¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[24:44]  ³² sn Everything written about me. The divine plan, events, and scripture itself are seen here as being one.

[24:44]  ³³ sn For a similar threefold division of the OT scriptures, see the prologue to Sirach, lines 8-10, and from Qumran, the epilogue to 4QMMT, line 10.

[24:45]  ³⁴ sn Luke does not mention specific texts here, but it is likely that many of the scriptures he mentioned elsewhere in Luke-Acts would have been among those he had in mind.

[24:46]  ³⁵ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[24:46]  ³⁶ tn Three Greek infinitives are the key to this summary: (1) to suffer, (2) to rise, and (3) to be preached. The Christ (Messiah) would be slain, would be raised, and a message about repentance would go out into all the world as a result. All of this was recorded in the scripture. The remark shows the continuity between Jesus’ ministry, the scripture, and what disciples would be doing as they declared the Lord risen.

[1:16]  ³⁷ tn Grk “Men brothers.” In light of the compound phrase ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί (andre" adelfoi, “Men brothers”) Peter’s words are best understood as directly addressed to the males present, possibly referring specifically to the twelve (really ten at this point – eleven minus the speaker, Peter) mentioned by name in v. 13.

[1:16]  ³⁸ tn Grk “foretold by the mouth of.”