4 WAYS
The New Testament Quotes the Old Testament
- Literal Prophecy… Plus Literal Fulfillment
Micah 5:2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”
Matthew 2:5–6 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, Are by nomeansleastamong the leaders of Judah; For out of you shall comeforth a RulerWho will shepherd My peopleIsrael.’ ”
Isaiah 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.
Matthew 1:22–23 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be withchild and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His nameImmanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
- Literal… Plus Typical (Typology)
Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
Matthew 2:15 He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I calledMy Son.”
Hos 11:1 is not even a prophecy; it is speaking of a literal historical event, which was the Exodus (Ex 4:22–23). Israel, as a nation, is the son of God: Israel is my son, my firstborn. The literal meaning of Hosea 11:1 is an historical verse dealing with an historical event, the Exodus. However, the literal Old Testament event becomes a type of a New Testament event. Now there is a more ideal Son of God, the individual Son of God, the Messianic Son of God, the Messiah Himself. When Jesus as a babe was brought out of the land of Egypt, God was again bringing His Son out of Egypt. This is a type and anti-type. The type was Israel, the national son coming out of Egypt. The anti-type is the Messianic Son of God also coming out of Egypt.
- Literal… Plus Application
Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the Lord, “A voice is heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; She refuses to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”
Matthew 2:17–18 Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, Weeping and greatmourning, Rachelweeping for her children; And she refused to be comforted, Because they were no more.”
In the original context, Jeremiah is speaking of an event soon to come as the Babylonian Captivity begins. As the Jewish young men were being taken away into captivity, they went by the town of Ramah. Not too far from Ramah is where Rachel was buried and she was the Old Testament symbol of Jewish motherhood. As the young Jewish men were marched toward Babylon, the Jewish mothers of Ramah came out weeping for the sons they would never see again. Jeremiah pictured this as Rachel weeping for her children; And she would not be comforted, because they are not. Rachel weeping symbolized Jewish mothers weeping. That is the literal meaning of Jeremiah 31:15.
In the New Testament, because of one simple point of similarity, that verse is quoted. It is not a literal fulfillment, nor a full-scale typology, but simply an application because of one point of similarity. In the New Testament case, the one point of similarity was: Jewish mothers weeping for sons they will never see again, because Herod had slaughtered all the males of Bethlehem from the age of two years and under. Jewish mothers were again weeping for their sons. Everything else is different. In Jeremiah the event takes place at Ramah, north of Jerusalem; in Matthew it takes place in Bethlehem, south of Jerusalem. In Jeremiah the sons are still alive but are going into captivity; in Matthew the sons are dead. Because of one point of similarity, the New Testament quotes the Old Testament as an application only.
- Summation
Matthew 2:23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets: “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
The apparent quotation is, “he should be called a Nazarene,” but no such statement is to be found anywhere in the Old Testament. Some have tried to connect this with Isaiah 11:1, but that connection is far-fetched. In verse 23, Matthew uses the plural term “prophets,” so at least two references might be expected, but there is not even one. The fourth category does not have a direct quotation from the Old Testament as with the first three, but only a summary of what the Old Testament taught. The clue is when the word “prophet” is used in the plural, as it is here. In the first three categories, the word “prophet” is, in most cases, used in the singular. In the fourth category, it is used in the plural, “spoken through the prophets.” The author is not quoting, but summarizing what the prophets said. In this case, the prophets said, “he should be called a Nazarene.”
What was a Nazarene? In the first century, Nazarenes were a despised people. The term was used to reproach and to shame. This attitude is reflected in John 1:45–46:
45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. (asv)
Nathanael’s question, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” is a reflection of the low opinion people had of Nazarenes. People who were Nazarenes were despised and rejected. And what did the Prophets say about the Messiah? The Prophets did predict that the Messiah would be a despised and rejected individual. The specific term “Nazarene” is a convenient way of summarizing this teaching; not a quotation as such, but a Summary.
One more example of this fourth category is Matthew 26:54–56: 54How then should the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? 55 In that hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a robber with swords and staves to seize me? I sat daily in the temple teaching, and ye took me not. 56 But all this is come to pass, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples left him, and fled. (asv)
Although Jesus taught them in clear language, within the Temple Compound, yet they rejected Him. This rejection is now obvious in that they are in the Garden of Gethsemane, ready to arrest Him. He said that all this has come to pass “that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” No single prophet prophesied what was happening there, in the words that Jesus used. But the Prophets together did say that the Messiah would be rejected. He would be arrested and undergo a trial. Just one passage alone, Isaiah 53, is a good example of this. [1]
[1] Fruchtenbaum, A. G. (1998). Messianic Christology : A study of Old Testament prophecy concerning the first coming of the Messiah (146–152). Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries.