The Fulfillment of Scripture in the Gospel According to Matthew

(avg. read time: 11–23 mins.)

Today, I am making a sequel to a post I had done for Acts, which had a similar spinoff for 1 Peter. It is only appropriate to continue this series with the Gospel according to Matthew, not only because it is canonically the first book in the NT, but also because it has more direct references to the fulfillment of Scripture than any of the Gospels. Naturally, much of the ground here has already been covered to some extent in posts I have done on Matthew, such as here, here, and here. But it is time to have a post dedicated to the overarching subject.

As with the Acts post, I am focusing here on explicit Scripture references where something is said to happen in accordance with Scripture, and Scripture may or may not be directly quoted to this effect. In the case of Matthew, there usually is a direct quote, but I include both conditions because not every Scripture quote contributes to the theme of fulfillment, and some fulfillments are linked to texts that are not explicit quotes. Also as in the Acts post, for each instance I proceed in the following steps. First, I identify the text. Second, I examine the form of the Scripture reference, including whether or not it agrees with the LXX/OG when it is a quote. Third, I identify what is said to fulfill Scripture. Fourth, I consider whether the use of Scripture in some way resonates with the original context the text is taken from. Fifth, I seek to determine what kind of fulfillment or use of Scripture each instance constitutes.

Matthew 1:22–23

The text here is Isa 7:14. This is quite a famous quote of scriptural prophecy. The similarity of the term for “virgin” (παρθένος) with the LXX/OG (as well as the Vulgate and Peshitta) has often been noted, but strictly speaking, the text quoted here is not an exact match for the LXX/OG. In the vast majority of manuscripts, it differs from the LXX/OG in the form of the verb for “call” (καλέσουσι vs. καλέσεις in the LXX/OG). However, this simply seems to be a grammatical adjustment, as the text is not addressed as a command to Joseph, and it thus has the sense of referring to what others will call Jesus. The fulfillment of this text is, of course, Jesus’s conception in the virgin Mary. As I have argued previously, this is a presentation of a typological fulfillment of Scripture, and the typology operates at multiple levels in ways that resonate with the context of Isa 7:14.

Matthew 2:5–6

Since I have addressed the use of Scripture in Matt 2 elsewhere, I will not address them in as much depth here. The first Scripture in this chapter is from Mic 5:2 with added text that resembles 2 Sam 5:2. The Greek has several points of contact with the LXX/OG so that they are identifiably of the same reference to Bethlehem, but Matthew’s text is not of the LXX/OG. Nor is there any other version of the LXX that we know of that it is significantly closer to. Nor is it especially closer to the MT or other versions. By all accounts, this is a translation that first appears with Matthew. The variations—such as “in the land of Judah,” “by no means the least,” and a variation of 2 Sam 5:2 of how the ruler shepherds the people of Israel (which is itself an image present in Mic 5)—accentuate the messianic character of the one who fulfills the text, including in his role as shepherd/ruler and the amplification of David (so that the once insignificant village of David is no longer the least in Judah).¹ The fulfillment of the text is, of course, none other than Jesus’s birth in Bethlehem as the promised Davidic king. The rest of the Gospel will unfold how this fulfillment was not quite what anyone had expected. And again, I have gone over how this use of the text resonates with the original context elsewhere. It is a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 2:15

The next short quote comes from Hos 11:1. Despite its length, it is notably different from the LXX/OG.

LXX/OG: ἐξ Αἰγύπτου μετεκάλεσα τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ.

Matthew: ἐξ Αἰγύπτου ἐκάλεσα τὸν υἱόν μου.

Matthew appears to be using an independent rendition of the Hebrew, but it is notable how close the translation is to Aquila and Theodotion. The fulfillment of this text is identified as Jesus and his family being brought out of Egypt, where they had fled after Herod the Great’s attempt on his life. As I argued in the aforementioned link, this use of the text resonates with the broader context of Hos 11, and the fulfillment is best described as a typological one similarly directed to fulfilling the larger text’s promise of new exodus.

Matthew 2:17–18

This quote is of Jer 31:15 [38:15 LXX] and, you guessed it, it is not from the LXX/OG. It appears to be an independent translation that has some incidental overlap with the LXX, particularly at the beginning and end of the quote. Interestingly, Aquila matches the translation of the penultimate verb, but otherwise there is no significant overlap between the translations that Matthew does not share with the LXX. The fulfillment of this text is the Slaughter of the Innocents, and I have gone over how the use here resonates with the context of Jer 31. This is another case of typological fulfillment (or at least some kind of pattern fulfillment).

Matthew 2:23

The final quote of Matt 2 is from no particular text. For that reason, here I abandon my typical format to address the text as I have previously. We are told that Jesus dwelt in Nazareth to fulfill what was spoken through the prophets that he will be called a Nazorean/Nazarene. This connection is a curious one. You will not find a single text in the OT that says this precise thing in either the Hebrew or the LXX. A further peculiarity is that this is the only formulaic quotation in Matthew that refers to a statement as being from multiple “prophets.” This citation is also peculiar for its use of ὅτι before the quotation rather than λέγω or γράφω. As such (and here I agree with R. T. France in his Matthew commentary and the aforementioned article), much like other instances of referring to multiple scriptures being fulfilled (Matt 26:54, 56; Mark 14:49; Luke 24:27, 45; John 5:39; Acts 17:2–3; 18:28; Rom 1:2; 1 Cor 15:3–4), it is perhaps better to see here the fulfillment of the larger scriptural story, or at least a theme within that story, rather than a reference that has multiple specific bits of text in mind. Thus, we should probably not look strictly to Isa 11:1 (which features a wordplay on the term for “branch” that works in Hebrew, but which is obscured in Greek) or Judg 13 (which works on the Greek level, but only with one term and that out of keeping with the Gospel context, since Jesus was no Nazirite). Rather, it was appropriate that Jesus should live in Nazareth because it fits with the theme of God’s chosen ones arising from humble origins (which was true of both some political/military leaders and some prophets) and expectations that God’s holy servant would be despised and rejected (cf. Ps 22; Isa 52:13–53:12; Zech 11). Interestingly the Isa 11 passage does fit in this context, but for imagistic reasons, rather than terminological ones, as it refers to a branch arising from the stump of Jesse.

It is difficult to say with much confidence if all this is what Matthew was trying to communicate, not least because of the number of peculiarities in this text, but this seems to fit with other tendencies that we have noted, it fits with OT themes, and it fits with the rest of Matthew. After all, ironically in light of 2:23, Jesus himself was despised and rejected in his humble hometown of Nazareth (13:54–58). Jesus also says that he has no place to rest his head (8:20), that he was despised by his own generation as John was (11:16–19), and he sets the precedent for his followers in applying the imagery of the rejected stone in Ps 118:22 to himself (21:42). Indeed, he is rejected at many other points in his ministry by the teachers who oppose him, to the point that he predicts his death at the hands of the leaders, as well as his resurrection in vindication by God (16:21; 17:22–23; 20:18–19). He even tells his followers to expect that the world will treat them as they have treated him (10:17–39; 16:24–26; 24:9–14). His settling at Nazareth portends this larger story, even as it hinges that story to OT themes. This one, God’s elect, the one who is God with us, was born as a vulnerable baby in Bethlehem. Then after the attempt on his life, he grows up in humble circumstances in a village that history would never remember were it not his hometown. The fact that he is called a Nazorean/Nazarene may not be referenced directly anywhere in the OT, but no statement in Matthew’s Gospel more succinctly summarizes the manner in which Jesus entered the world than that “God with us,” the executor of God’s will, the King of the kingdom of heaven, would spend his life being called a Nazarene.

Matthew 3:3

After these opening chapters, we find our first text that is quoted at parallel points in the other Gospels. The quote is of Isa 40:3. The form largely agrees with the LXX/OG, but it differs in referring to “his paths” as opposed to “the paths of our God.” The fulfillment of this text is the coming of John the Baptist and his ministry. 

Luke’s own quote of this text up to v. 5 indicates that there were more perceived connections with the context of this quote than just the quote of v. 3 itself (Luke 3:5–6). Given the significance of Isa 40 for exemplifying the promises of return from exile and new exodus, it should be unsurprising that one can find broader connections with the text. After all, the connections with these hopes have been set up by previous texts that Matthew has referenced, especially Hos 11 and Jer 31. This is presented as a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 4:14–16

Jesus’s move to Capernaum leads to the next quote, which comes from Isa 9:1–2. Particularly with how Matthew leads into the description by describing Capernaum “by the sea in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali” (4:13), we see how this fits the tendency of Matthew to connect places to the fulfillment of Scripture. Yet again, the form of the text differs at several points from the LXX, overlapping mainly in the place names and the language connected with light and darkness. The fulfillment of this text is linked with Jesus’s coming to Capernaum to begin ministering from there.

I have already noted elsewhere how the larger context of Isa 7–9 fits with Matthew, and so the resonance of this text with that larger context is implied as well. The significance of referring to Galilee as “Galilee of the nations/gentiles” also fits a larger theme of Matthew that connects Jesus with the larger text. The centurion comes to Jesus to ask him for healing of his servant and he demonstrates to Jesus his superlative faith, which causes Jesus to declare (prior to healing the servant) that others like the centurion will come from the east and west to join in the kingdom’s eschatological feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but those who were supposed to be the children of the kingdom will find themselves in the outer darkness (8:5–13). Jesus’s encounter with the demoniacs was probably in gentile territory (8:28–34), where he would leave behind two witnesses in these demoniacs. And even in ch. 10 in which he instructs the Twelve to go only to the Jews, he speaks in parallelism of how his followers will testify in their persecution, on the one hand being handed over to the local councils and synagogues for flogging, and on the other hand being dragged before governors and kings for the sake of Jesus as a testimony to them and the nations (10:17–18). Because of the parallelism involved here, we should see “the nations” as a reference to the gentiles, particularly since governors and kings would usually be gentiles. Likewise, in this teaching and others, Jesus speaks about how those among the nations—both those who were notoriously wicked and those who were known for their positive responses to YHWH and his representatives—would find the day of judgment more bearable than the people among the Jews who rejected Jesus and his gospel (10:15; 11:21–24; 12:41–42). The reference to Jesus fulfilling Isa 42 refers to the opening verses (vv. 1–4), which close with talking about the gentiles having their hope in him (12:15–21). At one point in his ministry, after his teaching on what makes people clean and unclean, he enters the region of Tyre and Sidon and answers the entreaty of a “Canaanite” woman asking for her daughter to be exorcised of the demon that tortures her (15:21–28). And of course, we are told in multiple climactic teachings, especially in the closing Great Commission, that the gospel will go to all the nations (24:14; 28:19), as well as that all nations will come to Jesus on the day of judgment (25:32).

The eschatological significance of all of this is pronounced in light of the prophetic expectations of the coming of the nations to Jerusalem in the eschatological state (Isa 2:2–5; 11:10–16; 42:1–7; 49:1–6; 60; 66:18–20; Mic 4:1–5; Zech 8:20–23; 14:6–19) and the fact that Jesus has been proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God. But there is still more significance to this theme, and it arguably comes out even more clearly in Matthew than in Mark, where I have observed it previously. This is another case in which Jesus has shaped OT eschatological expectations around himself. Instead of gentiles gathering to the city of God, since it is the central city of his kingdom and the veritable “center” of his manifest presence, they gather to Jesus, the bearer of God’s identity and presence. We see the initial unfolding of this theme in the Christmas story, and it is further adumbrated throughout the Gospel in prolepsis of Jesus’s eschatological vision of gathering all nations to himself in judgment and salvation. This is signaled in this text by reference to a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 8:16–17

This text represents the only direct quote of Isa 53 in Matthew, specifically of v. 4. The quotation in Greek agrees with 1QIsa^a, the MT, and the Vulgate, but not with the LXX/OG (or Targum). It appears that Matthew is either appealing to a Greek translation that better matches the Hebrew, or he has done the translation himself. Either way, it fits with the tendency we have seen to this point of frequently diverging from the LXX. While Isa 53 was more often connected with Jesus’s death, it could secondarily be linked with his resurrection (see the two posts linked at the beginning, as well as here and here). In this case, though, particularly because of the nuances of the Hebrew drawn out in Matthew’s translation, the text is presented as a way of framing Jesus’s healing and exorcism as a fulfillment of Scripture. Given how this text exerts such influence even where it is not directly quoted, it should be clear that Matthew and other authors are aware of the context, but this reference is simply pointing to one of the ways in which Jesus fulfills this larger expectation of the servant. It is less the case that the larger context is evoked in Jesus’s specific action here, but it does fit with his broader tendencies of acting in line with this text. In any case, this is still a direct fulfillment of prophecy with a view to other direct fulfillments of the same prophecy to come.

Matthew 11:10

Most of Matthew’s references to fulfillment of Scripture occur in his narration. This is one of the exceptions to that tendency, as Jesus himself references Mal 3:1 (with some resonance of Exod 23:20 as well). Interestingly, as I noted in my review of quotations in the triple tradition, this is a rare case in which the Gospels all agree on the wording of the Scripture quote and against the LXX/OG (though Matthew has a slightly more extensive quote like Luke [7:27] and differs from the LXX in the same way), particularly in the key verbs used. Jesus quotes this text to describe John the Baptist as the fulfillment, for he is the one “about whom it is/has been written” (Matt 11:10). By implication, particularly through reference to other eschatological expectations coming true in Matt 11:5 (see here and here as well), the description of John as the Elijah who is to come from Mal 4:5 (11:13–14; 17:12–13), and the connection of this text with Isa 40 in application to John (made clearer in Mark 1:2–3), the larger context is most likely being evoked here. After all, in diverse ways, Jesus is presented as the coming of the Lord in flesh in Matthew and the other Gospels. It is another direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 12:15–21

The text quoted here comes from the first Servant Song in Isaiah, namely Isa 42:1–4 in vv. 18–21. The text here significantly differs from the LXX/OG, including in having different vocabulary even in overlapping parts, and it matches the Hebrew as seen in the MT (and 1QIsa^a) more closely. Matthew uses the text to frame Jesus’s larger ministry and the opposition to him, as well as his wish not to make himself known before the right time, as fulfillment of Scripture. The use of the text resonates with the broader context of Isa 42 in light of other uses we have seen of Isaiah, including of another Servant Song in Isa 53 in ch. 8. In particular, these texts identify Jesus with the Isaianic servant who executes God’s will. As with most other uses of Isaiah we have seen to this point, this is a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 13:13–15

I have reviewed this particular use of Scripture, specifically of Isa 6:9–10, elsewhere as part of my series on parables. In this case, Matthew’s Greek text actually matches the LXX/OG, minus the presence of one personal pronoun. What is said to fulfill this text is the response Jesus has received from the crowds. I have explored in the aforementioned post how the use here resonates with the contexts of Isa 6. The use focuses on pattern fulfillment. One could describe it as a kind of moral typological fulfillment or something similar rather than historical or eschatologically focused typology. Or it could be considered a kind of homiletical application wherein a text is found that describes the audience appropriately, and thus they are said to fulfill that pattern. (Although the reference is not specifically described in terms representing fulfillment, the reference to Isa 29:13 in Matt 15:7–9 could be described similarly.)

Matthew 13:35

Another text used for explaining Jesus’s use of parables is Ps 78:2. The first clause is a match for the LXX/OG, but the second clause is decidedly different, even if it has a similar sense. As noted, the fulfillment is tied to his teaching in parables.

There are only broad conceptual similarities between the context of Ps 78 and the context of parables and the response to them. After all, there are familiar dynamics in the story of Israel and the Jews from the psalm that are also at play here (also see here). In such a sense, one could speak of this being another case of fulfilling a pattern, albeit in a climactic fashion befitting the one who is the awaited climax of Israel’s story. Indeed, as with the original text, Jesus’s parables are often related to Israel and its story, and the parables are emblematic of his ministry that serves as the climax of Israel’s story. In these multiple ways, it was fitting for Jesus to fulfill Scripture in how he taught, even as he fulfilled Scripture in so many other ways through his life, ministry, death, resurrection, and exaltation

The pattern fulfillment could be described as a kind of typology, of course. However, there is another alternative we can consider here. Since it is described as what was spoken by “the prophet,” the psalm is described as prophetic speech. And since it is prophetic speech spoken in the first person, there is some justification for seeing this as a kind of prosopological fulfillment, as we have seen elsewhere.

Matthew 21:4–5

This use of Zech 9:9, along with uses in other texts, is one I have explored elsewhere (besides the post on the triple tradition, see here). The form of the text does not follow the LXX/OG or any of the other known Greek versions. Matthew’s is either a personal translation from the Hebrew or a translation that is simply otherwise not attested in which the donkey and the colt are distinguished, as is possible in the parallel structure in the Hebrew. It should also be noted that the opening four words bear closer resemblance to Isa 62:11. The fulfillment is Jesus’s triumphal entry on a donkey, and Jesus’s intention in engaging in this fulfilling action is clear. The connection of this text with its larger context is also clear in light of how Jesus is identified and how other portions of Zech 9–14 are used, especially in this later portion of the Gospel. This is yet another case of direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 21:42

The use of Ps 118:22–23 here is another one I have explored elsewhere. This is another rare case in which there is agreement both between Matthew and the other Gospel authors in the wording of the Scripture quote, as well as between all of them and the LXX/OG. This may be due to the association of this text with this parable being something of a fixed point of tradition. As with Acts 4:10–11 and 1 Pet 2:7, this text is presented as fulfilled by the major gospel events.

The text presents an encapsulation of the larger gospel story, as the narrative dynamics of both texts resonate with each other. As I have noted in the previous link (and here as well), v. 22 in particular encapsulates the larger story of the psalm, and so we can see how it connects with its larger textual context in its use here. This text has been fulfilled in that the narrative dynamics have been actualized in Jesus. Whether this is best described as typology or perhaps as more of a narrative fulfillment apropos to the eschatological events—something like a more specific equivalent of the general references to Scripture—is less clear, though I am inclined to think it is the latter.

Matthew 26:31–32

I have noted this text in my review of Zech 9–14 in the Gospels (linked above), as it is a use of Zech 13:7. The quote does not follow the LXX/OG, despite how short it is. One of the major differences that follows the Hebrew as opposed to the Greek is referring to a singular shepherd instead of multiple shepherds. Another of the major differences is that Matthew uses a different verb referring to the sheep being scattered after the shepherd is struck. The use of this verb does agree with a minority reading among LXX manuscripts, however. Yet another difference is that the opening verb is a simple future, whereas the LXX presents it as an imperative. Matthew also provides a more elaborate description of the “sheep of the flock,” rather than the simple “sheep.” The fulfillment of this text will come with the scattering of the disciples when they abandon Jesus. Again, we have seen that other parts of Zechariah are referenced or evoked in this context, so we can see how this text resonates with that context. One of those ways is, in fact, the promise of restoration after Jesus’s resurrection (26:32), which links this text with the promise to the remnant in Zech 13:8–9 that follows the correspondent of Matt 26:31. This is presented as a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

Matthew 26:24, 54–56

These texts involve general appeals to Scripture, and thus most of the steps will not be applicable to them. Jesus is pointing forward to what will soon happen to him and emphasizing that what will happen has already been written. Indeed, he states that it is necessary for these things to happen to fulfill what has been written about him. The fulfillment is most directly applied to Christ’s forthcoming condemnation, suffering, and death, as well as, by implication, his resurrection and exaltation, but no specific text is cited. We are dealing with some of the many generalized references to Scripture in the NT, as I have noted in my analysis of such in Luke 24. And as I noted there, it is not necessarily that no specific texts were in mind, but there may have been a number of them that could be invoked, and a specific one was not included here. At the same time, the larger point is that the larger story of Scripture led up to these events, and it is in fulfillment of the larger scriptural narrative that Christ’s crucifixion and the other major gospel events happened.

Matthew 27:9–10

The final specific reference, which links to the thirty pieces of silver, is drawn from the reference to the thirty shekels of silver in Zech 11:12–13 composited with allusions to Jer 19:10–13 and 32:6–14. Matthew links it to Jeremiah, as also in the composite reference of 2 Chr 36:21 (cf. Lev 26:34–35; Jer 25:12), since the composite reference is to Zechariah and to Jeremiah (cf. also Mark 1:2). In part because it is composited, it naturally differs from the LXX/OG, but it even differs where there is overlapping content. The price paid for Jesus’s betrayal, and the use of the money to buy a field, provide the fulfillment of these texts. In the original context of Zechariah, it is an insultingly low wage given to Zechariah as the Lord’s representative shepherd. Jesus fulfills this type as it is the price set on his betrayal as the shepherd who will be struck (per Zech 13, as Jesus fulfills both). Thus, consistent with what we have seen elsewhere, the larger context is evoked here. In the case of Jeremiah, it is more the imagery that is borrowed to link to the purchase of the potter’s field. It is something of a typological fulfillment for both Zechariah and Jeremiah.

1. See R. T. France, “The Formula-Quotations of Matthew 2 and the Problem of Communication,” NTS 27 (1980–1981): 242–43.