The Fulfillment of Scripture in the Gospel According to John

(avg. read time: 10–20 mins.)

Today marks the conclusion of a series that has addressed the other three Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Like the other Gospels, John’s work is shaped by Scripture in more ways than we can properly address here. As with the other entries in this series, 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. 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. 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.

John 1:23

As with the Synoptic parallels, John here quotes part of Isa 40:3. The form of the quote differs more from the LXX/OG than the quotes in the Synoptics do. John quotes a smaller portion of v. 3 and uses a different construction. Whereas the Synoptics use the verb ποιέω for “make” preceded by the adjective for “straight,” John conveys this more directly with a single verb that carries the sense of “make straight” (εὐθύνω). This also fits with the fact that this quote from John the Baptist himself (rather than the narrator) combines the latter clauses of v. 3, so that instead of saying “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths,” he says, “make straight the way of the Lord.” 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, particularly since that larger text frames how we are to understand Jesus and John. John in particular makes these larger connections elsewhere in his book (6:32–58; 11:51–52; cf. the reference to Jesus as “tabernacling” among us in 1:14). This is presented as a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

John 1:45; 5:39, 45–47

In the first chapter we see the first of many general references to Scripture, for which our basic procedure will not be as applicable. Philip says to Nathaniel, “We have found the one of whom Moses and the prophets wrote in the law/Torah, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” No specific text is mentioned anywhere in the context, and no specific action is linked to the fulfillment. Philip is invoking messianic hope more generally, on which there were many texts to point to. Jesus himself is obviously the fulfillment of Scripture here. The kind of fulfillment seems to include direct fulfillment of prophecy and other means of fulfillment, since it is more broadly the fulfillment/completion of the larger scriptural narrative. Much the same could be said of 5:39 and 45–47 with Jesus’s reference to the Scriptures (with specific reference to Moses) testifying about him.

John 2:22

This is another general reference to Scripture in which the narrator makes explicit that the disciples only realized the fulfillment of Scripture in later retrospect. Jesus had said the sign by which he would demonstrate his authority to do as he had done in the temple was, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it” (2:19). The narrator says that Jesus was speaking of his body (2:21), “Therefore when he arose from the dead, his disciples were reminded that he said this, and they had faith in/believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus spoke” (2:22). As with Luke 24 and 1 Cor 15:3–4 (on which see here and here), it is Jesus’s resurrection in relation to the third day/three days that is the fulfillment of Scripture. Particular scriptures related to the three-day/third-day motif may have been brought to mind, and Jesus himself may have drawn attention to some of them. In the absence of a quote, the singular “Scripture” works here, like others we will see later, to evoke Scripture as a whole. Jesus’s resurrection happened in accord with Scripture, as well as with his own declaration in his earthly ministry, in order to bring to fruition the whole story of Scripture (i.e., to fulfill it).

John 6:45

The text Jesus references here is Isa 54:13a. For as brief as it is, it is not quite a match for the LXX/OG. As in my synoptic comparisons, I have marked absolute similarities as plain font, variations of form or synonyms as italics, and complete differences as bold font:

Isa 54:13a (LXX): καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς θεοῦ

John 6:45: καὶ ἔσονται πάντες διδακτοὶ θεοῦ

The nominative as opposed to the accusative better matches the function of the Hebrew equivalent as represented in the MT (as well as 1QIsa^a). However, the use of “God” rather than “Lord” as the stand-in for YHWH is the one absolute match for the LXX, besides the extremely common conjunction. Furthermore, this quote omits “your children” to make the application more direct and immediate while adding a future-tense copula that is null/gapped in the Hebrew to make explicit that this is a verb-subject-predicate construction. (Interestingly, it is not null/gapped in the Aramaic Targum of this text.) The fulfillment of this text is identified by God’s overall action, both present and future, of drawing people to Jesus to be his disciples, whom Jesus will also raise in the last day (John 6:44–46).

It is likely that this is broadly evocative of the context from Isaiah, given the common eschatological connections, the exemplification of return from exile and new exodus themes, and the proximity of the text to the climactic song of the servant of the Lord. Interestingly, the phrasing of being “taught by God/a disciple of God” was linked with messianic expectation in Pss. Sol. 17:32, though there it is linked most specifically with the Messiah. This fits with the larger eschatological significance of the Isaiah text in its context. Similarly, John has many broad contextual connections to Isaiah that are generally more distant and thematic, but the significance of drawing on this text comes from the larger eschatological significance of the Isaianic context and the eschatological context in John. This is an inaugurated fulfillment that will yet be consummated in the time Jesus himself foretells of the resurrection of the dead. Moreover, context of John shows how the scope of the promise is broader in some ways—so that those among the nations are also included—and more restricted in other ways—so that the “all” includes those who the Father draws and not just any of the biological children of Israel—than might have been expected at the time. In any case, this use of Scripture is presented as a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

John 7:38–39

This is a case akin to Matt 2:23 in that no specific text matches the quote: “The one who has faith/believes in me, just as the Scripture said, ‘rivers of living water will flow from his belly.’” The paraphrase or summary seems connected (especially in light of the setting of this teaching during the Feast of Tabernacles/Sukkoth, which involved a water ritual invoking such promises) to Ezek 47:1–12 and Zech 14:8–9 of a river of living water coming from the temple/Jerusalem in the eschaton when God’s kingdom is established. Of course, more texts may still be in mind, and many have been noted related to living or abundant water in the imagery of eschatological blessings (including Isa 12:3; 43:19–20; 44:3; 49:10; 58:11; Ezek 36:25–27; Joel 3:18). While certain texts may be closer to the surface of this paraphrase or summary, it is the larger theme that is being referenced, and it is fitting to do so in light of the significance attached to the setting of the Feast of Tabernacles and the eschatological expectations it was linked to (such as in Zech 14). This is thus another case like Matt 2:23 where the fulfillment concerns the larger scriptural story, or at least a particular theme within that story.

The next sentence actually says what is the fulfillment of the quote: “Now he said these things about the Spirit which the ones who have faith in him were about to receive; for the Spirit was not yet [given], because Jesus was not yet glorified” (7:39). We see elsewhere in John (particularly chs. 14–16 and 20; also see here) how the dispensation of the Holy Spirit is connected with the accomplishment of the major gospel events, especially Jesus’s resurrection. Jesus’s resurrection and the dispensation of the Holy Spirit—in light of the Spirit’s bond with Jesus—are thus connected with the fulfillment of this eschatological promise, not least because Jesus himself is the temple-in-person (particularly in view of texts like ch. 2, Ezek 47, and Zech 14).

John 12:14–16

The text quoted here is Zech 9:9. John and Matthew are the only Gospels to quote the text, although it clearly shapes the others. John’s is a more condensed quotation than Matthew’s, but neither of them quite follow the LXX/OG (nor any of the other 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 clearly distinguished, as is possible in the parallel structure in the Hebrew. John’s citation is akin to John the Baptist’s reference to Isa 40:3 in its condensing and merging of clauses. Indeed, it seems independent of any translation. To highlight the differentiation, here again are the texts juxtaposed:

Zech 9:9 (LXX): χαῖρε σφόδρα, θύγατερ Σιών· κήρυσσε, θύγατερ Ἰερουσαλήμ· ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεται σοι δίκαιος καὶ σῴζων αὐτός, πραὺς καὶ ἐπιβεβηκὼς έπὶ ὑποζύγιον καὶ πῶλον νέον.

John 12:15: μὴ φοβοῦ, θυγάτηρ Σιών· ἰδοὺ ὁ βασιλεύς σου ἔρχεται, καθήμενος ἐπὶ πῶλον ὄνου.

There is no apparent theological motivation for omitting much of the text in bold (indeed, it would fit John’s christological presentation), but it comports with the aforementioned example of a condensed reference. 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 (for a review, see here), particularly in relation to the major events of the gospel narrative. This is yet another case of direct fulfillment of prophecy.

John 12:37–38

When John describes the people’s rejection of Jesus, one of the texts he uses to frame it is Isa 53:1. The quote is a match for the LXX/OG, and it also fits with the Hebrew of the MT. John is explicit about what fulfills this text: the people rejected f Jesus, as they did not have faith in him in spite of the signs he did. Given how this text exerts such influence even where it is not directly quoted, it should be clear that John and other authors are aware of the context, but this reference is simply pointing to one of the ways in which the story of Jesus fulfills this larger expectation of the servant. This may be a case of direct fulfillment of prophecy, since that is how the text of the last Servant Song is generally treated (also see 12:41), the first-person speech here could be seen as reaching its prosopological fulfillment as Isaiah is shown to have been speaking in the persona of Christ.

John 12:39–40

The second text cited here is Isa 6:10. I have explored the use of Isa 6:9–10 in relation to Jesus’s use of parables elsewhere as part of my series on the subject of parables. This text shows that there were multiple ways of relating the text to Jesus’s ministry, although the same broad phenomenon of response is the impetus for referring to it. Unlike Matthew’s use, this version does not really match the LXX/OG. Besides the structure being reworked from a chiasm to a parallelism (which is also helped by omitting reference to the ears), most of the verbs are different, although they are synonymous. John is working with an independent translation of what text he uses, whether it is his own or it comes from another source. The fulfillment is once again the faithless rejection of Jesus by the people. I have explored in the aforementioned post how the use in Matt 13 resonates with the contexts of Isa 6, and much the same can be applied here, albeit from a perspective even later in Jesus’s ministry. Indeed, John’s context is particularly resonant in light of ch. 9 with its story of Jesus’s healing of the blind man and the contrast of his response with that of the Jewish leaders, who have a worse blindness. The kind of fulfillment here also differs from the text’s use in Matthew. In both cases, there is pattern fulfillment, but in light of 12:41 framing this text as Isaiah seeing Jesus’s glory and speaking about him, it is an eschatologically focused typology rather than a moral one. It shows that these Jews’ rejection of Jesus was in line with Scripture and was even included in it as part of the plan whereby God’s will would be accomplished.

John 13:18

After washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus says that one of them will betray him to fulfill a Scripture referring to one who “lifted his heel” against him. The Scripture quoted is Ps 41:9b (41:10b MT; 40:10b LXX). Once again, the text does not match the LXX/OG. The initial verb used is the same one used in Jesus’s bread of life discourse in John 6:54–58 (the Vulgate uses the same term through the psalm and the texts in John). “Bread” is singular as in the MT but not the LXX, and the possessive appears before it in contrast to the LXX. The verb is more general than either the LXX or MT, where the “lifting up” has the since of glorifying, magnifying, or exalting. Even the term for “heel” differs between these two Greek translations. The possessive pronoun also appears here without parallel in the LXX or MT. It is another independent rendering. The fulfillment is Judas’s betrayal of Jesus after sharing bread with Jesus (and for a long time at that).

The contextual resonance is somewhat complicated. On the one hand, the most immediate context is not directly pertinent here, as the first line of this sentence indicates that there was previously trust between the subject and his betrayer. This line is probably not quoted here because John has noted at multiple points in the Gospel that Jesus knew Judas would betray him (6:64, 70–71; 13:10–11, 19, 21; 17:12). This simply accentuates what the other Gospels also convey during the Last Supper narratives and afterwards. By contrast, in the original situation, perhaps Ahithophel’s betrayal of David (as is traditionally posited), David did trust Ahithophel.

On the other hand, the association of this psalm with David resonates with Jesus’s larger presentation as Messiah. Other aspects of the psalm also resonate both with Judas’s betrayal and with Jesus’s expectation of vindication and victory. Indeed, the next sentence refers to the expectation of being “raised up,” which obviously has terminological resonance with Jesus’s expectation of resurrection after his death that Judas’s betrayal leads to. The fulfillment here is one of typology, specifically of a messianic typology, wherein the Messiah like David and born from his line goes beyond David as one who is the ultimate executor of God’s will.

John 15:24–25

As part of Jesus’s teaching on the hostility of the world to him (15:18–24), he says this has been in fulfillment what has been written: “They hated me without cause.” The short quote has been identified as Pss 35:19 (34:19 LXX) and/or 69:4 (68:5 LXX). The short quote matches the LXX/OG of both, permitting grammatical adjustment for the new context from the plural participle in the LXX and MT to the plural verb in John. The fulfillment of the texts is the world’s response to Jesus.

Since the same phrasing appears in both cited texts, this obstructs the consideration of the contextual resonance that we have explored previously. Psalm 69 may be the more likely reference, since John previously referenced the psalm in 2:17 (Ps 69:9). In that case, he would obviously be aware of the larger context of the quote and how it connects typologically with the story of Jesus. At the same time, the fact that it could be from multiple texts, and that it has connections with psalms where the vocabulary differs, may indicate that the larger theme is being evoked here of the righteous being hated and God’s expected vindicating action. Depending on what kind of reference to Scripture this is, we could be dealing with a typological fulfillment or a fulfillment of a larger narrative theme of Scripture.

John 17:12

This case is not tied to a specific quote in the text itself. When Jesus refers to the presence of the “son of destruction/perdition” in order that the Scripture should be fulfilled, he may mean one of two things. One, he could be implicitly referring to the Scripture he already quoted in reference to Judas’s betrayal. Two, he could be referring to Scripture as a whole. I think the latter is more likely, given the general references to Scripture being fulfilled in the context of Jesus’s betrayal and arrest in the other Gospels. The betrayal fulfills Scripture, but it also leads into other events that fulfill Scripture.

John 19:24

The text the narrator cites here is from Ps 22:18 (22:19 MT; 21:19 LXX). The text matches the LXX/OG as well as the MT. The fulfillment of this text is the guards dividing his garments by lot. Psalm 22 has often been noted for its connections to the crucifixion story throughout (see also Matt 27:35–43; Mark 15:34). On the one hand, this fits other citations in John that present Jesus in the tradition—and as the climactic embodiment of—the suffering faithful and righteous one. On the other hand, this is one of the texts with which there are the most connections of detail. The fulfillment here may be described as one of messianic typology or messianic prosopology, wherein David is shown to have been speaking in the persona of Christ in anticipation of his suffering.

John 19:28

This is the shortest quote related to the fulfillment of Scripture, and it relates to Jesus’s thirst as he was dying. Since it is a quote of Jesus that is framed as fulfilling Scripture, it does not exactly match the text it is often thought to reference, namely Ps 69:21. It is more distantly connected with Ps 22:14–15. With either text, we know that John was aware of other connections with the broader context. But because of how brief the connection is, it is likely that this contributes to the larger portrait of Jesus as the climactic suffering faithful and righteous one, for his suffering because of the sins of others will also bring about atonement. The fulfillment could be described as typological or, more likely, as a larger narrative fulfillment of Scripture, or at least of a particular theme therein.

John 19:36

In explanation of why Jesus’s bones were not broken, beyond the immediate practical context of the situation of his death, the narrator cites a text that says, “his bones will not be broken.” This basically fits Exod 12:46 (as well as Num 9:12), although the form of the verb is different, since the subject of the verb is the Lamb whose bones are not broken rather than those who are not to break the bones, and there is no preposition. The form of the verb is as it is in Ps 34:20 (33:21 LXX), another case of referring to the suffering faithful and righteous one. It is thus not a precise fit for the LXX/OG of either text, but it fits as a composite, if that is how we are to understand it and not as a grammatical adjustment of the reference to the bones to put the focus on them rather than the acting subject. At the same time, one could understand the composite as being mediated through the significant lexical linkage between the texts. The fulfillment of the text(s) is Jesus’s bones not being broken when he died. The former text frames this significance in terms of the Passover lamb, which makes sense in light of the setting across all the Gospels. The latter text, as noted previously, links this aspect of Jesus’s story with the suffering faithful and righteous one. As such, we can see how there are broad connections between the contexts of these Scriptures and the gospel story. In terms of the Passover lamb, one could speak of this as a case of eschatological-typological fulfillment, which fits with John’s broader theme of Jesus fulfilling Jewish festivals and holy days (see here for example). In terms of the motif of the suffering faithful and righteous one, this is again a larger narrative fulfillment of Scripture, particularly of a certain theme therein. In this case, both kinds of fulfillment are merged just as the texts are.

John 19:37

The other Scripture cited in this context is Zech 12:10b. For only being four words, it manages not to match a single word from the LXX/OG version. The second verb is the same as what appears in Aquila and Theodotion (Symmachus has a compound version), all of which differ markedly from the form in the LXX/OG. The prepositional phrase fits with one of the two in Theodotion. But the first verb does not match any of the Greek versions. One source of difference is that John only has one prepositional phrase rather than two, since he has omitted the additional “on me” as identifying the one who was pierced. This fits what we have seen elsewhere of John sometimes condensing references. Otherwise, this is an independent translation of the Hebrew, whether by John himself or another source of translation, which happens to match the later Theodotion better than any of the other Greek translations.

Again, the fulfillment of the text concerns Jesus’s crucifixion and others looking upon him after his piercing. We have already noted how the context generally resonates with the context of the closing chapters of Zechariah. I have also highlighted elsewhere how the resonances did not look like what anyone expected at first. But that larger context is also seen as pointing to yet future action from the crucified Jesus. The crucifixion has inaugurated the fulfillment, but it is not yet consummated, as those who pierced him will once again look upon him at his Second Coming (Rev 1:7; cf. Matt 24:30). This fulfillment is also a direct fulfillment of prophecy.

John 20:9

This text is similar to John 2:22. Both refer to retrospective realizations that it was necessary for Jesus’s resurrection to happen for Scripture to be fulfilled. As with Luke 24 and 1 Cor 15, as noted above, it is not that no specific scriptures were in mind, but multiple ones could be called on to make the point. Moreover, the general reference signifies how Scripture as a whole is fulfilled by the gospel narrative. Jesus’s resurrection happened in accord with Scripture, as well as with his own declaration in his earthly ministry, in order to bring to fruition the whole story of Scripture (i.e., to fulfill it).