How Many Prophecies Did Jesus Fulfill? (LIST)

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily match my own. - Dr. Bart D. Ehrman

How many prophecies did Jesus fulfill? This question reminds me of an evening about a year ago, at a friend’s book promotion event in downtown Zagreb. After it ended, a group of us (writers, academics, and a few students) wandered off to a local bar to celebrate over beer and conversation. 

At some point in the evening, one of my friend’s colleagues, who also happened to be a former student of mine, asked about my recent work with Bart Ehrman and his team. That one question opened the floodgates to a full-blown discussion about the historical-critical method and the academic study of the Bible.

What struck me most was how quickly the conversation turned toward prophecy. My former student was eager to demonstrate — beyond any doubt — that Jesus is the resurrected Son of God. His primary piece of evidence? The Old Testament prophecies that Jesus allegedly fulfilled. For him, “allegedly” didn’t apply.

He spoke with full conviction: Jesus had, in fact, fulfilled dozens of predictions laid down centuries before his birth. Our discussion lasted more than an hour and reminded me just how deeply rooted this idea of fulfilled prophecy is in the Christian imagination. 

For countless believers, prophecy isn’t only a theological affirmation but also proof, almost mathematical in its force, that Jesus must be who the Gospels claim he is.

And yet, from a historian’s point of view, the matter is far more complex. What do we mean by “prophecy”? Are we speaking of direct predictions and their literal fulfillment? Or are we dealing with more symbolic, typological, or retrospective interpretations?

In this article, we’ll take a close look at 12 specific prophecies that Christians traditionally believe Jesus fulfilled. We’ll begin by asking what ancient Jews during the Second Temple period expected from a messiah in the first place. 

Then we’ll walk through 12 passages often cited as predictions of Jesus’ birth, life, and death, including a couple of alleged prophecy fulfillments found within the New Testament narrative itself.

Throughout, we’ll explore not just what Christians have long believed, but also how modern historical-critical scholars interpret some of these texts, offering a clearer sense of how early followers of Jesus read (and sometimes re-read) their scriptures in light of what they had come to believe about him.

Jewish Expectations of the Messiah in the Second Temple Period

To understand how many prophecies Jesus fulfilled, we first need to step back and explore the historical and religious landscape in which those prophecies took shape. Specifically, we need to ask what Jewish expectations of the Messiah actually looked like before Jesus began his public ministry.

Contrary to popular assumptions, there was no uniform or universally held concept of the Messiah in ancient Judaism. Instead, messianic hopes evolved, shaped by shifting political conditions, theological developments, and scriptural interpretations.

The term “Messiah” comes from the Hebrew mashiach, meaning “anointed one.” It was originally used for kings, priests, and sometimes prophets: Those consecrated for divine service by ritual anointing.

In the earliest biblical texts, the word didn’t necessarily denote a future deliverer or eschatological figure. In fact, for much of the Second Temple period (ca. 516 B.C.E.-70 C.E.), messianism didn’t occupy a central role in Jewish religious life. 

It was only with the emergence of Jewish apocalypticism in the 2nd century B.C.E. (a worldview marked by cosmic dualism, divine judgment, and expectation of imminent intervention and resurrection) that messianic hopes crystallized in new and urgent ways.

The Jewish experience of foreign domination, especially under the Seleucid and later Roman empires, further intensified longings for deliverance. 

As Gershom Scholem insightfully observed, when the Messianic idea gains force within Judaism, it does so “in the closest connection with apocalypticism.” In such moments, messianism becomes more than just a theological category. Rather, it becomes a fervent, even existential, hope.

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Yet even within this apocalyptic framework, there was no consensus about the Messiah’s identity or function. Jewish texts from the period offer a wide range of messianic portraits, often reflecting the diverse needs and imaginations of their communities.

Bart D. Ehrman and Hugo Mendez note:

These messianic expectations weren’t always mutually exclusive, but neither were they harmonized into a single, coherent doctrine. Instead, they coexisted in tension, offering a kind of open scriptural canvas onto which future hopes could be projected.

Understanding this diversity is important when evaluating how many prophecies Jesus fulfilled. If Jewish expectations were themselves varied and fluid, then any claim about Jesus fulfilling “the” messianic prophecies presumes a singular framework that didn’t exist at the time.

After briefly considering Jewish expectations of the Messiah during the Second Temple period, we can now turn to the next stage of our investigation: The specific prophecies Jesus fulfilled, at least according to traditional Christian belief.

How Many Prophecies Did Jesus Fulfill? A List of Notable Ones

How many prophecies did Jesus fulfill? For many Christian apologists, the answer is emphatic: A great many. In their book Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh and Sean McDowell summarize this view with a vivid metaphor:

Of course, the sheer number of proposed prophetic fulfillments varies widely depending on the interpreter: some count dozens, others claim hundreds. Given the constraints of space and the purpose of this article, we’ll not attempt to catalog every example.

What prophecies did Jesus fulfill? Here, we’ll focus on some of the most frequently cited examples, at least according to traditional Christian belief. Just as the early Christians did, we’ll start with the Old Testament prophecies.

But before we dive into the weeds, here’s a neat little cheat sheet: 12 of the most frequently mentioned prophecies Jesus is said to have fulfilled, served up in a tidy table (because who doesn’t love a good prophecy roundup?).

Old Testament Prophecies of Jesus

#1 – Isaiah 7:14

This Isaiah prophecy allegedly declared: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

In the Gospel of Matthew (1:22-23), this verse is explicitly quoted in connection with the birth of Jesus. After narrating the angel’s announcement to Joseph that Mary has conceived by the Holy Spirit, Matthew writes, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet,” followed by a direct citation of Isaiah’s words. For Matthew, Jesus’ miraculous conception is the fulfillment of this ancient prophecy.

#2 – Micah 5:2

Micah 5:2 reads, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephratah… from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel.” This prophecy is cited directly in Matthew 2:5-6, when the magi arrive in Jerusalem asking where the Messiah is to be born.

The chief priests and scribes respond by quoting Micah to indicate that the Messiah must come from Bethlehem. Matthew presents this as a clear fulfillment: Jesus, born in Bethlehem of Judea, is the promised ruler anticipated in Micah’s words.

#3 – Hosea 11:1

Hosea 11:1 states, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” In Matthew 2:14-15, this verse is applied to Jesus after Joseph takes Mary and the child to Egypt to escape King Herod’s massacre. When they later return, Matthew writes, “This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’”

Though Hosea originally refers to Israel’s exodus, Matthew interprets the verse typologically, presenting Jesus as reliving and fulfilling the story of Israel.

#4 – Zechariah 9:9

Zechariah 9:9 proclaims: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion… Behold, your king is coming to you… humble and mounted on a donkey.” This prophecy is directly linked to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21:4-5, where the evangelist quotes the verse as Jesus rides a donkey into the city.

This event, now celebrated as Palm Sunday, is presented by Matthew as a deliberate fulfillment of Zechariah’s words.

#5 – Isaiah 53: The Suffering Servant

This is probably the most famous prophecy that Jesus, according to the traditional Christian view, fulfilled. Isaiah 53 contains a vivid description of a servant who suffers on behalf of others: “He was despised and rejected by men… pierced for our transgressions… and with his wounds we are healed.”

Though Isaiah 53 is never quoted in full in one location, its language is woven throughout the New Testament to portray Jesus’ passion and crucifixion. Also, early Christians consistently viewed Jesus’ suffering and death as a realization of this servant’s fate.

#6 – Psalm 22: Pierced Hands and Feet

Psalm 22 is a lament that begins with the haunting cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This is a line that Jesus utters from the cross in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. The psalm continues with striking imagery: “They have pierced my hands and feet,” and “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

These verses are echoed in the crucifixion narratives of John 19:23-24 and John 19:37, where the Gospel writer presents them as direct fulfillments of prophecy.

#7 – Malachi 3:1/Isaiah 40:3: John the Baptist as Forerunner

As we move into the New Testament, prophecy language doesn’t subside. We find the prophetic typology even before Jesus’ birth in none other than John the Baptist!

Malachi 3:1 declares, “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me,” while Isaiah 40:3 speaks of “a voice crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord.’” These two texts are merged in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:2-3, and Luke 3:4-6 to identify John the Baptist as the prophetic forerunner who prepares the way for Jesus.

#8 – Psalm 41:9: Betrayal by a Friend

Psalm 41:9 laments, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” This verse is quoted in John 13:18 during the Last Supper, as Jesus predicts that one of his disciples will betray him.

By citing this psalm, the Gospel of John frames Judas Iscariot’s betrayal not merely as a tragic turn of events but as the fulfillment of Scripture.

#9 – Zechariah 11:12-13: Thirty Pieces of Silver

Zechariah 11:12-13 describes a shepherd being paid thirty pieces of silver, which he then throws into the house of the Lord. This passage is alluded to in Matthew 27:3-10, where Judas returns the silver he received for betraying Jesus and throws it into the temple.

Matthew presents this as a fulfillment of prophecy (though he attributes it mistakenly to Jeremiah rather than Zechariah), linking Judas’s remorse, the temple, and the purchase of the potter’s field to Zechariah’s imagery.

#10 – Isaiah 50:6/Micah 5:1: Spitting and Striking

Isaiah 50:6 says, “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” Similarly, Micah 5:1 includes the phrase, “With a rod they strike the judge of Israel on the cheek.”

These images of humiliation and violence are echoed in the Passion narratives, particularly in Matthew 26:67 and Mark 14:65, where Jesus is spit upon, beaten, and struck by the religious authorities. The Gospel writers implicitly connect these actions to the suffering servant mentioned in the Old Testament books.

#11 – Psalm 34:20/Exodus 12:46: Bones Not Broken

Psalm 34:20 declares, “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken,” and Exodus 12:46 instructs that the bones of the Passover lamb must not be broken. These verses converge in John 19:33-36, where the soldiers, finding Jesus already dead, refrain from breaking his legs.

John interprets this detail as a fulfillment of Scripture, linking Jesus both to the righteous sufferer of the Psalms and to the imagery of the Passover lamb, whose integrity was to be preserved in sacrifice.

#12 – Zechariah 12:10: “They Will Look on Him Whom They Have Pierced”

Zechariah 12:10 states, “They will look on me, on him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him.” This verse is quoted in John 19:37, immediately following the account of Jesus being pierced by a soldier’s spear while on the cross.

The Gospel writer presents this moment as a direct fulfillment of Zechariah’s prophecy, emphasizing the physical piercing of Jesus and the emotional response it elicits.

How Many Prophecies Did Jesus Fulfill? Scholarly Answer

What do we make of these examples? Is it really possible to determine how many prophecies Jesus fulfilled? How many prophecies did Jesus not fulfill? For scholars like me, the answer to the second question is far less straightforward than many conservative apologists would suggest.

While traditional interpretations often present these connections as clear-cut fulfillments, the historical and literary contexts of the original texts paint a different picture.

Since we’re limited in space, we won’t examine each example in depth. Instead, we’ll focus on two of the most prominent and frequently cited cases: the virgin birth and the suffering servant from the Book of Isaiah.

Isaiah's Prophecy and the Virgin Birth

Before we begin our analysis, it’s important to clarify a common misunderstanding found in many conservative Christian readings of prophecy. Apologists often assume that the Old Testament prophets were predicting future events in a straightforward, predictive sense, anticipating specific details about Jesus centuries in advance.

In this view, Isaiah, for instance, knowingly foresaw and described the virgin birth of Christ. But this assumption runs counter to how Old Testament prophecies were understood and interpreted in the Second Temple Period and how modern scholars understand the historical contexts in which these texts were written.

As Peter Enns explains in his excellent book, Inspiration and Incarnation:

A prime example of this interpretive tension appears in Isaiah 7:14, one of the most famous so-called “messianic prophecies.” The verse is quoted in Matthew 1:23 to support the claim that Jesus’ birth fulfilled Scripture.

But here lies the crux of the problem. The Hebrew text of Isaiah doesn’t use the word for “virgin” (betulah), but instead uses ‘almah, a term that more generally means “young woman” and carries no necessary implication of virginity.

When the author of Matthew’s Gospel cited this passage, he relied not on the Hebrew Bible but on the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, in which the word parthenos (a term that can mean “virgin”) was used.

Thus, the idea of a miraculous virgin birth wasn’t present in Isaiah’s original Hebrew but rather emerged later through translation and retrospective theological interpretation.

The original context of Isaiah 7 is far removed from anything resembling a messianic prophecy. The historical setting involves a political crisis in the 8th century B.C.E.: The kings of Syria and Israel (also called Ephraim) have joined forces to invade Judah, causing panic in the court of King Ahaz.

The prophet Isaiah addresses Ahaz directly, urging him not to fear and assuring him that the alliance will fail. 

As a sign of divine reassurance, Isaiah points to a young woman (likely known to both Isaiah and Ahaz) who has already conceived a child. That child, he says, will be named Immanuel (“God with us”), and before the child is old enough to distinguish right from wrong, the immediate political threat will have passed.

Notably, there is no mention of the Messiah in this passage, no expectation of a future redeemer, and certainly no reference to a miraculous conception.

As the renowned scholar Raymond E. Brown explains in The Birth of the Messiah:

Isaiah 53 and the Suffering Servant

Another prominent example frequently cited as a prophecy Jesus fulfilled is Isaiah 53, a passage that has profoundly shaped Christian theology. This chapter belongs to a larger literary section known as Deutero-Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55), which scholars distinguish from the earlier chapters of the book. Deutero-Isaiah was likely composed during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century B.C.E. by a prophet whose name has not been preserved. 

This section is known for its emphasis on comfort, restoration, and divine deliverance, as well as for the so-called Servant Songs (poetic passages describing the mission and suffering of a mysterious “servant of the Lord”). 

Isaiah 53 is the fourth and most famous of these songs, presenting a vivid image of a servant who suffers unjustly and bears the consequences of others’ wrongdoing.

Early Christians found in this chapter a striking parallel to the life and death of Jesus. The themes of rejection, affliction, silence in the face of suffering, and being “pierced for our transgressions” seemed to resonate perfectly with the Passion narratives.

Thus, writing in the middle of the 2nd century, Justin Martyr notes:

As a result, Isaiah 53 became a cornerstone for the Christian understanding of atonement: That Jesus, though innocent, suffered and died for the sins of humanity. However, this interpretation relies heavily on retrospective reading: Reading the life of Jesus back into a text that, in its original historical and literary setting, had nothing to do with a future messiah.

In Second Temple Judaism before Christianity, there is no evidence of a belief in a messiah who would suffer and die for the sins of others. That concept simply didn’t exist in Jewish messianic expectation at the time.

Furthermore, a close reading reveals that the text isn’t about the future suffering at all. The suffering has already happened, and the author of Deutero-Isaiah predicts that the “person” who had suffered will eventually be vindicated by God! 

So who, then, was the “suffering servant” originally meant to be? One popular view among modern scholars of the Hebrew Bible is that the servant in Isaiah 53 was a symbolic or collective representation of Israel, the exiled nation that had endured humiliation, violence, and displacement at the hands of foreign powers.

Others argue that the servant may refer to a specific, historical individual. Joseph Blenkinsopp, in his Commentary on Isaiah, notes:

But in either case, the key point is that the servant’s suffering is understood within the framework of Israel’s national trauma and redemptive restoration. The servant suffers not as a substitutionary atonement in a future salvific drama, but as part of God's plan to vindicate and renew His people after exile.

Conclusion

How many messianic prophecies are there? The question always brings me back to that lively discussion I had a year ago in a crowded bar in downtown Zagreb. As I recall, my former student left that evening more convinced than ever that Jesus had fulfilled dozens (if not hundreds) of Old Testament prophecies in precise, predictive fashion:

OT prophecy predictions → Several hundred years pass → Prophecies are fulfilled by Jesus’ life, public ministry, and death

I didn’t begrudge him that conviction. I remember him saying repeatedly: “But Isaiah must have thought about Jesus!”

After all, when beliefs are deeply tied to one's religious identity, no amount of historical nuance or literary context can easily shift them. And that’s okay. Faith often operates on a different wavelength than historical analysis.

Still, as a historian of early Christianity, I approach this topic from a different angle. I don’t believe that Jesus fulfilled the most famous Old Testament prophecies in the predictive sense that many conservative interpreters assume. 

The original authors of these texts weren’t envisioning Jesus of Nazareth or any future messianic figure like him. What did happen, however, is far more fascinating: Convinced that Jesus had been raised from the dead and exalted by God, his earliest followers began re-reading their Scriptures through the lens of that belief. 

They searched their sacred texts not to see what would happen, but to make sense of what had already happened. In doing so, they participated in a long-standing Jewish tradition of interpretive reappropriation — a tradition shared by other Jewish groups, including later rabbinic communities, who likewise found fresh and often contradictory meaning in Biblical words.

So, how many prophecies did Jesus fulfill? If you're looking for mathematical precision or airtight predictions, the scholarly answer won’t satisfy you. But if you’re interested in the rich and complex ways that Scripture was interpreted, repurposed, and brought to life by ancient believers, then the story becomes far more compelling.

If you’d like to explore this topic in more depth, I highly recommend Peter Enns’ online course “Jesus and the Old Testament,” available through our Biblical Studies Academy platform. It’s a fascinating deep dive into how early Christians used the Old Testament stories and verses, often finding new meanings and ways of understanding.