JESUS QUOTED THE OLD TESTAMENT
Christians love the stories found in the Old Testament that they think they understand and tend to ignore everything that they don’t understand or seems legalistic. Because they do not believe that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, they tend to ignore a large portion of God’s word that they otherwise say they believe and trust.
While saying that they trust Jesus, they ignore the fact that he often taught from Old Testament Scriptures.
| OLD TESTAMENT PASSAGES QUOTED BY JESUS CHRIST |
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| NEW TESTAMENT QUOTE | OLD TESTAMENT PASSAGE | HISTORICAL OCCASION |
| Matthew 4:4 Matthew 4:7 Matthew 4:10 |
Deuteronomy 8:3 Deuteronomy 6:16 Deuteronomy 6:13 |
Temptation |
| Matthew 5:21 Matthew 5:27 Exodus 20:13 |
Exodus 20:14 | Sermon on the mount |
| Luke 4:18-19 | Isaiah 61:1 | Hometown sermon |
| Matthew 9:13 Mark 10:7, 8 Mark 12:29, 30 Matthew 15:7–9 John 8:17 |
Deuteronomy 17:6 Hosea 6:6 |
Confrontations with Jewish rulers |
| Luke 7:27 | Malachi 3:1 | Tribute to John |
| Matthew 21:16 | Psalm 8:2 | Triumphal entry |
| Luke 19:46 | Isaiah 56:7 | Temple cleansing |
| Matthew 21:42-44 | Psalm 118:22-23 | Parable about Israel |
| Mark 12:36 | Psalm 110:1 | Temple question session |
| John 15:25 |
Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 |
Last Passover |
| Matthew 27:46 Luke 23:46 |
Psalm 22:1 Psalm 31:5 |
On the cross |
| Mark 10:6–8 |
Gen. 1:27 Genesis 2:24 |
Adam and Eve |
| Luke 11:51 | Genesis 4:10 | The murder of Abel |
| Luke 17:26–27 | Genesis 6–7 | The corruption of Noah’s day and the flood |
| Luke 17:28–29 | Genesis 19 | The corruption of Lot’s day and the fire |
| Luke 17:32 | Genesis 19:26 | The worldliness of Lot’s wife |
| Matthew 22:32 | The faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob | |
| Mark 12:26 | Exodus 3 | Moses and the burning bush |
| John 6:31 | Exodus 16:15 | Moses and the heavenly manna |
| John 3:14 | Numbers 21:18 | Moses and the brazen serpent |
| Matthew 12:3–4 | 1 Samuel 21:6 | David and some shewbread |
| Matthew 12:42 | 1 Kings 10:1 | Solomon and the Queen of Sheba |
| Luke 4:25–26 | 1 Kings 17:1, 9 | Elijah, a widow, and the famine |
| Luke 4:27 | 2 Kings 5 | Naaman and his leprosy |
| Luke 11:51 | 2 Chronicles 24:20–21 | The murder of Zechariah |
| Mtatthew 24:15 |
Daniel 9:27 Daniel 11:31 Daniel 12:11 |
Daniel and the abomination of desolation |
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Matthew 2:40 Matthew 16:4 |
Jonah 1:17 | Jonah and the fish |
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Luke 11:30 Matthew 12:41 |
Jonah 3:4–10 | Jonah and the repentance of the Ninevites |
| Matthew 4:4 | Deuteronomy 8:3 | Jesus 1st temptation |
| Matthew 4:7 | Deuteronomy 6:16 | Jesus 2nd temptation |
| Matthew 4:10 | Deuteronomy 6:13 | Jesus 3rd temptation |
| Matthew 5:21 | Exodus 20:13 | Sermon on the mount reference to the 6th commandment |
| Matthew 5:27 | Exodus 20:14 | Sermon on the mount reference to the 7th commandment |
| Matthew 5:31 | Deuteronomy 24:1 | Discussion with rich young ruler |
| Mark 10:19 | ||
| Luke 4:18–19 | Isaiah 61:1–2 | Hometown sermon |
| Matthew: 9-13 | Hoseah 6:6 | Defense of his association with sinners |
| Mark 10:7–8 | Genesis 2:24 | Discussion of marriage |
| Mark 12:29–30 | Deuteronomy 6:4–5 | Discussion of the greatest commandments |
| Matthew 15:7–9 | Isaiah 29:13 | Jesus’ rebuke of pharisees traditions |
| John 8:17 | Deuteronomy 17:6 | Response to pharisees who questioned his authority |
| Luke 7:27 | Malachi 3:1 | Tribute to John the baptist |
| Matthew 21:16 | Psalm 8:2 | Statement during triumphal entry |
| Luke 19:46 | Isaiah 56:7 | Statement during the cleansing of the temple |
| Matthew 21:42-44 | Psalm 118:22–23 Isaiah 8:14–15 | Parable about Israel |
| Mark 12:36 | Psalm 110:1 | Discussion in the temple |
| John 15:25 |
Psalm 35:19 Psalm 69:4 |
Comment during last supper |
| Matthew 27:46 | Psalm 22:1 | Jesus’ statement while on the cross |
| Luke 23:46 | Psalm 31:5 | Jesus’ statement while on the cross |
| Matthew 19:16-20 |
Exodus 20:12-16 | Response to rich young ruler about how to inherit eternal life |
| Greatest commandments: Love God and neighbor as you love yourself | ||
| Exodus 3:1-6 |
God is God of living — not the dead | |
When Jesus said in Matthew 5:18 that the law would be fulfilled, he was referring to the God’s spiritual laws hidden in the symbolism of the literal words of the Old Testament. Every word Jesus spoke and everything he did after he was anointed as a messiah was a fulfillment of God’s spiritual laws.
This point is worth repeating: God’s laws were fulfilled in the fact that Jesus recited the laws that were first revealed in the Old Testament, and in the fact that Jesus lived out God’s spiritual laws out for all to see in his words and actions. This is the expected and natural result of what happens when God’s writes his spiritual laws on the hearts of all New Covenant disciples. This is how God’s spiritual laws are fulfilled (i.e. come to pass, come into existence.)