THE FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE PASSION OF CHRIST

Prophecy: “And whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 24:16).

Fulfillment: “But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, ‘I put Thee under oath by the living God: Tell us if Thou art the Christ, the Son of God!’ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of Heaven.” Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death” (Matthew 26:63–66; Matins of Holy Friday, 3rd Gospel).

Prophecy: “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree…, he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:22–23).

Prophecy: “Those who hate Me without a cause are more than the hairs of My head” (Psalm 68/69:4; Royal Hours ~ 9th Hour).

Fulfillment: “If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause’” (John 15:24–25; Matins of Holy Friday, 1st Gospel).

Fulfillment: “Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (1 Corinthians 5:6–8; Galatians 3:13–14; Matins of Holy Saturday).

“For the message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18, field which is in Anathoth, for the right of redemption is yours to buy it.”’ Then Hanamel my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord. So I bought the field from Hanamel, the son of my uncle who was in Anathoth, and weighed out to him the money….’” (Jeremiah 39:6–9).

22–23; Vespers of Holy Friday).

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5–11).

Prophecy: “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate My bread, has lifted up his heel against Me” (Psalm 40/41:9).

Fulfillment: “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I AM He” (John 13:18–19; Prokeimenon during Passion weekend; in Greek “egō eimi” = “YHWH,” the name of God revealed to Moses).

“Then I said to them, ‘If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain.’ So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

Psalm 108/109, read at the 3rd Royal Hour, points to the depth of the betrayal against Christ. Verse 8, “Let his days be few, and let another take his office,” foretells Judas’ suicide and replacement by Matthias.

Prophecies: “If the ox gores a male or female servant, he shall give to their master thirty shekels of silver, and the ox shall be stoned” (Exodus 21:32; the value of a slave).

“And Jeremiah said, ‘The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you, saying, ‘Buy my

And the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter’ –that princely price they set on Me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter” (Zechariah 11:12–13; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Fulfillment: Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him (Matthew 26:14–16; Divine Liturgy of Holy Thursday).

“Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, ‘I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.’ And they said, ‘What is that to us? You see to it!’ Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, ‘It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.’ And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me’ (Matthew 27:3–10; Matins of Holy Friday, 5th Gospel).

Prophecy: “’Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,’ says the Lord of Hosts. ‘Strike the Shepherd, and the flock will be scattered ….’” (Zechariah 13:7).

Fulfillment: “Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: “I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”’” (Matthew 26:31; Divine Liturgy of Holy Thursday).

Prophecy: “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken” (Isaiah 53:8–9; Vespers of Holy Friday).

Fulfillment: “Then Pilate said to Him, ‘Dost Thou not hear how many things they testify against Thee?’ But He answered him not one word, so that the governor marveled greatly” (Matthew 27:13–14; Matins of Holy Friday, 5th Gospel).

Prophecy: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:3–7; Vespers of Holy Friday).

Fulfillment: “Then he released Barabbas to them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying,

‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified… And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, ‘Thou Who wouldst destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Thyself! If Thou art the Son of God, come down from the Cross.’ Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, ‘He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, “I am the Son of God.”’ Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.” (Matthew 27:26–31, 39–44; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour)

Prophecy: “The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; They divide My garments among them, and for My raiment they cast lots” (Psalm 21/22:17, 19; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Fulfillment: “Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: ‘They divided My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots’” (Matthew 27:35; Matins of Holy Friday, 7th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Prophecy: “They also gave Me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink” (Psalm 68/69:21; Royal Hours ~ 9th Hour).

“I am poured out like water …, My strength is dried up like an earthen vessel, My tongue clings to My jaws; Thou hast brought Me to the dust of death” (Ps.21/22:15–16; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Fulfillment: ‘After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, ‘I thirst!’” (John 19:28; Matins of Holy Friday, 9th Gospel).

“And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink…Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This Man is calling for Elijah!’ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with vinegar and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink” (Matthew 27:33–34, 47–48; Matins of Holy Friday, 7th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Prophecy: “Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12; Vespers of Holy Friday).

Fulfillment: “With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left. So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’” (Mark 15:27-28; Matins of Holy Friday, 6th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 3rd Hour).

Prophecy: “’And it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the Lord God, ‘That I will make the sun go down at noon [the sixth hour since dawn], and I will darken the earth in broad daylight …’” (Amos 8:9; Royal Hours ~ 6th Hour).

Fulfillment: “Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land” (Matthew 27:45; Matins of Holy Friday, 7th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour; cf. Mark 15:33 Royal Hours ~ 3rd Hour; Luke 23:44; Royal Hours ~ 6th Hour).

Prophecy: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? Why art Thou so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” (Psalm 21/22:1; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Fulfillment: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46; Matins of Holy Friday, 7th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour). The 9th Hour, 3 p.m., was the time at which the Passover/Paschal lambs were slain in the Temple on the eve of Passover.

Prophecy: “Into Thy hands I commit my spirit; Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of Truth” (Psalm 30/31:5).

Fulfillment: “And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, ‘into Thy hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said this, He breathed His last” (Luke 23:46; Matins of Holy Friday, 8th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 6th Hour).

Prophecies: “In one house it shall be eaten; you shall not carry any of the flesh outside the house, nor shall you break one of its bones” (Exodus 12:46; eating of the Passover/Paschal Lamb).

“They shall leave none of it until morning, nor break one of its bones. According to all the ordinances of the Passover they shall keep it” (Numbers 9:12; eating of the Passover/Paschal Lamb).

“He guards all His bones; not one of them is broken” (Psalms 33/34:20).

“And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me Whom they have pierced” (Zechariah 12:10).

Fulfillment: “And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, ‘Not one of His bones shall be broken.’ And again another Scripture says, ‘They shall look on Him Whom they have pierced’” (Matins of Holy Friday, 9th Gospel; Vespers of Holy Friday).

Prophecy: “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:22–23).

Fulfillment: “Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath – for that Sabbath was a high day – the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away” (John 19:31; Matins of Holy Friday, 9th Gospel; Royal Hours ~ 9th Hour).

Prophecy: “And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth” (Isaiah 53:9; Vespers of Holy Friday).

Fulfillment: “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed” (Matthew 27:57–60; Vespers of Holy Friday).

Prophecy: “He trusted in the Lord, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” (Ps.21/22:8; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Fulfillment: “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.

He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him” (Matthew 27:42–43; Royal Hours ~ 1st Hour).

Prophecy: “And the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 1:17; Vesperal Liturgy of Holy Saturday, 4th Reading).

Fulfillment: “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from Thee.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the Prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth’” (Matthew 12:38–40).

“And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31 ~ 5th Saturday of Lent; cf. 9:30–31 ~ 4th Sunday of Lent; 10:33–34 ~ 5th Sunday of Lent; 14:58).

“Then, as [the women] were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, [the angels] said to them, ‘Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, “The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again”’” (Luke 24:5–7; 19–24; 44–49). Verses 5–7 are read as part of the 3rd reading for the Cross procession at Paschal Vespers, while verses 44–49 are read as part of the 5th reading. Verses 19–24 are read at the Liturgy of Bright Tuesday.

Notes

In some translations of the 2nd Vespers reading of Good Friday (Job 42:12–17), the name of Job’s third daughter – post-sufferings – is given as “Amaltheia’s Horn.” This is a Greek name for “Cornucopia” or the “Horn of Plenty,” based on a myth: the infant Zeus broke off the horn of the goat Amalthea, which had been giving him milk, after which, it was suddenly able to provide unending nourishment. This may have been used by the Septuagint translators as a more understandable translation of the Hebrew name – Keren-Happuch – for Greek readers than a literal translation or transliteration. Neither Holy Thursday nor Good Friday was Passover. Passover was Holy Saturday (John 19:31);

Christ died at the beginning of Passover – the Jewish and Orthodox Christian day goes sunset to sunset, in keeping with Genesis 1– on the Day of Preparation, on which, at the 9th Hour (3 p.m.), the Passover lambs were slain in the Temple so the people could get them to their Passover meal site before sunset. Likewise, Christ, the Passover/Paschal Lamb, died at that time (Matthew 27:46), fulfilling what the other lambs prefigured and in order to be laid in the grave before sunset (Deuteronomy 21:22–23). In the Last Supper, Christ shares a lamb-less Passover meal with His disciples, in anticipation of becoming their out; He was already out! The stone was rolled away to show that He was no longer in, He was already on His way to Galilee. “And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an Angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it … ‘He is not here … come see the place where He laid… He is going before you into Galilee’” (Matthew 28:2, 6–7, Mark16:6–7, Luke 24:6–7; all use almost the same wording). In John 20:11–18, Jesus comes up behind Mary Magdalene as she is looking in the Tomb. (Those icons that show Him walking out with the funky banner in His hand are scripturally inaccurate.)

The proper icon of Holy Saturday is that of Christ abolishing Hades, conquering Hell, and raising the righteous dead … typically associated with Pascha. The proper Paschal Icon, though less visually dramatic, is that of the Women at the Empty Tomb. There can be no true celebration of Pascha without the celebration of Holy Saturday, on which His divine soul descended into Hell and freed the righteous – thus taking Hades out of existence –and breaking for all time the power of Hell. This victory is capped or sealed by Christ’s Resurrection, but the seminal battle for our salvation – the battle with Death – is fought on Holy Saturday, the Old Testament Passover. This time, however, Christ conquers the Devil instead of the “divine” Pharaoh; smashes the Gates of Hell, leads the souls of the righteous across the chasm which separated Heaven from Hell (Luke 16:26), throws open the Gates of Paradise, and allows the righteous into to the Promised Land with the Wise Thief (Luke 23:39–43). He seals the victory by returning to life on Pascha.