It had been 400 years since God had spoken to the Jewish people through His prophets.
400 years of silence.
So, in that time of silence, the Jewish people poured over the words God had already given them. It was during this 400-year time span that the writings of the Old Testament were compiled together into one completed document.
The Jewish people studied and memorized the Law of Moses!
The Jewish people sang the Psalms in worship!
The Jewish people poured over the writings of the prophets!
A promised Savior was coming! The King! The prophets had said so!
The New Testament opens with the book of Matthew … written by a former tax collector, Matthew, who became one of Jesus’s close disciples and followers.
Matthew’s Gospel is a biographical account of the life of Jesus Christ. Matthew wrote specifically to the Jewish people to let them know that Jesus Christ was indeed the promised Savior whom they had been waiting for! Jesus Christ was the long-awaited King of whom the prophets had spoken!
The King is here!
To this end, Matthew relied heavily on Old Testament cross-reference, verification, and validation. The Jewish people knew the Law! The Jewish people knew the prophets! The Jewish people knew the prophecies which described who the coming King would be.
Matthew’s message was clear: You know the Law. You know the Prophets. Check it out for yourself … Jesus is indeed the fulfillment of all which was written in the Law and the Prophets.
Matthew 1:23 – Isaiah 7:14
Matthew 2:6 – Micah 5:2
Matthew 2:15 – Hosea 11:1
Matthew 2:18 – Jeremiah 31:15
Matthew 3:3 – Isaiah 40:3
Matthew 4:1 – Deuteronomy 8:3
Matthew 4:6 – Psalm 91:11-12
Matthew 4:7 – Deuteronomy 6:16
Matthew 4:10 – Deuteronomy 6:13
Matthew 4:15-16 – Isaiah 9:1-2
Matthew 5:21 – Exodus 20:13
Matthew 5:27 – Exodus 20:14
Matthew 5:31 – Deuteronomy 24:1
Matthew 5:38 – Exodus 21:24; Leviticus 24:20; Deuteronomy 19:21
Matthew 5:43 – Leviticus 19:18
Matthew 8:17 – Isaiah 53:4
Matthew 9:13 – Hosea 6:6
Matthew 10:35-36 – Micah 7:6
Matthew 11:10 – Malachi 3:1
Matthew 12:7 – Hosea 6:6
Matthew 12:18-21 – Isaiah 42:1-4
Matthew 12:40 – Jonah 1:17
Matthew 13:13-15 – Isaiah 6:9-10
Matthew 13:35 – Psalm 78:2
Matthew 15:4 – Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16
Matthew 15:4 – Exodus 21:17; Leviticus 20:9
Matthew 15:7-9 – Isaiah 29:13
Matthew 18:16 – Deuteronomy 19:15
Matthew 19:4 – Genesis 1:27
Matthew 19:5 – Genesis 2:24
Matthew 19:18-19 – Exodus 20:12-16; Deuteronomy 5:16-20; Leviticus 19:18
Matthew 21:4-5 – Zechariah 9:9
Matthew 21:9 – Psalm 118:26
Matthew 21:13a – Isaiah 56:7
Matthew 21:13b – Jeremiah 7:11
Matthew 21:16 – Psalm 8:2
Matthew 21:42 – Psalm 118:22-23
Matthew 22:32 – Exodus 3:6
Matthew 22:37 – Deuteronomy 6:5
Matthew 22:39 – Leviticus 19:18
Matthew 22:44 – Psalm 110:1
Matthew 23:39 – Psalm 118:26
Matthew 24:15 – Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11
Matthew 24:29 – Isaiah 13:10; Isaiah 34:4
Matthew 26:31 – Zechariah 13:7
Matthew 27:9-10 – Jeremiah 19:1-13; Jeremiah 32:6-9; Zechariah 11:12-13
Matthew 27:35 – Psalm 22:18
Matthew 27:46 – Psalm 22:1
Jesus Christ is clearly and unequivocally the promised Savior and King whom the Old Testament prophesied would come!
“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty!” – Psalm 24:7-8
