HIS HANDS AND FEET WILL BE PIERCED
PROPHECY: “Dogs have surrounded me. A band of evil men has encircled me. They pierced My hands and My
feet.” Psalm 22:16 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace
and supplication. They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for
an only child..." Zechariah 12:10
FULFILLMENT: “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him.” Luke 23:33
Jesus was crucified in the typical Roman manner: His hands and feet were nailed to the cross using large spikes.
This is very interesting considering crucifixion had not yet been invented. Both verses refer to the different
reactions of the witnesses:
- Psalms refers to the witnesses who rejected Jesus as the Messiah and rallied for His crucifixion.
- Zechariah refers to the witnesses who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and mourned at His crucifixion.
HE WILL SUFFER WITH COMMON SINNERS
PROPHECY: “Because He poured out His soul unto death, He was numbered with the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:12
FULFILLMENT: “Then the two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.”
Matthew 27:38
HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD FORSAKE HIM
PROPHECY: “My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague, and my relatives stand afar off.” Psalm
38:11
FULFILLMENT: “But His acquaintances and the woman who followed from Galilee stood at a distance watching
these things.” Luke 23:49
HE WOULD BE STARED UPON
PROPHECY: “I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.” Psalm 22:17
FULFILLMENT: “And the people stood looking on.” Luke 23:35
Though this prophecy literally states the Messiah would be stared upon during His suffering, there is an
underlying reference that needs to be explained: the meaning of I can count all My bones. During a typical
crucifixion, the weight of the body being pulled down on the cross would disjoint the bones and make them
appear more prominent than usual. Count all My bones is a direct reference to the state of Jesus' body on the
cross.
LOTS WILL BE CAST FOR HIS GARMENTS
PROPHECY: “They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.” Psalm 22:18
FULFILLMENT: “The soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each
soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said…
‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be.’” John 19:23-24
The verse in Psalms seems contradictory until the prophecy becomes fulfilled at the cross. Jesus' garments were
distributed among the soldiers but the tunic was awarded to one soldier by the casting of lots.
HE WOULD BE GIVEN GALL AND VINEGAR TO DRINK
PROPHECY: “They also gave me gall for my food and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” Psalm 69:21
FULFILLMENT: “They gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink…” Matthew 27:34 "A jar of wine vinegar was
there so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a hyssop stalk, and lifted it to Jesus' lips." John 19:29
Skeptic Interjection: When you read the context of the verse in John, it seems like Jesus provoked the
soldiers to fulfill this prophecy.
Answer: The whole purpose of the Messianic prophecies was to reveal the identity of the true Messiah once He
appeared. In order to have this prophecy fulfilled as a sign to us, Jesus cried out I thirst. What the soldiers chose
to offer Jesus was their decision alone. Jesus could not control what He was offered.
HIS BONES WOULD NOT BE BROKEN
PROPHECY: “He guards all His bones. Not one of them is broken.” Psalm 34:20
FULFILLMENT: “But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.”
John 19:33
A typical crucifixion can last quite a while as the victim could linger for days before expiring. Many crucifixion
victims died from asphyxiation as they would have to continually push up against the cross in order to breathe.
After a certain amount of time, the guards would come along and break the victim’s legs so he could no longer
support himself. However, because Jesus had died earlier than anticipated, His bones were not broken. Instead...
HE WOULD BE PIERCED
PROPHECY: “They will look on Me whom they pierced.” Zechariah 12:10
FULFILLMENT: “But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear.” John 19:34
To ensure Jesus had already expired, a Roman soldier pierced his side with a spear instead of breaking His legs.
THE LAND WOULD BE DARKENED
PROPHECY: “And it shall come to pass in that day says the Lord God that I will make the sun go down at noon
and I will darken the earth in broad daylight.” Amos 8:9
FULFILLMENT: “Now from the sixth hour until the night hour there was darkness over all the land.” Matthew 27:
45
The Jews counted twelve hours from sunrise to sunset. The sixth hour would be noon and the ninth hour would be
3:00 p.m.
Skeptic Interjection: Why is there no mention of such an event outside the Bible?
Answer: The darkness which covered the land was documented by two Roman historians, Phlegon and Thallus.
The authors write about an eerie darkness that lasted several hours in the middle of the day during the Passover
on which Jesus was crucified. Although the secular historians try to dismiss the unusual event as an eclipse,
astronomers prove that due to the alignment of the planets a solar eclipse cannot occur during Passover, which is
carefully scheduled to coincide with the full moon. Their quotes may be read on this page.
HE WOULD BE BURIED IN A RICH MAN’S TOMB
PROPHECY: “And they made His grave with the wicked- but with the rich at His death.” Isaiah 53:9
FULFILLMENT: “There came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph…and [he] asked for the body of Jesus…
When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb.” Matthew 27:
57-60
Death by crucifixion was reserved for the lowest classes. Most victims were left to decompose on the cross
without being given a proper burial. Out of the countless victims who suffered this fate, only one body has been
recovered with traces to the Roman Empire around the time of Jesus. Isaiah was able to foresee Jesus receiving
a distinguished burial after a lowly death. This leads us to one last point...
HE WOULD BE CURSED FOR HANGING ON A TREE
PROPHECY: "You must not leave His body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury Him that same day because
anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse." Deuteronomy 21:23
FULFILLMENT: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written:
'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'" Galatians 3:13
The verse in Deuteronomy refers to the Jewish law regarding those executed by hanging. Their bodies were not
to be left in such a state after nightfall due to desecration laws. Because His body was removed prior to nightfall,
Jesus' body was not considered unclean according to Jewish law.
Skeptic Interjection: Is Paul admitting Jesus was cursed? How could this be if Jesus led a sinless life?
Answer: The New Testament makes it clear Jesus' body was removed by nightfall. His physical body did not
become unclean by Jewish standards. Paul is making a reference to the spiritual curse of sin Christ accepted for
our sakes. Because Jesus defeated the power of sin and death, He also broke the power of the curse which He
accepted in our place.
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