How does Matthew 27:38 fulfill Old Testament prophecy? Verse Under Study “Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right and one on His left.” (Matthew 27:38) Immediate Narrative Context Matthew has just recorded the casting of lots for Jesus’ garments (27:35), echoing Psalm 22:18, and the mocking of bystanders (27:39-44), echoing Psalm 22:7-8. Verse 38 continues that flow of specifically Messianic fulfillments by noting Jesus’ placement between two criminals. The evangelist’s wording is terse, suggesting that the main purpose is not mere reportage but the highlighting of prophecy coming to pass in real time. Primary Old Testament Prophecy: Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life to death, and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isaiah 53:12) 1. “Numbered with the transgressors” is the precise prophetic clause. 2. The LXX (Septuagint) renders it en tois anomois elogisthē, “He was counted among law-breakers,” the same noun group used in the Synoptic tradition for the criminals (lēstai, “robbers/bandits”). 3. Luke explicitly cites the verse: “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me: ‘And He was numbered with transgressors.’” (Luke 22:37). Matthew supplies the narrative fact; Luke provides the interpretive quotation. Together the Synoptics create a deliberate, multi-witness fulfillment chain pointing straight to Isaiah 53. Secondary Prophetic Hints • Psalm 22, the psalm of the pierced hands and feet (v.16), places the Righteous Sufferer amid “dogs” and “evildoers.” The setting of the Holy One encircled by the wicked is dramatized on Golgotha. • Isaiah 53:9 notes that the Servant’s grave is “with the wicked,” pointing to His physical association both in death and burial with sinful men—first with two criminals at crucifixion, then in a rich man’s tomb (Matthew 27:57-60). Text-Critical Certainty Matthew 27:38 stands in every extant Greek manuscript: 𝔓¹⁰³ (3rd c., fragmentary but overlapping v.38), 𝔓¹, 𝔓⁸⁶, Codex Vaticanus (B), Sinaiticus (ℵ), Alexandrinus (A), Bezae (D), and the entire Byzantine tradition. The absence of significant variant readings underlines that this fulfillment note is original, not a later theological insertion. Dead Sea Scrolls Verification The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaᵃ, ca. 150 B.C.) contains Isaiah 53:12 essentially as we read it today, demonstrating that the prophecy predates Crucifixion by at least a century and a half—eliminating any claim that Christians retro-edited Isaiah after the event. Historical Plausibility of the Setting Archaeological finds such as the heel bone of Yehohanan (Giv’at ha-Mivtar, AD 1st cent.) show Roman execution by crucifixion in Judea precisely as the Gospels describe. Tacitus (Annals 15.44) and Josephus (War 2.308) record that rebels and bandits (lēstai) were frequently crucified. Jesus’ positioning between “robbers” matches standard Roman practice of executing multiple offenders together. Theological Significance 1. Substitution: Isaiah links being “numbered with transgressors” to “bearing the sin of many.” Jesus’ literal placement among criminals embodies His representative bearing of human guilt. 2. Identification: By sharing the fate of the guilty, the Sinless One fully identifies with fallen humanity (2 Corinthians 5:21). 3. Intercession: Isaiah’s closing phrase (“and made intercession for the transgressors”) is dramatized in Jesus’ “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). Integrated Prophetic Web Matthew 27:38 is not an isolated proof-text; it sits within a tightly woven Messianic tapestry: • Soldiers gamble for clothing—Psalm 22:18. • Bystanders hurl contempt—Psalm 22:7-8. • Darkness covers the land—Amos 8:9. • Vinegar offered—Psalm 69:21. • Bones unbroken—Psalm 34:20; Exodus 12:46. • Pierced side—Zechariah 12:10. Placing Jesus between criminals is therefore one thread among many—each independent, yet converging upon the same Servant-Messiah, all within a single twenty-four-hour window. The statistical improbability of such convergence by chance moves the discussion from coincidence to design. Practical Implications Because Jesus stood where we should have stood—numbered with the lawbreakers—any lawbreaker may now stand where He stands: reconciled, adopted, and clothed in His righteousness. “God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Summary Matthew 27:38 fulfills Isaiah 53:12 by placing Jesus literally among transgressors, reinforcing the Servant’s role as sin-bearer and intercessor. The textual, archaeological, and historical data all align, corroborating Scripture’s unity and God’s sovereign orchestration of redemption. |
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