For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
Parallel translations
- WEB For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
- KJV For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
- NKJV For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
- NASB For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.
- NLT For before John came, all the prophets and the law of Moses looked forward to this present time.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
All the prophets and the law pointed forward until John. John stands as the hinge between promise and fulfillment.
Overview
Jesus says the entire Old Testament had a forward-looking, prophetic character, anticipating the Messiah until John appeared. John marks the close of the age of expectation and the dawn of fulfillment in Christ. The verse affirms the unity of Scripture, all of it converging on Jesus.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 5:17–18Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.
- Rom 3:21But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.
- Luke 24:44Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.”
- Acts 13:27The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognize Jesus, yet in condemning Him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath.
- Acts 3:22–24For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He tells you.
- Mal 4:6And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
- Luke 24:27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.
- John 5:46–47If you had believed Moses, you would believe Me, because he wrote about Me.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 11:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.