Psalms
Gall and Vinegar
Psalm 69 laments a righteous sufferer given 'gall for my food' and 'vinegar' for his thirst. Matthew's Passion account has Jesus first offered wine mixed with gall, which he refuses, and then, just before he dies, sour wine on a sponge, which he accepts -- John stating this was done 'that the scripture might be fulfilled.'
1000 BC – AD 33
Not One of His Bones Shall Be Broken
John's Gospel reports that soldiers broke the legs of the two men crucified beside Jesus but, finding Him already dead, left His legs unbroken and pierced His side instead. John identifies this as the fulfillment of two ancient texts: Psalm 34's promise that the just man's bones are kept, and the Passover law forbidding any bone of the lamb to be broken.
1000 BC – AD 33
Psalm 110: Priest Forever, King at God's Right Hand
Psalm 110 (Psalm 109 in the Douay-Rheims and Vulgate) opens with God's oracle to David's 'Lord': 'Sit thou at my right hand,' and swears him 'a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech.' It is the most frequently quoted Old Testament text in the New Testament: Jesus applies it to himself, Peter cites it at Pentecost, and Hebrews argues at length that it establishes Christ's eternal, non-Levitical priesthood.
1000 BC – AD 33
Psalm 22 and the Crucifixion
Psalm 22 was translated into Greek by the second century BC, centuries before Rome practiced crucifixion, yet describes pierced hands and feet, mocking bystanders, and garments divided by lot -- details the Gospels record as fulfilled at the Crucifixion, and which the Church has read as prophetic of Christ's Passion since apostolic times.
1000 BC – AD 33
Psalm 2: The Lord and His Anointed
Psalm 2 opens with rebellious kings and rulers who 'stood up... against the Lord and against his Christ,' and climaxes with God's decree over his enthroned king: 'Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee... I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance.' Originally a royal coronation psalm for a reigning Davidic king in Jerusalem, it was already being read as pointing to a future Messiah by Jewish readers before Christ, at Qumran (4Q174) and in the Psalms of Solomon (17). Acts records the apostles applying its raging kings to Herod and Pilate (4:25-27) and Paul applying 'this day have I begotten thee' to God raising up Jesus (13:33) -- language Hebrews also applies to Christ's heavenly exaltation and priesthood (1:5; 5:5).
1000 BC – AD 33
The Stone the Builders Rejected
Psalm 118:22-23, sung as part of the pre-Christian Passover Hallel, declares that the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone -- the Lord's doing, marvelous in our eyes. Jesus applies the verse to himself before his passion (Mark 12:10-11), and the apostolic Church makes it a central proof-text for his death and resurrection (Acts 4:11; 1 Peter 2:7).
500 BC – AD 33
Betrayed by a Familiar Friend
In Psalm 40 (Douay numbering; Psalm 41 modern), David laments that 'the man of peace, in whom I trusted... who ate my bread, hath greatly supplanted me' -- traditionally his counselor Ahithophel's betrayal. At the Last Supper, Jesus applies this verse to himself and to Judas (John 13:18), fulfilling in himself the pattern David lived: betrayal by a trusted, bread-sharing companion.
1000 BC – AD 33
Not Suffer Thy Holy One to See Corruption
Psalm 16:10 promises that God's holy one will not see corruption. Preaching at Pentecost, Peter pointed to David's own occupied tomb to argue the line could not be about David and applied it to Christ's Resurrection (Acts 2:29-31); Paul made the identical argument at Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:35-37). Both apostles quote the Greek Septuagint's 'corruption' wording, a translation already fixed in writing by the second century BC — well before Christ. The Church has read the verse as resurrection prophecy since the apostolic age.
200 BC – AD 33