The NT authors often quote an OT passage, and say it was fulfilled in Christ. Many Christians use these fulfillments as evidence for the veracity of the Christian faith. For example, I’ve heard it claimed that the probability of just one man fulfilling 48 different prophecies is something like 1:10157. It is reasoned that no man could match those odds unless the Biblical prophecies were divine in origin, and thus Jesus must be who He claimed to be. The problem with this apologetic is that the vast majority of these “messianic prophecies” are neither prophetic, nor messianic in their original context.
Consider, for example, Hosea 11:1 – “When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.” Matthew quotes this passage in reference to Jesus’ return to Nazareth, saying, “In this way what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet was fulfilled ‘I called my Son out of Egypt.’” (Matthew 2:14-15) When one examines the original context of Hosea 11:1, however, they will quickly recognize that this passage is neither prophetic nor messianic. It is a mere historical recounting of the Hebrews’ exodus from Egypt.
Thinking to Believe 