New Testament References of the Old Testament

How much did New Testament writers reference the Old Testament?

Mark 1:2

As it is written in the Prophets: “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You.

The God we serve is amazing. He has a divine plan and He knows what He is doing. The fact that He allows us to be used in His plan should be humbling to us. Not only will His word accomplish its purpose, He will make sure it will stand forever.

Many times, if biblical authors wanted to reference another biblical writing, they would make certain statements such as: “As it is written,” “The Scripture says,” or “According to the Scriptures.” There were some other phrases used, as well, but those might be the main ones you will see. Those phrases mean that authoritative Scripture is being presented. However, there are many times when they did not use those phrases at all. Sometimes they would just make their reference. 

How much did the NT authors refer to the OT? It was often. Just as we cite the Bible today to make a point, they would do the same thing. It was a little different for them, however, because they probably had to allude to or quote everything from memory. Plus, they mostly only had their Scripture (the OT), since the NT was still being written. 

On quite a few occasions, though, the NT authors actually referenced each other's writings as authoritative Scripture. 2 Peter 3:15-16 calls Paul’s writings Scripture and 1 Timothy 5:18 refers to Luke as Scripture. This confirms that much of the writing in our New Testament, even before completion, was recognized as biblical authority.

As for the Old Testament, yes, the NT writers considered it authoritative Scripture, as well, and the references are numerous. In fact, most scholars believe the NT references the OT several hundred times. Some believe that number possibly reaches 1000. 

That was to give you an inside look into what the NT authors (in this case, John) was doing as he remembered the OT. To give you an idea of what NT writers referenced and how many times, I have included a chart below. While all scholars do not agree on the exact number of references, it will still be roughly the same. The chart below should give you a solid idea:

Assisted by Dr. Gary E. Schnittjer, the above list was slightly modified. For original list, visit: https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/pnt/pnt08.cfm

Although a total of 853 is conservative, some experts set this number ever higher.

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.