Writing 500 years before Jesus, Zechariah makes astonishingly accurate predictions about Jesus’ life and ministry. New Testament writers took notice and declared that Jesus fulfilled those prophecies. Here are three of the more obvious prophecies about Jesus.

ZECHARIAH’S PREDICTION (Donkey rider) “Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9).

JESUS FULFILLMENT – With Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem on what becomes known as Palm Sunday, cheering crowds welcome him as the Messiah, shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:9).

ZECHARIAH’S PREDICTION (Sold for 30 pieces of silver) A good shepherd is paid what he’s worth: 30 pieces of silver. But God tells him, “Throw it to the potter” (Zechariah 11:13).

JESUS FULFILLMENT – Judas betrays Jesus for what priests think Jesus is worth: “thirty pieces of silver” (Matthew 26:15). Judas later returns the money and hangs himself. Priests use the money “to buy the potter’s field, and they made it into a cemetery for foreigners” (Matthew 27:7).

ZECHARIAH’S PREDICTION (Scattering the sheep) “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7).

JESUS FULFILLMENT –  The night of his arrest, Jesus tells his disciples: “Tonight all of you will desert me. For the scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered” (Matthew 26:31).