Psalm 35:11 - Accused by False Witnesses

In Matthew 26:59-63 we have a docile Jesus being led to the High Priest’s palace for judgement. He stood quietly while someone who was a “false witness” repeated a saying of Jesus before them, but slightly modified (whether intentionally or not, it’s unclear). When confronted with the words that Jesus should have known, Jesus remained silent.

The claim is that this man, being a false witness, fulfilled a “prophecy” of Psalm 35:11.

How can one say that “Jesus literally fulfilled it” when it was the chief priests who made it happen? That happens a lot more than it should by the people who make up the “Jesus literally fulfilled all of these prophecies” lists.

But was Psalm 35:11 talking about Jesus?

The prior 10 verses depict a very angry man who is sick and tired of being attacked by enemies who are intent upon hurting him. And he repeated asks God to kill them.

Here are the first 11 verses in a nutshell:

“Fight against them” (1). “Grab your shield” (2), “Draw your spear” (3), “Make them turn back” (4), “Make them as chaff before the wind, falling” (5), “Make their way dark” (6), “They are being treacherous” (7), “Let destruction come upon them” (8), “Then my soul will rejoice” (9), “I will be grateful to you” (10), “They publicly embarrass me by asking me questions of things that I do not know.” (11)

So, we have someone who is sick and tired of his enemies and wants them all dead.

Now, what about verse 11? Is it about someone lying, or understanding incorrectly, what the protagonist has said?

No.

It’s about someone being publicly embarrassed by being asked questions to which he doesn’t have the answer ("e.g., "Where is your God now?"). 

Let’s go through the checklist.

1. Jesus was angry at his oppressors? No.
2. Jesus prayed to God to kill his oppressors? No.
3. Jesus was asked a question that he couldn’t answer? No.

No, Jesus did not fulfill Psalm 35:11 by not answering a question that he had the ability to answer.

Here’s the meme: