And he said unto them, thus it is written,.... In the above cited books of the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms; not what after follows, in so many words, but the matter and substance thereof: and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; it was necessary, both because of the decree and appointment of God, and because of the prophecies and predictions of the Old Testament; see Luk 24:25.