Intermediate Level, Block 9—Biographies of Jesus
Week 81
Jesus—Foretold in the Old Testament
Point to Emphasize: We can be those who trust in God’s Word since it is 100% reliable.
Reading Reference: Matthew 1:18-25; 2:1-2
Memory Verse: The grass withers and the flower fades, / But the word of our God will stand forever. (Isaiah 40:8)
Story Sample
We have spent quite a while in the Old Testament stories. Now we come to the New Testament. Who is the first Person we should hear about in the New Testament? [Jesus] That is right! The first four books in the New Testament are known as the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In these books, we see how Jesus lived and what He did. These four books of the Bible could be considered as His biography. They are all accounts of the life of Jesus. But did you know, that in every book of the New Testament you can find out something more about Jesus? In all twenty-seven books of the New Testament, you can discover something about Him!
Who can tell us some of the stories we heard from the Old Testament? [Have different ones answer.] Yes, those were some of them. Did we hear any stories about Jesus in the Old Testament? NO!! Why not? [Let them answer.] Yes, the Old Testament with its thirty-nine books was written a LONG time before Jesus was born. Most of it was written hundreds of years before He was even born. So, maybe you’d be surprised that there is quite a bit there about Him. To start our story about Jesus we have to go back to the Old Testament. That is surprising, isn’t it? But we know that the Bible is God’s Word. In the Bible, we can find out about God and what He intends to do so really it makes perfect sense that there would be all kinds of things about Jesus from beginning to end.
Today we have two verses from the Old Testament that tell us things about Jesus in the New Testament. Micah 5:2 tells us that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. [Read Micah 5:2.] Then in Matthew 2:1 we see that Jesus WAS born in Bethlehem! [Read Matthew 2:1.] Now if your parents live in Anaheim it is no big thing to guess that all their children will be born in Anaheim, but Mary and Joseph were not living in Bethlehem when Jesus was to be born. How could someone named Micah, who lived hundreds of years before Jesus, write down where He was to be born? Well, it is because the Bible is the Word of God. God knew where Jesus was to be born. Jesus was so important to Him that He told those in the Old Testament many things about Him beforehand.
The Old Testament also tells us that He will have a Star! Remember the story where the magi (those are wise men) from the East followed a Star? [Read Numbers 24:17.] Well, that Jesus would have His Star shining brightly in the heavens was foretold in the Old Testament hundreds of years before it happened. [Read Matthew 2:2.]
Just these two examples show us that we can trust God’s Word! If it is in the Bible, then it is true. You know, when I was growing up, I thought that science could be trusted 100%. But really, science changes. Here is an example. When I was growing up, if a teacher asked you to name the planets, you would say, “Earth, Neptune, Uranus, Mars, Venus, Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter, and Pluto”. There were nine planets. Everyone knew that there were nine planets because that is what the science books said. But then when I was an adult it suddenly changed. Now there are only eight planets. Pluto is not a planet anymore. [Storyteller, use your own personal story of how science cannot be trusted.]
Well, the Bible is not like that. It does not change. Everything written in it is true and can be trusted 100%. Everything promised or foretold in the Bible has been or will be fulfilled. So many things about Jesus’ birth, His life, and His death, for example, were foretold in the Old Testament. These things have all been fulfilled. We’ll be talking about some of these things in the weeks to come. The Bible is one amazing Book! And what it says is true!