All the Scriptures Pointed to Him
Month 12: Risen & Sending · Why We Believe
Today's Scripture
Read together: Luke 24:25-27, 44-47
25 Then Jesus said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself. … 44 Jesus said to them, “These are the words I spoke to you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. 46 And He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and in His name repentance and forgiveness of sins will be proclaimed to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.
Memory Verse
“They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?””— Luke 24:32 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: Philippians 3-4; Colossians 1
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Pressing on toward the prize, rejoicing always, and Christ the image of God who holds all things together.)The Heart of It
On the Emmaus road, and again that night with all the disciples, Jesus made a stunning claim. The entire Old Testament was about Him. "All things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me" (). That is the whole Hebrew Bible. Every section. All of it points forward to the Christ who would suffer and rise. Think of how many specific things were written centuries before Jesus was born. He would come from Abraham's family (). He would be born in Bethlehem (). He would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey (). He would be pierced (; ). He would be silent before His accusers (). And He would not be left in the grave (). One Man fulfilling all of it is not coincidence. It is design.
This is one of the great reasons we believe. The Bible is not a single book written by one person who could aim its prophecies. It is dozens of writers over roughly fifteen hundred years. And all the threads tie together in Jesus. The risen Lord Himself points to fulfilled prophecy as proof. "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day" (). Then He tells them the goal of it all. It was "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations" (v. 47). Notice that. All nations. The good news that began with the Scriptures is meant to go to everyone, everywhere. We believe because the story holds together. And we believe because it is for the whole world.
Around the Table
The Bible told all about Jesus a long, long time before He was born — where He'd be born and what He would do! God planned it all.
Let's do it: Hold up the Bible and cheer, "It's all about Jesus!"
Many things about Jesus were written hundreds of years before He came. And He fulfilled them all. That helps us know He really is God's promised Savior.
Let's talk: Which is more amazing to you? That the prophecies were written so early, or that one Man fulfilled them all?
The Old Testament is one big arrow pointing to Christ across many authors and many centuries. Fulfilled prophecy is evidence no single person could fake. No one controls when and where they are born or how they die.
Let's go deeper: Suppose a skeptic said, "Jesus just arranged to fulfill the prophecies." How would the ones about His birth and His death answer that?
💬 Conversation Starter
Imagine someone wrote down 20 specific things about your life before you were born, and they all came true. What would that prove?— That's what the prophecies about Jesus do.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
When someone says, "You can't trust the Bible. It's just one old book": Kindly explain that it is actually 66 books. It was written by around 40 writers over about 1,500 years, on three continents. Yet it tells one unified story that lands on Jesus. Its prophecies were written centuries early and fulfilled in His life, death, and resurrection. That unity across so much time and so many authors is not what a man-made book looks like. We believe with reasons, and we are ready to give them "with gentleness and respect" ().
For Dad · Go Deeper
We often hand our kids the resurrection as proof, and rightly so. But Jesus Himself leaned hard on fulfilled prophecy, and we should keep that arrow in the quiver. The strength of the prophetic argument is how it stacks up. Any one prediction might be explained away. But the pattern of dozens, written long before and converging on one Man, is what becomes compelling. Be careful and honest here, though. Avoid the overreach of claiming wild numbers or treating every verse as a hidden code. Stick to the clear messianic prophecies the New Testament itself quotes. Teach your children the difference between a sober case and a sensational one. A faith built on careful evidence will not crumble when a skeptic pokes at a sloppy claim. Show them that the Old Testament was Jesus' Bible, and it was all about Him.
Draws on: Walter Kaiser, The Messiah in the Old Testament.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that You planned the story of Jesus long ago. Thank You for keeping every promise. Help us trust Your Word. Help us see Jesus on every page. And help us tell the good news to all people. In Jesus' name, amen."
The whole Bible points to Jesus. Promises were written centuries early, and all of them were kept in Him.