The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus

This book is an excellent book for a survey of the entire Bible. This book is not exhaustive, but it covers the key stories and themes. The book's strength is that it shows the reader that the Bible has one consitent message throughout. This book is easy to read, but not simplistic. It is not an academic book, but academics can get something from this book as well.

Jesus Christ the Great Interpreter, speaks to our hearts in this well written true story by John R.Cross. The reader will easily seque from page to page, as the Holy Scriptures are chronologically unfolded starting from creation to Christ. This book contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Jesus Christ is its grand focus, and if you have wondered about who He is and what He has accomplished, then you will be hard pressed to put this book down. It serves as an excellent evangelistic tool, effective in group reads or book clubs or encouraging foundational reading for those already "in Christ." I highly recommend this life transforming book. "Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:45.

This book is one of the most sensible books about the Bible that I have read. It discusses the Bible in chronological order. It begins with the easier concepts. It avoids being overwhelming. Best of all, it draws the whole Bible together -- pointing out the major themes. Yet, although clearly worded, it is not simplistic.The title refers to Luke 24:13-35, where Jesus himself explains to two disciples, "...beginning with all the Prophets...what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." This book hopes to do the same for us. The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus would be a good book to read before attempting a read-through of the whole Bible. (It sure would have helped make my first read-through more sensible!) However, as one who had read through the Bible a few times before reading The Stranger..., it was still a great help in my understanding.I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Bible, Western Culture, or the Christian faith.

I was introduced to this book by my fiance last year. I was so impressed with it and its clear presentation of the Bible that I loaned it to my father, who is now using it for his sixth grade Bible class. I am currently using the book with two inner-city girls clubs that I help to run. The girls are really learning a lot from this book, as well as the leaders. Many leaders have never been exposed to this kind of teaching and they are coming to realize just how little they know about their Bible. The ministry where I introduced "The Stranger..." is now in the process of using it in their other programs.I would highly recommend this book for both experienced Christians and non-believers, because I think everyone can learn from it. It directs non-believers to a relationship with Christ and encourages experienced Christians to not view their Christianity as a culture, but to truly understand why they believe what they believe. Everyone I have showed this book to has been very impressed.

The Bible records the story of two individuals walking from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. They were in deep discussion. Just a few days earlier, Jesus of Nazareth had been crucified outside the city walls. The topic of discussion between the two individuals was centered on what they just heard; several people in Jerusalem were dogmatically claiming to have seen Jesus alive. As they walked along discussing these stories/claims, a stranger joined the twosome. Over the next several hours the stranger took that ancient collection of books - the Bible, and starting at the very beginning, explained it to them in a way that made incredible sense. The stranger's message drove all confusion from their minds. So thrilled were they by their new understanding, that they had hurried all the way back to Jerusalem to tell their friends, who also needed to hear this message - the message taught by the stranger on the road to Emmaus.Of course, we now know that the Stranger in question was none other than God Himself - come in human flesh. Jesus Christ was the Stranger who taught the two individuals on the road to Emmaus. In explaining the Scriptures in this particular situation, Jesus used the same chronological method of teaching that John Cross uses in his book, The Stranger On The Road To Emmaus.The Bible says that Jesus started by "...beginning with Moses..." It says he also used "the Prophets." The Jewish people used the phrase, "Moses and the Prophets" as an all-inclusive synonym for what we call the Old Testament. So when the Bible says that, ". . . beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures," the text is saying that Jesus literally began at the beginning of the Bible - Moses, and did not complete his lesson until he had included the rest of the book - the prophets.When dealing with history, it is necessary to communicate those facts in a chronological format if you want the facts to make sense. One does not read a story by starting halfway through the book, jumping to the last chapter and then wrapping it up on page one. That would be very confusing. The message Jesus taught started at the beginning and then worked its way through the Bible to a satisfactory completion. The two individuals heard the whole story - saw the complete picture. By starting at the beginning, Jesus would have been teaching the book of Genesis. Genesis is the foundational book of the Bible. In the first few chapters we learn how the universe came into existence, how life all began, where man came from, the origins of evil, language, government, nations, religions, etc. There are 14 major topics that have their foundations in Genesis. If you have not read Genesis, then the rest of the Bible will be very perplexing. Our understanding of the Bible needs to be built upon the foundational truths set forth in Genesis.In teaching the two individuals on the road to Emmau