Road Map to Jesus
By Alistair Chalmers
Reviewed by Joel Gilbert
On the day that Jesus resurrected from the dead, Luke records an interesting encounter that has often puzzled me. In Luke 24:13-35 we find two individuals walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Jesus catches up to them and begins to walk with them. While they are believers, they don’t recognize Him. Over the course of their conversation, Luke reports “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (v. 27). Oh to be a fly on the robe of those two men! I would love to hear how Jesus opened the Scriptures in order to help them see all the ways that the Old Testament points to Him.
In this little book Road Map to Jesus, Alistair Chalmers scours the Old Testament for references that Jesus might have used in that conversation. The book is divided into three major sections. Each section has multiple chapters. Each chapter is generally about 4-5 pages long.
In the first section, Chalmers discusses a “pathway through the Old Testament” as he considers a variety of references that pertain to the need for and promise of a Savior. In the second section, Chalmers rests on the content of the New Testament and Jesus’ life and ministry as confirmation of the Old Testament Promises. In the final section, he moves beyond Scripture into the church today, providing encouragement to live life in Christ faithfully, proclaim the good news clearly, and respond appropriately.
This book is a quick read. You could take a little over a month to read it in daily personal or family devotions. The short chapters generally take less than 5 minutes to read and consider. You could also use this book evangelistically by giving it to someone or reading it with someone who has some questions about whether or not Jesus is the promised Messiah.
This side of Jesus’ return we likely will not get to understand all that Jesus conveyed on the road to Emmaus, but I think Chalmers does an excellent job considering some references that Jesus may have used and then teases out some appropriate responses for believers and non-believers alike.
While we don’t have any of these in our BookNook, you can get this electronically or in paper back on 10ofthose.com.