By Rev. Dr. Rick Chesher
We have all heard preachers from time to time tell us we need to go out and present the Gospel to the lost, and they are right, we need to be able to tell people about the good news of salvation. But where do we find the Gospel? Is the Gospel in the first four books of the New Testament? Again I would have to say yes and qualify it by saying yes, but not entirely. Now that I have everyone’s attention let us go to the Bible and see.
The passage I am referring to is in Luke 24:13-27. This passage is most likely familiar to most people. Yashua (Jesus) had been crucified and buried, and the disciples were in hiding fearful for their lives. The time is sometime on Sunday because in this passage it refers to some of the women having gone to the tomb very early and found it empty. The place this event happens was on the road to Emmaus.
Now we know there were two of them on the road, but we only know the name of one which is Cleopas. Some in history have said that Cleopas was Joseph’s brother or Yashua’s uncle according to the flesh. While they are on the road Yashua comes walking up beside of them and asks them about the discussion they are having about current events, or the death of Yashua. Scripture says they didn’t recognize Him.
They acted stunned that anyone would not know what had happened, and they began to explain to Him about this. They called Him a powerful prophet that they had hoped would be the one to redeem Israel. What they were saying is that they had hoped He had been the Messiah that had been promised.
This where the story gets really interesting, and Yashua says something many have missed. Yashua tells them first of all how unwise and slow to faith they have been, then He asked them, didn’t you know the Messiah had to suffer and die and enter into His glory?
While at this point in the passage most of us would say, well wait a minute, how would we know that? Yashua answers that question in verse 27. It says beginning with Moses, which are the first five books of the Bible, and moving through the prophets, Yashua began to interpret how these Scripture concerned Him, or they point and proclaimed Him. Look at this closely, if the Gospel are the Good News about Yashua, then according to Yashua, it all started in Genesis and runs through the whole Bible. So to really understand this good news, then we also most understand the message that has been proclaimed from the beginning. I don’t know about us, but when I realized that it put a whole new light on things. I challenge you to start from the beginning and look at things and how they relate to Yashua.