“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).

When I was a fairly new Jewish believer in Yeshua, I had a conversation with a dying man that literally changed the course of my life. When I tried to share the “Romans Road” (a gospel presentation using verses from the book of Romans) with him he said to me, “You believe Jesus is the Messiah because you are relying on biased Christian translation of the Hebrew Bible. If you were able to read the Hebrew Bible for yourself, you would know that Jesus cannot be the Jewish Messiah.”

Although this was the last conversation I ever had with him (he passed away shortly after), I decided to take his challenge to heart. And apart from accepting Yeshua, this was the best decision I’ve ever made. At nineteen years old, I started to walk the “Emmaus Road” (see Luke 24:13) and have never stopped walking it since.

Almost my entire formal and informal education has been devoted to understanding the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings in their original language and in their literary contexts. I say this not to boast (God forbid) but out of excitement for the treasures I’ve found in the Hebrew Bible throughout this incredible journey. The more I understand the Hebrew Bible, the more I understand why the Jewish apostles who wrote the Greek New Testament put their faith in Yeshua.

As vital as it is to know and to travel the Romans Road, there is a road Paul himself had to travel in order to write it. And it’s called the Emmaus Road. So if we truly want to appreciate the view from Rome, we must first journey the Messianic trails of the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings.

“Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’ Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (Luke 24:44-45).