Breaking Bread Before Bethlehem: Meeting Jesus in the Old Testament and Walking With Him Today

Breaking Bread Before Bethlehem: Meeting Jesus in the Old Testament and Walking with Him TodayMost people think the story of Jesus begins in a manger. But what if He was already there, walking through the pages of the Old Testament centuries before Bethlehem? What if every burning bush, every wilderness sacrifice, every shepherd's song, and every ancient prophecy was pointing toward the same Person?That is exactly what Jesus told two heartbroken disciples on the road to Emmaus. Walking alongside them after the resurrection, He opened the Scriptures from the beginning and showed them that He had been there all along, hidden in plain sight, woven into every story they had ever heard. Breaking Bread Before Bethlehem follows that same road.Written by a doctor of theology who has spent his career making the deepest truths of Scripture accessible to youth, this book traces Jesus through fifteen Old Testament encounters, each one revealing a specific trait of the living Christ that matters for your life today. You will meet Him pursuing a forgotten slave woman in the wilderness, wrestling a frightened patriarch at midnight, walking freely in a Babylonian furnace, and calling a failed man by name from a burning bush. You will trace His portrait through the Passover lamb, the manna from heaven, the smitten rock, the Day of Atonement, Isaiah's Suffering Servant, the Good Shepherd of Psalm 23, and the everlasting kingdom of Daniel 7.Each chapter is written with theological integrity and plain language that a new believer can understand and a scholar can respect. But the goal is not simply to make readers more knowledgeable about Jesus. It is to bring them into genuine relationship with the Person every page of the Old Testament has always been pointing toward.Because knowing about Jesus and being known by Jesus are two very different things. And He is still walking the same road today.Perfect for new believers, youth groups, Bible study classes, and anyone who wants to discover the living Christ hidden in the ancient stories they thought they already knew.