Heartburn
Luke 24:28-32
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.
29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?" (NKJ)
I) Background
Earlier in the week from the setting of this scripture, Jesus had come into Jerusalem at the Triumphal Entry. He had ridden in, as we discussed last week, on a donkey--a symbol of a king, but also a symbol of peace and power under control.
The crowds shouted "Hosanna" which is translated as "Save us now", but the crowds by and large missed the point of the first coming of Jesus. They expected a conquering king to relieve the oppression of the Romans, and also expected the intitution of the Kingdom in a literal way. Instead, it was a "heart kingdom", where the hearts of those that would be saved would establish Jesus as a spiritual King instead of a ruling King. That would come when Jesus would return, at the second coming of Christ.
The crowds that earlier shouted Hosanna then shouted "Crucify Him!", on Good Friday. One disciple betrayed Him, another denied Him thrice, and all of the others fled and were not to be found with the exception of John.
Here was Jesus, the God-Man, who had, in the view of His followers, had gone from:
Messiah to martyr
Teacher to tortured
Prophet to persecuted
Leader to loser
I think that we have all had those times when all that we trusted in and believed in came crashing down. Perhaps it was a love interest that you had, and the relationship went up in smoke. Or it was a business relationship that went sour. Many know the misery of losing their pensions at the hands of mismanaged companies like Enron, Worldcom, Bear Stearns and others.
But there are also those stories of great triumph when it looked as though all was lost.
I remember a man that was a favorite client of mine from the East Finley area. His name was George. I had recieved a call and the bad news that George had passed away. He was one of my favorite clients, and was just a lovable old dairy farmer. A very good, gentle but manly kind of guy. The kind of guy that you would want as a friend.
I was to meet his wife at a farm nearby and I wondered all the while what I would say to his widow. I had no clue; I was only about twenty years old, and lost for words--yes, its true!
I arrived at this property, and when I got out of the car, it was George that came walking down from the barn to my car! I was so excited to see him! It turned out that the owner of the property had died, and he was helping the widow out with taking care of the insurance and other business. I didn't tell George until later that I thought he was actually dead, and he got a good laugh out of it. But he also knew how much I liked him, and I could see that by the look on his face.
This same thing happened on the road to Emmaus, and now lets look at that story as told by Dr. Luke.
II) Let's Talk About It...
Luke 24:13-16
13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem.
14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. (NKJ)
We can see that these "two" were not two of the "twelve", as we see later the name of one is Cleopas and they both went later in this story and met with the "eleven", the "twelve" less Judas that had betrayed Jesus.
I have found that sometimes it is the best thing to go for a walk or a run when you don't have the answers for a problem. The phone doesn't ring, the TV isnt on, no one to bother you. Studies show that walking or running stimulates the thought processes.
Just why they were on this road we may never know for sure. Perhaps this was their home. Maybe they were on their way to see friends, or maybe going to seek out work.
Nevertheless, they were on this seven mile trek and they were discussing all that had happened. Their thrill at the thought of the Messiah coming. The huge disappointment at the death of the Messiah. And now, the word from some that Jesus actually lives! It was all so much to take in. Confusion was the ruling in their minds.
Jesus met them on the road, and walked along with them. At the same time, God veiled their eyes in such a way that they did not know that it was Him. God sometimes will do that to you and I too, not letting us see His plan in "real time" but instead only when we look back and see how He worked in our lives.
III) Depressed Disciples...
Luke 24:17-24
17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"
The Greeke word for sad is an interesting one. It is the word Skuthropos, and Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words explains it as such: , "of a sad countenance" from two words skuthros, "gloomy, sad, and "ops,"an eye, "sad." Zodiates states it is of the countenance. Grim-faced, of a stern, gloomy, sad countenance; either affected.
Someone once said "The eyes are the windows to the soul". How true that is. I know from many of you what is going on with you from looking at the eyes. I can tell if Dave is having a a good day or is hurting by the look in his eyes; when I look at Kay, and you all know how I love those eyes, I can see what mood she is in. Same with Rachel--she has very expressive eyes, and I tease her about them all of the time. And when Diana looks at you over her glasses, well, look out!
But these two showed a "sad countenance"--a sad face. Most likely they were quite depressed. And confused, as we will see...
18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"
One thing my father in law will say to us when we are are late is "whereubin?" All one word...
This was almost like that. It is like talking about the war in Iraq and the person you are talking with saying "What war?" What would you say? You would be saying the same thing...Where have you been? Under a rock somewhere?"
19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.
21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.
23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.
24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."
This man, Cleopas, is right on a lot of things about Jesus, but if you notice he is wrong on one key issue--the tense of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 19--He said Jesus was a Prophet.
Cleopas speaks of Jesus as a Prophet who was. He was mighty in deed and word. His walk matched His talk. About the terrible way in which the chief priests and rulers let the way in having Him crucified. How their hope was blown away, a hope that He was indeed the Messiah that would deliver the nation of Israel from it's suffering.
I find it interesting that there is a bump in the road here in his stating that "it was the third day since these things happened". Robertson, in his "Word Pictures" Greek commentary, states of Lazarus in the tomb for four days:
Lightfoot (Hot. Hebr.) quotes a Jewish tradition (Beresh: Rabba) to the effect that the soul hovers around the tomb for three days hoping to return to the body, but on the fourth day leaves it.
Cleopas and his walking companion had given up. Even in the view of a false Jewish belief that there was still a chance--it was the third day...and they had given up.
IV) The Teacher Teaches...
Luke 24:25-27
25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"
27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.
Jesus uses what seems to be tough words here with these two. He speaks to them as fools, but not as evil fools but those that just don't get it. They are slow to believe. But like Pascal once said... "Human knowledge must be understood to be believed, but divine knowledge must be believed to be understood.".
Now I have to admit, I would have loved to have been there. To hear Jesus speak of salvation, of what had to happen to get it, from the teachings of Moses all the way thru the Old Testament. From Genesis thru Malachi. Jesus drew the scarlet thread of Himself with Adam and Eve and brought them right up to the present time.
V) Tell Us More...
Luke 24:28-29
28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.
29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.
I think that you see a few more things here than are visible to the eye. Of course, we can see that these two men wanted to be compassionate and want Jesus to stay with them as night was almost upon them. It would be courteous.
But don't you also think that they wanted to hear more? This man who taught them, encouraged them, and showed them that their following of this "Prophet" was not in vain. They were now thirsty for more.
VI) Heartburn... of a Different Type
30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.
Jesus must have had a certain way of breaking bread that was unique to those who followed Him. We can only speculate to how it was done, and if you think it was done a different way thats okay but here is how I think Jesus may have done it...
Now look at the reaction of the disciples:
32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"
Often when we hear about the heart aflame, we think of a romatic affection. We think of a man and woman falling deeply in love. However, this is not the picture.
It is a passion, yes, but it is a passion for truth. The Word of God, when it is taught with a passion, lights a flame within the heart and soul. Jesus did more than quote a few verses to these disciples--He "opened" the scriptures to them!
Now when you have a great passion for something, you want to tell others about it....
33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,
34 saying, "The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
35 And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.
When you compare this to the story of the Shepherds in the fields at Jesus birth, you see a similarity.
When such a great truth is evident--the coming of the Messiah, as told by the angels to the shepherds, people drop everything and rush to tell the story. We see the same thing here. The burning passion these two disciples have to tell other of the Messiah lead them to rush back to Jerusalem--7 miles in all--to tell the story of what had happened. They had walked 7 miles with Jesus to Emmaus, and it was dark. They began to share a meal with Jesus, He broke the bread and vanished from their sight.
Being tired made no difference. They had to tell their friends, the eleven!
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, "Peace to you." (NKJ)
VII) Recap
Just Remember these things from this section of scripture:
1) Trust in what Jesus says. He is NEVER wrong.
2) Take a walk and think about it
3) Read the Scriptures and develop a passion
4) Prepare for miracles to happen--for people to be saved, and for you to be changed.
A man traveling along a dark road one stormy night met a man coming from the opposite direction who said to him in a hesitant manner, "I think maybe the bridge is out. At least I heard something to that effect." The traveler was not impressed and decided to proceed. A little farther on a man came rushing out of the dark to him and said, "Stop! Don't go any farther. The bridge is out!" So passionately convincing were his tones that the traveler turned back, and his life was saved. That is how we are to witness, with passion and conviction.
