1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our
Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The
message from God’s Word for this 3rd Sunday of Easter is taken from
Luke 24:13-25 and it’s entitled, “Jesus
Sets Our Hearts on Fire,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
Remember
Easter just a few weeks ago and the joy of that day? Were not our hearts “burning within us” (v 32) as we celebrated
the day of the resurrection? Just like the two men on the way to Emmaus, after
they encountered the living Lord, had burning hearts (v 32). Hearts that burn—aren’t
these the kind of hearts that we desire?
It’s so easy for our hearts to “grow
cold” to the joy of the resurrection. There are “sad hearts”—hearts weighed down with sorrow, suffering, and sin. There
are “troubled hearts”—hearts
perplexed by the problems of life. There are “weak hearts”—hearts that struggle with the trials and temptations
of life. There are “doubtful hearts”—hearts
that are uncertain whether Christ really “walks
with them” and works for their good. There are “lukewarm hearts”—hearts that are indifferent to the things eternal
and the relevancy of God’s Word. There are “cold
hearts”—hearts that aren’t burning with faith in the living Lord. Whatever the temperature of our heart, the
risen Jesus meets us on the road of life. He speaks to us and “breaks bread with us” and reveals
himself again as the risen Lord. Once again he kindles our faith and brings our
hearts “from hopelessness to hearts
burning with abounding joy.”
3.
Emmaus
was a small village outside of Jerusalem. The two men walking from Jerusalem to
Emmaus were discouraged disciples who had no reason to be discouraged. They’d
heard the reports of the women that the tomb was empty and that Jesus was
alive, but they didn’t believe them. They’d hoped that Jesus would redeem
Israel (Luke 24:21), but their hopes had been shattered. We get the impression
that these men were disappointed because God didn’t do what they wanted Him to
do. They saw the glory of the kingdom, but they failed to understand the
suffering.
4.
Jesus
graciously walked with them and listened to their conversation (Luke 24:17). No
doubt they were quoting Old Testament prophecies and trying to remember what
Jesus had taught, but they were unable to put it all together and come up with
an explanation that made sense. Was Jesus a failure or a success? Why did He
have to die? Was there a future for the nation?
5.
There’s
a touch of humor in Luke 24:19 when Jesus asked them in the middle of their
conversation, “What things?” Jesus had
been at the heart of all that had happened in Jerusalem, and now He was asking
them to tell Him what occurred! How patient our Lord is with us as He
listens to us tell Him what He already knows (Rom. 8:34). But we may come “boldly”
to His throne and pour out our hearts to Him, and He will help us (Ps. 62:8;
Heb. 4:16). Did you notice that the
longer Cleopas talked, the more he accused himself and his friend for their
unbelief. What more evidence could they want? Witnesses, including the
Apostles, had seen the tomb empty. Angels had announced that Jesus was alive.
Witnesses had seen Him alive and heard Him speak. The proof was there!
6.
“Faith comes by hearing, and
hearing by the word of Christ”
(Rom. 10:17). This explains why Jesus opened the Word to these two men as the
three of them walked to Emmaus. Their real problem wasn’t in their heads but in
their hearts (see Luke 24:25 and 32, and v. 38). They could’ve discussed the
subject for days and never arrived at a good answer. What they needed was a
fresh understanding of the Word of God, and Jesus gave that understanding to
them. He opened the Scriptures and then their eyes, and they realized that
Jesus wasn’t only alive but right there
with them!
7.
So
the main point of the text here in Luke 24 is that Jesus opens the Scriptures
for these two men. That’s the turning
point. As these men begin to understand
the Scripture, and more especially the life and work of Jesus in light of
Scripture, their sadness departs and they return to Jerusalem rejoicing. The deepest cause of their sadness hadn’t
been Jesus’ death. Not even His death by
crucifixion. What was crushing their
hearts is expressed in their words, “We
had hoped that He was the one to redeem Israel.” “We had hoped,” they said, with so
pathetic a use of the past tense. We
hope no more, they say. Their Master,
Jesus, is dead in the grave. They
believe that buried with Jesus are all their hopes that He was the promised
Messiah. That ended their dream. But, Jesus pointed them to the Word of God,
where there’s a clear account of the Messiah’s suffering and His victory. Had they only believed, they would’ve been
spared much misery and avoided that false conception of the Messiah’s work. They would’ve realized that this work was
greater than they had believed, not to deliver a small nation from Ceasar’s
rule and taxes but to deliver all nations from Satan’s rule. Then they would’ve believed Christ’s own word
that He would rise again, and what they saw on Good Friday couldn’t have
brought them such despair. And on Easter
morning they wouldn’t have gone to the tomb to anoint a dead body but to meet a
living Christ.
8.
It’s
just when we go back to the old grind we remember “Christ is risen!” It’s just when we face a HUGE problem that we
believe “Christ is risen!” It’s just
when we stand at the grave of a loved one that we have hope because “Christ is risen!” It’s just when we find
our steps heavy, our spirits sagging, and our hearts growing cold that we “hear and taste” in the Scriptures the
goodness of the Lord (cf. Ps 34:8).
9.
Once
again Jesus walks with us. He speaks to us in his Word. He opens to us the
Scriptures. He opens our eyes to see. And our hearts are warmed. Sad hearts are filled with joy. Troubled hearts are filled with peace. Weak hearts are filled with strength. Doubtful and despairing hearts are
filled with hope. Lukewarm hearts are
filled with conviction. Cold hearts
are burning with faith and hope. We know
and believe that there’s no sin he doesn’t forgive, there’s no hurt he doesn’t
heal, and there’s no emptiness he doesn’t fill. Jesus brings our hearts from
hopelessness to hearts burning with abounding joy!
10. What a lesson for us! As we walk along the path of life, how much
grief we would spare ourselves. How many
disappointments, fears of the future, doubts of God’s love and the Savior’s
constant care, if we only had a better knowledge of and a firmer trust in the
Word of God. If we would only and always
remember that in His Word, Jesus comes to us and abides with us! How blessed the assurance that there’s no
time in our live when the risen Lord isn’t with us—in war and in peace, at work
and at rest, in health and in sickness, in life and in death. And when Jesus is with us, all is well. That’s the blessing of Easter that we share
with these two disciples.
11. Prayer: Abide
with us Lord Jesus! Abide in our homes
and in our hearts. Open our eyes to see
You, our minds to know You, our hearts to give heed to You and to Your Word. Be our companion on the way of life, and
teach us in the perils of the day and in the darkness of the night to trust in
Your loving care. Above all, when the
evening of our life turns into night, abide with us in that last trial, and
keep us safe until we see You face to face in our Father’s house. Amen.
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