Rekindled Hearts: Luke 24:13-35

We do study through books of the Bible here at the Village Chapel.

If you'd like a paper copy of the scriptures, just lift up your hand.

Uh Kevin, right here, is gonna pass those around.

We have a robust group of folks who are worshiping with us online on a regular basis.

I hope you know that.

Last week we had the privilege of worshiping with others from Liverpool, UK, Greensboro, North Carolina, and Singapore.

And may the grace of our Lord be with you wherever you might be today.

Well, friends, uh, for just over a year, we've had the privilege of opening the scriptures to the Gospel according to Luke on Sunday mornings here at TBC.

And through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Dr.

Luke, the physician, the only Gentile writer in the New Testament, writes his account with a singular purpose.

And since we're nearing the end, I thought it'd be good to look at the singular purpose one more time.

Luke chapter 1, verse 3 and 4.

Luke 1:3

So Luke is stating up front, it has seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.

Why?

That you may have certainty concerning the things that you have been taught.

He has Theophilus in mind as he's writing this account.

He has all those who are wondering about this Jesus in mind as he writes this account.

Theophilus knew something about Jesus, apparently, perhaps about his teaching, his miracles, his death, the claims of his resurrection, and Luke sets out on a mission to give Theophilus and us an orderly account, a well-researched narrative, if you will, about Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Messiah, who indeed is risen, his character, his power, his identity as the Son of God, his love, his love for lost people, like I once was.

If Luke were in this room this morning, I think he would ask us a question.

Do you know who Jesus is?

If he was standing here, I think he would ask that.

He was an evangelist.

He was a historian, he was a theologian.

You've read my accounts, you've heard the eyewitness testimony.

You may have even sensed a quickening in your heart.

Perhaps sense a rekindling of your love for him.

I hope so.

Even for those familiar with Luke's writings, though, I think if Luke was here, he'd say, Let me tell you about them again.

So we'll be finishing up our study of Luke this week and next.

And then early next year, we're actually going to look at his second volume, The Acts of the Apostles, and we look forward to that.

But this morning, as we get into our text today in Luke's gospel, you'll recall that this is Sunday morning.

That's where we are.

It's Sunday morning in Jerusalem.

That's where we are in the story.

The first day of the week, the third day since Jesus had been crucified.

Many of the disciples at this point in the text are perplexed.

They're actually disappointed.

Their rabbi, their teacher, their Messiah, the hope-for Messiah, had been cruelly mocked, spit upon, flogged, put to death, and was buried just days earlier.

And earlier on that Sunday morning, as we studied last week, a few women went to where Jesus had been buried, and they found the stone rolled away from the entrance, and some angels appeared to them, and they said, He is not here, he is risen.

But they did not see the risen Jesus.

Not yet.

The women run and they go tell the disciples what they saw.

Peter and John have to go see, and they find the tomb empty.

But they didn't see the risen Jesus, not yet.

Was the body stolen?

Perhaps they were asking.

Did an angel really appear, as the women had said?

So for some disciples, disappointment, unbelief began to edge their way in.

And our text this morning brings us to Sunday afternoon.

Two followers of Jesus have set out on a seven-mile journey to a little village called Emmaus.

And we don't know much about this little village, this historical town of Emmaus.

It could have been their home, and they were going back home.

It could have been a stop along the way to Galilee, we don't know.

And as far as they knew, on this Sunday afternoon, there was no reason to stay in Jerusalem.

Their hope for Messiah was dead, as far as they knew.

His body was missing.

The party was over.

And so they set out on their journey home.

They set on on their journey home as if they were leaving a funeral.

Disappointment with God, confusion about his plans, his timing, his purposes.

Can we all relate with that at different points in our lives?

I invite you to turn with me, if you would, to Luke chapter 24, verse 13 this morning.

Luke 24:13

I want us to watch, watch for it.

The kindness and the grace of Jesus for those whose faith, whose hope might be fading, disappointment might be creeping in.

Let me pray for us and we'll get started.

Heavenly Father, we bow before your presence.

And with our Bibles open, we pray you would open your word to us and open us to your word.

May your spirit convict, comfort, and point us to your Son Jesus.

In his precious name we pray.

Amen.

Luke 24, verse 13.

Luke 24:13

So that very day, Sunday afternoon is what it is, two of them were going into a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.

And they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

And while they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

And it's worth noting, if you uh under underline the word discussing there, discussing it together, there's actually perhaps a bit of an argument or a dispute.

That's the original language kind of indicates that.

And sometimes Emily and I have discussions.

That might be a little bit more than a discussion.

Jesus himself draws near and went with them.

But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

That's interesting.

There's something divine going on here.

Jesus wants to do something in them before he reveals himself to them.

Verse 17, and he said to them, What is this conversation you're holding with each other as you walk?

Maybe with a little grin on his face, hearing the dispute.

And they stood still, looking sad.

Underline that.

Then one of them, named Cleopus, answered him, answered Jesus, Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?

Oh, the irony.

Jesus was the one who knew everything that happened in those days.

What's Jesus going to do?

Oh, he's so kind.

And Jesus said to them, verse 19, What things?

And they said to him, concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who is a prophet, mighty indeed and word, before God and all the people.

And how our chief priest and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death and crucified him.

21.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

Underline that.

Past tense.

For them, the party was over.

They were walking home from a funeral in their head.

Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.

And perhaps they're thinking about what Jesus said on the third day I would rise.

Or perhaps they're thinking about the pattern from the Old Testament of the third day, things happening like Abraham and Isaac.

On the third day, the ram was provided as a substitution.

I don't know.

But it's the third day, and they hadn't seen Jesus.

Verse 22.

Moreover, some women of our company amazed us.

They were at the tomb early in the morning, earlier that day.

23, and when they did not find his body, they came back, saying, They had even seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.

And that's interesting.

They didn't say they saw a vision of angels.

They said they saw angels who said he's risen.

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said.

Unbelief, perhaps, creeping in.

Verse 25.

And he, Jesus said to them, O foolish ones and slow of heart, to believe all that the prophets have spoken.

Circle, underline, all.

It's so important.

And when Jesus says, O foolish ones, slow of heart, he's not calling them unintelligent.

There's something moral about this.

He's basically saying, those who are slow to believe.

You studied the scriptures your whole life.

You heard me teaching.

You're slow to believe, slow in heart.

All that the prophets were told.

26, was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?

27, and beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

The most amazing Bible study recorded in the Bible.

Can you imagine Jesus teaching through books of the Bible here with these two?

28.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going, and he acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying, Stay with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is now far spent.

So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them, and their eyes were opened.

He revealed himself to them, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.

Didn't expect that.

32, they said to each other, this is really important, they're talking to one another, did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures.

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem at great cost.

I mean, seven miles.

Think about that.

At that very hour, it was likely evening at that point.

They decided we have to go back now and tell the disciples what we have seen and heard.

33, they rose at the same hour, returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, The Lord has risen indeed, and he's appeared to Simon.

So Jesus apparently had revealed himself to Simon in that time period.

35.

Then they told what happened on the road and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Well, this is the reading of God's word.

Thanks be to God.

So we really do have two journeys in this story, don't we?

We have a walk home from Jerusalem as if they were leaving a funeral, and we have a running back to Jerusalem with hearts set ablaze with resurrection hope.

Two journeys.

A little revival took place in that little village of Emmaus.

Now, Luke could have chosen any number of post-resurrection appearances of Jesus to focus on in his gospel.

But he primarily draws our attention to these two.

He's the only gospel writer that tells us this story.

Mark might hint at it a little bit.

In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul gives us a survey of many of the other post-resurrection appearances of Jesus in those 40 days after he's resurrected and before his ascension.

Let me read it to you if you want to follow along.

It's 1 Corinthians 15.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, Paul says, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Stephus, that's Peter, and then to the twelve.

Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.

Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

So Luke, he was meticulous, he was a historian.

He surely knew of all these appearances, but he chose to focus on these traveling companions on a journey to this unremarkable village called Emmaus.

Cleopas is the only one who's named, and his travel companion is perhaps his wife.

So how did Luke even know this story?

Like many of the other stories and the other accounts, it seems to me, it seems likely to me, that he interviewed Cleopas andor his wife.

It would have been about 30 years after the resurrection that Luke did his research.

And look, if I'm Cleopus, and this happened to me, I'm telling this story to anyone who would listen.

Grandpa, that story again?

I like to imagine Luke's interview of Cleopas.

Luke sits down with him and maybe his wife too, and he says, So you're telling me that Jesus sidled up to you and you didn't know who he was?

Yeah, I'm telling you, that's what happened.

Okay, okay.

Just to make sure.

So while he broke the bread, that's when you recognized who he was.

Yeah, that's true.

If I'm I'm Luke, I'm really curious.

Okay, so when he vanishes, and you said he vanished, right?

Like he was just gone.

Yeah, no, that's right.

When he vanished, he breaks the bread.

Does the bread like go with him?

Does the bread fall to the table, crumbs flying everywhere?

I can't wait to get to heaven and ask Cleopas a little bit more.

So let's remember that as Luke documents his research, inspired by the Spirit, he has Theophilus in mind.

The seeker, the searcher, this lover of God.

That's what his name means.

And perhaps Luke, I don't know this to be sure, but maybe he selected this roadside visit because this story is a microcosm of the Christian life, isn't it?

Jesus draws near when we least expect him, often in times of disorientation.

He reveals himself to us in the scriptures.

He touches cold, fading hearts and brings them back to life.

And the only proper response is worship, love, faith, belief, and telling others.

They ran back to Jerusalem that night.

As Luke's gospel account is nearing the end, I can imagine as Luke is writing, saying to himself as he's finishing it up, so where are you in the story, Theophilus?

You've read all of my accounts.

I've shown you who Jesus is, full of grace and truth and power and authority, his love for sinners.

You know a lot about him now.

Do you know him?

And I think that question is just as penetrating, just as relevant for us today.

For friends here in Nashville in this room and online, where are you in this story?

Where am I?

Has the risen Christ drawn near to you?

Do you recognize him?

Jesus knew exactly where this couple was geographically.

He sidled up next to them on the road.

But perhaps more importantly, he knew where their heart was.

He knew where they were spiritually.

So I want us to consider together the lavish grace of the resurrected Jesus we see in this story.

Number one, I think we see this gift from the resurrected Jesus.

He draws near to the disappointed heart.

He draws near to the disappointed heart.

He walks with them, he listens, he asks questions.

So look with me at verse 21.

We'll put it up on the screen as well.

We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

One phrase in our story this morning that's saturated with the heaviness of disappointment in God.

The prevailing thinking of that day in Jewish teaching was that when the Messiah came, he would come with power, with divine might, to root out the intruders, the occupiers, the Romans.

And it seems that there was an apparent neglect of some kind of the parts of Scripture which taught clearly that the Messiah would come first as a suffering servant, who would come with a kingdom unlike the kingdoms of this world, obsessed with power and might.

He came out to root something even greater, sin and death.

Isaiah tells us he was despised and rejected of men.

A man of sorrow is acquainted with grief, and by his wounds we are healed.

Somehow that suffering servant image had been neglected, at least in their day.

And so on this road to Emmaus, those two travelers must have been wrestling with the teachings of Jesus as they discussed and perhaps argued together.

Did he really say that he would rise again from the dead?

Did those angels actually say what they said?

Was it all a farce?

Somewhere in their heart they thought so because they had packed their bags.

Jesus had promised resurrection, but they hadn't seen him yet.

Think of this very personal implication of that kind of belief, that kind of disappointment.

They were walking home facing life without the hope of resurrection.

And that is a sorrowful place to be.

And many in this room know that place, have known that place.

Life without the hope of resurrection puts into question everything meaning, purpose.

Is this all that there is?

Man, that's a relevant question today.

Just as it was then.

Doesn't offer hope for those who suffer, but for those who grieve.

Why would any of this matter if this world is all that there is?

I think you and I, we could we can see how heavy this walk to Emmaus must have been.

The hope of disappointment that hope had been shattered, the Messiah had crucified, buried, and now the resurrection promise was just a rumor.

A few years ago we were reciting the Apostles' Creed.

And I don't know if you're in the room here or not, but we had a little glitch in the computer.

And it came to the section where it said, uh, he suffered under Pontius Pilate.

He was crucified, he was died, and he buried, and he descended into hell.

And then nothing.

The slides locked up on the screen.

And what felt like an eternity, that was all that was on the screen.

And we just waited in silence and bated breath.

And then finally, it says on the third day, he rose again from the dead.

Church, Christ is risen.

Say it again.

He is risen indeed.

They were in that middle section.

The slide hadn't changed quite yet.

In our time, disenchantment, cynicism towards the things of God really has been the background hum of a secularizing culture for years, and that background hum is still there.

But in the last several years, I think we've seen a renewed hunger, oftentimes a quiet revival, if you will, a waking up to the emptiness of life as if this is all that there is.

And the locus of it, the nucleus of it, seems to be some of our younger generations who are at the center of this growing hunger for spiritual renewal.

We can see it in the statistics if you go read them.

We can see it with our own eyes and our ears as we listen to the questions that our young ones are asking.

And that's why we love to pour in to all the ministries to our younger generation here.

With a renewed hunger, though, for spiritual things, we have to be alert to the ways that the evil one can twist it.

And we can hunger for the spiritual things and go to the wrong sources, unwise, worldly spirituality.

It's why we're eager again to pour in to our ministries here.

I love this song by artist Mark Sibilia.

He's a TVCer, but an incredible artist.

He asks some of these questions, and I think it resonates with our current moment.

In the second verse, he says, I've been thinking about after.

And all the folks I want to see.

My neighbor says this that this is it.

My daughter says we live again.

Most of the time I'm somewhere in between.

Don't the question beg an answer?

Don't the song beg a dancer?

Don't you dare tell me that there ain't more.

Of this.

More to this.

So if we're honest, many of us have found ourselves somewhere in that in-between.

If I asked for a raise of hands, I won't, but I bet many of us have been there.

Somewhere in between there.

And I think that's maybe where these two were on that road to Emmaus.

Because of circumstance or confusion, our own rebellion sometimes, many of us find ourselves saying, We had hoped.

See, Ecclesiastes tells us that eternity is actually hardwired into our hearts.

All of us hunger for eternity.

Every human soul.

There was hunger for eternity on that road to Emmaus, and there's hunger in our world today.

To know that the resurrection is true, that's actually what we're longing for.

That the resurrection is true, which means my resurrection is going to happen.

I'm going to see my loved one someday.

And I can imagine Luke as he's writing again to Theophilus, where are you in this story, my friend?

And to all of us in this room, where are you in this story?

Philippiensi said, Our disappointment is itself a sign.

I think he's right, an aching, a hunger for something better.

And faith is, in the end, a kind of homesickness for a home we have never visited, but have never once stopped longing for.

The bodily resurrection of Jesus changes everything.

We studied that last week.

It is the guarantee of our own resurrection on that day to come, a guarantee of the world to come, the home that we long for when he sets all things right, shalom, for all those in Christ, including those who've gone before us who are in Christ.

You don't have to leave here today, those in this room and those online, without that hope this morning.

And here's why.

There's another phrase in that story.

Let's look together at verse 15.

Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

He draws near to those who are disappointed.

Psalm says he draws near to those who are brokenhearted.

Jesus is irresistibly drawn to these disappointed disciples, eager to meet their need exactly where they are.

And the ministry of his presence, the grace of his presence is a deep well of grace for these weary souls and for yours today.

So what does Jesus do when he draws near?

But he opens up the scriptures.

He takes them to the Bible, he preaches the gospel that points to him.

That's where we get to number two.

He speaks to the slow of heart.

He explains the scriptures to the slow of heart, those who are tentative, those who are not so sure.

And we're going to talk a little bit more about this Bible teaching from Jesus next week when he appears to more disciples and he gives yet another Bible study.

Jesus loves the Bible.

He has a high view of Scripture, and so should we.

But don't walk past this today.

Oh, I know I should read my Bible, I should study it, I should meditate it, I should memorize it.

That's true.

But don't just say, I got that.

And I'm talking to myself as well.

Jesus is revealing something critical, something fundamental about the Christian life, about the life of a disciple of Jesus.

You and I live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

We live by it.

Comes from Deuteronomy, and Jesus said it as well.

In other words, our spiritual nourishment actually comes.

The source is the word of God.

All that Moses and the prophets said pointed to him.

In that moment, on Emmaus Road, Jesus could have simply jumped out and said, Woo-hoo, here I am.

Here are the nail-scarred hands, look at my side.

He doesn't do that.

Isn't that interesting?

I would have done that.

Before he does that, he points them to the scriptures.

Hey, we're going to do a Bible study.

We're going to look at the things that you may have forgotten or missed.

Delight in it.

God still speaks.

I'm going to say it again.

God still speaks.

He's not silent.

Through the power of the Spirit's illumination, we're given a feast every time we come to His Word.

We meditate on it, we chew on it, we delight in it because it points to Him.

We study it with a group of believers, like we did with all the men yesterday.

Don't just snack on it occasionally, but feast on it.

Mark Buchanan says this one definition of Christ's followers might be those people of the slow and burning heart.

Sorrow and hope, awe and self-pity, wonder and worry, belief and doubt all mixed loosely in us, tugging us one way, jostling us another.

Jesus walks the road with us, but we can look straight at him and not recognize him.

Jesus opens the scriptures to us, for us, and often something happens within, a warming at times and a scorching at others.

Number three, the resurrected Jesus rekindles the fading heart.

Mark said it's a warming at times and a scorching at others.

There are times when Jesus reveals himself in extraordinary, big ways.

Like Paul on the road to Damascus, if you remember that story, a blinding light from the Word of Christ.

Paul apparently in that moment needed to be shaken.

His heart needed to be shaken to life.

Other times the Lord reveals himself in quieter ways, like he did in this story here.

It also made me think this week of another story.

Do you remember the story of Elijah in the Old Testament?

On Mount Carmel, Elijah prays for fire to come down from heaven in an incredible display of God's power and his glory.

And many of those who were worshiping false gods actually turned in faith to the living God in that day.

There was a little revival there on Mount Carmel.

But then the story takes an unexpected turn.

Elijah runs away.

After this great miracle, he runs away because he fears for his life.

And Elijah, who just witnessed fire from heaven, actually forgets.

He's slow of heart, if you will, to remember the power of God, the promises of God, his character.

So God draws Elijah to yet another mountain, Mount Horeb, and it's not in an earthquake, it's not in a windstorm, it's not in fire from heaven, but it's in a voice, a whisper, it says that God calls.

He speaks and he rekindles a fading heart there in Elijah.

Isn't that what Jesus is doing on this road to Emmaus?

One of the most incredible Bible studies in history, and we don't have it here.

I can't wait to get to heaven.

Jesus, what text did you use?

With Jesus himself, starting with Moses and the prophets, Jesus draws near to them.

He speaks to them with patience for the slow and hard, those who are not quite sure yet.

And he brings them to life.

He illuminates the Word of God in them.

Why?

Because all, everything in the scriptures, all of this, points to the resurrected Jesus.

Should give us great hope today.

Rebecca McLaughlin says, longings and lies both need the light of the gospel.

Sometimes misguided longings or lies that we believe about God and his promises.

And Jesus here brings the light of the gospel.

They go from the slow of heart to a burning heart.

Their hearts couldn't contain it, and they had to run seven miles back to tell somebody else.

Dallas Willard said, We must be open to the possibility of God's addressing us in whatever way he chooses, or else we may walk right past a burning bush.

Instead of saying as Moses did, I must turn aside and look at this great site and see why the bush is not burned up.

Jesus draws near to those who are disappointed, skeptical, spiritually dry, or fading.

Don't, don't walk past him, my friends.

Where are you in this story?

Do you know him?

You don't have to be here this morning wondering if this is all there is.

Watch for him as his spirit draws near.

It'd be an honor for me to chat with you after this service or many of the other pastors or have coffee later if you want to talk more.

This week, I encourage you, if you're struggling with this, I encourage you to pray.

Actually ask the Spirit of the living God to open his word to you and open you to his word as we prayed earlier.

Maybe that's your task for today.

Our God is gracious and is eager to draw near.

Let's pray.

Just a few moments of silence and prayer to give thanks for the grace of Jesus to us this morning.

Father, we've come to hear from you today.

We know you're speaking.

Would you convict, confront, and comfort us?

Oh, may your word conform us more and more into the image of your Son.

And for those among us who might be struggling or who are far from you, we do pray, Lord, that you would draw near.

Awaken in our heart a sense of who you are, knowledge of who you are.

May your glory be our aim as we go back into your world and tell others.

Draw near, we pray.

In Jesus' name we all said.

Amen.