Do You Have Heartburn? Luke 24:13-35

Do you have heartburn?

This would have maybe been a great Sunday to partner with Taco Bell. But there is a different kind of heartburn that we will see in our text.

Let me place us in the text for just a moment. Jesus has been crucified, he has been put in a tomb, and with Him all of their hopes. As we saw last week—it was the Sabbath. It’s Saturday.

But we left it on Sunday. He has risen…but only a few people no it so far. This morning our text will have a couple of people—maybe a husband and wife—journeying outside of Jerusalem to a little place called Emmaus.

Listen in, and see this emotional roller coaster. Oh, and by the way, this passage when I first really read it in the summer of 2007, completely transformed the way I read the Bible. And how I view everything.

Luke 24:13–35 ESV

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” And he said to them, “What things?” And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some 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.” And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. So they drew near to the village to which they were going. 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 and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “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. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Sermon Introduction:

Before I read this passage, and really grappled with the implications. I’ll tell you how I used to read the Bible. And honestly even teach the Bible.

Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I was reading it like a book that was like a handbook for life. Want to know how to live, read your Bible. Follow the Bible.

That’s not entirely untrue. But it’s only a partial truth. The Bible is so much more. The Bible is not merely a “handbook for life”. It does give instruction, it does help us know how to live, it is kind of like an owner’s manual. But it is much greater! I like how one author says this,

To [read] the Bible as “the handbook for life,” or as the answer to every question, rather than as a revelation of Christ, is to turn the Bible into an entirely different book…To be sure scripture provides God-centered and divinely-revealed wisdom for life, but if this were its primary objective, Christianity would be a religion of self-improvement by following examples and exhortations, not a religion of the Cross.

But that’s how I was reading the Bible. And it’s also why for so long the Old Testament was just kind of boring or confusing (at least in all but the really exciting parts with amazing stories).

How does a text like “the leech has two daughters” have any sort of relevance to my life? What am I supposed to learn from Jeremiah the prophet buying underwear and putting it in a cave?

That’s why sometimes people end up viewing the Bible as entirely irrelevant. It’s a big book. We don’t really know where to start if we’re new to Bible reading....

But it’s marketed like this:

You have a question about life, open up your Bible, point to a spot and there is your answer…it’s a magical little book that has all of life’s answers.

So you come to the Scripture with your question (after having been told—it hold’s the answer to all of life’s problems). How do I get a better job? Maybe Proverbs will have an answer. So I turn there get a neat little maxim, start living by it…and presto change-o my life is different! By following these godly principles and living by them I am now living Christianly. I’m following God’s Word.

But am I? Really?

To prove this very same point Bryan Chapell the president of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis likes to do a little exercise. There is a radio preacher every morning who gives a morning “meditation”. Each morning he uses a couple of Bible verses, and he uses them to give a quick devotion about a various topic, “procrastination, parenting, honesty on the job, etc.” Chapell tapes this mans messages and plays them for one of this seminary classes. Very seldom does anyone spot a problem with the messages. He quotes the text accurately, he stands for moral causes, he is conservative, he encourages good loving behaviors. But what is the problem? The man is not a Christian. He is a leader of one of the largest cults in the St. Louisregion.

Their explanation for “not catching the heretic” is often, “he does not say anything controversial”, or that he “hides his heresy beneath right-sounding orthodoxy”. This is why so often we think Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormon’s are basically Christian…because they sound basically good and moral. But what Chapell says is fitting, “The radio preacher, has not hidden his heresy; he exposes it every time he speaks in what he fails to say.” He fails to be Christ-centered—he’s not even mentioning Jesus.

There was a quote I read several years ago that has stuck with me:

“If you preach a sermon [or read a text, and interpret it in such a way] that would be acceptable to the member of a Jewish synagogue, [Muslim mosque or Mormon temple] there is something radically wrong with it”.

What is wrong with it is, is that it’s leaving out the center of biblical interpretation. It’s leaving out Christ. And if we listen to what Jesus is saying here…he’s saying EVERYTHING points to Him.

That’s what is happening in this passage. As we begin in the text here we see two people talking about all of the things that have happened. And the resurrected Jesus draws near…but they are unable to recognize Him.

It’s a divine passive. Which means this is something which God is doing? Now why does God do this? The text doesn’t explicitly say—but I think it’s pretty evident that they need to be on this walk. They need to take this journey with Jesus. Because if they didn’t…if they just saw the resurrected Jesus they’d see Him…but they wouldn’t really SEE HIM. He needs to meet them in their pain and go on this journey with them.

I love the way Jesus interacts with them here as well. It’s almost playful. “So, what are we talking about?”

And I love Cleopas. Dude, everybody is talking about this. Do you live under a rock? How have you not heard of this? Do you not know what is going on?

What things? says Jesus. They tell the story of Jesus—to Jesus—And also that there is some hope of the resurrection. But there’s also the pain of verse 21. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel”.

I had hoped that this would have been the answer. I’d hoped this wasn’t going to be cancer. I’d hoped this relationship was going to be different. I’d hoped that he had changed this time. I had hoped my parents would get back together. I had hoped that the check would come in the mail.

But this is the hope that is the foundation of all other hopes. If this hope isn’t true then none of the others can be. This is the hope from which all other hope springs. We need a redeemer. We need a Rescuer.

But could this resurrection stuff be true? What would all of this mean?

And it had to be strange to the in verse 25-26. This strange man starts teaching them from all the Scriptures. When it says “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets” that’s the way the OT was structured. It’s just saying he told them the whole story of the Old Testament… “Look, doesn’t all of this text point to the Christ suffering and then entering into glory”?

Verse 27. It’s all about the Christ. It’s all pointing here.

It’s also interesting what happens in verse 27-29. Why does he pretend to go further? I think it’s a little like the Missouri back and forth before leaving a house. “Well, reckon we outta get going...”

Testing the waters. Does conversation keep happening? Do they invite me to stay a little longer? Insist that we don’t have to go to bed?

15 minutes later…sure is gettin’ late…Grab your shoes....About an hour and a half later you make it to the door...

That’s kind of what is happening here. Jesus is giving them a chance to invite him into the community. So he went to stay with them.

And when they get there…he does something that might have been familiar. Or maybe it’s just something about the act itself...

Verse 30. Sounds just like the feeding of the 5 thousand. Sounds just like the Passover meal.

And with this…their eyes are opened. Kind of like what happens in the Sixth Sense or any other movie with a crazy flip at the end. Once you see the ending then you start to replay everything. We should have known…our hearts were coming alive when he was talking....he opened up the Scriptures to us.

Every Scripture points to Jesus. This changes everything! And that’s tough…how do you make a beeline to the gospel with a proverb like “the leech has two daughters”? How do you do this with the story of Jeremiah’s undies?

It can be difficult. But thankfully we have a helper. Do you know what the ministry of the Holy Spirit is? It’s to shine a spotlight upon Jesus.

Look at verse Luke 24:16, 31, and 45. First of all we see in v.16 that their eyes were kept from recognizing him. Even though that was actually done here by the Lord, it is still our foundational problem. We see this is 2 Corinthians 4. Our problem is that we cannot see Jesus. We are kept from seeing His glory. Typically this is the work of Satan. Here it is for a more holy purpose so it is done by the Lord, but the problem remains the same—on our own we cannot see Jesus. This is where v31 and 45 come in. Notice in both places it says, “their eyes were opened, or again he opened their minds to understand the Scripture”. What happens then after he does this? They get heart burn. They recognize Jesus. They see and rejoice in the glory of God! They get it.

Let me show you what this looks like from your Bible. You can pick any place in the Old Testament and tie it to the gospel of Jesus. You just have to know the story.

Exodus 23:19 ESV

“The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God. “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Now, I doubt that when Jesus was talking to them on the road to Emmaus this was the central text that he chose from. But what Jesus DID do is show us that the whole of God’s Word is tied together, it has a unified purpose, it’s all part of one story, and it all points to Jesus. So what do you do with Exodus 23:19?

First, we have to consider the original context (the textual horizon).  Moses’ original intention is quite simple.  Don’t boil a young goat in its mothers milk.  Why did he say that?  Some believe that it had to do with not participating in a Canaanite magical practice.  Others see that it’s a reversal of the created order.  As noted in the ESV Study Bible, “the young goat should drink its mother’s milk and gain life from it, not be cooked in it”.  So, simply put in the text Moses’ intention is to tell the Israelites not to do this particular thing because it inverts the created order.

But that commandment doesn’t come from nowhere.  It’s found in the middle of a story…

Secondly, we have to consider its generational context.  This command is originally given to the Israelites.  We know from the Exodus accounts that the Lord is calling Israelite out from among the Egyptians and other peoples for the sake of blessing them but also as a means to proclaim Himself to the nations.  Part of this means that they must live different from the rest of the world.  So, if this is a Canaanite magical practice then they need to model the ways of YHWH and not the feeble Canaanite gods that really are no gods.  If this is because of an inversion of the created order (which I think it is) then Israel is to be an accurate representation of the God that redeemed them.  The God that redeemed them out of Egypt is a God that values created order.  Children should be cared for and nurtured by their parents.  As image-bearers of a loving Father this was to be reflected in the redeemed  community.

But the story doesn’t stop with Moses and the Israelites.  It points to something far greater…

Lastly, we consider its canonical context.  The Israelites were to be image-bearers.  Even down to reflecting God in the way that they boiled goats.  Everything they did in their community was to reflect the Lord.  But as we know from the Bible they did not do that.  We also know that all of humanity is called to be image-bearers.  And just like the Israelites we also fail to accurately reflect God.  We choose instead to worship and serve creation instead of the Creator.  We follow Adam’s suit, as did the Israelites, in spreading our own sinful and rebellious images to the nations.

Thankfully, Christ came.  Christ is the true Israel.  Christ is the second Adam.  He does what Adam, Israel, and we could not do.  He accurately represents God.  He perfectly obeys the Lord.  Humanity likes to invert the created order.  If our hearts were pure that command would not need to be there.  But it is there, because our hearts tend to love what we should hate and hate what we should love.  Christ came to overturn that.  Christ came to provide redemption. Jesus puts everything back in the correct order.

It all points to Jesus. That’s why we should be Jesus centered in everything we say and everything we do. It has implications for the way we do ministry as well.

2 Corinthians 4:1–2 ESV

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

You know I’ve tried to take God at His Word on this. To be Jesus-centered in everything. I’m not going to claim to have always been entirely successful in this. But at the core of my philosophy of ministry is that everything needs to be centered on Jesus. If it isn’t, then it’s not worth it.

But you know I think there are sometimes consequences to this. There are quicker paths to take when it comes to leading a church. We learn some of these in school. Sometimes it can boil down to—here’s how to manipulate people into doing what God wants them to do.

It’s called being wise. Or being shrewd. Or leading sheep. Sometimes pastors and leaders like to overuse that metaphor of sheep. Sheep aren’t very smart, right…they need you “pastor” to lead them. And so employ whatever tactics you need to get the right results—for the glory of God, of course.

Guilt can be a powerful motivator. Anger can work. Getting you all riled up about whoever we perceive as our enemy. There are some ways you can increase attendance. You can tell people what they want to hear.

There are flashy ways you can grow a church. You can appeal to a desire for entertainment. But there are other ways you can do it too. You can appeal to people’s desire to be different, to be rebels, to be “not like the world”, to be “special”, and you can make all your sermons and your identity and everything about not being like that church—whether it’s your grandmother’s church, or your grand-kids church.

The problem is that it centers the wrong thing. It’s not putting Jesus at the center. So, let me give you some information. Information that’s always available, but maybe something we don’t highlight.

You know two weeks ago after figuring up everything, paying all the bills for the week. Diana came to me and said, “we’ve got just a little over $1,000 of spendable cash”. Yikes.

That can set a pastor into panic mode. What do we do? What program do we offer? Do I do a 4 week series on tithing? I don’t know, maybe. It can be so scary because people can start focusing on the wrong things, they can panic, I can panic, these kinds of things can spiral.

But here’s where that philosophy of ministry, that belief of being centered on Jesus, comes into play. Here’s what we do. I just tell you. Friends, this is where we are. We had a really good offering last week. I don’t know what it’ll look like this week.

I don’t look at anybody’s giving. You need to know that. I have no idea what any of you give, I don’t want to know, I’ll never try to know. That’s between you and Jesus. But, I want to challenge us. No guilt. No manipulation. Are you giving what God would call you to give?

I really want to encourage you for the next couple of weeks to do that. (Obviously extend beyond that) But for the next couple of weeks give that number. That’ll help us also as a finance team to know what God would have us do.

We work with what we have. God will always provide for the ministry that He wants accomplished. If something isn’t provided then it means 1 of 3 things usually. 1) we’re being disobedient 2) we’re doing things God isn’t calling us to do 3) we need to wait—it’s Saturday and the resurrection is coming.

And it’s no secret that ever since COVID attendance has been really squirrelly. The truth is we’ve got kind of the A-team and the B-team. It’s not just us, that’s almost every church is dealing with this. It’s really easy to just not come to church, these days. There are so many things which take precedent over gathering together.

I can guilt. I can cajole. We can do things to try to motivate. We can put up some gimmicks. Or we can just say, “We’re going to preach the Word, and entrust people to Jesus’ care.”

Truly be at a place where if Jesus doesn’t show up, if He doesn’t move in people’s hearts, then the whole thing falls apart. You want to be there? Is Jesus truly the center of your heart? Is he really the center of your life? Or we just kind of play acting?

That phrase “heartburn”.

You know what it means? It’s not indigestion. It’s that your heart comes alive. That’s what it means there in Luke. A fire was lit under their hearts. It’s where we talk about being “on fire” for the Lord. This is where we get that.

I can’t do that. You can’t do that. We can’t manufacture this. We can’t manipulate it. We can’t put all these things in the right order and force God to show up somehow. That’s why we cry out to God. Revive your church. Give us eyes to see Jesus.

I say all of this with immense hope. I’m not saying this as one who is defeated and at the end of my rope and just handing things over to Jesus. This is our first step…it’s not our last one. It’s your church Jesus. It’s always been your church. It’s your money Jesus, it’s always been yours. It’s your time Jesus, it’s always been yours. It’s your life Jesus, it’s not mine, it’s always been yours.

Let’s not be defeated. Somewhere along the way you’ve been lied to.