Burning Hearts (Easter)
Easter 2024 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
What fires you up?
Basketball finals? March madness?
Olympics? The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat?
The latest video game?
Your investments/401k?
Your achievements?
Your kids achievements?
What is it that enflames your heart?
Hopefully it has something to do with Jesus.
Today we are going to focus on something a little different than the typical resurrection sermon. I want to take you to a passage of scripture that speaks to the affect of the resurrection on two men in particular. And I think we can learn a lot from these two men as they unwittingly interact with the Risen Savior.
Friends, I want you to know something well this morning - the morning we celebrate the most monumental event in human history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
I want you to know that Jesus’ resurrection should and will have a profound affect on you life when you recognize Jesus for who He is!
Main Idea: Recognizing The Risen Jesus Will Enflame Your Heart!
Let’s get into the story I am referring to found in Luke 24:13-35.
We enter the story after the death of Jesus on the Cross. The self-proclaimed Messiah / King was dead. He died on the cross and was buried in a borrowed tomb. As I mentioned on Friday, the disciples hopes were dashed. The King they hoped for was not what they got. Roman had won again. There was no hope to have their beloved Jewish kingdom restored. All was lost…
This leads us to the first point…
1. Blinded By Discouraging Circumstances (vs. 13-24)
Have you ever been so discourage that you couldn’t see straight? Me too! Take a look at this scenario…
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.”
Explanation -
Two disciples, one name Cleopas and the other we do not know were heading to Emmaus. I suppose the reason for the journey was born out of disappointment. We certainly can hear this tone in their conversation with one another. We know these disciples were not of the twelve, but they certainly were a part of the Jesus movement and believed that he was from God.
In God’s sweet providence, Jesus shows up and starts walking with them. The text says they “their eyes were kept from recognizing them.” Whether that was a supernatural act or they were so blinded by disappointment, we do not know. What we do know is they did not understand who was walking with them.
I love that Jesus just butts right into their conversation and asks them a question…
“What are you guys talking about?”
Cleopas’ response is hilarious and telling. Basically he says,
“Are you serious? Have you been living under a rock?” Why is this telling?
Because, this was the biggest news of the year. If you remember what happened just a week prior, Jesus claimed his Messianic Mantle with significant support from the massive crowds in town for Passover.
Yet in just one short week, the crowds turned because they were not ready for the kind of King Jesus claimed to be. They wanted a local political king. Jesus came to them as the King of kings to establish His eternal throne. They wanted nothing to do with that and so the religious had him killed through he hand of Rome.
It is telling because this was the talk of the town. It didn’t happen in some corner of the city. The crucifixion of Christ was front and center where everyone could see.
But I want you to notice how these men. These disciples STILL didn’t get the point of Jesus’ incarnation. Look at verse 19…
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,
Do you see what they called Jesus? A prophet! Wow! Was Jesus a prophet? Yes, but He was far more than a prophet. Jesus was and is God!
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!”
These men missed the most important aspect of the incarnation. God became man!
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
By the way, God needed to become man to rescue you from your sin…
“The most important reason that Jesus must be God is that, if He is not God, His death would not have been sufficient to pay the penalty for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). A created being, which Jesus would be if He were not God, could not pay the infinite penalty required for sin against an infinite God. Only God could pay such an infinite penalty. Only God could take on the sins of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21), die, and be resurrected, proving His victory over sin and death.” - https://www.gotquestions.org/is-Jesus-God.html
They didn’t see the connection between Jesus’ death and their redemption. Jesus had to die to redeem their sin sick souls. They didn’t think sin was their problem, they thought Rome was.
The irony of this is it was the Jewish leadership that used Rome to kill Jesus.
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.
They missed so much! Jesus predicted this would take place…
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.
They misunderstood all of this. They didn’t even understand the empty tomb that the women found Sunday morning.
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.”
What can we make of all this? These disciples were blinded by discouraging circumstances. Were the circumstances discouraging? In a certain regard, absolutely, but not for the reasons they might have had. They were discouraging because the Holy Father had to seperate from His only Begotten Son so He could pour His wrath on Him. They were discouraging because wicked humanity killed their creator.
These disciples were not discouraged about these things. They were discourage that their hopes of a restored Davidic kingdom were not realized. Their focus was on their desires, not the desires of God.
Illustration - “We don’t see what we are not looking for!” - Tony Beckett
This is why these disciples were blind to what just happened. Their interpretation of the situation was self-serving and misinformed.
I wonder how many of us look at our circumstances from a limited, finite perspective.
I wonder how many of us forget to factor in the eternal plan of God.
I wonder how many of us have Jesus come up right along side us in His Word and we fail to see Him for who He is and fail to take Him at His word?
I wonder how many of you here this morning need to reevaluate your circumstances and factor God’s truth and plan into them from here forward?
Will you stop being blind to Jesus by instead looking through the eternal lens he provides in his Word? In other words, look at this life through the lens of Jesus. Look at this life with His eternal perspective. This is the first step in having an enflamed and passionate heart for God.
Review - Recognizing The Risen Jesus Will Enflame Your Heart
Blinded By Discouraging Circumstances
2. Confronted By the Truth Behind the Circumstances (vs. 25-31)
I love Jesus so much! I love how honest He is with people…
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.
The resurrected Messiah launches into a profound teaching session with these two men on their way to Emmaus. Think about the beautiful implication here.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jesus the Word, is emphasizing the ancient Word to those who should have known the Word.
Please notice what Jesus did wit these men.
He walked through the whole counsel of the Word of God (the Old Testament) with these disciples demonstrating from the text that the one that hung on the cross fulfilled each and every prophecy about Him.
Jesus was a master of the Hebrew Bible. He not only knew it well, He knew how to properly interpret it concerning His role in it.
Conservatively, Jesus fulfilled at least 300 prophecies in His earthly ministry.
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
What is Jesus doing for these disciples? Confronting them, yet again, with the truth that the one who hung on the tree was in fact the one who was and is the Messiah.
Friends, I hear the words of Jesus to these men and they sting a little. “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe ALL that the prophets have spoken!”
These were those who were disciples of Jesus. They heard His teaching. They walked with Him and listened to Him and even the Scriptures (prophets) had spoken about Him. They should have known better! They should have believed that all of this was part of God’s redemptive plan to bring salvation not just to the Jews, but the entire planet!
Christ needed to suffer things - Why?
So you could have eternal life…(explain the gospel)
Look at what Jesus did for these men (remember, they still did not recognize Him).
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
He “interpreted to them in all of the Old Testament” as they were going (not in a classroom). He pointed to the Word of God about the Son of God. Friends, can I just point something out to you. Jesus, in order to prove who he was, proved it from the Scriptures, not from experience. Maybe we should do the same? If Jesus used the Scriptures to prove himself, so should we.
They must have been thinking to themselves, who is this guy who knows so much about Jesus and the Messianic role He purported to play.
As they got closer to Emmaus, they asked Jesus to stay with them, no doubt because he was a fascinating person to listen to. He knew the Bible and knew how to teach the Bible and they wanted more.
Jesus honored their request and did one more very special thing for these men.
When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.
Notice the language here? Sounds a lot like the last supper…
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
It also sounds like what He did at the feeding of the 5000…
Do you think the resurrected Christ did this on purpose? I do!
It was His way of saying, do you remember me? And, all of a sudden they did recognize Jesus!
And then, the text says He vanished! Talk about a dramatic exit!
Jesus was in His resurrected body and could do things that we cannot. But it was still Jesus. And this Jesus, for His good purposes chose to reveal Himself to these two men.
And friends, this resurrected Jesus is revealing Himself to you as well!
As He did on the Emmaus road, we should look for Christ Himself to come alongside of us, even in our foolish and self-absorbed moments, and remind us of the “big picture” of all that God has been doing throughout history.
Steve Hawthorne
What is the truth behind the awful circumstances of the crucifixion?
The resurrection of the Christ!
And without the resurrection of Christ? NO HOPE!
But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.
That’s so depressing!
But!
1 Corinthians 15:20 (ESV)
But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead
The same scriptures that predicted the Christ, also clearly state that He was raised from the dead.
This is the truth and you must believe that Jesus was resurrected from the dead in order to be saved.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Application - A very simple question for you - Do you believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead?
Review - Recognizing The Risen Jesus Will Enflame Your Heart
Blinded By Discouraging Circumstances
Confronted By the Truth Behind the Circumstances
3. Hearts Enflamed For Jesus, the God of the Circumstances (vs. 32-35)
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.
I just love this story because of this line. “Did not our hearts burn within up while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to the the Scriptures?”
Christians, authentic followers of Jesus, their hearts will burn when the Word of God is opened and interpreted properly.
The Word of God is not a dead book, but it is alive!
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
And the follower of Christ has the Spirit of God dwelling within them stoking the flames of passion for His Word - after all, it is the Holy Spirit who wrote the bible.
For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Friends, does the Word of God cause your heart to burn within you? Do you have an inner, insatiable passion for God’s truth, the Bible?
If you do not, there is one of two things going on.
One - you are not a Christian.
Two - you are steeped in sin thus satiating you appetite for the Bible.
In either case the remedy is the same - repent and turn back to God.
Burning hearts for Christ will impact this world for Jesus.
Christian - we are at a crossroads in the American church. We are enamored and passionate about everything but Christ. We are not saved to sit on our backside and wait for the return of the Lord to come and bring us home. If that were the case, when you became a follower of Christ, God would have translated you to heaven immediately.
No, God left us here to tell others about the resurrection of Christ.
That’s what these disciples did. They ran back to Jerusalem to tell the other about the FACT that they walked with the resurrected Jesus.
Do you walk with the resurrected Jesus? Are you telling other about Him or is your faith more passive than that. American Christians need to get their head in the game. This county is secularized and we cannot expect the next generation of Christians to stand for Christ when we find so many other activites more important than the things of God.
“There is a great gulf between the Christianity that wrestles with whether to worship at the cost of imprisonment and death, and the Christianity that wrestles with whether the kids should play soccer on Sunday morning.” - John Piper.
For people whose hearts are burning within them, this is not even a question, there is no choice.
We HUNGER and THIRST for the truth. And to the extent that you do not, repent and get back in the book - drink it in and it will ignite a passion in your soul that you will find hard to quench.
Illustration
Understanding Bible knowledge can lead to a “big head” (1 Cor. 8:1), but receiving Bible truth and walking with the Saviour will lead to a burning heart.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Application - Are you walking with the Savior? If not, why not? He loves you SO much. What is keeping you from cultivating a robust relationship with the one who created you?
I have a challenge for you. For the next 30 days 3 Chapters from the gospels. The gospels are the story of Jesus from four different perspectives. Read 3 chapters per day and you will get through all four Gospels in 30 days. Each day before you read pray this - “Father, as I walk with Jesus through the Gospels, cause my heart to burn within me.”
Do this each day for 30 days and watch God transform your cold, apathetic heart to one of passion for Jesus and His ways!
Review - Recognizing The Risen Jesus Will Enflame Your Heart
Blinded By Discouraging Circumstances
Confronted By the Truth Behind the Circumstances
Hearts Enflamed For Jesus, the God of the Circumstances
Conclusion
Just as the disciples on the road to Emmaus felt their hearts burning as Jesus explained the Scriptures to them, so too can our hearts be set ablaze with passion and understanding when we truly open ourselves to God's word and presence.
I wonder what would happen to this church if each one here cultivated passionate and burning hearts for Jesus by feeding on His word regularly, systematically, and prayerfully.
I am confident that if this were so, we would be a force for love and righteousness.
I want to be a christian whose heart burns for the Lord - I hope and pray you will join me!
Connection Group Reflection Questions
1. What did we learn about God from the text or Sunday’s message?
2. What did we learn about Jesus from the text or Sunday’s message?
3. What can you do to improve in helping others understand the importance of the resurrection?
4. What does God desire from us at ABC, or you personally as an individual in the area of the resurrection of Christ?
5. If you or we as a church were to practically apply what we learned from this passage or message, what would that look like? What changes will we or you make this week?
6. Summarize what you learned in one sentence, and how does God want you to respond in obedience?
7. This week, who would benefit from this truth, and who will you share it with?