The Fellowship of Hearts Ablaze
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 recognised 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.[1]
Few things in the modern world are so dull, so stupefying, as religion. Ask virtually any of your contemporaries and you will be privileged to a discourse on the enervated state of religion in this enlightened era; and I quite agree with that assessment. Religion is quite dead!
Churches recognise the validity of this appraisal, attempting to make their religious exercise more exciting, more “meaningful,” more attractive to pagans. A. W. Tozer, late editor of The Alliance Witness, would immediately repudiate any such efforts in the Name of the Saviour and in the most pointed language. This temptation to be relevant to society has proved attractive to many of the brothers. They are merely following the lead of a growing number of religious institutions and spiritual societies which increasingly equate a mob with a congregation. Already, sister churches are offering ersatz psychological analysis designed to help man feel better about sinning.
The underlying basis of the modern vineyard movement is, in no small measure, an effort to attract through entertainment. This grew out of the whole of the charismatic movement, with its emphasis on felt religion. Did not that search for an emotional, felt religion grow out of dissatisfaction with the deadness of contemporary orthodoxy? Had the professed Bride of Christ demonstrated life and light, there would have been no need to seek the artificial, which at the last proves utterly unsatisfactory.
I assert that with the Living, Reigning, Risen Christ there is excitement, there is joy. With Him is full satisfaction; we need not engage in some artificial religious exercise to attempt to generate excitement. While the world will not be, indeed has never been nor can ever be, excited by the presence of the Risen Christ, they cannot deny the evidence of the quality of life prominent among disciples who know Him and who are walking with Him.
The Background of The Incident — The disciples were at once grief stricken and utterly confused. Their mentor, the One they had assumed to be the Messiah, David's Son, and Saviour of Israel, had been crucified. Worse, it appeared that after three years of continuing conflict, He was powerless in the face of the opposition. He did not resist arrest, going willingly it seemed, to His death. Further, He had not even lasted that long on the cross. It was as though He simply gave up the ghost. Death had come swiftly, suddenly. He gave a great cry, tetevlestai—Finished! He bowed His head and died.
Naked, bloody and bruised, He had died in humiliation, the brunt of ribald and malicious humour of vulgar men. Braving the wrath of the religious leaders, two men had requested permission of the Roman legate to provide a proper burial for Him. His broken body had been taken down and hurriedly wrapped in a grave cloth and placed in a borrowed tomb. His disciples barely had time to note the location of His grave. Now it was the third day, and some women, going to the tomb to care for the body, had returned in a state of agitation with a tale about angels who said He was alive. At least part of the story was verified when some of the disciples went to the tomb, for while they did not see the Master, they did witness an empty grave with grave clothes lying as they would have been had the previous occupant simply arose, passing through them.
Two disciples now left Jerusalem behind. In their grief, a stranger matched their stride. It seemed just a polite inquiry, but the stranger asked what they had been speaking about. It was obvious that they were deeply concerned about whatever it was that they were discussing. Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days [Luke 24:19]?
The stranger invited them to tell Him more. What things?
About Jesus of Nazareth, they responded. They told Him their perception of this One in whom they had placed such hope. They told of His death and of the strange events which had transpired only that morning.
The stranger rebuked their unbelief, and beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning the Christ. How long the stranger spoke, we don't know. The distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus was about seven miles, and we don't know at what point the stranger appeared. At the most, even walking slowly as must be allowed in cases of deepest emotional conflict, they would cover the entire distance in less than three hours.
Nearing the village, these two disciples invited the stranger to share their hospitality. He knew the Scriptures, and He knew things which could only be said to be wonderful. Small wonder, then, that they invited Him to remain with them that night. Sitting down to eat, the stranger took bread, the pita ubiquitous to that region, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. At that moment, their eyes were opened and they recognised Him—Jesus, their Master! Then He disappeared from their sight.
I cannot help but note that our Lord seems to have a sense of humour. Risen from the dead, He permits the disciples to demonstrate their lack of comprehension and their own unbelief. All the while He takes it in, listening patiently to their sorrowful plaint. Then, when they have exhausted their recitation of woes, He reproves them by citing the Scriptures which speak of Him. There is a note of humour which grows out of the joy of life itself. Don't we deserve to laugh at our unbelief sometimes?
The Excitement of Learning — The two disciples observed after Jesus had departed, Were not our hearts burning within us while He … opened the Scriptures to us [Luke 24:32]? The Bible is a living book; it can only be understood if we have a proper teacher who is Himself living. Divine in its origin, it requires a Divine teacher. Elementary and secondary students to the contrary, learning can be exciting. Especially is there an excitement to learning when that education is living, touching the very centre of life. Such learning pulses with life, vibrant and scintillating. That is the type of learning which characterises a walk with the Risen Christ.
Why is it that for some the reading of the Word is dull and boring, while for others that same Word throbs with a vibrancy and an illumination unlike any other book? Why do some approach the reading of the Word as a duty to be endured, a drudgery and a monotonous tedium, while others are anxious to find time to return to reading of that same Word? Why do some draw back from worship, thinking it to be wasted time, though others are eager to come into the presence of God? The answer to the differences is found in the teaching the apostle provided the Corinthian believers, and hence all saints [1 Corinthians 2:10‑16]. Expectancy, to say nothing of understanding, is dependent upon relationship. This is the same message the apostle John provides [1 John 2:26, 27].
Reviewing a lifetime of service, Paul states I have learned [Philippians 4:11, 12]. I note quiet confidence and settled peace in these words. Did ever you notice the early words of the Wise Man in Proverbs?
for attaining wisdom and discipline;
for understanding words of insight;
for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life,
doing what is right and just and fair;
for giving prudence to the simple,
knowledge and discretion to the young—
let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerning get guidance—
[Proverbs 1:2‑5]
Dear people, there is an excitement in learning from the Risen Christ.
The Excitement of Listening — Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us [Luke 24:32]. Fellowship with Christ entails listening to Him. We listen not to the words of a dead man, but to the words of One who has gone down into the grave and transformed that cold tomb into an antechamber to Heaven itself. The words the Risen Christ spoke to John in Patmos exile are significant in this context. Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades [Revelation 1:17b, 18].
There is no value in the speculative sophistries of soothsayers so‑called nor in the specious suppositions of spiritual speculators. We need a more sure word of revelation, and that word is given us by that One who has gone before us, our exalted Lord Jesus Christ. That which the Father spoke long years ago is yet relevant for this day: This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him [Matthew 17:5].
Listening is a forgotten discipline, and as a result the excitement is absent from our lives. Did you ever notice the emphasis on hearing, on listening, iterated throughout the Apocalypse? Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it [Revelation 1:3]. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says [Revelation 2:7,11,17,19; 3:6,13,22]. As in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, He who has an ear, let him hear [Revelation 13:9], was an oft repeated formula spoken by our Lord [e.g. Matthew 11:5; 13:43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8]. Listen to the Lord!
That which the Risen Christ says is exciting. Concerning His message, He commended the disciples because they heard, and said further that the prophets and other righteous men yearned to hear those same things [Matthew 13:16b, 17; cf. Luke 10:24]. Having set the stage, gaining their attention, His first word following was Listen [Matthew 13:18a].
How is it that men can hear the same thing, yet fail to perceive what is said? Paul and the men travelling with him all heard the voice of the Lord, but Paul alone was converted [Acts 9:1‑8]. Jesus was amazed at the lack of comprehension among the religious leaders. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say [John 8:43].
One morning, some years back, I had only laid down for a brief rest when someone knocked at the door. My son, a young boy at the time, answered and immediately called for me. Two Jehovah's Witnesses kindly inquired after my day. Seldom am I gracious to those enmeshed in the cults. They dispense a potpourri of lies which entrap the unwary and condemn them eternally.
I firmly stated that we had nothing in common. Feigning hurt, they pleaded that I speak with them of but one verse of the Bible. Seldom have I invested more time on one verse than I did on that one verse. I hammered at one theme, that Jesus is very God and that through faith in Him, I now possess eternal life. Did they have the assurance of life? They did not, but as they are trained by their Brooklyn masters, they attempted to set up a straw man. How could Jesus be at once Son of God and God, they wondered?
For half an hour we parried, one of us using and the other abusing the same Word. I maintained that my righteousness is that which is conferred by Christ while they set out to create their own righteousness. I marvelled repeatedly and openly at how two people can read the same Word, one seeing the grace and the goodness of God now extended to man, and the other, reading the same Word, attempting to coerce God into accepting him.
How vital that we now hear the Word, for all shall one day hear the voice of Christ, either in commendation or in condemnation [John 5:24‑29]. Dear people, know that to hear Christ is to hear God, Creator of heaven and earth, even as Jesus has said, These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me [John 14:24b].
The Excitement of Lingering — These two disciples had invited the stranger to stay. Stay with us … So he went in to stay with them [Luke 24:29]. We have fellowship with the Living Son of God. If He is dead, how is it that so many Christians are able to enjoy His very presence? Listen again to those exciting verses which John wrote concerning the life believers now share with the Risen Christ.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched ‑ this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ [1 John 1:1‑3].
Did you notice that lingering precedes both listening and learning? How, then, may we learn from Christ until we have listened to Him? We must determine to linger in the presence of the Lord Christ. In another day, meditation was a regular discipline. We are in too great a hurry to linger.
We have twenty-minute solutions to major problems on every television crime program. We drive on expressways and fly at near the speed of sound, speaking via phones which insure instantaneous connections around the world. We eat instant mashed potatoes and microwave meals in kitchens which include every conceivable convenience to insure that no meal requires more than a few minutes to prepare. Then we rush through that once sacred family time, the evening meal, so that we will be able to watch actors entertain us with the simplicity of resolving major problems. In such a world, who has time to quietly spend time in the presence of Christ?
Yet, our first need as Christians is to know the will of God, and we shall never know the will of God until we have spent time alone with Him. Lingering, we will learn to listen. In fact, the two always go hand‑in‑glove when truly productive time in the presence of the Lord is enjoyed. If we listened to Him, wouldn't we learn from Him? Can it be that the primary reason for the dearth of knowledge of the will of God and for the absence of productive, fruitful lives lived in the Name of Christ is to be found in our abysmal ignorance of Him?
The message is simple. Christ the Lord lives; He is risen and He reigns. Since we call Him Lord, let us determine to discover the excitement which is the heritage of all who truly know Him. Let us resolve to linger in His presence, listening to Him and learning from Him. Will you do it?
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[1] Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright Ó 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.