Heart Scan: Burning Hearts

Did our Hearts Not Burn?

Sermon series: Heart Scan

Scanning the hearts of these two travelers to Emmaus.

When Jesus opens their eyes, they say, “Did our hearts not burn?”

Funny thing about heart burn, is that it really has nothing to do with your physical heart!

Brian Reagan:

He goes to his doctor and tells him that he gets heart burn...

Doctor gives him a list of things that cause heart burn.

He reads the list and responds, “I already know this. I know how to get it!”

That’s like going to the doctor with a cannon ball wound and reading a list of instructions that says,

Number 1: Do not stand directly in front of a canon.

Physical heart burn has really nothing to do with your heart, of course. We call it heart burn, but it’s really about stomach acid irritating the esophagus...

Today we’re concluding our series called Heart Scan, but throughout the series, we really not talking about our literal heart, except, of course, for Christ’s heart that stopped beating on that first Good Friday.

In our passage, we’re not talk about an irritated esophaguses, or a heart experiencing tachycardia.

Did our Hearts not burn?

We’re talking about a feeling, right? A realization. An awareness of sorts. That feeling of familiarity; like when you meet someone you met once but you couldn’t spot how you know this person.

NOT the first time the heart is mentioned in our passage:

“O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

As we wrap up this Lenten series called “Heart Scan,” we’ll be scanning the hearts of these two travelers.

Jesus says they have slow hearts at the beginning of the passage.

At the end of the passage the two travelers say they have burning hearts.

We’re going to compare and contrast these two hearts:

Slow Hearts

Burning Hearts

More than a Feeling

FIRST POINT: SLOW HEARTS

What does it mean when Jesus says to them they have slow hearts?

Again, nothing to do with a slow pulse...

Slow=Tardiness—like they’re late for something because they were slow.

It’s like Jesus is accusing them of being late to a surprise party. Like, you were just dumb for missing the whole point.

I love my truck, but when I pull that trailer, it operates the way this word is translated. Those poor 4 cylinders are just giving it their all, but I just can’t go fast enough on the HW. I remember picking the trailer up for the first time in Fayetteville.

55mph on I95: Pedal to the medal

So their hearts are slow… Their hearts aren’t catching up to speed to what’s actually happening!

So what does Jesus do?

He catches them up to speed!

HOW?

He teaches them all that the Old Testament says about him!

Try to Keep Up

One of my favorite movie moments is when Marty McFly picks up a guitar in 1955 in Back to the Future. Marty is from 1985. So Marty is at this high school dance ready to play the song Jonny B. Goode, which was an oldie in 1985, but no one’s heard of it yet in 1955:

He says in the microphone, “Okay, so this is an oldie, But uh, well, it’s an oldie where I come from, Ok this is a blue riff in B, what out for the changes, and try to keep up!” The crowd us just stunned by this new revelation from the future!

Jesus is saying, “Okay, so the Old Testament is old material, but now watch now what I’m going to do with it… Try to keep up! Jesus is the future now!

Let’s just think about this for a moment… How amazing of a lesson that would be!

Creation: I was there! I actually made everything.

Fall: Serpent will strike his heal: That verse is talking about me!

You know the Tabernacle and Temple: Those were just illustrations of my body!

You know the bread in the temple, the lampstand, the curtain: Those were all just ways to better understand me!

You remember the Scape Goat concept? All the sins placed on the Goat and the goat sent to die in the dessert??? Huh?? That’s me!!

You know the snake that was lifted up to save Israel in the dessert?? Huh, that’s me!!

You know King David? Hello? He’s like my granddaddy times a whole bunch!

Luke records many Psalm and verses from Isaiah:

Psalm 118:22: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!”

Isaiah 53:12: “Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

Psalm 22:7: “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads.”

Psalm 22:18: “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

Psalm 69:21: “They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.”

Psalm 31:5: “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”

Jesus is like, “Try to keep up, com’on, “Do you see that these passages show that it was necessary that the Christ should die and rise?”

“Let’s go! Pick up the pace!”

Challenge #1: Do YOU have a slow heart when faced with the Resurrected Jesus?

Let’s say you’re going for a walk...

What would Jesus tell you to pick up the pace?

Pick up the Pace with our Perspective:

These 2 guys were distraught and were blind to the hope of the resurrection in that moment!

We can go days without realizing that the RISEN JESUS IS RIGHT THERE BESIDE US!!

We can take detours and get distracted all the time without realizing the Hope of the resurrection?

Would Jesus have to remind you why he came to die and rise?

I’m not sure sure we always get it… We can so bogged down in our burdens… We can get so distracted with our first world problems.... OR we can be so depressed about our immediate issues that we forget about the hope we have in Jesus! We can walk around so down and out without the hope of the resurrection!

Pick up the Pace with our Devotion

I imagine Jesus saying something like, “Guys, the living Word is right here. Do you pick it up and discover what it says about me? Do you read it from cover to cover? Do you read it at all? The Spirit is right here ready to keep you up to speed!”

So Jesus arrives in that moment and reminds us through Scripture why he had to suffer and that he will be glorified!

He is ready to encourage you through the Word.

He desires for us to pick up the pace!

Don’t put it off!

Challenge #1: Do YOU have a slow heart when faced with the Resurrected Jesus?

I think we all do...

BURNING HEARTS

32 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?”

Hearts went into high gear. Their hearts were like how the truck feels after I back the trailer up on a Sunday morning. It received a work out!

Why?

Because they were reading all this and they were feeling the familiar. They were inspired in that moment! Possibly even excited!

As Jesus teaches them about creation… the Kingdom… the Covenants… As Jesus inspires them with his teaching, it gave them heart burn...

And as Jesus is inviting them to pick up the pace, they felt inspired!

BUT, notice this critical detail about this passage:

Notice that they’re hearts burned in that moment, but their eyes were closed?

Notice that they were feeling affection in that moment with Jesus right there, but yet they weren’t really seeing Jesus…

They had inspiration without vision!

They experienced familiarity without focus.

Feeling without face recognition.

They were right there with Jesus, feeling all the feels, but not truly experiencing Jesus.

They were blind...

So let’s jump right into the second challenge here...

Do you experience the heart burn of Christianity, or have you actually encountered the Christ!?

Do you strive to feel an emotional response to your faith, or do you trust that Jesus is actually with you every moment of every day?

What I love about this passage so much is the need for us to consider what kind of religion Christianity is:

Christianity is more than feeling!

Christianity is more than learning about Christ from the Bible.

Christianity is more than being able to teach a class about Christ...

Christianity is about the Holy Spirit removing our blinders to see, truly see Jesus!

You can have the most incredible emotional reaction to the Gospel, but yet still not get it...

You can have your slow pick up the pace to experience a pulsating heart… but still not get it...

Burning hearts are not enough!

Biblical knowledge is not enough!

Pouring over scripture is not enough.

Having all the answers in your back pocket, not enough.

What’s enough is having your eyes open to Jesus!

CHALLENGE: move beyond emotional religion

The Heart burn isn’t enough… It’s more than a feeling… It’s seeing Jesus....

And when we see Jesus, we see him in all his glorious splendour!

Tim Keller’s on dying:

“It’s one thing to believe he’s present with you. It’s another to actually experience his presence.”

So the two things I wrote down in my journal: one was focus and the other one was “Know the Lord.” My experience of his presence and his love was going to have to double, triple, quintuple or I wouldn’t make it.”