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13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
I love this story from the end of Luke’s gospel because it illustrates just how quickly the whole scene turns around for those who follow Jesus. In this story we ride a rollercoaster up and down and back up again. Today I want us to consider ourselves into that story. Because here is what I observe. We have just come off a week of solemnly remembering the suffering and death of Jesus. Today we gather for this joyous celebration of Easter. And tomorrow is Monday. After today, Easter drops off the map for another year. Oh sure, we say grandiose things on Easter like -Christians ought to live every day like it is Easter. But let’s be real for a minute. We have been through this enough to know that sooner-or-later, in fact maybe even by tomorrow morning, life goes back to facing the same challenges and hurdles that were there before. Kids go back to school; many of us go back to work; some of us go back to routines of doctor appointments and chores. We go up, then down, then back up again, then back down again.
Maybe it’s comforting, then, to see this story from the Bible that affirms the real world in which we actually live. There is something of our own lives and our own stories connected to this story of these two guys commuting down the Emmaus road.
Broken Heart
Broken Heart
Check out the scene. Luke tells us these two men are traveling from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus. It is believed that Emmaus was a village about five miles from Jerusalem. Since it was Passover time, it would not have been uncommon for travelers like this to be coming and going from Jerusalem within the surrounding villages. And as these two particular followers of Jesus are going along, they are having a rather heated discussion. I know our English Bibles tell us in verses 14 & 15 that they are talking and discussing as they walk. The Greek word used here by Luke carries the notion of a debate or argument. It is not idle chit-chat. This is an anxiety-filled conversation. This is a ‘what-are-we-supposed-to-do-now?’ kind of moment.
The disciples who had been following Jesus up to the point of his crucifixion had seen their share of confrontations. Jesus was certainly controversial. People either seemed to love him, or to hate him. But there was no middle ground. So, those who followed Jesus were all-in. their hearts were passionate about following Jesus. And this left them all rather broken hearted when Jesus was executed. It appeared to them that Jesus was gone. All the expectations wrapped up in their hearts for what they thought it meant to follow Jesus have been torn apart.
It’s not too hard to imagine, I suppose. We all tend to do this. We all carry a load of expectations that we heap upon God. We all have an idea in our heads of how we think God is supposed to act; how he is supposed to come through for us according to our agendas. You see, as much as I would always love to see and know exactly what God is up to, we just don’t always understand. Maybe we shouldn’t be too harsh on these disciples, then. We have the benefit of hindsight through what we know in scripture. And so, it might be a little too judgmental for me to point at the disciples and accuse them of short-sightedness. Jesus told them exactly what was going to happen. And often I wonder, how could they not get it? How could they have missed the plan that God was up to?
But what we recognize in this passionate conversation on the road to Emmaus is that when we wrap so much of our hearts into whatever it is we think Jesus ought to do for us, and then when God’s plan turns out to be something different, it leaves us with a bit of a broken heart. Every disciple who follows Jesus walks through that. We all come away from the empty tomb and sooner-or-later have to confront our own mixed bag of unmet expectations. We are not too far off from those disciples who originally walked with Jesus. We can all carry some wrong ideas about who we think Jesus ought to be or what we think Jesus ought to do.
And like those original disciples, we can get ourselves to be pretty passionate about the wrong things. And like those original disciples, we can find ourselves wandering down a road turning away from Jesus and wondering what happened to the God we thought we knew so well.
Burning Heart
Burning Heart
How do we respond to that? What do we do in those moments when Jesus doesn’t show up the way we want or imagine he should? Look at what happens in the story. Jesus shows up right alongside of these two disciples and they don’t even know it. It turns out that even as they are walking away from Jerusalem, Jesus comes after them and joins them. Even when their hearts are broken and they are arguing about leaving it all behind them, Jesus chases them down; but they don’t know it.
And look at what Jesus does. He opens scripture to them. These guys are lost and not sure what following Jesus was supposed to mean anymore. And in that moment, Jesus shows up and reveals the truth to them by opening scripture. Stay with the story now, because there is a transition starting to take place. Look at this. It is not automatic like the flipping on of a light switch. It is not as though Jesus shares one Bible verse and then all of the sudden they recognize Jesus and see clearly everything they formerly misunderstood about following Jesus. That does not happen. Jesus begins sharing scripture with them as they walk. And they still don’t actually see Jesus there.
But what do they see? This is important. Jump to the end of the story where these two guys recognize Jesus and recall the events of the afternoon journey. Here is what they say. Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us? Even though they did not yet in that moment on the road recognize Jesus right there, an important transformation is still taking place. As Jesus reveals scripture to them, they go from broken hearts to burning hearts. A passion is being rekindled within them. Something of a clearer picture for following Jesus is beginning to awaken in their hearts.
And how is this happening? It is not in clearly recognizing Jesus, because they don’t recognize him. The thing that begins the process of turning hearts that are broken into hearts that are kindled again is the Word of God. It is simply and plainly through the Word of God that hope finds its way back.
This is a good reminder for us today. We are here today and we triumphantly declare on Easter Sunday that Jesus is risen and that he lives. But don’t lose sight of the fact that those first disciples of Jesus had a hard time coming around to the truth of this Easter resurrection. For those disciples, the first Easter was more a day of confusion than a day of joyful celebration. It took some rekindling of their hearts to let hope back into their lives. And this rekindling of a heart that burns with passion for Jesus came to them through the message of scripture. It began to find its way into them through the Word of God.
That’s a helpful reminder. Because you and I have access to that exact same scripture. In moments when perhaps you and I might be looking and wondering what God is up to, in moments when we might not be quite sure where Jesus is at, these are the moments when the best thing we can do is keep returning again to the Word of God. And then, even as we do that, stick with it if we don’t get the clear picture of following God that we want right away. Those first disciples didn’t recognize Jesus right by their side right away. Often this is true for us too. Even though our God is always right there beside us, we often find ourselves on that same road, not recognizing that Jesus is right there. When those moments occur, stay in scripture. Because it is in the Word of God that Jesus takes a heart that is broken and rekindles the flame of discipleship so we can see hope again with hearts that are ablaze.
Broadening Heart
Broadening Heart
The story doesn’t quite end there yet. We have just a little bit further to go. Where is it that these two disciples finally recognize and see Jesus? It is at the table of communion. It is in the moment when Jesus broke the bread. It doesn’t come till almost the end of the story. Even though this passage from Luke all takes place within a single afternoon and evening on that first Easter Sunday, we see packed in here a pattern that Luke is sharing.
You see, Luke is writing his gospel to a specific individual. The gospel of Luke is addressed to a man named Theophilus. We’re not sure who Theophilus was. Apparently, he is a person of high rank and prestige, perhaps an important official within the Roman government. The name is certainly of Greek origins, signaling that he is not Jewish. In short, Luke is writing this gospel letter to a gentile convert who has been taught about Jesus. Here is someone who is just starting to learn about Jesus and what it means to follow Jesus for the first time. Here is someone who may be asking all the questions that new believers are asking. Who is Jesus? How do I know Jesus? And Luke is answering those questions through this story of the Emmaus road.
By the end of this story, these two disciples find themselves with a broadening heart. They have hearts that are widening and expanding in their capacity to know and to love Jesus, in their capacity to follow Jesus in faith as disciples. And this is where we find ourselves again on this Easter Sunday. It is God who widens our hearts. It is the Holy Spirit of God who broadens our capacity to know Jesus and to love Jesus and to follow Jesus.
You see, it would be a mistake to walk away from the celebration of Easter morning and then somehow putting it all back on you to figure it out from here. Jesus is alive; and now somehow it’s all on you to put together some kind of faith and it’s on you to discover what it means to follow Jesus. That’s not right. That’s not what Luke is telling us. Yet, somehow, we have the tendency to walk away from Easter thinking just that.
Let’s bring this back to where we started. Today is Easter Sunday; today is an awesome celebration. But tomorrow is Monday. Tomorrow we all go back to wherever it was we came from before. We travel that same journey bouncing between hearts that have been broken and hearts that are ablaze with passion. This is true of life for every one of us.
And today Luke is reminding us of another truth that is forever sealed to us through the resurrection of Jesus. And that truth is this. Whether you are walking through a time of broken heartedness or through a time of vibrant energetic joy, Jesus is walking with you. In times when you recognize Jesus with you, and in times when you do not recognize Jesus with you, he is still there beside you. Every time you open the Word of God; every time scripture is revealed to you, Jesus is there.
We began this journey of Lent forty days ago by looking together at sections of Palm 119. The first message I preached from that series closed with this line from Psalm 119:32. The psalmist declares to the Lord, “I run in the path of your commands, for you have stretched my heart wide.” Little by little, day by day, week by week, month by month, God broadens our hearts to follow him. On every sunny day, through every stormy night, he is there with you widening your capacity to know and follow him. On every Easter Sunday, and on every Monday morning, he is there with you. In every grand celebration, we are assured he is by our side; and in every normal daily routine, we still are assured he is by our side. The very last thing Jesus said to his disciples according to Matthew 28 is this, “Surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.”