HOW IS YOUR EASTER HEARTBURN?
Luke 24:13-35 - April 25, 2004
LUKE 24:13-35
13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16but they were kept from recognizing him.
17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?"
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, "Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do 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. 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21but 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. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."
25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But 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.
30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon." 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.
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Dearest Fellow-Redeemed and Saints in the Lord:
Our question, if you had a chance to look at the bulletin this morning, says, "How is your Easter heartburn?" We hear of the disciples who had their hearts burning within them as Jesus spoke with them. Today in society we see many advertisements and we hear many advertisements concerning heartburn. There are all kinds of medications, either tablets or liquids to stop that persistent, pesky heartburn. Today a person can even take a pill beforehand so the heartburn does not even begin. Our text talks about Easter heartburn. Sometimes it burns at our hearts but at other times warms our hearts and our lives.
Listen to Prophet Jeremiah who talks about his heartburn: "But if I say, ’I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot" (JEREMIAH 20:9). This is not Easter heartburn for him, because Easter had not been celebrated yet. That is what our text speaks about this morning, the Easter heartburn that goes forth into the world and warms up the hearts of mankind. So we ask our selves: HOW IS YOUR EASTER HEARTBURN?
I. Is it a heartburn from God’s Law which scorches the heart,
II. Is it heartburn from God’s Gospel that warms up the heart?
II. Heartburn from God’s law scorches the heart.
The questions come before us this morning, and we probably have heard them a number of times. It reminds us that there are still questions on that first Easter Sunday. Some of the disciples were locked in the upper room. Other of Jesus’ followers finally left and went back to their own villages. 13Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. Of course, they had much to talk about, didn’t they? Still fresh in the minds of these two followers of Jesus was His crucifixion, death and burial. Of course, there was the empty tomb. 15As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them. Then Jesus speaks with them: 17He asked them, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" Now we begin to see the Easter heartburn they have, it is law heartburn. They stood still, their faces downcast. They were saddened. They stopped walking. Here all this while they had been walking along and talking to each other. Now when Jesus asked what they were talking about, they were downcast. The law had scorched their hearts. They knew that the prophet’s words that said that every soul that sins must die. They were stunned into silence and sadness. They thought this man who came to them was the only one who did not know what happened in Jerusalem. God’s law was still pounding at their hearts, so that they did not even recognize Jesus.
Jesus goes on: 19"What things?" he asked. They answered: About Jesus of Nazareth," they replied. Now we hear how that law was taking away the joy of Easter from them. They said: 20The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him, 21but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. There still was some hope in their hearts, wasn’t there? They knew that Jesus had been put to death by crucifixion by the chief priests and the rulers, but there was a hope that He was the Redeemer. Still the law was searing their consciences and burning their hearts. They go on to say: And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. If they had only listened and remembered! Jesus said that in three days He would come back to life. In three days He would rebuild the temple - - but still they were downcast. They were sad, because the law was working scorching their hearts.
The disciple goes on to describe what happened that Easter. 22In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. They did not see Jesus and did not believe. God’s law had a grip around their hearts so that they would not rejoice at this time on that very first joyous Easter day. Even Jesus Himself has to pronounce the law against them. 25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" These disciples left Jerusalem to walk to Emmaus with a severe case of heartburn. This was heartburn that caused their consciences to be seared so they could not see the joy of the Gospel.
That is what the Law does. The Law cannot save. The Law does remind us of our sinfulness. The Law does remind us of the fact that there is only one destiny for each of us. That destiny is we are going to die at the end of this earthly life. Of course, that is not the ultimate destiny. You and I realize that heaven is also our home, but God’s law says that we will face death. We are told how that happened. Romans 5: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned" (ROMANS 5:12). We cannot escape sin. As soon as we are born, even before we are born, we have a sinful nature. Because we have this original sin in us; we are going to face death. That’s the burning of the Law in our hearts.
As if that were not bad enough as we live this life, we face all kinds of temptations from this world. There are many who like to listen to what the world says, rather than listen to what God’s Word says. The Lord told the parable of the farmer sowing the seed and the results. Jesus states: "The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful” (MATTHEW 13:2). Again, Satan uses his power to corrupt mankind. Then, people, whether they realize it or not, have heartburn. We wouldn’t call it Easter heartburn. Their hearts burn to desire more things out of life than life can offer.
The world makes it seem like it can offer everything that we need--success, power, fame, riches. Yet all of those things end up as unsatisfying. All of those things do not compare to the glories that are yet to be revealed. What happens? The world chooses a path of destruction. The world makes up for itself its own gods. The world makes up or itself its own rules and follows them. So the Lord says if we want to do that as people, then He gives people over to their own destruction. The grip of the Law is upon them, whether they realize it or not. From 2 Thessalonians we read: "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (2 THESSALONIANS 2:11,12). Many delight in wickedness in this world, and they believe the lie that this world is all that there is to living. In the end God’s law will condemn them, and their destiny is destruction and eternal punishment in hell itself. On the Last Day the Lord says, "Many are called, but few are chosen." We see all around us people who are afflicted with a heartburn caused by sin and condemned by the law that ends in eternal destruction.
So we ask ourselves, "How is our Easter heartburn? Is it burning because of the law, or is it a heartburn that is warmed up by the Gospel?
II. Heartburn from God’s Gospel warms up the heart.
This is the precious point of today’s text: The two disciples on the way to Emmaus, who even though for a time the law burned their hearts so they could not see the gospel--and rejoice, Jesus comes and tells them the truth. 25He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" Now Jesus was going to change their sadness into gladness. 27And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Jesus reminded them with the powerful Word what the Prophets had said. He reminded them that the Word pointed ahead that the Savior would come. The Savior needed to die on the cross for the sins of the world.
Deep down those disciples knew that. We are told at the beginning when they were talking to Jesus and did not recognize Him, they said: "Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. This is what the God’s Old Testament prophets had foretold. God would raise up for Himself a Prophet like none other, a Prophet who would proclaim a message of peace and forgiveness. These disciples knew that; but for a time that law crushed them so much that the gospel did not warm their hearts. So Jesus explained it to them; and that gospel begins to work immediately, doesn’t it? They are still walking down the road and talking about these things. They arrive at Emmaus, but Jesus is going to press on. What happens? The hearts of these disciples are changed, they are warming up. 28As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 29But 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. Their Christian faith said they were going to help this stranger. They wanted him to stay with them. They were going to bring him in and provide for him, though they still did not recognize Him.
The sadness of the Law was being replaced with the joy of the Gospel. Then their hearts really heat up, don’t they? 30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. These are familiar words. We heard it in our Gospel lesson. (JOHN 21:1-14) We heard it on the night that He was betrayed. They recognize Jesus, because He was doing the things that He had done with them before. Jesus was always going to give thanks for the gifts that His Father had provided them. We are told: 31Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. Jesus had many more things to do. These disciples had now heard God’s word first of all. They saw the Savior, and they recognized Him. 32They asked each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
It made no difference that they were mourning from Friday, through Saturday, to Sunday; and they were still questioning what had happened to Jesus. It made no matter that all those things took place, and they were worn out. They had already walked the seven miles to Emmaus but it made no difference. We are told: 33They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. Their hearts had warmed up so much that they went back even though it was night. It wasn’t common practice to walk during the evening. Arriving in Jerusalem from where they had started their journey: There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34and saying, "It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon. Even the eleven had seen and now believe. 35Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how they recognized Jesus when he broke the bread. God’s powerful gospel had warmed up their hearts.
That is what happens to us. Where the law comes in and condemns us and says that we are not deserving of one single blessing, the gospel comes in and reminds us that our sins are forgiven. Where the law comes in and reminds us that we cannot obey, the gospel reminds us that Christ has obeyed for us. The Bible states: "When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ’I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’" (JOHN 8:12). We as believers have the light of life. Christ rose again on the third day--He is risen. That is the light of life that we walk in as we journey to Emmaus. That is the light of life that is reflected in our lives.
All around us the world is wringing its hands wondering what is going to happen in the future. All around us people are distorting the law and the gospel, two simple teachings. Yes, some religions take the gospel and make it into the law. They say, "You will be saved if only--” As soon as you say "if only,” you have taken away the power of the gospel. Then we have reverted back to the sting of the law. Others also add, "If you only believe hard enough. If only you pray hard enough. If only you obey then God will bless you." This is a great danger that takes away that power of the gospel. The Gospel reminds us that Christ has done everything for us. In Galatians: "The Lord Jesus Christ...gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father" (GALATIANS 1:4). That is the Gospel that warms up our hearts and changes our lives so that we are like these two disciples.
True, we are saddened by our sin; but our Savior who has done all things for us gladdens us. There are people around us who walk in darkness. There are people around us who are conscience-stricken and have heartburn because of guilt. For these people and to these people our loving Lord reminds us as Isaiah says: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you" (ISAIAH 60:1). We are blessed beyond all comparison that we are able to see the glory of the Lord. Just like the Emmaus disciples, our eyes have been opened, and we have seen the glory of the Lord.
Just like John in our Epistle lesson (REVELATION 5:11-14), we recognize that in heaven there are the choirs of angels; and on earth there are believers who sing God’s praises. Today as we look at these words, the Lord wants us to ask ourselves, "How is our Easter heartburn?" True at times we are going to find ourselves conscience-stricken, because God’s law does singe and scorch our hearts. It ought to; but when God’s law does that, it also has us turn to the God’s gospel that warms up our hearts and heats up our lives so that we are anxious and excited and joyful to share that Easter joy. Jesus gave us the example to follow, an example of a life-changing experience. God’s word declares: "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers" (1 JOHN 3:16). This verse also describes our hearts warmed by the Gospel, not self-centered but selfless, just as Jesus Himself was not self-centered but selfless for mankind and for each one of us. Now that is the God’s gospel that warms our hearts and heat up our lives. Amen. Pastor Timm O. Meyer
