Blessed Burning
“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?’"—Luke 24:32
Resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals what we will be like one day, either when we die or when Christ comes again. We will have a quality of body like His, morally perfect, and exempt from the pains that are all to frequent to these earthly tents. As the apostle John said, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is”—1 John 3:2.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to a variety of people, and perhaps one of His most remarkable appearances was directly after His resurrection to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We don’t know much about them—one was named Cleopas, and the other remains nameless. We don’t know why they were headed to the town of Emmaus, a distance of about seven miles from Jerusalem. We do know that they were walking along, talking about everything that had just happened in the past several days—Jesus entering Jerusalem, the crucifixion, His death, burial, and resurrection, that they had just heard about that day, when Jesus walked up and started walking with them. The Scripture says that they were kept from recognizing Him (Luke 24:16). Undoubtedly, they weren’t expecting to see Jesus walking around anyway, much less healed from the brutality of the last week. As they walked along, Jesus asked them a question: “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” Surprised at such a question, they expressed amazement that He was unaware of something that everybody in Jerusalem was talking about. But Jesus pressed the issue further and wanted to know specifics. In their sadness, the two began to tell Him about Himself, completely unaware that the person they were talking about was walking alongside them. They told Him about their expectation of His life, and some of His work, His sudden death, and the surprising news of His resurrection earlier that day.
Upon hearing their disbelief and confusion regarding the events surrounding Jesus’ life, He rebukes them for being unaware of the necessary suffering required of the Son of God. Jesus had to suffer and then He would enter into His glory. He started by going back through Moses and the Prophets, explaining how the Old Testament pointed to Himself. As they got near Emmaus, Jesus pretended to be traveling on farther, but the disciples urged him strongly to stay. It was getting late in the day. When they were getting ready to eat, Jesus blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them—and as soon as He did, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, only to have Him disappear. Amazed at what they had seen, and energized by the encounter, they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?"—Luke 24:32. Though already late in the day, they packed up their stuff and headed back to Jerusalem to tell the other believers what had happened.
The truth of God burned in their hearts as Christ opened the Scriptures to them. Though they witnessed the resurrected Christ, the truth of God’s Word awakened within them a holy hunger for the heavenly Savior. Do our hearts burn within us for Christ? Do we read the Word of God in rapt attention and with expectant joy? Are we hungry for the heavenly, or are we too stuffed with the worldly? May His Word be opened to our hearts so that we might burn with holy fire, ready to receive the words from the risen Savior over and over again—knowing that we, too, will experience a resurrection just like His (Romans 6:5)! Amen.
Resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ reveals what we will be like one day, either when we die or when Christ comes again. We will have a quality of body like His, morally perfect, and exempt from the pains that are all to frequent to these earthly tents. As the apostle John said, “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is”—1 John 3:2.
After the resurrection, Jesus appeared to a variety of people, and perhaps one of His most remarkable appearances was directly after His resurrection to two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We don’t know much about them—one was named Cleopas, and the other remains nameless. We don’t know why they were headed to the town of Emmaus, a distance of about seven miles from Jerusalem. We do know that they were walking along, talking about everything that had just happened in the past several days—Jesus entering Jerusalem, the crucifixion, His death, burial, and resurrection, that they had just heard about that day, when Jesus walked up and started walking with them. The Scripture says that they were kept from recognizing Him (Luke 24:16). Undoubtedly, they weren’t expecting to see Jesus walking around anyway, much less healed from the brutality of the last week. As they walked along, Jesus asked them a question: “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” Surprised at such a question, they expressed amazement that He was unaware of something that everybody in Jerusalem was talking about. But Jesus pressed the issue further and wanted to know specifics. In their sadness, the two began to tell Him about Himself, completely unaware that the person they were talking about was walking alongside them. They told Him about their expectation of His life, and some of His work, His sudden death, and the surprising news of His resurrection earlier that day.
Upon hearing their disbelief and confusion regarding the events surrounding Jesus’ life, He rebukes them for being unaware of the necessary suffering required of the Son of God. Jesus had to suffer and then He would enter into His glory. He started by going back through Moses and the Prophets, explaining how the Old Testament pointed to Himself. As they got near Emmaus, Jesus pretended to be traveling on farther, but the disciples urged him strongly to stay. It was getting late in the day. When they were getting ready to eat, Jesus blessed the bread, broke it, and gave it to them—and as soon as He did, their eyes were opened and they recognized Him, only to have Him disappear. Amazed at what they had seen, and energized by the encounter, they said, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?"—Luke 24:32. Though already late in the day, they packed up their stuff and headed back to Jerusalem to tell the other believers what had happened.
The truth of God burned in their hearts as Christ opened the Scriptures to them. Though they witnessed the resurrected Christ, the truth of God’s Word awakened within them a holy hunger for the heavenly Savior. Do our hearts burn within us for Christ? Do we read the Word of God in rapt attention and with expectant joy? Are we hungry for the heavenly, or are we too stuffed with the worldly? May His Word be opened to our hearts so that we might burn with holy fire, ready to receive the words from the risen Savior over and over again—knowing that we, too, will experience a resurrection just like His (Romans 6:5)! Amen.
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