“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?'” Luke 24:32

Dear Jesus,
we invite You to talk with us on the road,
open the Scriptures up to us,
and set our hearts on fire.
Amen.

Don’t be scared of the weird picture.
This is a beautiful song.
Press play!
Did Not Our Hearts Burn
Jess Ray

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” Luke 24:30-31

Jesus was recognized at the table.

Maybe is was because He took on the role of host.
Maybe it was the way He took the bread and broke it.
Maybe it was something about His prayer of thanks.
Maybe they saw the scars in His hands.

Or maybe the time spent in Bible study with Jesus
caused the eyes of their minds and hearts to be receptive.

A sudden gasp, “It’s You! It’s been You all along!”

Eugene Peterson, the writer of “The Message” and many other books, also was a pastor for 29 years and a college professor for seven years. When he retired from pastoring and teaching, he and his wife, Jan, used their dining room as their new headquarters for ministry. In one year they had over 200 overnight guests in their home. Hours were spent around the supper table, listening, advising, encouraging. Later, their son heard comments like, “Your parents saved our marriage that weekend,” or “That dinner with your dad gave me renewed passion for ministry,” or “Their kindness around the table saved my life.”

If you have a table,
then you have a ministry.

The table is a sacred place of fellowship with each other,
especially when we invite Jesus to join us.
Every table — the communion table and our kitchen tables.

“As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther. 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.” Luke 24:28-29

They urged him strongly, “Stay with us.”
They begged him… (CEV)
They urged and insisted… (AMPC)
They pressed him… (MSG)
They constrained him… (KJV)

It is a very strong word that, “they constrained him”. They not only invited him, but they held him, they grasped his hand, they tugged at his skirts, they said he should not go. (Spurgeon)

Jesus never barges in when He’s not welcome.
He will not beat down the door and force His presence on us.
When we lock Him out, still He stands, waiting.

Jesus always comes in when He’s invited.
He will patiently knock and knock and knock at the door.
When we open it, He enters in, rejoicing.

Oh Lord, please come in and stay with us.

“He said to them, ‘How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” Luke 24:25-27

I love a good Bible study.
There’s nothing I’d rather do on a Wednesday night
than gather with some women and dig into the Scriptures.

I’ve listened to a lot of great Bible teachers over the years.
Notebooks full of notes can testify to that.

I’ve even led a few studies
and I never presume to jump into a lesson
without first praying a prayer for wisdom and Holy Spirit guidance.

But, I must say,
never once in all my days
have I been to a Bible study
where the teacher begins with these words:
“How foolish you are and how slow you are to believe!”
Or, as the Message version puts it:
“So thick-headed!
So slow-hearted!
Why can’t you simply believe?”

Maybe I’ll try that this week.
Or maybe not.

That must have been one amazing session.
Jesus.
Teaching a Bible study.
Sign me up.

The Master started with Moses, the writer of the first five books of the Bible. Then He continued on through all seventeen Prophetic books, pointing out where He was found on the pages. Surely it was one of the most spectacular Bible studies ever taught.

To a group of two.

They felt like their hearts were burning.

“‘Is not my word like fire?’ declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah 23:29

“In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” Luke 24:22-24

Amazing things were happening!
So why were these two walking away from all the action?

Reports of an angel visitation, a missing dead body and rumors that Jesus was alive? All that wasn’t enough to keep them from leaving town? It’s true – all of their information was second-hand. Somebody else saw the empty tomb and somebody else witnessed the heavenly hosts.

Why didn’t they go check it out for themselves?

Did they disregard the eye-witness accounts because of the sources? The women were pretty emotional and the word “amazed” implies they thought the women were insane. Peter was known to be impulsive. Besides, all Peter and John saw was an empty tomb, not Jesus Himself.

Was it just too hard to believe?

Sometimes it’s easier to walk away from other people’s amazing stories.
It feels safer to stay a little distant from the hoopla.

What these two didn’t know
was that their own amazing story
was transpiring with every step.

Everyone who walks with Jesus
has a story that’s unfolding,
whether we see it or not.

“‘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. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 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.'” Luke 24:19-21

PB and I process our thoughts very differently. I’m an internal processor. I get very quiet, I think and think and think, and only then will I give voice to the conclusion on which I have landed. PB is an external processor. He talks and talks and talks, and after giving his thoughts a thorough airing out, settles on his resolution. The funny thing is, we usually end up with the same outcome. We just take different roads to get there.

I used to freak out at all his ideas and plans and dreams. He used to be perplexed by my withdrawal and silence. After forty-one years of marriage, we understand each other’s style. I let him talk it out, he lets me think it through.

Jesus understood these two friends on the Emmaus road. He played along with the conversation, drawing out what was on the hearts of the two disciples and allowing them time to talk it out. But Cleopas and his friend were getting a few things wrong.

• First, Jesus was more than a prophet.
• Second, the chief priests didn’t hand Jesus over – they weren’t the ones in control. Jesus said, “No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.” (John 10:18)
• Third, these two disciples were talking in past tense. They had given up hope and were walking away before the end of the story.
• Fourth, Jesus didn’t just redeem Israel. He redeemed the world.

Sometimes when Jesus comes up to walk beside us,
it’s an invitation to talk through what we’re thinking.
He patiently listens as we process,
even if our conclusions are faulty.
Correction will come.