“A Heart Warming Experience”

Scripture: Luke 24:13-35

By 1738, at the age of 35, John Wesley had gone through many ups and downs in faith. His mission to Georgia in the American colonies had introduced him to the Moravians, who, in turn, inspired him in faith. And yet, the mission itself had been a personal failure. But after returning to England in a very clandestine way, he attended a Moravian meeting on Aldersgate Street in London the evening of May 24th, where he heard a reading of Martin Luther’s Preface to the Book of Romans. As he heard the words that described the change that faith in Christ can bring about in our lives, he felt his heart being “strangely warmed”. The change that this “warming” brought to him produced a renewed sense of faith, that salvation, no longer based in all of the good that he could do, was now his by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

The fire of the Holy Spirit has touched countless lives throughout the centuries, and whether it is a warming, a burning, a peace, a joy, or some other personal sensation that unmistakably tells us that the Spirit is at work within us, lives have been changed and renewed for the better. Today, we consider the spiritual change that occurred in the lives of two men who were fleeing Jerusalem on Resurrection Sunday.

Read Luke 24:13-24

Cleopas and his traveling companion had been members of Christ’s entourage for some time, and had gained a sense that this Jesus was truly the Jewish Messiah. But on Friday, their hopes of redemption had been dashed, and with broken hearts, many had decided that leaving Jerusalem for parts unknown was their best choice. For these two, the village of Emmaus would be a good start, but after that, who knows? Where in all of Israel would they be safe from both the Roman authorities and the Jewish courts?

Memories of the past were their driving force – the teaching that they had heard, the miracles they had seen, the lives that had been changed. But now, the ministry was falling apart, and other than escaping the wrath of the authorities, their thoughts of Jesus were so jumbled and confusing, they could hardly stand it.

And then, a stranger joins them on the road. It is, of course, the Lord, but as he did with others, he lets these two express their fears and struggle without actually knowing who it is they are sharing them with. Jesus knows that confessing our burdens is one of the ways we begin to heal from the cares and ways of earth. Oppression only holds control of our lives as along as we submit to its demands and hide the pain that it causes. We need to name it for what it is - evil - and that is exactly what these two men do.

They say that Jesus was a prophet – one who brings the word and will of God to life within them.
They say that he gave power to the word, and was powerful in all that he did. But that the rulers of earth rejected his truth, and put an end to his life. And that this morning, all hope, as fragile and broken as it had become, was totally destroyed.

Read Luke 24:25-29

Their thoughts and fears were all based in the loss they were feeling, but Jesus is about to remind them that there is more to this life than our worldly response to human ways. The scriptures hold out a hope that the world can never have, and present the power that each one of us is in such desperate need of. But in the pain and loss of the past 3 days, Cleopas and his friend have lost touch with their Lord God Jehovah, and his word for their lives has become clouded.

So Jesus begins to remind them of all they had forgotten. He reminds them that the prophets had proclaimed these days hundreds of years before; he reminds them that God has had a plan at work for them since before creation; he reminds them that even though they may feel alone and abandoned, God never leaves his people, and never turns his back on them.

And they talk as they walk along the road – nearly forgetting that their chosen destination is the village of Emmaus. Before they knew it, the seven miles from Jerusalem had slowly vanished with every step they had taken and every word they had heard. The conversation had taken on an unexplained familiarity, but the truth behind this stranger still eluded them. The interesting thing about Jesus is that his timing is strangely perfect, especially when it doesn’t match up with our expectations. Jesus had a plan for these two men - one that would resonate in their hearts in the years to come.

And that’s how he works within us. God doesn’t want us to lose out on his word, so he gives it in especially poignant ways – ways that are important to us, ways that we will never forget. Sometimes it is the place where we receive his word; sometimes it is the situation that we find ourselves in; sometimes it is in the simplicity and straightforward word that we are given. Regardless of the means, the Lord’s divine message becomes one that will resound within us for the rest of our life.

Read Luke 24:30-35

It was the end of the day and they had walked a long way. They were tired, they were hungry, and a relaxing evening was in order. We aren’t told much about the house, but it could very easily be the home of one of the men – they had invited Jesus to spend the night with them. And if that is the case, the home owner would have been the natural host at the meal, and Jesus would have been the guest. But when they sat down at the table, Jesus assumes the host position as he takes the bread and gives it to the others.

And when he does, he gives thanks for the meal, he breaks the bread, and he gives the food to the others. Jesus has become the host, and the words he speaks, I believe, remind Cleopas and his unnamed friend of the last Passover meal in the Upper Room. And that is all it takes to open their eyes. Jesus knows his people so well that when the time is right, he can reveal his word to the fearful, the doubter, the hurting – to anyone who wants and needs to feel his truth in their lives.

And then he’s gone. The Lord had accomplished his task for Cleopas and the other – they had been given a word that would stay with them for the rest of their lives, and would nourish them in both life and ministry. They remember the heart-felt burning when Jesus had opened the word of God for them earlier in the day, and they knew!

On that night when John Wesley’s heart was “strangely warmed”, he wrote these words in his journal - “I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." For the two in Emmaus, their trust in Christ had also become a reality. No longer was fear and uncertainty in charge of their lives, they would no longer be willing to head away from the mission that now was theirs. And the mission? It was to begin spreading the word that Jesus was alive and at work in the lives of his people.

By now, it was night time, and they had just walked seven miles to get to Emmaus, but that wasn’t about to hold them back. They left immediately to share the truth that they had just received, and their first stop would be with the disciples who had also seen the Risen Lord earlier that day – even while the two were walking and talking and eating with Jesus. The Lord was no longer confined to be in one place at one time any longer – he was free to constantly encourage and enable all who loved him.

Have you felt the presence and power of the Lord in your life? Has he given you the faith to believe that he is living and reigning within you? Do you know that you been freed to live for him and him alone? Have you been warmed in the glow of his resurrection? And are you burning to serve him in his way and call?

Know, without a doubt, that by faith and obedience to Jesus Christ, your sins – even yours, even mine - will also be washed away, that your salvation has been secured for all time, and that the Life of Jesus Christ is now living within you.
And if you haven’t felt that “burning”, then the time has come for you to confess that the life that Christ has given for you, is the life that will save you from your death. Give him your life, and let his passion burn within you for the rest of eternity.