Hearts Ablaze for God–Luke 24

“Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)

These two men used the word “burning” to describe their feelings as Jesus explained the Scriptures to them. At the time, they were not allowed to recognize that the traveler speaking with them was Jesus. I’ve often wondered why God kept them from realizing who He was. But we can see that Jesus had a purpose in this disguise. He even pretended that He was going to continue on His journey (v. 28), but His true purpose was to meet with these two disciples in secret.

What was the purpose?

Jesus wanted to light their hearts with a burning fire. Certainly, He could have revealed Himself to them right away—and that would have had a dramatic effect. After all, most people prefer to see things rather than simply hear about them or read about them.

Consider the disciples’ reaction when they saw Jesus calm the storm:

“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.” (Luke 8:25)

“What manner of man is this?!” they exclaimed.

Jesus could certainly produce that same awesome feeling again with a dramatic appearance. But this time, He wanted to reach deeper—into their hearts and affections. To do that, He needed to remain temporarily hidden.

Jesus plays along as a traveler, walking beside them, and even acts as though He hasn’t heard any of the recent events. He asks them, “What things?” (v. 19)—as if He didn’t know. And then He asks why they looked so sad and gloomy.

Then Cleopas begins telling Jesus… about Jesus—ironically!

Can you imagine the look on the Lord’s face as He listens to one of His own disciples explain recent events to Him?

Cleopas said, “We were hoping he was going to redeem Israel!”

I imagine a playful yet concerned look on Jesus’ face.

Cleopas continues, “And besides all that, it’s the third day since these things happened!”

Surely Cleopas and the other disciples knew that Jesus had told them repeatedly that He would rise from the dead on the third day:

“Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.” (Luke 9:22)

But here it was—the third day—and no sign of Jesus! All they had was a report from a few women who said they couldn’t find His body and that they spoke with an angel. And the men didn’t believe them:

“And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not.” (Luke 24:11)

Cleopas concluded, “The men went to the tomb but didn’t see Jesus.”

Now we come to the reason for Jesus’ disguise.

He doesn’t lift the veil from their eyes and dramatically show Himself to them. Instead, He first deals with their foolish and slow hearts through the Scriptures. He calls them “fools,” not because they didn’t recognize Him as He walked with them, but because—despite everything they had seen and experienced—they had yet to put their faith in God’s Word.

Jesus says to them, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.” (Luke 24:25)

They were walking away from Jerusalem—away from the other disciples—and apparently, they had given up. They were sad as they walked and talked. They had certainly been excited when they were with Jesus, when they saw Him perform miracles, feed thousands, and walk on water.

But now, Jesus had been murdered by the government. Their hopes of Him becoming the next king were dashed. And so, Jesus is going to re-ignite their hearts—but He keeps a disguise on their eyes, because that disguise serves a purpose. If they recognized Him too soon, it would short-circuit what He is trying to do in their hearts.

He wants to light their hearts on fire with a burning desire for God—not by visual stimulus, not by a dramatic appearance, but by the Word of God, the same Word of God that you and I possess today.

You might often think: “I would be more excited about the things of God if I were one of the Bible characters—seeing it, experiencing it.” But that would be untrue.

Because what stirred the fire inside these two disciples’ hearts wasn’t an experience, but the Word of God being explained, and them feeding on it.

It’s the same today with many in this congregation.

You are walking away from God.

You are defeated.

You are somber.

You are sad.

You have cried out to God to show Himself.

You’ve prayed, “God, where are You? Show Yourself to me!”

But He hasn’t dramatically come through your window at night.

He hasn’t answered the prayer the way you wanted.

He seems distant.

You feel defeated.

Your sin still holds you captive.

You’re still doing the same evil things you were doing before you heard about Christ.

And even now, you are walking slowly away from God.

You have your reasons.

You’ve had your discussions.

And you justify walking away—from God, from church, from the other disciples.

My friend, could it be that Jesus hasn’t left you… that God hasn’t forsaken you… but rather that you are slow of heart?

All the pieces are right in front of you.

Jesus has done everything that God said He would do.

God has fulfilled every promise He made.

Your heart should be on fire, but it’s grown cold—not because God isn’t there, but because you haven’t applied your faith to what God has said.

You must do more than just hear God’s Word; you must believe it, receive it, and apply it with faith.

Hebrews 4:2

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”

Ephesians 2:8

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”

It makes no sense for a Christian who says they believe God to walk around defeated and joyless.

It’s said that you’ll know a Christian by their fruits.

So what does it say about a Christian—so-called—who walks around as if they’ve been forgotten, ignored, and beaten?

What does Jesus say to those who have all they need, yet walk away as if God hasn’t done enough?

“O fools, and slow of heart!” (Luke 24:25)

He hasn’t left you.

He is walking beside you.

But you can’t recognize Him until you apply your faith to the things the Scriptures teach.

“Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26)

My friend, if suffering was necessary for Christ, then suffering will be necessary for Christians.

But that should not stop your heart from burning with desire for God.

He will walk with you in your suffering.

Jesus walked with those disciples—unbeknownst to them, He was their risen Lord and Savior.

But as they listened to Him explain the Scriptures, their hearts began to burn.

Their trip was threescore furlongs (Luke 24:13)—about 7 miles, roughly a 2-hour brisk walk.

They had been listening to this “stranger” explain the Scriptures about what God was doing, and by the time they reached Emmaus, it was nearing evening.

Jesus acted as though He would continue walking (v. 28), but they constrained Him—they begged Him to stay.

This stranger had simply explained the Bible to them, and their hearts were ignited into flame.

Yes, even though they had experienced Jesus’ miracles before, the thing that now stirred up a yearning desire in them was the Word of God.

Jesus acted as though He would leave them, but they begged Him to stay and speak more.

My friend, God gives you a blessing when He blesses you with friends who talk about Jesus with you.

One way to keep your heart hot for God is to walk with wise men and women who fear the Lord.

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.” (Proverbs 13:20)

But for whatever reason, many are too foolish to recognize those rare opportunities.

Your heart has grown so cold to the things of God that you find no appetite for godly conversation.

Your affections are rooted so deeply in earthly things that you find no delight in things above.

And when the man of God is sent to your home—yea, even to walk beside you for a while—you let him pass on as he makes as though he would continue on.

My friend, if the man of God has come to walk with you for a time, cling to that opportunity!

Go as far with him as you dare to go.

God’s people will recognize the hunger for God inside of you.

And they may act like they are continuing on, but inwardly, they are hoping you’ll ask them to stay.

Godly people are looking for opportunities to talk and share the things of God with those who are hungry—those whose hearts burn for God.

And we know that our own hearts can grow cold, easily dampened by the affections of the world.

So naturally, we want to walk together with those who burn for God, that as we expound the Scriptures for each other, our hearts may burn the brighter. To where else will you go besides Christ? He has the words to eternal life.

I wonder where the two men were going. They were sad. One of them told Jesus, “We had hoped that Jesus would be the king of Israel,” but now they were heading out of Jerusalem toward Emmaus. That journey did not seem to bring them any joy. The Bible doesn’t say exactly why they were going there, but it sounds like their faith had burned out. They had given up on Jesus as dead and were returning to what was familiar.

Peter, John, and the other disciples had a similar experience. As they waited, not really knowing what to do, they went back to their old work. Peter said to the others, “I’m going fishing.” The Bible tells us they “toiled all night and caught nothing.” Then Jesus appeared on the shore and asked them, “Children, do you have any meat?” John recognized the Lord immediately. Peter didn’t even wait—he jumped off the boat and started swimming toward Jesus. I suppose John probably passed Peter again in the boat. (I say again because Peter was a little slow running to the tomb on resurrection day!)

But look how quickly the disciples went after Jesus once they knew He was near. Look how fast they abandoned their former life for another opportunity to be with Christ.

The same happened to the two disciples in Emmaus as they spoke with Jesus in disguise. They listened to Him explain the Scriptures, and their hearts began to burn. Once they arrived at the house in Emmaus, Jesus pretended as though He would keep going, but they urged Him to stay. Their hearts were ablaze again, and they wanted to hear more.

Jesus’ use of the disguise—and His pretending to keep walking—served the purpose of using God’s Word to ignite their souls with desire for God and His kingdom. This time, it wasn’t a dramatic miracle that set their hearts on fire for God. In their eyes, it was just a stranger with zeal who could explain the Scriptures. Jesus expounded the Scriptures with the same passion He had shown for three years, and the fire was contagious.

The two men constrained Him to stay, and so He did. They sat down together for a meal, and as Jesus broke bread, they recognized Him—and He vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (v. 32)

Their hearts were on fire again—not because they saw Him vanish, but because they had listened to someone explain the Scriptures.

Now it was late, and the road was dangerous at night, but with their hearts burning, they rose up that same hour and returned to Jerusalem (v. 33). They found the eleven apostles and told them, “The Lord is risen indeed!” (v. 34)

The fire from the “stranger” who walked with them for just two hours re-ignited their hearts—and that fire spread to the eleven.

Do not underestimate the power of a small Bible study—in your home, on your way to work, or with your children.

Jesus could have chosen to meet with the whole group, but He chose to meet with two wandering disciples. After igniting their hearts, He sent them back to re-ignite the eleven.

A church’s zeal for God can be re-ignited by just one or two who have a passion for God’s Word.

I have spoken at length about the burning in their hearts—for God, for His Word, and for His kingdom. But what is this fire? How do we get it?

How do we make sure it stays ablaze?

Moses, too, was a man who had been beaten down and had given up. He had spent nearly 40 years running from Pharaoh. He had tried to help the Israelites once, but it seemed useless. He thought hope had died and that God had forgotten.

But then, in the wilderness, he beheld a sight—a bush that burned but was not consumed.

A dry bush in the desert would normally burn up in seconds. But here was a bush that burned continuously. Moses said, “I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.” (Exodus 3:3)

As he approached, God spoke to him out of the bush. The sight caught his attention, but the Word of God reignited his soul. God’s Word set Moses back on his feet—back to Pharaoh, from whom he had once fled—and through Moses, God reignited the faith of all the Hebrews.

That burning bush was more than a miracle—it was a picture of the awakening of God’s Word in the hearts of God’s people.

Now, the same image is portrayed with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They were beaten, depressed, and sad. Their hopes were dashed. “We had hoped that Jesus would have redeemed Israel,” they said.

But now the same God who once burned in the bush was reigniting the flame in their hearts—by His Word.

As these men listened, their desires and affections were awakened.

Our God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29), and He wants to be the affectionate fire in your heart.

Jesus asked them, “Why are you sad?”

I ask you today: Why are you sad?

Do you not see the excellent sight of God burning brightly in the Scriptures?

Do you not want to turn aside and behold it for yourself?

Have you not tasted and seen that the Lord is good?

When Moses approached the burning bush, God told him to remove his shoes. Moses was a sinful man standing in the presence of a holy God. Sin was a problem. He was unworthy to be there. But without God’s presence, life is hopeless and sad.

God told Moses that He wanted to rescue His people from Pharaoh.

The Lord Jesus came to rescue sinners from their sin.

This sinful world is empty without God.

“The world passeth away, and the lust thereof…” (1 John 2:17)

But we wander because our affections are tied to the lusts of the world.

We’ve worshipped at the altars of toys and gadgets.

We’ve filled our time with the dazzling sparkle of worldly pursuits and neglected the things of God.

We’ve overindulged in hobbies.

We’ve overspent ourselves into the bondage of debt.

We’ve overworked ourselves until our time is spent.

And now, we say we have no time for God—because we must serve our worldly masters.

“Why do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?” (Isaiah 55:2)

Pharaoh still enslaves us.

And all the while, we speed toward eternity.

We are in a head-on collision with the God who is angry over our sin.

His wrath is hanging overhead, and at any moment, our lives could end.

In an instant, we may find ourselves slipping into eternal hellfire, along with all our worldly lusts.

The world and its lusts will pass away.

Why? Because God is a consuming fire, and His wrath is teetering overhead, ready to be poured out on the sinful soul.

Even in this congregation—right now—God’s wrath is imminent.

The only thing keeping you from falling into the fires of hell is God’s mercy.

But when His patience ends, His wrath will fall—on the sinner and on every worldly affection they held dear.

Your church attendance will not stop it.

Your belief that you’re a “good person” will not stop it.

The wrath of God will fall through your goodness like a stone through a spider’s web.

Your good deeds will not prevent the floodwaters of God’s wrath from sweeping away your soul into eternity—along with all your lustful desires.

God’s name will not be mocked.

The justice of God will not fail.

The hammer of His judgment will fall on all sinners, both small and great,

and there will be none left to stand when He marks out your iniquity.

Your affections for the world, your lusts, and evil deeds cannot be hidden from the God who is a consuming fire.

We stand before Him—guilty, unworthy, and without excuse.

Like Moses, we go barefoot.

Like the two disciples, we walk away sad.

But now, here is an extraordinary opportunity for you.

Today is a day when Christ Jesus has flung wide open the doors of forgiveness and mercy.

Though Jesus appeared as a stranger to the two men walking on the road—and they did not recognize Him—He was, in fact, their Savior. Even though they had lost hope in Him, He was there with them, alive and full of power.

When we had no strength to save ourselves from the sin and lusts that held us captive, Christ died for enslaved sinners:

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6)

After hearing the Word of God and the mercy God had for them, those two disciples left their dinner, left their plans, and ran back to Jerusalem, proclaiming, “He is indeed risen!”

That is the same message I tell you today, you who sit in sorrow and sin:

He is indeed risen! And God would have mercy on you today.

The doors of His forgiveness and eternal life are open to you this very hour.

How terrible it would have been if those two disciples had lingered in Emmaus.

How awful if they had let Jesus continue walking down the road, failing to grab hold of His mercies.

The same tragedy is about to happen to you—if you miss this moment.

This may be your last opportunity to join Christ and pledge your heart and all its affections to the risen Lord.

Do not miss out on Christ while so many others have come to Him and are now feasting at His table.

Our Christian brothers and sisters feast daily at His table, with hearts full of affection for God.

Every day is a new feast as we wait for His return.

How sad would it be for you to miss the invitation?

The day of mercy will not last forever if you let Jesus walk away today.

He doesn’t want to walk away.

But He will—if you do not bid Him enter and become Lord of your life.

Come to Christ now.

Even though your sins be as scarlet,

you are not beyond hope.

He will make your heart white as snow.