Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
John 8:12
Below is an adaptation of a teaching focused on the day Jesus rose from the dead. For the full teaching, scroll down to the video.
Two heartbroken men walked together on the road to Emmaus as they talked about how they had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah who would deliver the Jews from the Romans and set up a kingdom. It was the third day since Jesus had been buried, and now His body was missing. When a stranger joined them, the walk turned into a burning heart walk.
Let’s listen to their thoughts and conversation.
It was the third day. The third day after they took our beaten, bloodied, and speared Lord down from the cross. The third day after they placed His nail-pierced body in the tomb.
It was the third day. Some of the women found His tomb empty.
The third day. Peter ran to the tomb and found the linen cloths lying by themselves. The very cloths that they had wrapped the Teacher in.
It was the third day. The tomb was empty. The Redeemer was not there.
It was the third day.
A Dejected Heart Walk
Cleopas and another follower walked the 7-mile road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They recounted the healings, the teachings. How the miracle worker had fed the 5,000 and 4,000. His compassion for others. His command of the winds and the sea. His love for the lowly. Their hopes for a new kingdom. Their hopes. Dashed!
It was the third day.
A traveler catches up with them.
“What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
“Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”
“What things?”
“Jesus! He was mighty in deed and word before God! The chief priests and our rulers handed Him over to be crucified.”
“We had hoped that He was going to be Israel’s Redeemer.”
It’s the third day. The third day after they buried Jesus.
Some women went to the tomb, and they said that angels told them that Jesus was alive. Peter ran to the tomb, and he found it just as the women had said.
A Burning Heart Walk
“Oh, foolish ones, don’t you believe what the prophets spoke about the Christ?”
Luke 24 is often seen as a model of the journey that Jesus makes with many of us today, as He opens our eyes, points us to the Word, and reveals Himself along life’s walk as the resurrected Savior and Lord.
GotQuestions.org
Has this been your journey with Jesus?
Jesus Is in the Old Testament
The Old Testament points to Jesus. Even the third chapter of Genesis points to Jesus. After Adam and Eve had sinned in the Garden of Eden and God was telling them the consequences of their disobedience, He gave them hope.
First, God cursed Satan, and then He spoke to Eve.
And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.
Genesis 3:15
Genesis 14:18 speaks of Abram meeting Melchizedek after Abram had won a battle. Melchizedek was the high priest of Salem (Salem is the word for peace). Commentators say that he was the high priest of Jerusalem before it had that name. Melchizedek, a priest of God Most High brought Abram bread and wine and blessed Abram.
Does that remind you of something? Communion?
Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tithe or tenth of all that he had recovered from the battle. Melchizedek is mentioned in Psalm 110:4 and chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Hebrews.
The Passover Lamb points to Jesus.
The Kinsman-Redeemer in the book of Ruth points to Jesus.
Psalm 22 points to Jesus. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”
It was the third day.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Isaiah 53:5-6
Do you see Jesus in this passage? Our Lord and Savior. God’s Righteous Servant bore your sins and my sins to justify us, to make us as if we had never sinned.
It was the third day. The Stranger reminding them of the prophecies that they had learned but had not understood.
It was the third day. The Stranger unfolding the prophecies for them. Evening is coming.
Jesus Waits For An Invitation
Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.
Luke 24:28-29
Jesus never imposes upon people. He waits for an invitation.
They had been walking for hours. Heavy in thought and discussions. It wasn’t safe to walk the roads at night. Wild beasts could devour them, or robbers accost them. Invited, Jesus went in with them.
Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.
Luke 24:30
It’s interesting that Jesus, the stranger, took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them. Usually, the host did this.
In those days, they didn’t have forks, knives, and spoons. They used bread to scoop up their food from communal bowls. They considered sharing a meal with each other as becoming one with each other. The bread was the means of feeding the body.
They instantly knew the Messiah by the way He broke bread. What was it about the way that Jesus broke the bread?
And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Luke 24:32
Although they had known the prophecies of the coming Messiah, they had not understood. Not until Jesus opened the Scriptures to them.
Their hearts burned!
It was the third day.
Walking With Jesus Causes Us to Act
The knowledge of the Christ—the Messiah—entered their hearts, and their hearts burned.
Jesus is the Messiah! Our Savior has risen, indeed! We must tell the others!
So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together.
Luke 24:33
No thought of the danger on the road at night.
It was the third day. Their hearts were set on fire. The others must know!
They couldn’t wait to tell everyone, “The Lord is risen!”
The Good News!
Life Eternal burning into their hearts the Good News. Good News that must be told. Now! Today!
It was third day!
Lives transformed forever. They were never the same. Their hearts were set on fire. The fire spread. First to the ones who had followed Jesus while He was on earth, Jesus’ disciples.
But the fire had just started.
Jesus’ followers waited for the promise … the Holy Spirit in all His power.
The Church is Born … Burning Hearts Share the Good News
And on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came. Pentecost is the Greek name for the Feast of Weeks. For an explanation of the Feast of Weeks, you can read Leviticus 23:15 and Deuteronomy 16:9. The Feast of Weeks took place 50 days after the wave offering of Passover. It celebrated the end of the grain harvest.
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and [one] sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Acts 2:1-4
Walking With Jesus Sets Hearts on Fire and Transforms Lives
A day to remember God inviting Moses to take off his shoes, for he was on holy ground. God spoke to Moses from the burning bush.
A day to remember God leading the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night.
A day to remember the fire burning on the altar in the tabernacle.
A day to remember God’s Son, Jesus, walking among them, breathing life and wonder into all who encountered Him.
The third day … a day to remember the empty tomb.
The third day … a day to remember walking with Jesus and burning hearts.
The 50th day. Pentecost … the day of the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Tongues of fire; 3,000 men and women were saved that day, and the church was born. The world was never the same.
It was the third day … the 50th day was coming, the day of the birth of the church.
It’s a new day. Jesus is walking beside you. He’s ready to unwrap the Scriptures for you in a deeper way. Are you listening? Really listening?
Is your heart burning? Are you ready for a new adventure in your daily walk with Jesus?
Jesus has paid the price of our sins, death on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead and is victorious over death. Jesus beckons you to walk with Him.
Will you take the hand of Jesus and walk with Him?
To accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please read “From Death to Life – The Promise of Jesus” and let me know in the comments that you have accepted Jesus as your Savior. I will send you additional resources.
Please Share Your Ideas