Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us?
It was a question they asked themselves.
On the road walking to the village of Emmaus seven miles from Jerusalem.
A few of the men walked along, they were talking about everything that had happened.
As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them.
But God kept them from recognizing him.
He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?”
They stopped short, with sadness written across their faces.
Then one of them said, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.”
Jesus asks, “What things?”
The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth.
He was a prophet who did powerful miracles and was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people.
But our leading priest and other leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him.
As they talked, he scolded them and then took them through the writing of Moses and all the prophets
explaining from all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
The night was ending, and they were heading home, and they offered him a chance to stay with them.
As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it.
Then he broke it and gave it to them.
Suddenly their eyes were opened, and they recognized him and at that moment he disappeared!
They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”
It’s a very good question for many different situations.
My husband and I were at Costco one day and an older man saw my husband’s logo on his shirt and asked about its meaning.
The more this little old man talked to us, the more I thought I should know him.
I listened intently.
Then I said, “Were you a Pastor at one time?”
Yes, HE was OUR Pastor over 35 years ago and I knew HIS VOICE.
I didn’t recognize him at first.
I knew the ‘burning within me’ that recognized him for who he had been.
Not the little old guy we shared with, but the Godly man who taught the word with power and giftedness.
The question is a very real one.
“Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us?”
Our Pastor friend was killed in an accident a few months later but I will never forget HIS VOICE and his gentleness.
And I will always be glad we were able to see him one more time and pray with him in the middle of Costco.
“Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us?” The question still haunts me a little bit.