(5/10) I’m excited to share the Word of God with you as we prepare to receive from him this morning, believing that God is going to speak to us in a special way. Now I know that so much of what we’re doing now is different from what we’re used to doing. You know, this whole online church thing, worshiping together in our pajamas, in kitchens and living rooms behind screens everywhere, but we can find comfort in the Word of God, strength in the Word of God and hope in the Word of God. Because the Word was with God, John chapter 1 tells us, the Word was God, he was with God in the beginning, and so Jesus Christ, the Word of God, is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

And while much of what we know has changed, we can stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around our waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, our feet fitted with the gospel, taking up the shield of faith… You know, I wonder if anyone is ready to receive what God has for you today? Just let me know in the chat, just type, "I’m ready." Is there anyone ready in Emmitsburg? Anybody in Fairfield, Thurmont, Carroll Valley, Sabillasville, or anywhere else? Are you ready to break bread, dining with Jesus?

If you were with us last week we ran into Jesus in a very unusual place. It was later in the day, resurrection Sunday, but Jesus wasn’t doing what you might think he would be doing or going where you might think he would be going. In fact, he wasn’t even in Jerusalem, but he’s walking toward this little town called Emmaus, and he joins two believers who are walking home after the Passover celebration.

They, like many of us during this time of lockdown and isolation, were walking along feeling discouraged and without hope. Jesus had been crucified and buried, their hopes and dreams were gone, and then there was the rumor that somebody had stolen his body. And so, these two travelers are walking along, discussing these things with each other, when Jesus walked up to them and started talking with them. But the Bible says,

"They were kept from recognizing him" (Luke 24:16).

Their Living Hope was walking with them, but they didn’t realize it, they didn’t recognize him, and so they didn’t know it was Jesus who was right there with them.

Now you would have to admit that this wasn’t normal, this was very unusual, and so they wouldn’t have expected this, in fact, none of us would’ve. And so, they’re walking along with Jesus, he had risen from the dead, he had a new glorified body and they didn’t recognize him. And honestly, it’s not really that surprising, because even early this morning at the empty tomb, Mary Magdalene was weeping when Jesus approached her and asked her why she was crying. The Bible says that she thought he was the gardener until Jesus spoke and called her by name. But here in Luke chapter 24, it tells us that they were kept from recognizing him, supernaturally Jesus veiled his identity from them.

And I can’t help but wondering if this wasn’t so that they would think through what they had experienced, what they had heard, and the things that Jesus was saying. You know, if they had known it was Jesus, they might not have thought through what he was revealing to him. I wonder if he was building a foundation, a solid foundation for the gospel, because the Bible says as they were walking along, Jesus…

"Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself" (Luke 24:27).

Now, we don’t know exactly what he said, we can only speculate, but maybe he talked about the Passover lamb that Moses had the people sacrifice, applying its blood to the doorways of their houses in Egypt. Or I wonder if maybe he went all the way back to the beginning, back to when Adam and Eve first sinned, and God sacrificed an animal covering them, covering their nakedness with garments of skin. Or maybe he told them about Abraham climbing Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac only to discover at the last moment that God himself would provide the lamb for the offering. You know, I have to wonder if as he was explaining to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself if they didn’t have some sense that they were walking alongside of the Lamb of God. You know, they didn’t recognize him at the moment, they didn’t recognize the full extent of what God was doing, but there was something happening in their hearts.

And so, they’re walking along this little path, the miles are passing like minutes as Jesus is explaining these things, they’re hanging onto his every word, but when they get to their destination the Bible says in verse 28,

"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" (Luke 24:28-29).

And so, by the time they got to the village, not only was it getting dark but they were experiencing a hunger and thirst like they never had before. Their hearts were literally burning, it was that which Jeremiah spoke of saying,

"His word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones…" (Jeremiah 20:9).

And so, they’re overwhelmed, they’re trying to process all of this, their hearts are burning, but watch what happens next, this is so amazing. Jesus went in to "stay with them" and verse 30 says,

"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them" (Luke 24:30).

Now, in most every culture that would’ve been inappropriate to allow a stranger to serve you at your own table, but I wonder if maybe they were so captivated by what Jesus was saying that they had lost interest in eating. And yet, maybe Jesus was hungry, it may have been a few days since he ate, but for whatever reason, he picks up the bread, he gives thanks, breaks it and gives it to them. The Bible says it was at that moment that their eyes…

"Eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight" (Luke 24:31).

All of a sudden there was a familiarity, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. We don’t know if God simply let them recognize him or if it was in the breaking of the bread, or maybe the prayer, or maybe in the distribution of the bread. You know, it could have been that in the flickering candlelight as he stretched out his hands to them, that they saw the wounds on his wrists and suddenly everything clicked.

Whatever it was, suddenly everything made sense, his body beaten, flogged, and scourged. Their Messiah hanging on the cross, breathing his last, dead and buried, but gloriously raised to life on the third day. Now they’re sitting there in amazement, still holding the bread in their hands, looking at one another, and verse 32 says,

"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).

What I’d like to do is pause right here and take this moment to celebrate the Lord’s Supper with you. This is a perfect opportunity and I pray that there may be some of you who for the first time ever are able to recognize him, understanding the Scriptures in a deeper way, and experiencing his presence as we break bread together. And so, if you don’t have your elements nearby, go ahead and get them, because what we’re doing is so important. It really is a holy moment as we come together as the body of Christ in homes everywhere, because our faith in Jesus is a participatory faith. In other words, not only do we share in the glory of his resurrection, but if we’re being persecuted, if we’re hurting in any way for our faith, we also share in his sufferings. We’re participating with him, we’re remembering him, and recognizing him in the breaking of bread.

The apostle Paul reminds us of the nature of the Lord’s Supper, that we’re actually participating with Jesus and in first Corinthians chapter 10, he asks a rhetorical question in verse 16. He asks,

"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Corinthians 10:16).

And so, not only do we share in the glory of his resurrection, but we also share in his sufferings, we participate in the body and blood of Christ.

As we prepare to share in the Lord’s Supper, the Scriptures encourage us to examine ourselves before partaking in the meal. If there is sin in our lives, this is our opportunity to repent of it, ask Jesus to forgive us and help us walk away from it. It’s in this time as the Bible tells us in James that as we…

"Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will lift you up" (James 4:8-10).

And so, as we humble ourselves before the Lord, he does, he lifts us up and we are able to draw near to God with sincere hearts, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Therefore, as the Bible tells us in Hebrews, we…

"Hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful" (Hebrews 10:23).

And he is, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. And so, it’s as we look within that we prepare ourselves looking forward to the one who is coming again.

As we receive his life today through this communion, as members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise; if you’ve got a cracker or some kind of bread, wherever you are, if you can just hold it and remember this. The Bible says,

"The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:23-24).

Let us eat together in remembrance of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ.

"In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:25).

Let us drink together in remembrance of his shed blood.

The Bible then exhorts us giving us this promise,

"Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26).

And that is so beautiful, because of Christ’s faithfulness, because of his death and resurrection, we are able to receive his mercy and grace until he comes again. But today, we left off sitting at the table with the two disciples asking 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).

And they had walked with him seven miles, but what his words couldn’t show them, they saw in the breaking of the bread. They recognized the one who was with them, not because of his words, not because they heard the stone was rolled away, but they recognized him in the breaking of the bread. No sooner did they recognize who he was then did he disappear from their sight, and so they leave verse 33 says,

"They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them assembled together (Luke 24:33).

They got up and went back to where the church was gathered; where their brothers and sisters in Christ were waiting, and there are some of you who need to get up and go back because God’s not done with you either.

You see, we’ve got to learn to put this stuff that we hear into practice. In other words, if we’re going to be followers of Jesus, then we need to be people who are actually living out our faith, who are doing what the Word of God says. In fact, these two disciples had most likely experienced some pretty amazing miracles, you know, prior to seeing the resurrected Christ, which was awesome enough in itself, but they probably saw many other great miracles. And yet, in spite of what they had experienced and what Jesus had promised, they so quickly turned their backs on Jerusalem and began walking home disappointed and discouraged.

It wasn’t until they recognized him in the breaking of the bread, seeing the one who said,

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35).

It was only then that they turned and returned to Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father. And so often in our own lives, we leave searching and seeking for things that don’t matter, things that we’re praying for, things that we’re believing God for, and then when they don’t happen, we find ourselves disappointed. We want to give up and walk away from the promise and purpose of God and yet the Bible tells us,

"Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8).

You see, we fail to recognize that so much of what we’ve been looking for is nothing but a cheap substitute. You may have been looking all over the place, but Jesus is all you need. He may not be what you were looking for, he may not be that thing that you wanted, that you prayed for, but he’s exactly what you need. Jesus is the bread of life, he’s your miracle, and he said,

"I have come that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10).

And yet, so many of us are walking around empty, hungry and thirsty, but Jesus says if you’ll just come to him, you’ll never hunger or thirst again. And so, if we believe the Word of God, if we believe what he said is true, then we should live by his Word, but we’re just not hearing him.

These two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, their hearts were burning, but they weren’t hearing what he was saying. You see, they were walking away from Jerusalem, they were walking away from where the promised Holy Spirit was coming, and so Jesus chased them down because he was positioning them for something so much greater. In the same way, Jesus is speaking to some of you today, he is positioning you to know him and to know his voice. That’s what he said,

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me" (John 10:27).

And yet, I wonder if some of you have been walking with Jesus and he’s been speaking and speaking, but it’s been a one-sided conversation. It’s kind of like he’s been delivering the mail, but you haven’t been home to receive it. In fact, some of you may even be thinking that he doesn’t speak to you, but if you’re really honest you would have to admit that you haven’t put yourself in a place to hear from him. You see, some of you are so busy running around hungering and thirsting for more of this world and you haven’t gone to that quiet place and done what the Bible says,

"Be still and know that he is God" (Psalm 46:10).

And so, if there’s one thing we need to learn to do, it’s to learn to sit at Jesus feet and listen to his voice. We need to open up his Word and get it into our souls, we need to receive God’s word every day.

There are some of you listening today, and I know I wrestle with this, but we want to see change in our lives, but we’re unwilling to make the change. In other words, we’re unwilling to reorder things, reschedule things, or reprioritize our lives so that we’re focused on things that are eternal and not temporary. You see, if we’re going to position ourselves to receive from Jesus so that we’re no longer hungry and thirsty we’re going to have to change some things. We’re going to have to spend time in his presence.

This morning, as we close, I wonder if you had a moment when your heart was burning within you? I pray that there may be some of you today who are feeling that and for the first time are able to recognize Jesus, understanding the Scriptures, knowing that he is God. And that you’ll fall so deeply in love with him that you will let go of the things of this world realizing that living for the King of Kings is the only thing that satisfies.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott