Series: Matters of the Heart

Recap: Loving yourself, Loving Others Well

Title: What to Do with a Broken Heart?

To give a little back story, we learn that Jesus first appearsto a group of women after He resurrected.  They were the first ones entrustedwith the good news of the gospel mainly that Christ has risen.  They were instructed to tell the discipleswho were back in Jerusalem.  However, the disciples did not believethem. 

In our passage today, we come across two other individualsto whom the Lord revealed himself.  But they were so heart brokenby His death that they could not see that “the giver of Life” or “Life himself” was standing rightin front of them.

Luke 24:13-27

¹³ That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven milesfrom Jerusalem, ¹⁴ and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. 

We are given the name of one of these guys Cleopas(vs 18) Cleopas is believed to be the brother ofJosephwho was Jesus’s stepdad.  So, for today’s purposes we will call him Uncle Cleo.  The other person is not named.  

These two guys were heart brokenand they were discussingthese things that had happened.  Perhaps they were reminiscingon the time when Jesushealed blind Bartimaeus, or when He raised Lazarusfrom the dead, or when he delivered the man who would cut himself because he was possessed by demons.  They surely talked about those things, then their conversation ledto even more heartacheas they realized it was their own religious leaderswho were responsible for His death.  Not only did He die, the people they trustedfor their spiritual well being were guiltyof His murder.

Besides having a broken heart, they probably felt betrayedas well. 

¹⁵ While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew nearand went with them. 

Oh, what a Savior! Even as we are wallowing in our despairand heartbreak, Jesus draws nearer to us and goes with us.

¹⁶ But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. 

But isn’t that verse just astounding.  Jesus was with them, but they did not seethat He was.  Wouldn’t everything changeif they recognized that Jesus was with them.  That is what they were all bent out shape about to begin with.

• Heartbreakprevents us from seeingthatJesus is near.
• Heartbreak prevents us from having hopeand expectation.

¹⁷ And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. 

The second thing Jesus does afterdrawing nearis addressthe issues regarding their conversation.  He puts them in check.  What is this conversation?

• Why are you speaking doomand gloom?
• Why have you not believed mewhen I said that the Son of Man will be crucified but then will riseagainon the third day?
• Why have you not believedthe promises of God?
• Why are you having this conversationwhich is only making you and everyone around you heartbroken?

Before we are too hard on Uncle Cleoand his friend, we must check our heartas well. 

• Are we so wrapped up in the sadnessof our heartbreak that we do not allow the Joyof the Holy spirit to lift us?
• Are we contributing to our heart acheby the conversationsthat we are having others?
• Do we magnify our heartbreaksover the Onewho has the power to mendour brokenness?

¹⁸ Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?” ¹⁹ And he said to them, “What things?” 

Jesus is fully awareof what things they were referring to, yet he allows them to pour outtheir hearts to Him regarding their distress.  He not only draws near, He not only goes withthem, but He listensto them as He is a loving Saviorwho cares deeply for us. 

And they said to him, “Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰ and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹ But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. 

Here we see the reasonfor their heart brokenness. 

We know that Uncle Cleoand his friend were followers of Christ.  They had witnessedall the great things that Jesus has done while He was with them. They had high anticipationsthat Jesus was indeed the messiahthey had been waiting for.  For many Jews were anticipating the messiah would come and some even believed that the messiah would deliverthem from the brutality of the Romans.

But then Jesus was betrayed, mocked, beaten, and even crucified. He died, and He was not supposedto die.  Well at least that is what many believed.  His death left many feeling heartbroken. 

In addition, these two guysat least heard Jesustalking aboutrisingagain on the third day as they referredto it.  Being it was the third dayand they still did not see Jesus(even though He was right in front of them) even that promiseseemed to fall short in their eyes. 

Has anyone ever been there before? When things do not happen as they are supposed to happen?

You believe the scriptures that say:

Joshua 24:15“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

But your kids are far from God, and your spouse has no interest either.

You believe in the promises of the bible:

Psalms 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Yet you are still single, you are still heartbroken.

                  Psalms 33:3 “But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me, my glory and the lifter up of mine head.”

                  Yet you are still affected by the virus or other health complications.

Genesis 2:24 “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

And you look at your marriage and it is the furthest picture from oneness.

Psalms 23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

But then when you experience death of a loved one, the thought of him being with us is drowned out by grief and despair.

What to do when things don’t go as they were supposed to go? What to do when we experienceheartbreak?

• Do we rewrite God’s wordto make it reflect our lives?
• Or do we allow God to rewriteour lives to line upwith His Word?

Were these two men going to allow their sadnessand their heartbreaktooverride the promise of God’sword? Were they to settlein the fact that Jesus had diedand that was it, their hope was gone?

Or were they going to believeHis promise that he would rise againon the third day.  We can take comfortin thepromises of God.  Though you may not see itat the moment, You can be assuredthat His promises are yes and amen. They continuewith their discourseto Jesus.

²² Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, ²³ and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴ Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.” ²⁵ And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believeall that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus getsto the rootof their sadness.  He says it is because they did not believe in their heart. In their case they did not believe the old testament prophetswho spoke of both Christ’s sufferingand His entering into glory.  Ultimately, they did not believe in the promises of God.

That is exactly what happened to the Israelitesas they were coming out of Egypt.  Somewhere along the way they stopped believingthat God was able to bring them to the promise land consequently many did not get to see it.

²⁸ So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, ²⁹ but they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰ When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. ³² They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” 

What was it that turned their heart acheinto gladness? From these last few verses we see a few stepsthat these two mentook to get to leave behind the place of heartbreakand enter into a place of joyouscelebration.

1. They found themselves in a more private settingwith Christ.Whereas before they were walking on the road togetherand did not recognize Christ, now they have welcomed Jesusinto theirhomewhere they can have more private conversation. It was there Jesus revealed Himself.

(I know this to be true with my kids and when I am driving)

The first principle is this:  You need toget off the road of businessand find some alone timeto be with Christ. It is there that He will reveal himselfto you and speak to youand you will hearHis voice. His voice can calm the raging sea, His voice can mend the brokenhearted.  His voice is as the voice of a shepherdwhich calms the distressed sheep.

2. While they were in a more private setting, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them.It was this act which openedthe eyes of the two disciples.  They remembered the lasttime Jesus broke  It was during the Passoverright before Jesus sufferedon the cross. 

Luke 22:14-16

¹⁴ And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

When Jesus broke the breadin Luke 22, He was telling His disciples that He would sufferand that His body would be brokenjust as that bread was broken. When He breaks the bread in chapter 24,He is letting them know that He has overcome suffering. 

Isaiah 53:4-5

⁴Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.  ⁵But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we arehealed.

The 2^ndprinciple is this: Remember what the Lord has donefor you and allowHim to heal you.  Remember how he suffered to bear our griefsto carry our sorrows, to forgiveus of our sins, to give us peaceand to bring healingand wholenessto our lives.  He did it for our benefit. He was crushedso that you don’t have to be.   **Your freedom is found in the suffering of Christ.**

³³ And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, 

Anotherimportant aspectof overcoming a broken heart is this: It says that they found the eleven.  Eleven what? The 11 other believers, 11 disciples of Christ minus the backstabbing Judas.  It also says that they were gathered together. 

There is something unexplainablethat happens when believers come together.  There is a healingthat takes place in our hearts when believers get together, and it is not foundanywhere else. It is why we are called the body of Christ.  When part of my body hurts, the rest of it reaches outto help mend the hurting.  So, it is with the body of Christ. 

Nothing will cure depressionor a broken heartfaster than being around other believerswho are filled with the love of God. 

Over this past yearwe can see this even more clearlythan before.

We were created to be together, it is why the writer of Hebrews writes

                  Hebrews 10:24-25

²⁴And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, ²⁵not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

                  Principle #3Meet togetherwith other believers, don’t isolateyourself.

³⁴ saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” ³⁵ Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

There is an even greater freedomthat comes as we begin to declare the goodnessof Jesus to others.

Notice the dramatic differencethese two have experienced.  They go frombeing reprimandedfor their conversation, to using their conversation to declarethe goodness of God. 

Principle #4  We must tell others what God has done for us

Recap:

• You need to get off the road of business and find some alone time to be with Christ.
• Remember what the Lord has done for you and allow Him to heal you,

Your freedom is found in the suffering of Christ.

• Meet together with other believers, don’t isolate yourself.
• We must tell others what God has done for us