Luke 24:13-27 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him…….25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?”27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

Have you heard the expression, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know?”  It is considered to be a key principle for success.  You can be the smartest person in the world, with the greatest idea, but if you don’t know the right people, that idea may never become more than just a cleaver thought.  This is true when it comes to eternity; it is not at all about what you know but all about who you “KNOW.”  I will explain more in a minute.

The two disciples in this text are very sad and are now traveling just days after Jesus’ crucifixion.  The men were going home to Emmaus, a town only about eight miles away from Jerusalem, but this would become the most significant trip of their lives.  The trip was made so memorable because of who they would come to KNOW, Jesus Christ.  Although they were both disciples and had met Jesus before, like so many people today they did not really KNOW Him. I just want to highlight a couple of things from this text that Jesus wants us to KNOW.

1. Jesus Is Always With Us, Even When We Don’t Think So: 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him……  These two disciples had just experienced the death of Jesus on the cross and they were in great despair.  All they can do as they begin life without Jesus, is attempt to console one another by talking about all that had just happened.  As they take the long walk home, they probably feel like the only two people in the world.  You can probably relate to them as they become frustrated with this bothersome stranger who has no idea about all the drama that has taken place in their lives.  In their hurt, pain and frustration, they did not realize that Jesus was the stranger desiring to accompany them on their trip.  They failed to understand that Jesus not only knew about their pain, but He had already remedied their situation.  Jesus is with us even at our weakest moments, and like these disciples, we don’t always recognize His presence.  Let this text remind us that even in our darkest hour Jesus is walking with us, He cares about us and desires to bless us and restore our hope.
2. Jesus Wants Us to See Him Everywhere In the Bible: 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.  Jesus did something that many of our Preachers today should be doing; breaking down the scripture to show us where Jesus is.  Jesus was in the beginning before the world was created and although His name is not mentioned in the Old Testament, God ensured that we can see Jesus everywhere in the bible.  Whether it is the story of Isaac, Joseph, the High Priest Melchizedek, Boaz or even “The Angel of the Lord;” it could be the many characteristics and or sacrifices of the Tabernacle, Jesus shows up all over.  The text says that Jesus expounded or thoroughly taught/explained in ALL of the scriptures, which during that time was ONLY the Old Testament.  Jesus wants us to know Him and see all of His promises and miracles in scripture.  This will increase our faith and empower us to walk freely in His victory.   All we have to do is ask Jesus to show Himself to us in scripture.
   Look at what happens when Jesus exposed Himself to the disciples in scripture.  32 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?”  Our hearts will burn too, like a consuming fire, when we see our savior all throughout the bible and in our situations.
3. Jesus Wants Us to Remember His Sacrifice: 30 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.31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.  Here the trip ended in a meal, but I am persuaded that this was no ordinary meal.  I believe that it is very important to Jesus that we remember the sacrifice that He made for us on the cross.  When we are reminded that all of our sins, sicknesses and diseases were laid upon Jesus at that cross and they were removed from us forever, we will have a new perspective on life.  Jesus told His disciples how to remember what He has done for us, we call it communion.  Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciple (Matt 26:26)….”Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (1 Cor 11:24).  You see when we remember what Jesus has done for us, we realize that His sacrifice will overshadow any problem or circumstance we will ever encounter.  His shed blood empowers us to trust and believe Him to supply our every need, whatever it may be.

Conclusion:  These two disciples followed Jesus during His ministry on earth, but it is obvious that there was so much they did not know about Him.  Jesus showed them so much about Himself in the scriptures.  He became intimate with them, exposing Himself in a way that they’d never seen before; then finally reminded them of His ultimate love sacrifice.  Now at their weakest moment their hope was restored and they were reenergized.  When they went in the house to break bread with Jesus it was evening and they had traveled all day, they were exhausted.  The distance between Jerusalem and Emmaus has been estimated anywhere between 7.5 to 9.1 miles, so it was at least a four to five hours trip.  Though it was late they quickly jumped up and hurried back along that long road to tell the other disciples about all that Jesus shared with them.  They thought they knew Him before, but now they really KNOW Jesus and if you KNOW Jesus, He is all you will need to know.