The Most Profound Aspect of Jesus Saying “I Never Knew You!”
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
I just preached this message on Sunday, and in studying the passage, I saw something there that I had not noticed in my 35-plus years of ministry. I have quoted this passage thousands of times, but I did not see it. And yet, it is just so obvious.
Most of the time, the lesson we derive from Matthew 7:21-23 is that there will be people who believe they have a right to enter the Kingdom based upon their religious activities and behavior, but will be rejected. This interpretation is true, but in stopping there we miss something.
Consider the context.
Jesus is talking about false teachers. They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). They teach a double standard. Their message is the opposite of the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12). They have rules for themselves that differ from those for everyone else. This type of double standard is the typical way people think, not just religious leaders (Matthew 7:13) and that common thinking is the path to destruction.
It’s the false prophets who say “Lord, Lord.”
It is these false prophets who are the ones claiming entry to the Kingdom based on religious activity. Imagine yourself looking out on the audience Jesus is speaking to. There are fishermen, farmers, carpenters, shepherds, servants, housewives, and children. The crowd represents a wide spectrum of everyday Jewish life. But also, over on the side is a cadre of religious leaders looking at the crowd and at Jesus with suspicion. For them, Jesus represents a threat to their status and their influence on the people. He does not disappoint. Can you see people in the crowd turn a glance toward the Pharisees as Jesus warns against the false prophets?
He asks the crowd to focus on the way that these prophets live. Do their private lives reflect the message that they preach? Paul made his case to Timothy to continue in the faith based upon this principle in 2 Timothy 3:14-15.
But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
This is why a church is so important. While not every church member can have a deep intimate relationship with their pastor, they can live in a community with them. You can know his lifestyle, temperament, family life, and personal reputation. The disciples knew Jesus in this way.
Jesus is the judge.
But we still have not gotten to the most remarkable part of the passage. Imagine that you are a Jewish man or woman seated in the crowd and Jesus says,
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!
It’s the first-person singular pronouns of the passage that are shocking! Me and I.
Jesus boldly says that entry into the Kingdom comes through Him–personally. This is fairly early in His ministry. This might be the first time a crowd like this heard such a clear and bold claim from Jesus.
All who enter the Kingdom must justify their entry to Jesus. Not only that, Jesus is the One who will reject many from entry into the Kingdom.
The common Jew sitting in the audience gets the message. Jesus is the Messiah. He is the King and entry into the Kingdom is on His terms, not the terms of the Pharisees sitting nearby.
To the religious leaders, they just received a double slap in the face. Not only is Jesus saying that they are false prophets and will face judgment rather than eternal blessing, but this Galilean carpenter is also boldly states that He is the One who will judge them! This claim was a tsunami hitting the first-century theological world.
And the standard for entering?
The standard for entering the Kingdom is not religious behavior or personal acts of righteousness. Those are specifically discounted. There is only one standard for entering the Kingdom. That is doing the will of His Father. What is it that the Father wills us to do? After all, Jesus said it is NOT doing what the Pharisees were telling people to do.
The standard for entering the Kingdom is whether Jesus knows us or not.
This is not an intellectual knowledge. Jesus knew everyone in that crowd intellectually. He is omniscient. He has detailed knowledge of everything. The knowledge Jesus is talking about here—and how the first-century audience would have understood it—is the knowledge of relationship. We when trust Christ He is in us and we are in Him. We become the Sons of God. We become joint-heirs with Christ. We are in the family. We have relationship. He knows us.
Entry into the Kingdom is determined by Jesus alone and whether He knows us as sons of God. It is a profound gospel message.
Audio version of this article: The Most Profound Aspect of Jesus Saying “I Never Knew You!”