Knowing Jesus

We hear a lot of people talk about “knowing Jesus” or “knowing the Lord,” but have you ever wondered what that means? When I looked it up in Scripture, I was surprised to learn that the greatest emphasis is actually on Jesus knowing us!

“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!’” – Matthew 7:21-23

Here’s some things I learned from this Scripture about Jesus knowing us…

Not Everyone. People are reluctant to say anyone is wrong or will be lost, but Jesus said, “Not everyone…” Sadly, some people will be lost. Later, Jesus said that actually “many” will not be known by Him. It’s a warning to do self-examination!

Not All Confessors. “Just confess that you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you’ll be saved” is a common approach to salvation among many churches today. What did Jesus say?” Saying, “Lord, Lord,” (confessing who Jesus is) isn’t enough! It’s the believer who “does the will of My Father” who is His true, saved, follower. Yes, we must act on our faith with obedient action. If we don’t, at the judgment, Jesus will say, “I never knew you.” It’s another warning to do self-examination!

Not All Workers of Good. It’s hard to question relationships with God when someone (or we) is doing so much for Him! Jesus says that many will come to Him at the judgment telling about all the good things they did in His name. He doesn’t say they are lying – instead, Jesus says, “I never knew you…” People thought they knew Jesus and were serving Him, but they either hadn’t initially truly obeyed Jesus to establish a relationship with Him or they were doing things in His name He never wanted (therefore He didn’t recognized them). It’s another warning to do self-examination!

This isn’t to minimize the importance of learning about Jesus, but we must not forget to come to Him and serve Him on His terms. We want to know Him AND we want Him to know us!

DD