I never knew you

 

On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’  But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ – Matthew 7:22-23 (NLT)

Too many of us, clergy and laity alike, partition the Word of God into boxes. Do you know that there was a time when Scripture was read as one continuous scroll? That in the synagogue, the Rabbi could speak just a word or a phrase, and the people would know to what he was referring.  

There was no bible, so the ancients had to memorize the scriptures.

Then some “wise men” thought it best to punctuate it, divide it, and number it, without consideration for the amazing connection between its parts. And we further break that connection in the way we read and perceive the written Word. It is oftentimes disjointed, and we miss out on the conjoined meanings of the elements scripture contains.

For instance, the verse above, together with the verse that immediately precedes it, are often viewed in isolation to everything else that is written in Matthew chapter 7. Not only that, in this chapter, Jesus is winding up His incredible sermon which He began way back in chapter 5. Yes, what Jesus is saying in chapter 7, started with the Beatitudes.

It is a culmination of His entire sermon. As a matter of fact, chapters 5 to 7, are a continuation of His teachings on the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus traveled throughout the region of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. – Matthew 4:23 (NLT)

On a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, Jesus concludes His sermon by calling on His followers and on all of us today, to make a choice – live by the teachings of wisdom or the teachings of vicious wolves disguised as harmless sheep. One way leads to the Kingdom, the other to destruction.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. – Matthew 7:21(NLT)

Jesus, throughout His sermon on the Mount, was giving His first century Hebrew audience and now us, a picture of the type of people who inhabit the Kingdom of Heaven; it’s a characterization of the Kingdom person, a true disciple.

A true disciple is one whose desire is to do the will of the Father in heaven. One who, above all else, wants God to have full control, not just in his life but the lives of every person. One who seeks God and His Kingdom first. One who longs for the lost to receive the salvation of Christ Jesus. One who prays, “your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” in earnest sincerity, so that God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – may take precedence in the lives of more and more people.

Beloved,

A Kingdom person does not judge others

A Kingdom person engages in effective praying

A Kingdom person follows the golden rule of “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you”

A Kingdom person willingly and gleefully travels the narrow, difficult road which leads to the gateway of life

A Kingdom person’s authentic actions produce good fruit, whatever he/she lays his/her hands on prospers

A Kingdom person “builds a house on solid rock”; though torrents and earthquakes assail, it doesn’t collapse

A Kingdom person can confidently call out “Lord! Lord!” assured that Jesus’ reply won’t be, “I never knew you.”

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “I never knew you” © October 8, 2025