Knowing Jesus, Not Just Talking About Him

Let’s take a look at the sermon on the mount, which is covered in the Gospel of Mathew from chapter 5 through to chapter 7, we want to focus on what Mathew, (also know as Levi) witnessed Jesus giving us a prophetic warning.

So turn to Matthew 7

Matthew 7:21–23 NIVUK

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

Scripture is clear that salvation is entirely by grace through faith and not earned by good deeds.

However, God’s Word also reveals that those who are truly born again will reflect the fruits of the Spirit and a transformed life.

Matthew is writing an accurate account of the Sermon on the Mount, a collection of Jesus’ teachings recorded in the Gospel of Matthew.

In this specific account, it is a prophetic warning.

Jesus warns us to beware of false followers, who think that they are true believers, when in fact they are not.

You can pray for the sick, perform many miracles, prophesy, even cast out demons, but if your heart isn’t surrendered, it’s just power without presence, it’s words without relationship and actions without obedience. It means nothing.

Great works will not earn a person’s entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.

For true disciples to do the will of the Father means something more than mere action – it requires genuine faith in Him and to have a loving personal relationship surrendered to do His will.

The fact that Jesus never knew them means that they never had a true relationship with Him.

Matthew, also known as Levi, was one of the twelve apostles and a former Jewish tax collector, wrote his Gospel primarily to Jewish believers after A.D. 70, amid false prophets and conflict.

Jesus confronts those who outwardly profess faith in Him—crying “Lord, Lord”— without a heart to know Him and follow the Fathers ways.

The teaching was spoken by Jesus, near the sea of Galilee towards the end of the Sermon on the Mount.

He was addressing a crowd who had internal struggles with false religious leaders. The Sermon defines the character and actions required of us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The book of Matthew was particularly relevant to the Jewish Christians.

Jesus gave us the warning Not everyone who says Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven but only the ones who does the will of my Father in heaven. Meaning that saying the right words are not enough, you can call Jesus your master, but if you don’t live the way God instructs, your words are empty, and it amounts to nothing.

Throughout the bible true faith is not just something you say, but what you do James 2:17 ‘Faith without action is dead” Doing the fathers WILL is the genuine proof of knowing him. As Jesus taught in the previous verses. You can tell what kind of person someone is, by their fruit, actions and character. Not just their claims Matthew 7:15-20

And on the Final judgement they will say “Lord, lord didn’t we prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name and do miracles in your name? think about it, these were religious people. Some even powerful and with ministries teaching others about the word, and they thought their great works were their ticket to heaven.

But Jesus responds with ‘I never knew you, depart from me, you lawbreakers’ what a devastating line that would be. The key issue was not the quality of their works; it was the condition of their heart! Isaiah 29:13 “They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They were workers of lawlessness and showed disregard to Gods instructions, they may have used Jesus’s name to do good works, but they didn’t have a true and obedient relationship with God,

A true follower of Christ is known by their personal connection with Christ and a life of obedience (Christ-like character)

The central message of this verse is true discipleship versus the outward profession of faith.

Christianity is not about religious performance but about relationships – meaning that your life is surrendered to Gods will in other words having true discipleship.

This verse is very sobering in the message to the people, these words were not spoken to outsiders, but to people who thought they knew the Lord and were followers of Christ.

Saying Lord, Lord means nothing if our hearts remain far from him. This is repeated in the verses and shows the importance of having a personal relationship with him.

He is not impressed by our works, but wants faith, obedience and an intimate relationship with us.

Jesus warns against hypocrisy – whereby people perform miracles for show rather that doing acts that reflect you are transformed in your heart.

It is made clear in this passage that just doing works is not enough for salvation.

The key phrase is “I never knew you” and this is a very powerful phrase because in scripture the word “knowing” means an intimate relationship with the Lord and nor mere awareness of Him. These people used His names to perform the works BUT didn’t walk in His will or live in His ways.

We need to examine our hearts. Do we merely call him Lord or do we live as if he is truly our Lord and Saviour?

As it says in Matthew 7:24“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them , I will liken him to a wise man that built his house upon the rock”

Some of the Key truths in this passage are the following:

Salvation includes both faith and obedience – a heart transformed by grace will lead us to doing Gods will.

Works and spiritual gifts are not proof of salvation – as these can be done without true submission to God. We need to examine our motives and not just our actions. – we need to perform works for the will of God and not for our own gratification.

Our personal relationship with Jesus is key to our salvation – this is reflected in the words “I never knew you”