What did Jesus mean when He said, “I never knew you. Depart from me”?

Answer

Jesus said, “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” «And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. », (Matthew 7:23). It seems strange to hear our all-knowing Lord say there’s something—or someone—He doesn’t know. Jesus refers not to an intellectual knowledge here but to a relational knowledge.

To understand a verse, always start with the context. Jesus is wrapping up His Sermon on the Mount with a final warning about true faith. Jesus predicts that false Christian prophets will be coming as wolves in sheep’s clothing « Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. », (Matthew 7:15). They may use all the right “God talk” and even make impressive displays of power, but they will not belong to the Lord:

“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!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).

In Jesus’ words on Judgment Day, we see several important truths: it’s not a verbal claim that one follows Jesus that saves « Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter intoTo enter the kingdom of heaven, one must do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). Mere adherence to Christianity is insufficient for salvation. It is not displays of spiritual prowess that save (verse 22). A person may appear pious to others but still be considered an “evildoer” by God and be cast out from His presence (verse 23). Only those who follow the Father’s will and are recognized by God will gain entry into heaven.

So, what is the Father’s will? Some individuals once approached Jesus with a query about God’s expectations: “They asked him, ‘What must we do to do the works God requires?’ Jesus replied, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent'” (John 6:28-29). God desires us to have faith in His Son: “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” “And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.” (1 John 3:23). Those who are reborn through faith in Christ will manifest good deeds to honor God “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10).

When Jesus declared, “I never knew you,” to the insincere disciples, He signified that He never acknowledged them as His true followers or friends. He shared no common ground with them nor did He endorse them. They were not His kin (Mark 3:34-35). Christ did not reside in their hearts “that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love.”

, (Ephesians 3:17), nor did they have His mind «For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.», (1 Corinthians 2:16). In all these ways and more, Jesus never knew them. Note that Jesus is not breaking off the relationship here—there was never a relationship to break off. Despite their high-sounding words and showy displays of religious fervor, they had no intimacy with Christ.

So it turns out that what matters isn’t so much that we know God on some level, but that God knows us. As Paul explained, “Whoever loves God is known by God” (1 Corinthians 8:3;also see Galatians 4:9). The Lord “tends His flock like a shepherd” «He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. », (Isaiah 40:11), and He knows who are His sheep «I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. », (John 10:14).

Those somber words “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” in Matthew 7:23 (KJV) show that Jesus is indeed omniscient. He did not “know” them in the sense He would if they were His followers, but He knew their hearts—they were full of iniquity! Isaiah’s condemnation of hypocrisy fits this group well: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” «Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me».

Far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: », (Isaiah 29:13). The evildoers whom Jesus does not know are counterfeit Christians, deceitful instructors, and nominal followers of religion.

Those who are commanded to depart from the presence of the Lord will not share in the blessings of the kingdom: “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” «For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. », (Revelation 22:15). They will be cast “into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” «But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. », (Matthew 8:12). Those counterfeit Christians whom Jesus says He never knew will not bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23); instead, they will produce the opposite, the works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21).

Jesus warns that one day He will say to a group of religious practitioners, “I never knew you.” God takes no pleasure in sending people to hell «The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. », (2 Peter 3:9). But those who are instructed to depart have rejected God’s eternal purpose and plan for their lives «But the Pharisees and lawyers rejectedThe counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized by him. », (Luke 7:30). They have spurned the light of the gospel «in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. », (2 Corinthians 4:4), choosing darkness instead, because their deeds were evil «And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. », (John 3:19). At the judgment, they try to justify themselves as worthy of heaven based on their works (prophecies, exorcisms, miracles, etc.), but no one will be justified by their own works «knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law no one shall be justified. », (Galatians 2:16). While claiming to do all these good works in Christ’s name, they failed to do the only work of God that counts: “to have faith in the one he sent” «Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. », (John 6:29, CEV). And so Jesus, the Righteous Judge, condemns them to eternal separation from Him.