The Terrifying Difference Between Knowing About Christ and Being Known By Him
Scripture: Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23; John 6:37
The most frightening words in all of Scripture were not spoken by a condemning prophet or an angry judge. They were spoken by the Savior of the world. They were not spoken to atheists, pagans, or enemies of the faith. They were spoken to people who called Him “Lord.”
We live in an era of casual Christianity. We assume that showing up is enough, that knowing the vocabulary is the same as knowing the King. But in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ shatters that assumption. He draws a line in the sand that splits humanity not into “religious” and “irreligious,” but into “known” and “unknown.”
The question that will determine your eternity is not “Do you know Jesus?” The devils know Jesus. The question is: Does Jesus know you?
I. The Myth of the Crowd (Matthew 7:13-14)
Jesus begins by destroying the comfort of the majority.
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13–14, ESV)
Notice the geometry of salvation. There are two gates, two ways, and two destinations. There is no third option.
The Wide Gate: This is the default setting of the human race. It is “wide” because it accommodates everything—your pride, your preferred sins, your self-righteousness, and your cultural religion. You do not have to give up anything to enter the wide gate. You can bring your luggage. It is “easy” because it requires no striving, no death to self, and no distinctiveness. And the defining characteristic of this path is the crowd: “those who enter by it are many.”
The Narrow Gate: This gate is restrictive. It is “narrow” (stenos), meaning it presses against you. It scrapes off the baggage of self-rule. It is too small for you and your ego to fit through together. Jesus says the way is “hard” (thlibō)—literally compressed, confined, like a path between two crushing rocks. And the terrifying statistic is simple: “those who find it are few.”
The Surgical Strike: The Crowd Comfort Delusion
Here is the lie you believe right now: “I must be safe because I’m surrounded by people doing the same thing.” You look at your church, your culture, your friends, and you calibrate your spiritual safety by the norm of those around you.
But Jesus warns that the “norm” is destruction. If your Christianity costs you nothing—if it demands no death to reputation, no surrender of control, no separation from the values of the majority—you are not on the narrow path. You are blending seamlessly into the herd, drifting toward the cliff. The size of the crowd will not save you when the ground disappears beneath your feet. If you fit in perfectly with the world’s flow, you are flowing toward the fire.
II. The Insufficient Résumé (Matthew 7:21-22)
Jesus moves from the path to the person. He addresses the one who thinks they have “paid their dues.”
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, ESV)
The repetition “Lord, Lord” implies intimacy and passion. These are not people who ignore Jesus; they are people who vocalize Him. They are orthodox. They use the right title. They are fervent.
Then, Jesus reveals their defense on Judgment Day.
“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’” (Matthew 7:22, ESV)
Look at the résumé. It is impressive.
Prophecy: They spoke truth. They taught Sunday School. They preached sermons.
Exorcism: They engaged in spiritual warfare. They fought darkness.
Mighty Works: They did miracles. They served in the soup kitchen. They led the worship team.
This is the thriving church member. This is the active ministry leader. And yet, Jesus says this activity is not the ticket in.
The Surgical Strike: The “Ministry” Deception
You do this. When doubt creeps in at 3 AM, you silence it with your calendar: “I serve in the nursery. I give ten percent. I led that small group.”
Stop. Listen to the text. These people did miracles, and they are going to hell.
The test is not: “What have you done for God?” The test is: “Have you done the will of the Father?” The will of the Father is not busy hands—it is a bowed knee. It is surrender of the heart, not just service of the body. If you are relying on your résumé to save you, you are standing on a trapdoor. The wood is rotting beneath your feet. You can be busy for Jesus every day of your life and still be a stranger to Him.
III. The Fatal Verdict (Matthew 7:23)
Now comes the verdict. This is the interaction you must avoid at the cost of your life.
“And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:23, ESV)
These words are final. “Depart.”
Notice the reason. He does not say, “You didn’t do enough.” He does not say, “Your theology was slightly off.”
He says: “I never knew you.”
The Greek word for “knew” (ginōskō) here is relational, intimate knowledge. It is the knowledge of a husband for a wife, a father for a child. It is not intellectual data. Jesus obviously knew who they were—He is omniscient. He knew their names, their sins, and their “mighty works.”
But He did not know them in relationship. They were employees, not sons. They were fans, not followers. They used His name as a password, but they never gave Him their hearts. And because there was no relationship, He calls their religious activity “lawlessness” (anomia). Without intimacy, your religious activity is just sin in a choir robe.
The Surgical Strike: The Intimacy Void
Here is the hardest question you will ever answer: Does Jesus know you?
I don’t ask if you know facts about Him. I don’t ask if you have memorized His book. I ask: Is there a living, breathing, current relationship between your soul and the Savior?
If you walked into the home of a celebrity you admire—knowing all their movies, quoting their interviews, wearing their merchandise—they would call the police and say, “I don’t know you.” Information is not intimacy. Fandom is not family.
You cannot stand at the gates of eternity and point to a prayer you prayed at church camp, a baptism certificate in a drawer, or a Christian family tree. If there is no present-tense communion right now—no hearing His voice in the Word, no crying “Abba, Father” in prayer, no hatred of sin because it grieves Him—then you are a stranger. And the stranger’s destiny is “Depart.”
IV. The True Assurance (The Open Door)
The warning is terrifying so that the invitation can be glorious. Jesus does not expose the false path to crush you; He does it to save you.
If you are reading this and your heart is pounding—if you realize, “I have the works, but I don’t have the relationship”—then listen to the promise of the King.
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.” (John 6:37, ESV)
The Surgical Strike: The Binary Choice
The door is narrow, but it is open.
The terror of Matthew 7:23 (“Depart from me”) is answered by the promise of John 6:37 (“I will never cast out”).
The difference is the approach. The group in Matthew 7 came saying, “Look what I did.” The true believer comes saying, “I have done nothing. You did everything. I am yours.”
You stand at the crossroads right now.
Option A: Continue in the crowd. Keep your religious mask. Rely on your résumé. Hear “I never knew you.”
Option B: Drop the résumé. Admit your poverty. Walk through the narrow gate of total surrender.
Come to Him today—not with your works, but with your need. He will not turn you away. He cannot lie. The hand that will one day point “Depart” is extended right now to hold you. Take it.