“I Never Knew You”
Could there be anything more tragic than finally standing before the King of kings and Lord of lords only to hear Him say, “Depart from Me. I never knew you”?
The sad, sobering truth is that Jesus warned His followers that there will be many who hear Him say those terrible words. Many who claim to be Christians. Many who use His name. Many who prophesy. Many who perform miracles.
Many will be shocked to learn it was all in vain, because, despite the works they had done and words they had said in Jesus’ name, they never sought a real relationship with Him.
“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)
Some of the rejected will be people who even cast out demons in Jesus’ name. The New Testament gives us an example about a group of such men: Seven brothers who tried to unseat a demon using the holy name they had heard about but didn’t personally know.
“But, Who Are You?”
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the account of the “Seven Sons of Sceva.” According to Acts 19:13-20, this group of brothers were “itinerant exorcists,” meaning they traveled around trying to cast out evil spirits from demon-oppressed people. Sounds like a valuable service, right?
Events took a drastic turn, however, when the brothers “took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘We exorcize you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.’”
Did you catch that? “By the Jesus whom Paul preaches…” We can’t have a second-degree connection and expect a first-degree relationship with Christ.
As it was clear these men had no personal relationship with the Lord, the demon almost comically replied, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” The demon-possessed man then proceeded to attack the impostors so violently that “they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
A secondhand relationship
is no relationship at all.
Compare these brothers’ results to those experienced by true disciples who were personally appointed and sent out by Jesus. Luke 10:17 tells us, “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’”
Not a Magic Charm
There’s an even more ancient example of things going badly for people who experienced God’s presence without establishing a relationship with Him.
In the Old Testament, 1 Samuel 4 recounts a Philistine victory over the Israelite army. The elders of Israel decided that the best way to avoid another loss was to “‘bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord from Shiloh to us, that when it comes among us it may save us from the hand of our enemies.’” (1 Samuel 4:3, nkjv).
These elders did not inquire of the Lord as to why He had allowed their defeat or what they should do next. Neither did they discuss the ark in terms of carrying God’s presence with them into battle. Instead, they were looking for a quick fix by way of a religious relic, placing their trust in the ark itself—like a magic charm—rather than seeking their covenant God YHWH, their true source of victory.
Fashioned of acacia wood
and covered in gold,
they treated the ark like
a common idol made by human hands.
No surprise, the ark in and of itself failed to save the Israelite army, and the Philistines took another victory—along with the ark.
The victors soon would wish they had left this treasure behind.
Not Another Idol
Whether as a trophy to commemorate their victory or as yet another idol for their pantheistic worship, the Philistines set up the ark of God in the temple of their fish-god Dagon. Now things really started to get interesting, as YHWH did begin to show forth His presence and power among the Philistines.
As a side note, I recommend you read 1 Samuel 5:1-5 for yourself just because the story is so terribly entertaining. Here’s how it goes…
Each morning when they opened their temple, the pagan priests found that Dagon had fallen face down before the ark of the LORD. Each time, they righted the statue—only to find it prostrate before the presence of the LORD again the following morning. A bit more of the idol broke off with each fall until eventually all that was left of their “god” was its headless, armless, tail-less torso.
The false god, Dagon, wasn’t the only one who would be humiliated among these pagans: “Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.” (1 Samuel 5:6, bsb) The Ashdodites quickly realized their affliction was the work of the God of Israel, and they wasted no time in handing off their prize to other Philistines in Gath… where “the hand of the Lord was against the city with a very great destruction; and He struck the men of the city, both small and great, and tumors broke out on them.” The men of Gath hurriedly passed off the ark to the men of Ekron who “cried out, saying, ‘They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people!’” (1 Samuel 5:8-10)
After carving a months-long path of disease and destruction throughout the towns of Philistia, these pagans had finally had enough. They hitched up the ark to a couple of cows, loaded it with golden rats and tumors as a sort of perverse trespass offering, and sent it off down the road toward Israel.
But, wait! More destruction was yet to come, this time among the Israelites… God’s own people.
Irreverence Brings Repercussions
The people of Beth Shemesh were the first in Israel to see the cart approaching with the ark, and 1 Samuel 6:13 tells us, “they rejoiced to see it.”
Beth Shemesh was a city of Levites, the priestly tribe of Israel. So, as soon as the cart arrived, “they split the wood of the cart and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 6:14) They were off to a great start!
Now, God had chosen to meet with and speak to the high priest from the mercy seat that rested on top of the ark (Exodus 25:22). The ark was meant to be kept in a special area of the tabernacle (later, the temple) called The Holy of Holies or The Most Holy Place. Only the high priest of Israel was allowed to enter The Most Holy Place and approach the ark, and that, only once a year in order to make a sacrifice for the people.
Three things were kept inside the ark:
- The stone tablets on which God had written the 10 Commandments
- The rod of Aaron that had budded
- A jar of manna
Sadly, the men of Beth Shemesh decided to see for themselves what was inside the ark. Why not? Even though they weren’t high priests themselves, they were of the tribe that all the priests came from. Surely that was close enough to make it okay for them to approach the ark of God. Besides, out there in the borderlands, who would know they had taken a peek?
Well, God knew. And soon, all of Israel would, too.
“Then He struck the men of Beth Shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck fifty thousand and seventy men of the people, and the people lamented because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.”
1 Samuel 6:19
Disheartened and afraid, those who were left in Beth Shemesh handed off the ark to the men of Kirjath Jearim. There it sat for 20 years, while the Israelites built idols and altars to the demon-deities that the Canaanites served. Yet somehow, at the same time, “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.” (1 Samuel 7:2) Like the crowds that Jesus criticized in John 6:26, these people only wanted what they could get from Him.
Half in and half out, they had
no real relationship with God.
At the end of those 20 years, the prophet Samuel spoke to the people, encouraging them to return to the worship of the one true God:
“‘If you return to the LORD with all your hearts,
then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths
from among you, and prepare your hearts for the LORD,
and serve Him only, and He will deliver you
from the hand of the Philistines.’”
1 Samuel 7:3
Persecutor Turned Proclaimer
Perhaps the most dramatic conversion recorded in the Bible is when Jesus interrupted Saul’s self-appointed mission to arrest Christians in the city of Damascus. Known as the Damascene Conversion, Jesus appeared to Saul (soon to be renamed Paul) and redirected the trajectory of his life to become God’s “chosen vessel” to the Gentiles, and he dedicated his life to proclaiming the name he once persecuted. (Acts 9:15)
This persecutor turned proclaimer “Immediately preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20) and eventually became the New Testament’s most prolific writer, being divinely inspired to pen 13 books of scripture. The man who was once zealous for the law of Moses now passionately preached the supremacy of Jesus over that old covenant. (2 Corinthians 3:7-9
An “Unknown” God
Now a passionate preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul’s missionary journeys took him to Athens. There, “his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.” (Acts 17:16) Of particular note was an altar dedicated “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.” (Acts 17:23)
Like the Philistines of old, these first-century pagans tried to incorporate a god they didn’t know into their pantheistic worship and multi-god mentality… not out of reverence for the true God but more of a “just in case.” Wouldn’t want to miss out on a deity that might benefit them in some way.
Paul therefore “preached to them Jesus and the resurrection.” (Acts 17:18), warning them to repent and turn from their idols to the one true Creator and Sustainer of all.
Who Is He to You? …Do You Know Him?
What about you? Do you know Jesus? Paul admonishes those who call themselves believers to, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
- Maybe you consider yourself a Christian because you grew up going to church with your mom or dad. Salvation doesn’t work that way. You can’t be grandfathered in to the Kingdom of God, and keeping Jesus as a “family friend” does not equate to a personal relationship with Him. You must make the decision for yourself to receive Jesus as your Savior.
- Maybe you throw out a prayer when things are tough, asking someone or something—the universe—to help you. But, you have no relationship with the God of the universe—the One who created you and wants you to be your Father so that He can be your ever-present help in time of need.
- Maybe you know nothing at all about Him, and you came across this message by accident. You should know that there are no accidents in God’s kingdom. You’re here, reading this, by God’s design. Consider this your sign that He loves you and is calling you to give your life to Jesus and be restored to relationship with Him.
- Maybe you’re here because you truly love Jesus and want to go deeper in your relationship with Him. You want to walk more closely with Him, pray His will more fervently and live for Him more fully. I know I do!
Wherever you are—or aren’t—in your relationship with Jesus today, He invites you to come closer, go deeper and live more fully for Him.
Let Us Pray…
Father God,
I thank You that You invite me into relationship with You. Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die for me so that I could be restored to life and right relationship, free from the barrier of sin that separated us.
God, I recognize Your holy Son, Jesus, as the only way to be forgiven, and I commit to Him today as the Lord of my life and Savior of my soul. I pray that You would fill me ever more fully with Your Holy Spirit, that I may hear Your voice more clearly and obey You more willingly.
I pray You would help me recognize and set aside any and all idols in my life—that I may know You. Prepare my heart to serve You only. Give me a heart that seeks You first in all things, whether trouble or joy, knowing that a personal relationship with You is where I will find true and lasting peace.
In Jesus’ saving name I pray,
Amen
Photo by Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash
Seated at His Feet 