Known by Jesus — TDW Kids

Knowing Jesus for Real

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Jesus warned that some people will call Him “Lord, Lord” and still hear Him say, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:21-23). So what does it mean to really know Jesus, and to be known by Him?

Knowing about or knowing? You can know facts about a famous person without ever meeting them. Many people know facts about Jesus. Jesus wants friendship, not just facts.

The Good Shepherd. Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). Jesus loves His sheep enough to die for them.

He knows His sheep. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (John 10:27). Knowing Jesus means listening to Him and following Him.

Called by name. A shepherd in Israel knew each of his sheep. Jesus said the shepherd “calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3). Jesus knows your name.

Eternal life is knowing God. Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).

Philip's lesson. Philip had walked with Jesus for years, yet Jesus asked, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?” (John 14:9). Being near Jesus is not the same as knowing Him.

God sees the heart. God told Samuel, “for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Jesus is not fooled by nice words.

Saying and doing. Jesus asked, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). People who know Jesus want to obey Him.

Love leads to obeying. “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Obeying does not make Jesus love us. It is how we love Him back.

Love came first. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Jesus started the friendship.

Children of God. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). Bestowed means given as a gift.

What we learn. Being a Christian is not a list of words or good deeds. It is knowing Jesus and being known by Him.

What to do. Talk to Jesus every day this week like a friend. Tell Him about your day, and read one story about Him in the Gospels.

Matthew 7:23 turns on one word: “I never knew you.” The Greek verb ginōskō (say: gih-NOH-skoh) means to know by experience, the way you know a friend, not just facts on a page.

Known, not just noticed. Jesus is God, so no fact about anyone is hidden from Him. When He says “I never knew you,” He means He never had a relationship with those people. They knew His name; they never trusted Him.

Shepherd and sheep. In John 10 Jesus describes the relationship He wants: “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (10:27). Hearing, being known and following belong together. The shepherd “calls his own sheep by name” (10:3).

Eternal life defined. John 17:3 does not first describe eternal life as a length of time. It describes it as knowing “the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” Eternal life begins now, the moment a person comes to know Christ.

Near but not knowing. In John 14:9 Philip, after years with Jesus, still had not understood who He was: “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” Even close followers keep growing in knowing Jesus.

Judas. Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve whom Jesus sent out to heal the sick and cast out demons. Yet he betrayed Jesus. Works done in Jesus' name did not prove that he knew Him. That is 7:22 in real life.

Saying and doing (Luke 6:46). “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” Calling Jesus Lord means He is in charge. A Lord who is never obeyed is only a title, not a relationship.

The heart. “The Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). The people of 7:22 pointed to outward works. God was looking for hearts that trusted Him.

Love and obeying. John 14:15 joins them: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” First John adds, “And His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Obeying that flows from love is freedom, not a heavy load.

Known as children. “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1). To be known by God is to be brought into His family.

He loved first. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Knowing Jesus does not start with our effort. It starts with His love reaching us.

Application. Knowing Jesus grows the way any friendship grows: time together, honest talk and trust. Read one Gospel chapter a day this week and ask what it shows you about Jesus.

Everyone Who Comes Is Welcome

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Jesus' warning in Matthew 7:21-23 is serious, but it is not meant to scare anyone away from Him. Jesus wants every person to know Him, and He gives the invitation Himself.

Come to Me. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Heavy laden means carrying a heavy load.

Never turned away. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). Jesus will never turn away anyone who comes to Him, not for any reason.

The Father's will. Jesus said the people who enter the kingdom do “the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Then He told us what that will is: “that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life” (John 6:40).

Even children. “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14). You are never too young to come to Jesus.

Never too bad. God did not wait for us to become good. “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

He knocks. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).

How to come. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

A new family. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

You can be sure. “He who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life” (John 5:24). The word is has. Everlasting life begins the moment you trust Him.

No condemnation. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Condemnation means being judged guilty.

What we learn. The door to Jesus is open to everyone. Nobody is too young, too old or too bad to come to Him.

What to do. If you have never trusted Jesus, you can talk to Him right now, and then tell a parent or pastor. If you already belong to Him, thank Him that He will never cast you out.

Jesus' warning in 7:21-23 comes with an open invitation. Just before it, Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate” (7:13). The gate is narrow, but it is a gate, and Jesus Himself holds it open.

The Father's will. The Greek word for will is thelēma (say: THEL-ay-mah), what someone wants and plans. Matthew 7:21 says that those who do the Father's will enter, and John 6:40 uses the same word to tell us what that will is: “that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life.”

Faith is the doing. When a crowd asked Jesus what works God wanted, He answered that the work of God is to believe in the One He sent. Doing the Father's will begins with trust, not with a list.

John 6:37. “By no means” is a very strong way of saying never. The one who comes is held by both the Father's giving and the Son's keeping: “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me.”

Matthew 11:28-29. Jesus invites the tired: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.” The Judge of 7:23 is the same gentle Savior of 11:29.

Mark 10:14. Jesus “was greatly displeased” when His disciples tried to keep children away. Children do not have to wait until they are grown to belong to Him.

Romans 5:8. God's love does not wait for us to clean ourselves up: “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Revelation 3:20. Jesus spoke these words to a church that had grown lukewarm. Even to people who already used His name, He stood knocking, offering real friendship around a shared table.

Assurance (John 5:24). The believer “has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Eternal life is already the believer's, and the passing from death into life has already happened.

Can I know I belong? John wrote his first letter so that people who believe in Jesus may know that they have eternal life. The warning of 7:21-23 is for people trusting their own record. The promise is for everyone trusting Christ.

Fruit follows. “Every good tree bears good fruit” (7:17). Changed desires, love for God's Word and wanting to obey are signs of new life, not the price of it (Ephesians 2:10).

Application. If you are unsure whether you know Jesus, do not wait. Come to Him today, and talk with a parent or pastor. If you know Him, thank Him that He will never cast you out.

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