What Jesus Doesn’t Know! Matthew 25:12

Depart From Me, I Never Knew You – Age of Laodicea

(All Scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated)

According to Matthew 24:36 the Lord Jesus confessed He did not know something:But of that day and hour no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.” One might ask, “The Bible claims that Jesus is the Son of God, God Himself. So He would know everything.” (See John 1:1, 14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8). Yes, the Bible rightly claims that Jesus is God! But He voluntarily restricted Himself concerning His Godly attributes (including omniscience, meaning all-knowing). As we are told in Philippians 2:7 and 8 (Good News Bible):

     ...of His own free will He gave up all He had, and 
     took the nature of a servant.  He became like a hu-
     man being and appeared in human likeness.  He was 
     humble and walked the path of obedience all the way 
     to death — His death on the cross.

Because Jesus lived as a fully human being, it can be said of Him in Luke 1:52, “And Jesus increased in [grew up into] wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

But this does not bring us to our featured Scripture and the theme of this Gem! The Scripture is Matthew 25:12, part of the Parable of the Ten Virgins. In that parable, the ten were waiting for the bridegroom to return when they would go out and welcome him. But he was late, and didn’t return until midnight. Five of the virgins were wise, and took extra oil for their lamps. But five were foolish and brought no extra with them. By midnight the lamps of all ten were getting low on oil. The five had extra, but the others did not. They asked the first five to share, but there was not enough oil to spare. So the second five went off to see if they could get fuel for their lamps. In the meantime, the bridegroom showed up and, welcomed by the five with bright lamps, went into the wedding feast behind locked doors. Here is Matthew 25:11 and 12: “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ” The parable is part of Jesus’ teaching about “…the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 25:1). And the point of it Jesus summed up in verse 13: “Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

What has this to do with the title of this Gem, What Jesus Doesn’t Know!? It has to do with what He said to the five foolish virgins, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.” (Matthew 25:12). What did He mean when He said,…I do not know you…”?

  • Jesus did not mean that He didn’t know all about them! For it says in John 2:23 through 25:
         Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, 
         during the feast, many believed in His name when 
         they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did 
         not commit Himself to them, because He knew all 
         men, and had no need that anyone should testify 
         of man, for He knew what was in man.

He knew this, as He walked upon this earth as a human being, because God taught Him by the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit! (See Psalm 139:1-4). And also “…because God does not give the Spirit in limited measure to Him.” (John 3:34 – International Standard Version). We too are to be filled with, taught, and led by the Spirit. Jesus told His disciples in John 14:26, “…the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things….” The Apostle John in I John 2:27 (Good News Bible) wrote this:

     But as for you, Christ has poured out His Spirit on 
     you. As long as His Spirit remains in you, you do not 
     need anyone to teach you. For His Spirit teaches you 
     about everything, and what He teaches is true, not 
     false.
  • Jesus said to the five virgins, I do not know you,because…
         ✞   ...they were not His true followers!   

         ✞   ...they were not born again!  As Jesus said 
             in John 3:3 and 5, “Most assuredly, I say to 
             you, unless one is born again, he cannot see 
             the kingdom of God...he cannot enter the king-
             dom of God.✞   ...they were not God’s children!  According 
             to John 1:12 and 13:

                 ...as many as received [Jesus Christ]
                 ...to them He gave the right to become 
                 children of God, to those who believe 
                 in His name; who were born, not of blood, 
                 nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the 
                 will of man, but of God. 

         ✞   ...they were not of the same family!  The Lord 
             told the Pharisees in John 8:44, “You are of 
             your father the devil, and the desires of your 
             father you want to do.If you are not born 
             into God’s family through faith in the Lord 
             Jesus Christ, then what was told to the Phar-
             isees applies to you!  

         ✞   ...they did not have the Holy Spirit!  It is 
             as Paul wrote in Romans 8:9, “Now if anyone 
             does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not 
             His.
  • This was not the only time people heard the words, “I do not know you.” In Luke 13:23 through 30 Jesus answered a question of one of His followers: “Lord, are there few who are saved? ” Here is part of His answer from verses 25 though 28:
         When once the Master of the house has risen up 
         and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside 
         and knock...saying, “Lord, open for us,” and He 
         will answer...“I do not know you, where you are 
         from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and 
         drank in Your presence, and You taught in our 
         streets.” But He will say, “I tell you I do not 
         know you, where you are from.  Depart from Me, 
         all you workers of iniquity.” There will be weep-
         ing and gnashing of teeth....

What tragedy to hear those words from the Lord Jesus, I do not know you….Depart from Me…you workers of iniquity….! It means the one to whom those words are directed will forever be shut out of heaven and cast into hell! Yes, Jesus knows fully all the details of our lives. And knowing this, He gave Himself to be the all-sufficient sacrifice to cleanse us from our sin and to give us His own perfect standing before the Father. But it must be personally appropriated by each individual!

Make sure you are His and He is yours! That way you will never be what Jesus doesn’t know!