April 9, 2026

Yada in Hebrew means "to know", which culturally represented a convenant relationship, often a marriage. When Christ says "ye never knew me" (Matthew 7:23), it means those whom He was speaking to had not entered into a covenant relationship with Him. Eternal life is knowing God (John 17:3) - in other words, living in a covenant relationship with Him.

I often wondered why Christ would say "ye never knew me" to people who worshipped and preached His name. To me, it seemed harsh. However, with the cultural and historical understanding of yada and the intimate, covenantal relation it entailed, it's clear that we must enter into a revenant relation with the Lord. Why would we not want to have that relationship and those blessings?