Matthew 7:23

I Never Knew You

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ^a‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who ^bdoes the will of My Father in heaven.

22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we ^anot prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’

23 And ^athen I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; ^bdepart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Build on the Rock

24 “Therefore ^awhoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:

25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:

27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that ^athe people were astonished at His teaching,

29 ^afor He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Commentaries:

Adam Clarke

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Matthew 7:23

Will I profess - , I will fully and plainly tell them, I never knew you - I never approved of you; for so the word is used in many places, both in the Old and New Testaments. You held the truth in unrighteousness, while you preached my pure and holy doctrine; and for the sake of my own truth, and through my love to the souls of men, I blessed your preaching; but yourselves I could never esteem, because you were destitute of the spirit of my Gospel, unholy in your hearts, and unrighteous in your conduct. Alas! alas! how many preachers are there who appear prophets in their pulpits; how many writers, and other evangelical workmen, the miracles of whose labor, learning, and doctrine, we admire, who are nothing, and worse than nothing, before God, because they perform not his will, but their own? What an awful consideration, that a man of eminent gifts, whose talents are a source of public utility, should be only as a way-mark or finger-post in the way to eternal bliss, pointing out the road to others, without walking in it himself!

Depart from me - What a terrible word! What a dreadful separation! Depart from Me! from the very Jesus whom you have proclaimed in union with whom alone eternal life is to be found. For, united to Christ, all is heaven; separated from him, all is hell.

**Other Adam Clarke entries containing Matthew 7:23:**

Luke 13:25

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Matthew 7:24 >>

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