New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 7:23

The Narrow Gate

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ Matthew 7:23 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 7:23, in plain English

And Jesus will respond plainly: 'I never actually knew you. Go away.' Impressive resumes don't replace real relationship.

Why it's here

This is the most heart-stopping moment in the Sermon: all the activity in the world means nothing without genuine connection to Jesus.

Who's speaking

Jesus, revealing what ultimately matters.

Where it sits in the story

This is the wake-up call of all wake-up calls: knowing Jesus personally is the only thing that counts in the end.

A Closer Look

The scholarly reading

Jesus' devastating response: homologeo (I will declare plainly) that He never knew (egnon) them, dismissing them as ergazomenoi ten anomian (workers of lawlessness).

Language and setting

The word 'knew' (ginosko) implies intimate relational knowledge, not mere acquaintance; its absence reveals the core deficiency.

Voice

Jesus, pronouncing final judgment.

Significance

This reveals that the ultimate criterion is not performance but relationship: being known by Christ and knowing Him in return.

In context

Matthew 7:21–25

21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

23Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

25The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

Read all of Matthew 7 — Judge not, ask boldly, and choose the hard road. Jesus closes his great sermon with a storm that separates the wise from the foolish.

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