Matthew 7:21-23

Matthew 7:21-23

[21] Not  every one  that saith  Lord,  shall enter  into  the kingdom  of heaven;  but  he that doeth  the will  Father  which is in  heaven.  [22] Many  will say  in  that  day,  Lord,  not  prophesied  in thy  name?  and  in thy  name  have cast out  devils?  and  in thy  name  done  many  wonderful works?  [23] And  then  will I profess  unto them,  I never  knew  depart  from  ye that work  iniquity. 

What does Matthew 7:21-23 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Matthew 7:15-20 deal with false prophets, but Matthew 7:21-23 deal with false followers. The repeated cry of these false disciples reveals their fervency.
"In Jesus" day it is doubtful whether "Lord" when used to address him meant more than "teacher" or "sir." But in the postresurrection period, it becomes an appellation of worship and a confession of Jesus" deity." [1]
Obedience to the Father"s will determines entrance into the kingdom, not professed admiration for Jesus. This is the first occurrence of the phrase "my Father" in Matthew. By using it Jesus was implicitly claiming to be the authoritative revealer of God. During Jesus" ministry, doing the will of God boiled down to believing that Jesus was the Messiah and responding appropriately ( John 6:29). [2] Note that entrance into the kingdom was still future; the kingdom was not yet present. Judgment will precede entrance into the kingdom.
Jesus claimed to be the eschatological Judge (cf. John 6). This was one of Messiah"s functions (e.g, Psalm 2). "That day" ( Matthew 7:22) is the day Jesus will judge false professors. It is almost a technical term for the messianic age (cf. Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:17; Isaiah 4:2; Isaiah 10:20; Jeremiah 49:22; Zechariah 14:6; Zechariah 14:20-21). "In your name" means as your representatives and claiming your authority. Obviously it was possible for false disciples to prophesy, exorcise demons, and perform miracles in Jesus" name (e.g, Judas Iscariot). The authority of His name (reputation) enabled them to do Song of Solomon , not their own righteousness or relationship to Him. Many onlookers undoubtedly viewed these works as good fruit and evidence of righteous character. However these were cases of tares that looked like wheat (cf. Matthew 13:24-30).
Jesus Himself would sentence the hypocrites to depart from His presence ( Matthew 7:23). [3] Thus Jesus claimed again that He is the Judge who will determine who will enter the kingdom and who will not. This was a decidedly messianic function. The quotation from Psalm 6:8 puts Jesus in the place of the sufferer whom God has vindicated and who now tells those who have done Him evil to depart from His presence. Moreover He will say He never knew these false professors. Many people deal with holy things daily yet have no personal acquaintance with God because they are hypocrites. It is their failure to bow before divine law, the will of God, that renders them practitioners of lawlessness and guilty.