“I Never Knew You; Depart From Me”: What Jesus Meant in Matthew 7:21–23

发布于

29 9 月, 2026

摘要

Jesus says “I never knew you; depart from me” in Matthew 7:21–23, near the end of the Sermon on the Mount, to people who call him “Lord, Lord” and point to prophecy, exorcisms and miracles done in his name.
He does not deny their works. The test he gives is doing “the will of my Father who is in heaven,” and the next verses, the house on the rock, say what that means: hearing his words and doing them.
In the Bible, to “know” someone often means to choose or claim them; “never knew” means these people never belonged to him. The Greek word for “never” means not at any time.
Luke 13:25–27 has a parallel: a shut door, people who ate and drank with Jesus, and the reply “I do not know where you come from.”
The traditions differ on two questions: whether a Christian can be sure now of being saved, and whether grace, once given, can be lost. Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Methodist teaching hold that it can be lost and regained through repentance; Catholic teaching calls for firm hope rather than certainty of faith; the Reformed teach that true believers can be assured and never finally fall away.
The people in the passage plead their own record and never ask for mercy; the same sermon teaches Jesus’ hearers to pray “forgive us our debts,” and every tradition described keeps a way back for those who fall or doubt.

Jesus says “I never knew you” to people who call him “Lord, Lord” and point to miracles done in his name. The words come near the end of the Sermon on the Mount. He does not deny the miracles. “Knew” means claimed as his own: they never belonged to him. His test is doing “the will of my Father.” “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will…

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参考书目（点击显示）

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (Psalm 6:8; Amos 3:2; Matthew 5:1–2, 5:3–10, 5:44, 6:6, 6:9–14, 7:13–29, 10:1–4, 12:50, 25:10–12; Luke 6:46–49, 10:17–20, 13:22–30; John 6:37, 6:40, 10:14; Galatians 4:9; 2 Timothy 2:19), via BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/
The Holy Bible, King James Version (Matthew 7:21–27), via BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A21-27&version=KJV
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (Matthew 7:21–23; Luke 13:27), via BibleGateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207%3A21-23&version=SBLGNT
Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and related entries: οὐδέποτε (Strong’s 3763), ὁμολογέω (Strong’s 3670), ἀνομία (Strong’s 458), Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/greek/3763.htm; https://biblehub.com/greek/3670.htm; https://biblehub.com/greek/458.htm
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