Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 7:23

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." — Matthew 7:23 (ASV)

Then I will profess to them—These words form a remarkable complement to the promise, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). The confession recognized there is more than lip service and implies the loyal service of obedience. The condemnation is pronounced not on those who have wandered from the truth, but on those who have been “workers of iniquity,” or, as the word more strictly means, of “lawlessness.”

These words remind us of those in Psalm 15:2–3 and Psalm 24:3-4. They are, perhaps, a transfer of what David spoke concerning his ideal earthly kingdom to the ideal of the kingdom of heaven, which Christ came to establish.