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

I just preached this message on Sunday, and in studying the passage, I saw something there that I had not noticed in my 35-plus years of ministry. I have quoted this passage thousands of times, but I did not see it. And yet, it is just so obvious.

Most of the time, the lesson we derive from Matthew 7:21-23 is that there will be people who believe they have a right to enter the Kingdom based upon their religious activities and behavior, but will be rejected. This interpretation is true, but in stopping there we miss something.

Consider the context.

Jesus is talking about false teachers. They come as wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). They teach a double standard. Their message is the opposite of the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12). They have rules for themselves that differ from those for everyone else. This type of double standard is the typical way people think, not just religious leaders (Matthew 7:13) and that common thinking is the path to destruction.

It’s the false prophets who say “Lord, Lord.”

It is these false prophets who are the ones claiming entry to the Kingdom based on religious activity. Imagine yourself looking out on the audience Jesus is speaking to. There are fishermen, farmers, carpenters, shepherds, servants, housewives, and children. The crowd represents a wide spectrum of everyday Jewish life. But also, over on the side is a cadre of religious leaders looking at the crowd and at Jesus with suspicion. For them, Jesus represents a threat to their status and their influence on the people. He does not disappoint. Can you see people in the crowd turn a glance toward the Pharisees as Jesus warns against the false prophets? …

Read the rest of this post here, or just listen to the podcast.

Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe