Matthew 7:21-23

Judgment of Pretenders

7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ ¹  will enter into the kingdom of heaven – only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 7:22 On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons and do ²  many powerful deeds?’ 7:23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you. Go away from me, you lawbreakers!’ ³ 

Matthew 7:26-27

7:26 Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 7:27 The rain fell, the flood came, and the winds beat against that house, and it collapsed; it was utterly destroyed!” ⁴ 

Matthew 24:48--25:3

24:48 But if ⁵  that evil slave should say to himself, ⁶  ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 24:51 and will cut him in two, ⁷  and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 25:2 Five ⁸  of the virgins ⁹  were foolish, and five were wise. 25:3 When ¹⁰  the foolish ones took their lamps, they did not take extra ¹¹  olive oil ¹²  with them.

Luke 12:45-46

12:45 But if ¹³  that ¹⁴  slave should say to himself, ¹⁵  ‘My master is delayed ¹⁶  in returning,’ and he begins to beat ¹⁷  the other ¹⁸  slaves, both men and women, ¹⁹  and to eat, drink, and get drunk, 12:46 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, and will cut him in two, ²⁰  and assign him a place with the unfaithful. ²¹ 

Luke 13:25-30

13:25 Once ²²  the head of the house ²³  gets up ²⁴  and shuts the door, then you will stand outside and start to knock on the door and beg him, ‘Lord, ²⁵  let us in!’ ²⁶  But he will answer you, ²⁷  ‘I don’t know where you come from.’ ²⁸  13:26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ ²⁹  13:27 But ³⁰  he will reply, ³¹  ‘I don’t know where you come from! ³²  Go away from me, all you evildoers!’ ³³  13:28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth ³⁴  when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, ³⁵  and all the prophets in the kingdom of God ³⁶  but you yourselves thrown out. ³⁷  13:29 Then ³⁸  people ³⁹  will come from east and west, and from north and south, and take their places at the banquet table ⁴⁰  in the kingdom of God. ⁴¹  13:30 But ⁴²  indeed, ⁴³  some are last ⁴⁴  who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

Romans 3:23

3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:1

3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the value of circumcision?

Colossians 1:26-27

1:26 that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. 1:27 God wanted to make known to them the glorious ⁴⁵  riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[7:21]  ¹ sn The double use of the vocative is normally used in situations of high emotion or emphasis. Even an emphatic confession without action means little.

[7:22]  ² tn Grk “and in your name do.” This phrase was not repeated here in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:23]  ³ tn Grk “workers of lawlessness.”

[7:27]  ⁴ tn Grk “and great was its fall.”

[24:48]  ⁵ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

[24:48]  ⁶ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[24:51]  ⁷ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[25:2]  ⁸ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[25:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “Five of them.”

[25:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “For when.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.

[25:3]  ¹¹ tn The word “extra” is not in the Greek text but is implied. The point is that the five foolish virgins had only the oil in their lamps, but took along no extra supply from which to replenish them. This is clear from v. 8, where the lamps of the foolish virgins are going out because they are running out of oil.

[25:3]  ¹² tn On the use of olive oil in lamps, see L&N 6.202.

[12:45]  ¹³ tn In the Greek text this is a third class condition that for all practical purposes is a hypothetical condition (note the translation of the following verb “should say”).

[12:45]  ¹⁴ tn The term “that” (ἐκεῖνος, ekeino") is used as a catchword to list out, in the form of a number of hypothetical circumstances, what the possible responses of “that” servant could be. He could be faithful (vv. 43-44) or totally unfaithful (vv. 45-46). He does not complete his master’s will with knowledge (v. 47) or from ignorance (v 48). These differences are indicated by the different levels of punishment in vv. 46-48.

[12:45]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “should say in his heart.”

[12:45]  ¹⁶ tn Or “is taking a long time.”

[12:45]  ¹⁷ sn The slave’s action in beginning to beat the other slaves was not only a failure to carry out what was commanded but involved doing the exact reverse.

[12:45]  ¹⁸ tn The word “other” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.

[12:45]  ¹⁹ tn Grk “the menservants and the maidservants.” The term here, used in both masculine and feminine grammatical forms, is παῖς (pais), which can refer to a slave, but also to a slave who is a personal servant, and thus regarded kindly (L&N 87.77).

[12:46]  ²⁰ tn The verb διχοτομέω (dicotomew) means to cut an object into two parts (L&N 19.19). This is an extremely severe punishment compared to the other two later punishments. To translate it simply as “punish” is too mild. If taken literally this servant is dismembered, although it is possible to view the stated punishment as hyperbole (L&N 38.12).

[12:46]  ²¹ tn Or “unbelieving.” Here the translation employs the slightly more ambiguous “unfaithful,” which creates a link with the point of the parable – faithfulness versus unfaithfulness in servants. The example of this verse must be taken together with the examples of vv. 47-48 as part of a scale of reactions with the most disobedient response coming here. The fact that this servant is placed in a distinct group, unlike the one in vv. 47-48, also suggests ultimate exclusion. This is the hypocrite of Matt 24:51.

[13:25]  ²² tn The syntactical relationship between vv. 24-25 is disputed. The question turns on whether v. 25 is connected to v. 24 or not. A lack of a clear connective makes an independent idea more likely. However, one must then determine what the beginning of the sentence connects to. Though it makes for slightly awkward English, the translation has opted to connect it to “he will answer” so that this functions, in effect, as an apodosis. One could end the sentence after “us” and begin a new sentence with “He will answer” to make simpler sentences, although the connection between the two sentences is thereby less clear. The point of the passage, however, is clear. Once the door is shut, because one failed to come in through the narrow way, it is closed permanently. The moral: Do not be too late in deciding to respond.

[13:25]  ²³ tn Or “the master of the household.”

[13:25]  ²⁴ tn Or “rises,” or “stands up.”

[13:25]  ²⁵ tn Or “Sir.”

[13:25]  ²⁶ tn Grk “Open to us.”

[13:25]  ²⁷ tn Grk “and answering, he will say to you.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “he will answer you.”

[13:25]  ²⁸ sn For the imagery behind the statement “I do not know where you come from,” see Ps 138:6; Isa 63:16; Jer 1:5; Hos 5:3.

[13:26]  ²⁹ sn This term refers to wide streets, and thus suggests the major streets of a city.

[13:27]  ³⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:27]  ³¹ tc Most mss (Ì^75* A D L W Θ Ψ 070 Ë^1,13 Ï) have ἐρεῖ λέγω ὑμῖν (erei legw Jumin; “he will say, ‘I say to you’”) here, while some have only ἐρεῖ ὑμῖν (“he will say to you” in א 579 pc lat sa) or simply ἐρεῖ (“he will say” in 1195 pc). The variety of readings seems to have arisen from the somewhat unusual wording of the original, ἐρεῖ λέγων ὑμῖν (erei legwn Jumin; “he will say, saying to you” found in Ì^75c B 892 pc). Given the indicative λέγω, it is difficult to explain how the other readings would have arisen. But if the participle λέγων were original, the other readings can more easily be explained as arising from it. Although the external evidence is significantly stronger in support of the indicative reading, the internal evidence is on the side of the participle.

[13:27]  ³² sn The issue is not familiarity (with Jesus’ teaching) or even shared activity (eating and drinking with him), but knowing Jesus. Those who do not know him, he will not know where they come from (i.e., will not acknowledge) at the judgment.

[13:27]  ³³ tn Grk “all you workers of iniquity.” The phrase resembles Ps 6:8.

[13:28]  ³⁴ sn Weeping and gnashing of teeth is a figure for remorse and trauma, which occurs here because of exclusion from God’s promise.

[13:28]  ³⁵ tn Grk “and Isaac and Jacob,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.

[13:28]  ³⁶ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[13:28]  ³⁷ tn Or “being thrown out.” The present accusative participle, ἐκβαλλομένους (ekballomenous), related to the object ὑμᾶς (Jumas), seems to suggest that these evildoers will witness their own expulsion from the kingdom.

[13:29]  ³⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events in the discourse.

[13:29]  ³⁹ tn Grk “they”; the referent (people who will come to participate in the kingdom) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:29]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “and recline at table,” as 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away. The word “banquet” has been supplied to clarify for the modern reader the festive nature of the imagery The banquet imagery is a way to describe the fellowship and celebration of accompanying those who are included as the people of God at the end.

[13:29]  ⁴¹ sn The kingdom of God is a major theme of Jesus. It is a realm in which Jesus rules and to which those who trust him belong. See Luke 6:20; 11:20; 17:20-21.

[13:30]  ⁴² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

[13:30]  ⁴³ tn Grk “behold.”

[13:30]  ⁴⁴ sn Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last. Jesus’ answer is that some who are expected to be there (many from Israel) will not be there, while others not expected to be present (from other nations) will be present. The question is not, “Will the saved be few?” (see v. 23), but “Will it be you?”

[1:27]  ⁴⁵ tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (ths doxhs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”