Jesus speaks in Matthew 7:17: “So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit” Verse 19, we read, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Then in verse 24, He uses the word everyone: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…” And then in verse 26: “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
But there in the middle is verse 21, Jesus begins another paragraph with Not everyone. Not everyone. That means, He’s about to pull some people out of the lineup. I picture a whole, long line of Christians, queued up to enter the pearly gates of Heaven. We’re all there with our feet approaching a golden sidewalk. Everyone in line. Every Christian in line for the attraction that has caught all of our eyes for a long time. We all have our eyes on what Paul calls “the prize”.
We sing:
Then in verse 24, He uses the word everyone: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock…” And then in verse 26: “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
But there in the middle is verse 21, Jesus begins another paragraph with Not everyone. Not everyone. That means, He’s about to pull some people out of the lineup. I picture a whole, long line of Christians, queued up to enter the pearly gates of Heaven. We’re all there with our feet approaching a golden sidewalk. Everyone in line. Every Christian in line for the attraction that has caught all of our eyes for a long time. We all have our eyes on what Paul calls “the prize”.
We sing:
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,
Sing His mercy and His grace,
In the mansions bright and blessed,
He’ll prepare for us a place.
Sing His mercy and His grace,
In the mansions bright and blessed,
He’ll prepare for us a place.
But Jesus arrives for judgment, and begins pulling some of us out of the line. Jesus shows up and yanks people to the side.
We sing:
We sing:
Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day,
Just one glimpse of Him in glory,
Will the toils of life repay.
Trusting, serving every day,
Just one glimpse of Him in glory,
Will the toils of life repay.
Let’s make this clear, we’re all in line. We’re all getting ready for eternity. We’re all calling on the Savior. Great chants are beginning: “Lord, Lord,” “Lord, Lord.” We’re all so worship-filled, anticipating the glory of being in the presence of the Light of lights. We look forward to seeing some of the light leaking through from the throne of God and the river and tree of life. We hear the faint voices of the apostles and martyrs.
We sing:
We sing:
Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open,
We shall tread the streets of gold.
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open,
We shall tread the streets of gold.
And Jesus starts plucking some of us out of the line. It’s not like when we get pulled to the side in the TSA line at the airport to be patted down or questioned about our luggage. In that case, we answer the questions and soon we’re still on our way to the concourse to await our flight. No, in this case, Jesus stands some of us to the side for another purpose, and we realize the song that we sang was hopeful, but not representative of eternity’s reality.
We sing:
We sing:
When we all get to heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory.
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory.
“When we all get to heaven”? Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
And those people pulled out of line begin to get nervous. Is my entry into the gate of solid pearl going to be delayed? Am I going to have to go to the back of the line? Or is He about to have an angel escort me to a different location altogether? Not everyone in this line will enter, He says.
And the pleading begins. Verse 22: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’”
Oh, now it seems that these Christians understand that belief alone was not enough. We don’t look at Jesus at this point and argue that we believed and that was all He told us to do. Suddenly, we get it - that He told us in Matthew 7 to hear and act, that He told us in Mark 16:16 to believe and be baptized. Now we make our cases based on our response and service.
Yes, now we want Him to take note of our spreading His Gospel and showing people the errors of their ways. Now, we want Him to give us credit for reaching out and helping others. The people on the side of the mountain would have understood prophesying, exorcizing demons, and performing miracles, but we could just as well substitute some of the things that are done in the name of Jesus, today.
Does begging make a difference once we’re pulled out of the line? Do we think Jesus doesn’t already know what we have done “in His name”? No amount of pleading, no amount of getting on our knees and begging, no amount of tears, no amount of respectful praise at this point will change His decision to yank me out of that line and send me tumbling into another destination forever.
Verse 23 (a very climactic line in His sermon): “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Who is He talking to? The people in the line to the pearly gate? No. Non-Christians who have already sat in torments awaiting the final day? No. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus speaks to Christians, believers, people who are praising Him. He’s talking to the ones He has pulled out of the line.
We thought we had our tickets in hand. We had our bags packed. We’ve looked forward to our Heavenly mansions. How disappointing to think we had it all wrapped up, only to realize that we have been practicing lawlessness. Jesus has pulled us out of the line. We’re not going to take this ride with the Creator.
When I was at Disney World for the 50 Teachers Celebration (2022), I was introduced to Zach Riddley. Riddley was the Imagineer who designed the $500 million Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction for EPCOT. It was opening on the day that he spoke to us, and that evening, 90 minutes after the park closed, we were surprised to walk into the ride with no waiting line at all.
The anticipation was pouring off of the teachers in the room. People were smiling from ear to ear. Some were in tears. We stood in that line, ready to ride the biggest ride of our lives, and we were going to ride it with its creator.
Had someone come to some of us at that moment to tell us we only thought we were qualified to ride, but that we were sadly mistaken, we would have been sorely disappointed. All of the applause, the smiles, the laughter, and the praise of Disney World and Zach Riddley would have stopped cold.
“But Zach, didn’t we earn this,” we might have said. “But Zach, we came all this way.” “But Zach, we’ve watched all the Marvel movies.” Some would do anything they could at that point to get to ride on Cosmic Rewind. I imagine some would have emptied their purses or jumped through hoops to buy their way back into the experience.
Zach, at that point, could look us in the eyes and tell us, “I don’t even know who you are.”
A $500 million ride through the stars with comic book heroes is not the same as admission into Heaven, so how much more does it hurt when we hear the voice of our Savior telling people, “I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
“Leave me…” We see that this is not just one person pulled from the line. Verse 22 indicates that He says this to many who plead with Him - many who thought they were going to enjoy the attraction of Heaven with the Creator. He says, “Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord…” Many.
Was it a lost cause, this following of Christ? Does He just randomly pluck you from the line? Is it a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why would Christ punish us in such a way?
No, as He explains. More than belief is called for. How did He put it in verse 21? “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
Aha! There it is: hearing and believing means righteously adhering to the will of the Father. We had better make sure that the traditions of the church are in line with God’s desires and instructions. We had better analyze our worship, our fellowship, our service, and our innermost thoughts, to confirm that we are doing the will of the Father who is in heaven.
Many fail to do that. Please don’t be one of the “not-everyone”s. Don’t be like the foolish man, building your house on a sandy foundation. Don’t be like the tree that produces bad fruit. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness instead. Build your house on the solid foundation of the Gospel. Stop blindly following a preacher, teacher, or false prophet; study the word of God so that you can know what His will is for you.
Did we connect the dots in this lesson? I hope we have seen that there is a flow to the ending paragraphs of Matthew 7 that guides us to understanding. I can appreciate the intent of the Christ here - that He wants the people on that mountain to put aside what they thought they knew about the coming Savior, what they had been taught by church leaders who promoted church traditions and did not speak with authority. Jesus wants no less from you and me today. It is the most inclusive lesson of them all - that one day, everyone will fall into the hands of the living God, who has the power to “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
And those people pulled out of line begin to get nervous. Is my entry into the gate of solid pearl going to be delayed? Am I going to have to go to the back of the line? Or is He about to have an angel escort me to a different location altogether? Not everyone in this line will enter, He says.
And the pleading begins. Verse 22: “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’”
Oh, now it seems that these Christians understand that belief alone was not enough. We don’t look at Jesus at this point and argue that we believed and that was all He told us to do. Suddenly, we get it - that He told us in Matthew 7 to hear and act, that He told us in Mark 16:16 to believe and be baptized. Now we make our cases based on our response and service.
Yes, now we want Him to take note of our spreading His Gospel and showing people the errors of their ways. Now, we want Him to give us credit for reaching out and helping others. The people on the side of the mountain would have understood prophesying, exorcizing demons, and performing miracles, but we could just as well substitute some of the things that are done in the name of Jesus, today.
Does begging make a difference once we’re pulled out of the line? Do we think Jesus doesn’t already know what we have done “in His name”? No amount of pleading, no amount of getting on our knees and begging, no amount of tears, no amount of respectful praise at this point will change His decision to yank me out of that line and send me tumbling into another destination forever.
Verse 23 (a very climactic line in His sermon): “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” Who is He talking to? The people in the line to the pearly gate? No. Non-Christians who have already sat in torments awaiting the final day? No. In Matthew 7:23, Jesus speaks to Christians, believers, people who are praising Him. He’s talking to the ones He has pulled out of the line.
We thought we had our tickets in hand. We had our bags packed. We’ve looked forward to our Heavenly mansions. How disappointing to think we had it all wrapped up, only to realize that we have been practicing lawlessness. Jesus has pulled us out of the line. We’re not going to take this ride with the Creator.
When I was at Disney World for the 50 Teachers Celebration (2022), I was introduced to Zach Riddley. Riddley was the Imagineer who designed the $500 million Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction for EPCOT. It was opening on the day that he spoke to us, and that evening, 90 minutes after the park closed, we were surprised to walk into the ride with no waiting line at all.
The anticipation was pouring off of the teachers in the room. People were smiling from ear to ear. Some were in tears. We stood in that line, ready to ride the biggest ride of our lives, and we were going to ride it with its creator.
Had someone come to some of us at that moment to tell us we only thought we were qualified to ride, but that we were sadly mistaken, we would have been sorely disappointed. All of the applause, the smiles, the laughter, and the praise of Disney World and Zach Riddley would have stopped cold.
“But Zach, didn’t we earn this,” we might have said. “But Zach, we came all this way.” “But Zach, we’ve watched all the Marvel movies.” Some would do anything they could at that point to get to ride on Cosmic Rewind. I imagine some would have emptied their purses or jumped through hoops to buy their way back into the experience.
Zach, at that point, could look us in the eyes and tell us, “I don’t even know who you are.”
A $500 million ride through the stars with comic book heroes is not the same as admission into Heaven, so how much more does it hurt when we hear the voice of our Savior telling people, “I never knew you; leave Me, you who practice lawlessness.”
“Leave me…” We see that this is not just one person pulled from the line. Verse 22 indicates that He says this to many who plead with Him - many who thought they were going to enjoy the attraction of Heaven with the Creator. He says, “Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord…” Many.
Was it a lost cause, this following of Christ? Does He just randomly pluck you from the line? Is it a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time? Why would Christ punish us in such a way?
No, as He explains. More than belief is called for. How did He put it in verse 21? “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.”
Aha! There it is: hearing and believing means righteously adhering to the will of the Father. We had better make sure that the traditions of the church are in line with God’s desires and instructions. We had better analyze our worship, our fellowship, our service, and our innermost thoughts, to confirm that we are doing the will of the Father who is in heaven.
Many fail to do that. Please don’t be one of the “not-everyone”s. Don’t be like the foolish man, building your house on a sandy foundation. Don’t be like the tree that produces bad fruit. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness instead. Build your house on the solid foundation of the Gospel. Stop blindly following a preacher, teacher, or false prophet; study the word of God so that you can know what His will is for you.
Did we connect the dots in this lesson? I hope we have seen that there is a flow to the ending paragraphs of Matthew 7 that guides us to understanding. I can appreciate the intent of the Christ here - that He wants the people on that mountain to put aside what they thought they knew about the coming Savior, what they had been taught by church leaders who promoted church traditions and did not speak with authority. Jesus wants no less from you and me today. It is the most inclusive lesson of them all - that one day, everyone will fall into the hands of the living God, who has the power to “destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
