Luke 13:25 kjv
When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
Luke 13:25 nkjv
When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,'
Luke 13:25 niv
Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
Luke 13:25 esv
When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us,' then he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'
Luke 13:25 nlt
When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Lord, open the door for us!' But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from.'
Luke 13 25 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Lk 13:24 | "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able." | Urgency and difficulty of kingdom entry, directly precedes and relates. |
| Mt 7:13-14 | "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide... that leads to destruction, and many who enter by it... The gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life..." | The "narrow door" theme, contrasting paths to salvation vs. destruction. |
| Mt 25:10-12 | "...the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I tell you, I do not know you.’" | Direct parallel, wise and foolish virgins, closed door, and definitive rejection. |
| Mt 25:41 | "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’" | Separation and eternal judgment, emphasizing irreversible exclusion. |
| Lk 16:26 | "And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able..." | Immovable barrier after death, emphasizing the finality of decision. |
| Heb 3:7-8 | "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion...'" | Call to respond to God's voice today, emphasizing immediate obedience. |
| Heb 3:15 | "As it is said, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.'" | Repetition of the urgency to respond to God without delay. |
| 2 Cor 6:2 | "For he says, 'In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I helped you.' Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." | Stresses the present moment as the crucial time for salvation. |
| Is 55:6 | "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near." | The period of "nearness" or "findability" of God is not eternal. |
| Prov 1:28 | "Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me." | Divine refusal to answer calls after a period of rebellion or delay. |
| Amos 8:11-12 | "Behold, days are coming... when I will send a famine on the land—not a famine of bread... but of hearing the words of the Lord... They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it." | Illustrates a time when access to God's word and presence is removed. |
| Ps 6:8 | "Depart from me, all you workers of evil, for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping." | Implies rejection by God for those who practice evil. |
| Jer 7:16 | "As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I will not hear them." | God's ultimate refusal to hear prayers for persistent disobedient people. |
| Mt 7:21-23 | "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom... Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord...?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me...'" | Emphasizes that mere profession or outward works are insufficient for recognition. |
| Jn 10:9 | "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture." | Jesus as the sole means of entry and salvation, making the "door" explicit. |
| Rev 3:20 | "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him..." | Shows Christ presently offering invitation, a stark contrast to the closed door scenario. |
| Jn 14:6 | "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" | Reiteration that Jesus is the only way to the Father, no alternative entry. |
| Rom 2:4-6 | "Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience... stored up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath...?" | Warns against presumption of God's patience leading to greater judgment. |
| Jud 1:6 | "And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—" | Example of irreversible judgment for those who abandon their place/opportunity. |
| Mk 13:35-36 | "Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come... lest he come suddenly and find you asleep." | Call to vigilance, readiness for the master's unexpected arrival. |
| Lk 12:47 | "That servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating." | Knowledge without corresponding action leads to greater judgment. |
| Mt 22:11-13 | "...saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’...Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness...’" | Expulsion from the feast due to lack of readiness or proper attire (righteousness). |
Luke 13 verses
Luke 13 25 Meaning
Luke 13:25 conveys a critical warning about the finite opportunity for entry into God's Kingdom. It depicts a master of a house, representing Christ or God, who definitively shuts the door to His dwelling. Those who delayed or failed to enter when the opportunity was available will then find themselves excluded, desperately knocking, only to be met with a decisive and deeply unsettling rejection: "I do not know where you come from." This verse underscores the urgency of repentance and faith, highlighting the finality of judgment and the dire consequence of procrastination in seeking the Lord.
Luke 13 25 Context
Luke chapter 13 begins with Jesus' teachings on repentance, linking current events (Galileans slaughtered by Pilate, tower of Siloam fall) to a call for immediate repentance ("unless you repent, you will all likewise perish"). He then presents the parable of the barren fig tree, emphasizing a limited time for bearing fruit before judgment. Following this, He heals a crippled woman on the Sabbath, facing criticism from the synagogue leader. This leads into the "mustard seed" and "leaven" parables, illustrating the small beginnings and pervasive growth of the Kingdom of God. Luke 13:25 itself is part of a discourse initiated by someone asking, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" (Lk 13:23). Jesus shifts the focus from the number of saved people to the struggle and urgency required for individual entry into the Kingdom (Lk 13:24, "Strive to enter through the narrow door"). This verse (Lk 13:25) describes the dire consequence of failing to strive for that narrow door in the opportune time, portraying a vivid image of desperate, late pleas for entry that are ultimately rejected. Historically, the audience would have understood the Jewish expectation of messianic times and the ingathering into the Kingdom, but Jesus challenged the assumption that this was automatic for all Jews, highlighting personal responsibility and genuine conversion.
Luke 13 25 Word analysis
- When once the master: "Once" (Greek: hōs an, expressing an indefinite time in the future but definitive action) emphasizes the singular, final, and non-negotiable nature of the master's action. "Master" (Greek: ho oikodespotēs, literally "the master of the house") signifies absolute authority and sovereign ownership over His domain.
- of the house: Refers to the household, the intimate dwelling, which in the context of the Kingdom parable, represents the Kingdom of God itself, or the place of salvation and communion with Christ.
- has risen: (Greek: egerthē, Aorist passive indicative of egeirō) indicates a definitive and completed action. The master has stood up from His seat, signifying a change from a state of waiting or openness to one of definitive action, possibly a position of judgment. It conveys finality.
- and shut the door: (Greek: kai kleisēi thēn thyran) "Shut" (kleisēi, Aorist active subjunctive of kleiō) denotes a deliberate, irreversible act of closure. "The door" (thēn thyran) is the specific, single point of entry. This imagery signifies the end of opportunity and the finality of exclusion.
- and you begin: (Greek: kai arxēsthe, Aorist middle subjunctive of archomai) The start of an action, here indicating the beginning of their futile attempts after the decisive moment.
- to stand outside: (Greek: stēnai exō, infinitive of histēmi and adverb exō) Physically being outside the boundary, demonstrating complete exclusion from the household/Kingdom.
- and knock: (Greek: kai krouein, present active infinitive of krouō) Suggests repeated and persistent knocking, implying desperation and a belated realization of their situation.
- at the door, (Greek: thēn thyran) Reinforces that their knocking is at the now-closed entrance.
- saying, 'Lord, open for us!' (Greek: legontes, Kyrie, anoixan hēmin!) A fervent and desperate plea, acknowledging His authority ("Lord," Kyrie), but tragically late.
- He will answer you, (Greek: Apokritheis erei humin) His response is authoritative and direct.
- 'I do not know where you come from.' (Greek: Ouk oida humas pothen este.) "I do not know" (Ouk oida) implies more than mere intellectual unawareness. In biblical usage, "knowing" often refers to an intimate, relational, and covenantal recognition (cf. Am 3:2; Ps 1:6; Jer 1:5; Mt 7:23). For the Master to say He "does not know" them signifies a fundamental lack of relationship, an absence of belonging, and non-recognition of them as His own. "Where you come from" (pothen este) questions their very origin or true identity in relation to Him, suggesting they are strangers.
Luke 13 25 Bonus section
The teaching in Luke 13:25 strongly aligns with the Jewish concept of "closing the gates of repentance" (implied, not explicit in scripture), where there is a time when the opportunity for sincere turning to God runs out. This verse directly counters any complacent view that salvation is guaranteed by lineage (for Jews) or simply by being exposed to the gospel (for all). The "door" can represent various opportunities or thresholds throughout one's life – the invitation to repent, the acceptance of Christ as Lord, or even the completion of a person's earthly life. It is not necessarily a single, historical "last day" event, but emphasizes the decisive and final nature of God's judgment relative to an individual's response to Him. The urgency is paramount: today is the day of salvation; tomorrow may be too late.
Luke 13 25 Commentary
Luke 13:25 serves as a profound warning from Jesus, emphasizing the critical importance of present-day decision and the finality of future judgment. The imagery of the "master" shutting the "door" conveys God's sovereignty over the timing and conditions of entry into His Kingdom. This is not a casual closing; it is a decisive, irreversible act marking the end of the opportunity for repentance and salvation. Those who once heard the invitation but procrastinated, neglected, or presumed upon grace, will find their fervent pleas after this moment to be in vain. The master's shocking reply, "I do not know where you come from," does not mean He lacks intellectual awareness of their existence. Instead, it signifies a total absence of an intimate, saving relationship. They are recognized not as His sheep or members of His household, but as complete strangers. This parable stresses that outward religious profession or mere physical proximity to God's people is insufficient; true entry requires an inward transformation and a responsive faith lived out during the time of opportunity, before the door is shut. It's a sobering call to urgency, highlighting that God's patience is not indefinite.