On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?” And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:22–23)

The words of Jesus are striking because of the examples he chose. He did not speak of men who claimed his name while murdering, stealing, or blaspheming. If he had, there would have been no shock, for the judgment of God on such acts is obvious and expected. Instead he referred to prophecy, exorcism, and miracles. These were things his disciples themselves regarded as holy, things Jesus himself performed, and things he commanded them to continue. He wished to warn his hearers that merely claiming the highest ministries, things regarded as undisputedly godly, does not guarantee acceptance with God. Lawless men may claim to perform them, but they remain strangers to Christ. By this very logic the passage shows that such ministries are regarded as legitimate, and by extension it condemns with even greater severity those who refuse them or oppose them.

Faithless interpreters twist the text to a different conclusion. They treat it as if Jesus meant to put down miracles themselves, or as if this verse were written as a caution against pursuing them. They argue that if people who cast out demons and heal the sick may still be condemned, then miracles are at best unreliable and at worst dangerous. This perversion of Christ’s meaning serves their unbelief. It gives them a cover for their refusal to obey his command to heal the sick and work miracles in his name. They use it to exalt their own powerless religion, presenting avoidance as if it were orthodoxy, when in truth it is rebellion. Others use it to slander genuine believers. When they see Christians pray for the sick or confront demonic oppression, they smugly assume these are the sort of people Jesus warned against. By wrenching the verse from its context, they weaponize it against the works that Jesus himself performed and commanded. In all this they contradict the very logic of the passage.

Jesus’ reasoning requires that the works mentioned be understood as good. If he had cited murder or theft, everyone would agree that condemnation follows. The point would fall flat under its own triviality. His words would have no force, for the shock depends on the fact that prophecy, exorcism, and miracles are not evil but holy. They are the kinds of works that belong to the kingdom of God. The terror of the passage is precisely that men can seemingly engage in such exalted ministries and still hear him say, “I never knew you.” This is why the text cannot be used against miracles. To use it that way is to empty it of meaning.

In fact, the inclusion of these works in the saying demonstrates their legitimacy. Jesus constantly performed miracles of healing, deliverance, and nature. His ministry cannot be narrated without them. He commissioned the twelve to preach and to heal the sick, to cleanse lepers, to raise the dead, and to cast out demons. He sent out the seventy with the same charge. At the end he promised that those who believe would lay hands on the sick and drive out demons. Miracles are integral to the kingdom of God, natural effects that the reign of God breaking into the world. By choosing such works as examples, Jesus shows that they are good, honorable, and divinely authorized.

In his own words, if Jesus drove out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom had come upon them. Deliverance from demonic power was the very mark of God’s reign displacing the rule of Satan. He instructed his disciples to continue this ministry as part of their preaching of the gospel. To suggest that he here undermines the practice would be to set him against himself. Instead, the condemnation falls on those who practiced it in his name while living in lawlessness. They used his name without ever submitting to his authority. If such workers are condemned even while seeming to drive out demons, how much worse will it be for those who refuse the ministry altogether, who leave men tormented, or who go further and persecute those who obey Jesus in this matter.

The same logic appears in other forms of ministry. Paul wrote that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, even to make his imprisonment worse. But he did not reject preaching itself. He acknowledged the legitimacy of the work, even if the workers were corrupt, since the message could still reach hearers. In a similar way, false workers can claim to be associated with the ministry of miracles, but this does not refute the works themselves. Jesus never condemned prophecy, healing, or exorcism, but he condemned rebellious people who claim to exercise these ministries in order to appear legitimate.

Consider the implications for those who refuse or oppose miracles. If people who claim to engage in healing and prophecy may still be condemned as false followers, how much worse is the condition of those who never attempted such things, who dismissed them as unimportant, or who mocked them as fraudulent? Worse still is the fate of those who persecute Christians for healing the sick and casting out demons. They do not merely fail to obey Christ, but they set themselves against his example and command. If false followers who at least respect miracle ministry are judged severely, what shall be said of those who refuse miracle ministry altogether?

The warning, then, runs in two directions. On one hand, it warns against presumption. A man may claim to preach the gospel and pray for the sick, but remain a stranger to Christ if he is in fact faithless and disobedient. On the other hand, it warns against unbelief. A faithless man may excuse himself from obedience to Christ’s commands, pretending that he is orthodox and approved because he avoids miracles. His refusal is itself rebellion, and his condemnation is all the more certain.

Christians must pursue the ministry of miracles. That is the minimum. Murder, adultery, and theft are obviously wrong, so they do not need to be mentioned in this context. The point is that Jesus demands more than mere appearance. There must be genuine faith and obedience. People must know Christ and walk in his ways. They must not despise or neglect the works he commanded. Healing, deliverance, and miracles belong to the kingdom. To resist them is to condemn Jesus.