Matthew 7:23 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

I never knew you— To know frequently signifies, in Scripture, to acknowledge or approve. The meaning is, "Though I called you to be my servants, and you professed yourselves such, I never knew you to be such, nor approved of you. I knew indeed that ye were the slaves of other masters,—mammon, your own belly, and ambition; therefore, as your lives have been contrary both to my precepts and your own profession, I will have nothing to do with you." There is an incomparable dignity in this whole passage. The poor despised Jesus not only calls God his Father, but speaks as the eternal Judge, before whom men should plead and beg for their lives, dreading banishment from him as their final destruction. See Doddridge and Chemnitz.