“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
Parallel translations
- WEB “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things which I say?
- KJV And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
- BSB Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say?
- NASB “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
- NLT “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus confronts those who profess Him as Lord yet do not obey Him. True discipleship unites confession with obedience.
Overview
This pointed question exposes empty profession that lacks corresponding action. Calling Jesus 'Lord' demands genuine submission to His word, not mere words. While salvation is by grace, true faith is never idle; it bears the fruit of obedience to the Lord it confesses, as the following parable illustrates.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Gal 6:7Don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
- Matt 7:21–23Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
- Mal 1:6“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? Says Yahweh of Armies to you, priests, who despise my name. You say, ‘How have we despised your name?’
- Luke 13:25–27When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’
- Matt 25:44“Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
- John 13:13–17You call me, ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord.’ You say so correctly, for so I am.
- Matt 25:24“He also who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you that you are a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter.
- Matt 25:11Afterward the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 6:46 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.