“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts
on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that
house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 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. The rain fell, and the floods came, and
the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its
fall.” (Matthew 7:24–27, NASB95)
For those in His audience who had been listening intently,
the words of verses 21-23 must have been astounding. In these verses Jesus
declares Himself not only as Lord, but also as the gatekeeper to heaven. In verses 24-27 Jesus concludes His message
with a powerful illustration. This illustration is possibly one of the better
known ones in the Bible, especially by children as He compares the outcome of
the lives of those who listen and believe what He had just said with those who choose
to ignore His words in favor of their own desires.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Ann Omley’s song
(1948, public domain) sung inspired by these verses with all of its motions,
ranging from simple hand movements to some renditions which have been even more
extreme. I must admit that I even went to YouTube in order to watch the song
being sung with what I have known as the more traditional accompanying hand
motions. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched.
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
But the house on the Rock stood firm.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
The rains came down and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand fell flat.
So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ,
So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ,
So build your life on the Lord Jesus Christ,
And the blessings will come down.
The blessings come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings come down as your prayers go up,
The blessings come down as your prayers go up,
So build your life on the Lord.
Jesus said anyone who hears and acts upon His words is like the
wise man who builds his house upon the rock—the solid ground. This association
between the rock as solid ground and Jesus Christ as the firm foundation for
our faith is not only used comparatively by Jesus himself, but is affirmed
elsewhere in Scripture. Paul used it to speak of the Jews coming out of
captivity when some followed by faith and others didn’t and were purged. “For I
do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the
cloud and all passed through the sea; and all were baptized into Moses in the
cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the
same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which
followed them; and the rock was Christ. Nevertheless, with most of them God was
not well-pleased; for they were laid low in the wilderness.” (1 Corinthians
10:1–5, NASB95) In these verses we are told of the obvious presence of God and His
expectation of them to walk by faith. God had made Himself known is so many ways,
and still large numbers did not believe and perished—lost in the sands of the
desert. Twice Paul stated that this lesson of the Jews disobedience was given
as an example so that we would not desire evil as they did (verses 6 and 11).
He also said it was given as an instruction so that we might not do the same.
Having lived through a major earthquake and observing great
destruction, we appreciated that the house we were renting was built upon solid
ground with a good foundation. Everything
in the home was literally thrown from where it was, but the house stood sound. There
were many other homes which did not do so well, especially some that were built
in areas where dirt had been brought in to fill the land before construction.
These homes suffered from what is known as liquefaction, which is basically the
ground turning to mush bringing greater and even total destruction in some
cases. There have been other earthquakes where this destruction was even more
dramatic. When this happens it doesn’t matter how well the developer and/or
contractor had thought he had done his work, the movement of the earth proves
otherwise.
Another picture that comes to my mind is the sand castles
that we have so much fun building on the beach. Here I don’t believe there is
anyone who seriously thinks that the castle will be there the next day. Once
the tides change and the ocean waves come in the castle is destroyed. It was
built knowing that it would not last. To Jesus’ audience He was saying that if
you build your life on anything other than the truths that He had just shared
that you would be building your life like a house that will not stand.
Jesus had repeatedly told His listeners to seek the kingdom
of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33), and to work knowing that our
reward is in heaven and not in the present as with the hypocrites. In Him we are
instructed that we have an eternal inheritance which cannot be taken away. In
Matthew 6:19-20 He said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up
for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and
where thieves do not break in or steal;” (Matthew 6:19–20, NASB95) And in 2
Corinthians we find these bodies that we live in pictured as a tent which will
pass away, but then for those whose trust is in Christ we read, “For we know
that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building
from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians
5:1, NASB95) In Revelation 21 we read of our eternal dwelling place—a new
heaven and a new earth in which the eternal dwelling place of God is with man
and there will be no walls or gates keeping us from His presence. There are so
many other verses of Scripture we can look to which speak of Christ being our certain
and firm foundation that will never fail or fall.
In Christ, we not only have an eternal assurance which
cannot be shaken, but we also have the firm hand of our ever-present God
keeping us such that we will not be swept away in the meantime. “Therefore,
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus
Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this
grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans
5:1–2, NASB95) And in 2 Timothy we read, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of
God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His….” (2 Timothy
2:19a, NASB95)
His listeners had to make a choice which is the same choice
all mankind has had to make. Would they hear His words and place their trust in
Him being saved inheriting eternal life in His presence, or would they reject
Him and His salvation and subject themselves to eternal judgment in the presence
of the Destroyer? What kind of foundation are we going to rest in? Christ is
the certain and sure foundation, the rock of our salvation, and our eternal
hope. Everything else is like shifting sand and will never withstand the
judgment of our perfect God and His gatekeeper—His Son, Jesus Christ.
“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:23, NASB95) … “The
rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that
house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
“When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed
at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as
their scribes.” (Matthew 7:28–29, NASB95)
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into
being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come
into being.” … “And the Word became
flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten
from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1–3, 14 NASB95)
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