Matthew 7:24-27

G. THE WISDOM OF THE WISE AND GODLY MAN IN OBEYING JESUS
(Parallel: Luke 647-49)
TEXT: 7:24-27

24. Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them shall be likened unto a wise man, who build his house upon the rock:
25. and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon the rock.
26. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:
27. and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS

a. Why do you think Jesus put so much emphasis on doing what His words require?
b. Why do men applaud the Sermon on the Mount and yet fail to obey Jesus by trying to live up to what He teaches?
c. Why is it that many people accept Christ and begin to build on His word, and then fail to continue a life of faithful building?
d. Why do you suppose Jesus ended this tremendous Sermon this way?

PARAPHRASE AND HARMONY

Let me show you what those who come to me, listen to my words and act upon them are really like. They may be compared to a prudent men who, in building his house, had the good sense to dig down and go deep to lay the foundation on solid rock. The rain fell, the flood waters swept down, the winds blew. They pounded that house, but it did not fall. They could not even shake it, since it was well built and its foundations had been laid on bedrock. But he who listens to these my words but does not act upon them will be like the fool who built his house upon the sand without any foundation. The rain fell and the rivers swelled, the winds blew and hammered that house, and it collapsed immediately. The wreck of the house was complete!

SUMMARY

Blessed is the man who hears what Jesus has said, believes Him and acts upon it, for he has security for his soul that no crisis, no matter how great, can destroy! Woe is the man who fully knows what the Lord has said but ignores it and Him, for no security on earth. no matter how great, can protect him from all inevitable crises of this life and the terrors of the age to come!

NOTES

Matthew 7:24 Everyone therefore that heareth these words of mine. This is no mere summation of what goes before, although there is a direct connection with the argument on judging: you must discern the difference between merely hearing God's Word and putting it into practice. Further, Jesus is declaring the consequence of the acceptance or rejection of His teaching. ALL that Jesus has taught up to this point has indicated, illustrated and urged the perfection to which He would lead His disciple. But this conclusion challenges his response to the message: what will you DO about it? These words of mine is not a contrast to any other words of Jesus any more than of mine contrasts those of the apostles, for it was God's authority which stood behind anything else that Jesus might teach or that His apostles might reveal. These words of mine is merely His emphatic way of separating His own teaching from all human authority and of calling attention to Himself as the revealer of the final Word from God by which any man would be saved or lost, When compared with Jesus- wilderness struggle with Satan in that crisis of character (Matthew 4:1-11), this passage takes on more brilliance. In effect, He is saying: Even as I depended upon every word of God upon which to build my character and by which I overcame the tempter, even so you must depend upon my word as you prepare for your great crises of soul! Who is this who thus places His own message on a par with that God-given word revealed to Moses and the prophets, guaranteeing our moral safety in crisis if we do what He says? Every one that heareth. and doeth (Cf. Notes on Matthew 6:10; Matthew 7:21; see also Luke 8:21; John 6:29; John 6:40; John 8:31; John 8:47; John 8:51; John 12:26; John 12:47-50; John 14:15; John 14:21-24; John 15:14; James 1:22-25; 1 John 2:17; 1 John 3:22-24) Obedience is Jesus-' final test of our real loyalty and discipleship.

He shall be likened unto a wise man (cf. Matthew 25:2) who built his house. In this parable both builders understandably wish to locate their house near a source of water, since water in Palestine is very precious. This builder had the good foresight to construct his house upon the rock. Luke (Luke 6:48) seems to suggest that both houses were constructed in exposed positions, since a flood arose, the stream broke against that house. If Matthew and Like are recording the same story, it would seem that this wise builder dug deep before laying the foundation upon bedrock. Palestine is a country of rugged torrent beds especially from the central watershed east to the Jordan Valley. In the summer, during building season, these are dry, but in the winter rainy season they become ugly, raging torrents of racing water. The question of whether the wise builder were less far-sighted for his choice of a site so exposed to floods does not enter here, because in the real life application of Jesus-' story, there is no place where we may develop our character, protected from temptation and the crises which threaten to destroy us entirely. The point is not the wisdom or folly of choosing a site more or less exposed to floods, but of preparing for every eventuality by building upon the rock. Perhaps Jesus is identifying the rock as the Word of God, backed by the character of God and expressed perfectly in Jesus. (Cf. Deuteronomy 32:4; Deuteronomy 32:15; Deuteronomy 32:18; Deuteronomy 32:31; Psalms 18:2; Isaiah 28:16; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 1 Peter 2:6)

Matthew 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and It fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. The test of a building is not its striking beauty but the strength of its foundation. The picture changes from the hot, dry summer when the house was built, to the winter rains which swell the little creeks into roaring torrents which batter everything in its downward rush to the sea. The storm is anything that throws the soul into a crisis. It is any temptation to do anything other than what Jesus says. The proof of the durability of a life or character is not its outward manifestation only but its real formation according to Jesus-' word. if we have built ourselves, our character, our life, little by little by listening to Jesus-' words and by obeying Him, we will have fused into our habitual way of thinking the tremendous power of God, so that when the supreme crisis comes we stand as solid as the rock on which we have so securely fastened our life. The crisis may come unexpectedly, but when it does come the whole story of our life is told in a few seconds. Here there is no opportunity to pretend: either we stand or else we are morally destroyed immediately.

These very words begin to separate Jesus-' audience into two basic groups: those who would listen, believe and obey Him stand on the one hand. On the other, there are those who either have no intention of obeying Him or else those who have heard but will immediately forget, or those who promise but will not keep it up. (See Notes on Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 7:21; cf. Matthew 12:30)

Matthew 7:26 And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not. (Cf. Notes on Matthew 6:10; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 7:21) Not mere knowledge of the will of God makes a man a real Christian, but the practice of what he knows. (James 4:17; cf. James 1:22-27; Hebrews 10:26-27) Shall be likened unto a foolish man. (Cf. Matthew 25:2) Regardless of how sensible a man may be in all other affairs of his life, if he builds his whole life with all its eternally supreme value on something else than Jesus-' word, that man is a fool! Who built his house on the sand. To this, Luke adds (Luke 6:49) on the ground without a foundation. The sand is just as definite in meaning as its antithesis, the rock. If the rock refers to Jesus teachings, i.e. the Word of God, the sand is simply anything else which is used as the basis for one's life. Man could choose from any human philosophy he wishes, but Jesus says that as far as the outcome is concerned, they are all SAND. ALL is well as long as the sun shines, but this gives a false Sense of security, since before the storm both builders found their houses useful and relatively secure. But it is the crisis that demonstrated the true nature of the constructions. The man, who has not built his character, habits and attitudes upon God's Word, will go down immediately before some great crisis, no matter how strong is his will to stand, It is too easy to admire and quote Jesus-' sayings, but do we w them in our private lives, in our homes, on the job? Do we DO them so consistently that they form the basis of our basic viewpoints?

Matthew 7:27 And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew and smote upon that house. The same crisis arises but arrives at the second house with abated force, for whereas Jesus had described the first house built upon the rock as being beaten with terrific force (pospipto), He now pictures this house as being stumbled against (proskopto) by the tempest and flood. By these different words He may be suggesting that it takes much less a crisis to bring down a man whose life is not founded on God's Word revealed by Jesus. And it fell and great was the fall thereof. Jesus leaves His audience breathlessly listening to the reverberating crash of the wrecked house sounding in their ears, and watching the swirling torrent gouge away the sand and wash away the wreck of the structure. This is the tragedy of a disobedient life: decide where you stand in relation to my words!

FACT QUESTIONS

1. What is the right way to receive the revelation that Jesus gives?
2. Explain the various elements of the parable of the two builders.
3. What does Jesus call a man who will not do what He says?
4. Upon what do many people base their lives, other than the word of Jesus?