In this weeks parable, Jesus emphasizes two things: (1) hearing and (2) doing. Men hear, but few obey His commands. Knowing what is right is one thing—doing is quite another. Many know the Bible, but few practice it. In this passage, Jesus uses two words—wise and foolish. The measure of success and failure in the eyes of God is quite different than that of man.  Let’s read through it and see what comes to light.

Build Your House on the Rock

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”  Matthew 7:24-27 ESV

What are some of the gleanings that you get from Matthew’s version of the teaching?

Let’s take a peek at the version Luke recorded. Remember that Luke was not a witness of Jesus teaching the parable but did investigative work and interviewed many people to conclude with his book of Luke. Let’s see if there might be some more to the teaching that can benefit us…

Build Your House on the Rock

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? ⁴⁷ Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: ⁴⁸ he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” – Luke 6:46-49 ESV

What additional thoughts, messages or ideas do you get from Luke’s rendition?

 If we recall our study last quarter through the book of James we see the same reminder…

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. ²³ For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. ²⁴ You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. ²⁵ But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. – James 1:22-25 NLT

This week in our quiet times, in our bible reading. Let’s just pause and really ask the question… “am I willing to put into practice what I just read/heard?”. We have to realize that if we are not willing to do what we read and we just keep reading until we find something we feel like putting into practice, then we just might be leaning towards the behavior of the “foolish man who built his house on the sand.“

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.