Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock

 

 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'  

 

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

 

- Matthew 7:22-29 

 

We have been reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7).   Today's reading (above) completes the Sermon; we began with the Beatitudes in this reading.  Yesterday we read that Jesus taught: "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.  Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  You will know them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.   Therefore by their fruits you will know them.  Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven." 

 

  "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?'  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"  My study Bible couples together this verse with the one above it from yesterday's reading:  "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."  These two verses combine to make a threefold testimony of the deity of Christ, it notes.  First of all, Jesus calls Himself Lord here.  This refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.  He also speaks of the will of My Father; this will He fully knows and shares, and that is only possible for One who is also a divine Person.  Finally, as judge, He is revealed as God, for only God can execute true judgment.  In that day refers to the final judgment.

 

 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."    Jesus makes a similar statement in Luke 6:46-49.  My study Bible comments that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, for salvation is based not on hearing alone, nor on faith alone, but also on doing the things in Jesus' sayings (see also James 2:24).  

 

 Jesus says, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.  But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell.  And great was its fall."  This statement as a whole illustrates quite vividly what is in fact a dire warning.  Jesus could have simply left us with the statement about a man who built his house upon a rock, but He didn't.  He went on to tell us quite clearly as a warning that we have two seeming choices to take, each with quite different outcomes.  He is, of course, speaking of the rock of His teachings taken as a whole.  We do the best we can to follow, and each day, each moment, we're reminded that He's our Teacher, and we need to consider the things He teaches us when we choose how we will live, how we seek Him, how we practice our faith, how we live in community with others.  In some sense, this last illustration of the house is a repetition of His teaching of what's called the "two ways," as when He used the image of a narrow gate for the path He wishes for us to take.  This narrow gate asks us to focus on something specific and particular, and that is this body of teachings which He calls the rock upon which we can build our homes, our lives, that will withstand the difficult storms that may come.  Elsewhere Jesus calls Himself the door.  He teaches, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12:30).  So faith is our bedrock to which we cling.  Through the Sermon on the Mount, He's preached a teaching based in love:  the love of God for us, and how we return that love, how we practice it among one another.  But judgment in His hands is also something we're meant to remember.   This is still the "jealous" God who wants our love and fidelity, the father of the Prodigal who longs for his straying son.  As in a good marriage, Christ seeks our faith, and wants us always to return, even if we stray, and His teachings are for our well-being and our good -- His warnings are not given to condemn but to save.  Let us show our love by seeking to live what He teaches us, and going to Him in the privacy of our secret room when we are troubled (Matthew 6:6).   Let us bear the fruit He asks of us.