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.

 

 

 

 

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." 

 

- Matthew 7:22–27 

 

Recent readings of the past few days prepared us for the Feast of the Ascension, which in the Western Churches (and the Armenian Apostolic) was celebrated yesterday.  Please see yesterday's reading for the reading and commentary for the Feast of the Ascension:  I am with you always, even to the end of the age.   Prior to the preparation for the Feast of the Ascension, the lectionary had taken us through the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 - 7 of St. Matthew's Gospel).  In our previous reading in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus preached:  "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!'  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."  Here Jesus is speaking of Himself as Lord, a reference to the divine name "Yahweh" (YHWH) of the Old Testament, and therefore as judge.  His sayings are those which give to us "the will of My Father in heaven" (see the previous reading from the Sermon on the Mount, above), and therefore whoever hears and does not do is among those who practice lawlessness.  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 rather faithful living.  That is, also on doing the things spoken by Christ, His "sayings" which are given so fully in the Sermon on the Mount, concluded here (see James 2:24). 

 

Jesus teaches, "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."  Since this statement (as well as the inverse statement that to fail to found one's house on the rock is to invite disaster) is couched in clear terms of judgment, we can presume that Christ is speaking in an eschatological sense.  That is, He refers to the final state of a person.  The addition to the example of one who fails to build the house on the rock, "And great was its fall," certifies this understanding.  It is equivalent to Jesus' warning (found twice in the Gospel of St Matthew), "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" (Matthew 13:12; 25:29).  But at the same time, Jesus gives us the metaphor of this foundation, the rock, which we find in so many places.  Simon will be given the name of Rock, or Stone (Petros in Greek; rendered to Peter in English), and it is a reference to faith after His confession that Jesus is the Christ (Matthew 16:13-20, esp. verse 16).  In St. Luke's Gospel, when the religious leaders try to silence those who shout for joy at Jesus' approach to Jerusalem as Messiah, Jesus replies to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out" (see Luke 19:37-40).  St. Peter himself writes that we the faithful are the "living stones" who build up the Church (1 Peter 2:4-6) upon the chief cornerstone, who is Christ Himself (Matthew 21:42).  Therefore we can understand through this metaphor of "the rock" that Christ's focus on judgment and our ultimate state leaves nothing out of how we live our lives in the present day and present moment.  The final state is simply a culmination of a journey that begins long before. To build on the rock is to live one's life faithful to His sayings, taking every day for the precious time it is, this life that we are given.  We build on the rock not simply so we don't lose or fall greatly in the end, but so that our very lives are on a secure foundation that can withstand the floods and winds that seem to shake us from our sense of security, our understanding of who we are and what we need to do in life.  The greatest security we have, in fact, is this rock of faith that teaches us what to do in difficult times of stress and tension and testing, and do so much to help us get through them intact.  Christ's sayings, and our growth in discipleship, affirm, support, and grow our own sense of ourselves.  This kind of confidence can see us through many storms and turmoil in life, even times that seem greatly threatening to our well-being. This is because it is a confidence that comes from faith in God and with God's help, and is not merely of ourselves alone.  Moreover within our communities of "living stones" we receive the kind of support for life that can be so very needed.  This house we build is a lifetime plan of work, embellishment, care -- but Christ clearly tells us that its foundation is all-important, for He is the chief cornerstone.

 

 

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 in our recent lectionary readings.  In yesterday's reading, 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!'"  This statement should be taken in conjunction with the final verse from yesterday's reading (above):  "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."   My study Bible comments that this is a threefold testimony to the deity of Jesus Christ:  He calls Himself Lord (referring to the divine name of "Yahweh" in the Old Testament); He speaks of the will of My Father, which He fully knows and shares; and finally, as judge, He's revealed as God, for only God can execute true judgment.  In that day is a reference to the final judgment.  We should also note that here, He's addressing religious leaders who have done works in His name, as those would be ones who prophesied, cast out demons, and performed many wonders.

"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.  My study Bible comments that hearing the gospel alone is not enough.  Salvation is not based on hearing alone, nor even on faith alone, but also on doing these sayings of Mine, the things spoken by Christ.   See James 2:24.

Jesus' analogy about building one's house on the rock is an apt one.  It gives us a vivid metaphor to keep in mind about how we structure our lives, and what is important for our own sense of security in life, our choices that we make.  These images of the rain descending and floods coming are those of forces of chaos and upheaval sweeping through our lives.  Winds blowing and beating on the house suggest the tempests that sweep through the world, giving rise to all kinds of movements and turns of history, changes such as both personal and political upheavals.  But the house built upon the rock is the house founded and situated upon Christ's teachings for us, which save us from chaos and upheavel, changes that shake up our lives, and keep us rooted and firmly on the solid ground where we need to place our faith.  The rain and flood imagery suggests to us tribulation and persecution, the things that uproot the good seed in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23).  The winds that sweep in and beat on the house can be doubts that shake us, the particular sway of ideologies in the world, or even the forces that urge us toward "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches" (see again the parable of the Sower) that drive our lives, our concerns and care.  Life will always be offering to us ways to persuade us to abandon our faith, the sweep us off of our solid ground, to distract us from the path that Christ gives.  But Jesus teaches us about remaining in a firm place, finding ourselves where we need to be -- no matter how much external matters may threaten our peace of mind.  It's important to consider Christ's teachings as those which give us firm steps to take in life, and precautions against the things that cause chaos or lead us down a bad path.  Security comes from an internal sense of remaining within guidelines that give us truth, and not risky behaviors that look like shortcuts, but rather take us into a circuitous route from which we'll need to find our way back again to a road we can trust.  The life we want has to be one in which we take the perspective of the long haul, and not a temporary vision.   The only way to do this is by placing our faith in what is trustworthy and has stood the test of time, in the wisdom that Christ offers to us.  For unlike the winds that blow through our lives and beat on our houses occasionally, or the rains that come and threaten us with floods, Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  In the Revelation we read, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:8).  When Jesus prophesies about the end times to the disciples, He declares, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away" (Matthew 24:35).  These everlasting words, that outlive everything else -- even heaven and earth -- are the rock upon which to build one's house, our lives.

 

 

 

 

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." 

 

- Matthew 7:22-27 

 

Yesterday we read about Christ's Ascension, as in the West it was the celebration the Feast of our Lord's Ascension (next Thursday for the Eastern Churches), which takes place forty days after Christ's Resurrection (Easter or Pascha).  At that time the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.  When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.  And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."  Amen.

 

  "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!'"  In today's reading, we pick up where we left off in Saturday's reading (the interim readings were preparation and celebration of the Feast of our Lord's Ascension).   We recall that we had been reading through the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 - 7), and today we are given Christ's closing words to that Sermon.  Here, my study Bible comments that Jesus testifies to His own deity:  He calls Himself Lord, which refers to the divine name "Yahweh" of the Old Testament.   His words indicate His authority as judge, and only God can execute true judgment.  In that day refers to the final judgment.  In the verse just previous to these, He taught, "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."  To speak of the will of My Father also affirms His deity, as He fully knows and shares the Father's will.  

"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." 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 spoken of by Christ in "these sayings of Mine" (see James 2:24).  

Jesus contrasts "whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them" to "everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them."  The first has the security of a wise person who builds his house on a rock, a solid foundation that does not get shaken by storms, floods, winds, and other natural disasters.  The second is like one who is foolish, and builds a home on sands that shift with rain and flood and wind.  I once found myself in the midst of a very serious earthquake, and I can testify to what happens to homes built on landfill that mostly turned to sand in the shifting, shaking terrain along a coastline.  Jesus' images, as usual, are quite apt, even for modern construction techniques in a known earthquake zone.  Ultimately, what Jesus is saying is borne out throughout the course of our lives.  We might think that one wrong decision or another from time to time won't have much effect.  But decision-making, our patterns of thinking, are built over time.  We tend not necessarily to simply make a bad decision every once in a while, but rather build our lives on patterns.  We go down a road of a way of thinking and choosing, and we don't just stand still, or go backwards and forwards.  We tend to build upon whatever it is we build upon.  We rely on assumptions or decisions of the past to set the pattern, until something prompts us to reconsider, and to turn that thinking around.  This is why Jesus' teachings and sayings are so important, and so profound.  If we are vigilant, and if we recall His words and teachings, we can build our lives on something solid, something -- if one will pardon an oft-used expression -- that civilization, or what we understand of it, is based on.  If we have faith in having compassion for one another, if we have faith and are willing to live that faith in terms of our capacity for building something honestly in our lives, trying to establish righteous relations, then we will find ourselves capable of building up a pattern that leads to a life that gives us what is desirable:  staying away from bad habits, or from taking shortcuts in terms of how we treat others, from not caring about lies or insults in our ways of dealing with others.  Our own integrity becomes essential to us, and a resonance within which we can serve God, a highest good.  We will find that this forms a basis for good and safe choices in terms of what we build with our lives, how we conduct ourselves.  Most of all, I would say that Jesus teachings on prayer, almsgiving, and fasting -- about how God who sees in secret and is in the secret place will reward us openly (see this reading) -- are grounds for eventual outcomes which we can look upon with respect in our lives.  Living His way produces results that we can look back on and describe as things we feel good about, midst whatever tribulation and difficulties we might have through no fault of our own, or even midst our own mistakes we'll inevitably make.  But in Jesus' viewpoint, even those mistakes and even the tribulations become occasions for God's grace, for a learning curve, for prayer and mercy (see, for example, John 9:3; or the healing of one who was possessed by a Legion of demons  and is then sent out as a bearer of good news (Luke 8:38-39).  To hear these sayings and do them is truly to build a good life, despite the problems in our world and the difficulties that may befall us, for this is the way of Christ, and with God we know that all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  Christ gives us His wisdom; it is the foolish who do not seek to follow it. 

 

 

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, 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 most recently been reading through the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 - 7 in Matthew's Gospel.  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!'"  As we reach the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus testifies to His own divinity.  If we look at the end of yesterday's reading (just above), we see that He calls Himself Lord, and also refers to "the will of My Father."  In these verses, He expands that, indicating that He is also Judge -- and only God can execute true judgment.  My study Bible tells us that in that day refers to the final judgment.  It is also important to understand that when He speaks of His name, it is also testimony to His union with the Father in will and in being.  But most importantly, let us note that Jesus says that even stupendous acts of nominally spiritual works done in His name -- He cites those who have prophesied in Your name, or cast out demons in Your name, or done many wonders in Your name -- will count as nothing if we fail to seek God's will in what we do and how we live, and to keep that first in our hearts.  This is what it is to be truly close to God, to be a "son of God" by adoption, to be "like God."

"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, 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.  My study Bible comments here that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, for salvation is not based on hearing alone, nor on faith alone, but also on doing the things spoken by Christ (see James 2:24).  That Jesus teaches as one having authority is yet another testimony to His divinity.

Jesus says, "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!'"  This is an extremely powerful statement about judgment.  For He begins by citing acts which seem to manifest tremendous spiritual gifts and favor:  prophesy, casting out demons, working wonders.  And not only that, but these are great works done in His name (my emphasis) to which He's responding negatively in judgment, and calling the practice of lawlessness.  He's making a distinction between nominally spiritual acts of great faith and the practice of truly seeking the will of God the Father and living that.  Is it conceivable there are times when great wonders should not be performed, or demons cast out, or prophesies given?  I would venture to say that perhaps this is so, but we wouldn't know it unless we truly sought God's will for ourselves in humility.  We know there are times when Jesus performed no miracles, and did no cures, and also refused to speak.  Each of these was tied to times of rejection and especially the lack of presence of faith in those who would demand such works.  Everything comes back to this faith, an active love and loyalty in the heart, a true burning desire to seek and to do the will of God the Father.  This requires a living type of communion, an active relationships, a deep participation in the life of Christ, even a deep seeking for true holiness.  He is pronouncing the failure to seek this will the practice of lawlessness.  In Matthew 15:8, Jesus quotes to the scribes and Pharisees from Isaiah 29:13, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me.
And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."  Apparently, in Jesus' summing up of His judgment on the Sermon on the Mount, even those who speak prophecies in His name, cast out demons in His name, and even do many wonders in His name might also be those who draw near, but whose heart is far away.  The key is the willingness to pursue the will of the Father in the heart, a depth of relatedness that is ultimately a shared love, and the depth of love, from which we also learn to love.  Even when we might think we're perfect, there will always be more to learn to "be like" Him.  So we open the heart, and follow Him on that journey.  Let us build our house on the rock, and follow His commandments.

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."

- Matthew 7:22-27

On Tuesday, we read Jesus' explanation of the parable of the Sower for His disciples:  "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for awhile.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

"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!'"  Today's reading directly follows the reading of Monday in the order of the text.  It is the final reading in the Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew chapters 5 - 7.  (The lectionary had skipped to chapter 13 in preparation for Ascension Day, which was yesterday.)  In Monday's reading, Jesus taught:  "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."  The words of today's reading directly follow.  Jesus has been giving His word throughout the Sermon on the Mount.  That is, the commands that He sets out for discipleship, which is a blessed way of life, the life of the Kingdom.  Here He makes it clear that even great signs of power and wonders, miracles done in His name, and prophecies, will not be sufficient for the time of the Judgment.  It is those who do the will of His Father in heaven.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will tie these teachings to love:  love of God and love of one another.  He will teach three times that those who love Him will follow His commands.  He teaches about the love between Himself and the Father, and tie that love to our discipleship.  He will also give a new command, that we as His disciples love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34-35).

"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."  My study bible says that hearing the gospel alone is not enough, for salvation is based not on hearing alone, nor even faith alone, but also on doing the things spoken by Christ (see James 2:24).

Jesus gives us an analogy of the life He offers, His words and commandments, as a strong foundation upon which to build our home.  His word is our rock, our foundation, that will stand us through storms and floods and winds.  Or course, Jesus has given us this teaching and analogy in the context of the Judgment.  We have a lot to lose.  Life with its full capacities as taught by Christ is eternal, without end, and therefore to lose such an infinite potential would mean truly that "great was its fall."  In the parable of the Sower, which we've been given in the readings on Monday and Tuesday, Jesus speaks of His word as a seed that is planted in the heart.  The seed or plant that doesn't take root or last is the one which falls on stony ground, which perishes with tribulation or persecution, is choked by the cares of the world or the deceitfulness of riches.  But the one who bears much fruit is the one who perseveres and endures in this word.  In some sense, the teachings here and of that great first parable which Christ will teach are the same:  our foundation is His word.  But we don't get that foundation simply through obedience.  His word is the word of love, and His discipleship is love.  Jesus will teach that all the Law and the Prophets hang on two commands, to love God with all our heart and soul and strength, and to love neighbor as oneself.  But it is Jesus, the Son Incarnate, who personalizes that love.  We know Him, the disciples live with Him, He shares with them and with us His touching and intimate love with the Father, whom He declares will send us the Helper.  It is in this personal, intimate love that we learn who we are and how to follow His commands.  This is something that we as Christians should never lose sight of, because it defines wholly the impact of the Incarnate Christ.  We know who He is, and through His love we know who we are.  We know why and how our discipleship works, and why it is worth every sacrifice.  We know the love for which we sacrifice and by which we are motivated to pursue the true heart of this blessedness of life He offers.  We are not compelled by force but by love, by His love.  There is nothing that can replace that truth and its wholeness and fullness of what it teaches us that we are made for; this is why it is His rock that is our only sure foundation.  Only He knows and reveals the full truth of what we are meant for, the love with which we are held and in which we may live the blessed life He teaches.

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, which began in chapter 5 with the Beatitudes.  In yesterday's reading, 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!'"  Here, Jesus is proclaiming Himself Judge, a role that belongs only to God.  He makes it clear -- and this stands all the events of the Gospels in the true light in which we read them -- that doing wonders is not enough for entrance into this Kingdom.  What counts is the righteousness that He teaches -- the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven.  This is the entire theme of the Sermon on the Mount.

"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."    We note that Jesus speaks of whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them . . .."   My study bible says that hearing the gospel alone is not enough; salvation isn't based on haring alone nor on faith alone, but also on doing the these sayings of Christ.  The emphasis on both hearing and doing is important. It confers a responsibility that comes with hearing.   Jesus' emphasis on the security of this rock gives us a sense of the confidence we can take in hearing and doing His teachings.  To hear and fail to do what He teaches is foolishly risk everything; this is clearly said in context of Judgment.  But the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven is also something we live, and which blesses us in daily life.  To fail to understand or recognize the quality of those blessings is also foolish.  They sustain us through the rain, floods, and winds of life.

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.  This is something that we read in various places and contexts in the Gospels.  Jesus' authority comes of Himself and His identity, not in citing, for example, other famous rabbis, as do the scribes.  He has His own authority.

What can we say about confidence and assurance, which Jesus gives us in the image of the rock upon which we build our houses?  He is teaching us that we may have security in hearing and doing His teachings.  In a world that seems to be increasingly unstable, or filled with unpredictability, Jesus' words take on a deeper connection to our own needs for true security.   Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount with the  blessings of the righteousness of the kingdom of heaven, enumerated for us in The Beatitudes.  These are inward treasures, the blessings of righteousness, and the type of spiritual fruit that He desires for His followers.  He seems to close here with a reminder that these are the things in which we can truly take confidence in our lives.  They are the things that see us through the difficulties and insecurities and uncertainties in life.  Many of His sayings in the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 through 7 in Matthew's Gospel) teach us about prudence and wisdom, and the importance of discernment.   Many of the teachings involve an active love, a way of living that does not ridicule or belittle others, that does not return violence with vengeance, that refrains from an external focus and the manipulation of hypocrisy.  He emphasizes the inner core of what it means to be a truly and fully living human being, not a person who lives for appearance or the purely material.  (He will later compare the emptiness of religious hypocrites to whited sepulchres.)  It is the values that He teaches in which we can take true security, because they are what persist and endure even when the going is tough.  It is His values that we can trust in, because they are built not only on the authority of God who is love, but on the surety of that which is not shaken when threatened, and which transcends every trend.  We fall back on truth when challenged; we repent toward a better knowledge and understanding and practice of what He teaches when we fall down or stumble.  In Him we can trust, and what a difference that makes to the quality of life itself -- not only for us as individuals but also for our extended communities.

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; today is the last reading in the Sermon (which comprises chapters 5 - 7 of Matthew's Gospel).  For the earlier readings in the Sermon on the Mount, see The Beatitudes;  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven;  Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven;  I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment;  Let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect; Do not be like the hypocrites; Our Father in heaven,  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also;  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble and Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  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 god 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 teaches that here is a threefold testimony to the deity of Christ.  First He calls Himself Lord (which is the Yahweh of the Old Testament).  Secondly, He speaks of the will of My Father, of which apparently He is fully aware and shares.  Finally, He reveals Himself as Judge.  This is also a declaration of deity, as only God is capable of executing true judgment; in that day refers to this judgment, 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."  Here again (as in yesterday's reading) we get a sense of the "two ways" that are also spoken of in early works such as the Didache.  The Didache speaks of the "way of life" and the "way of death."  Here Jesus compares those two ways to how we build a house to live in, what is its foundation.  Do we build on solid rock, something that will allow us to survive the storms of life (the rain, floods and winds that beat on the house) -- or are we the foolish man who builds his house on sand?  This word for "foolish" is the same root He used when He spoke of the quality or character of the salt that has lost its flavor when He spoke of His disciples as the salt of the earth, early in the Sermon on the Mount.  This comparison of the wise and the foolish emphasizes the Way as a narrow gate (see yesterday's reading).

 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.  The text gives us a further emphasis on Jesus' authority, a sense in His preaching and teaching that will astonish many throughout the Gospels, and is notable in His Person.  The scribes were those who would study under a famous rabbi, and who would use quotations from others to teach.  Jesus speaks from Himself and His own authority.

There is a great sense here of the urgency of Jesus' word, His teachings.  They are not things to be taken lightly and dismissed.  Instead, He gives great weight to His teachings by comparing the wise man who built his house on a rock and the foolish one who built on sand.  He wants His disciples to be the wise ones.  He wants them to live their lives built on the commandments He's given in the Sermon on the Mount.  He finishes by warning about Judgment, and He's made it clear that they are to "judge not" as part of this Sermon.  So, as my study bible points out, this emphasis on Judgment in the final verses of the Sermon is really the power of His own authority at work.  If we want to be truly secure, to weather the storms of life well, we build our houses carefully on a good foundation, and His words are what comprise that foundation.  His teachings in the Sermon are the things that set us in good stead for a life wisely lived.  Elsewhere when He preaches in parables, elements of life such as rain and floods and wind serve as vivid metaphors for the problems that will come to us in life.  We notice that He never promises our lives won't be tested; He doesn't tell us there is no evil in the world.  But what He does give us is a secure way through those troubles.  Another vivid metaphor came in yesterday's reading, when He spoke of wolves in sheep's clothing, the good tree that gives off good fruit, and He asked do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  Thornbushes and thistles are not sweet but rather painful; and the meaning of "pain" is one of those included in a Greek word for the evil (poneros), from which He taught us to  pray to be delivered.  As we review the Sermon, perhaps we remember most vividly His emphasis on the deeper things of life, the roots of our sin, an emphasis not just on what we do, but on who we are and our responsibility and accountability, our capacity for knowing ourselves.  Jesus' narrow gate is really a call toward the things we're capable of doing and being, a call for us to live by His words, to take His commands seriously, and especially to be like Him.  He calls us to the fullness of what it really is to be a human being, to be made in the image and likeness of God.  It's like building a house on the rock.  It's finding His Way.  It's having the capacity to choose well, and not to be simply a slave to everything we may think or feel when those things don't lead us to a good place.  He calls us to what it truly means to be a human being created "a little lower than the angels."  Let us seek His wise way, His narrow gate, for He calls us to be "like Him."