#21 Jesus Teaches About the Two Builders

Matthew 7:24-27

1. The wise builder Matthew 7:24-25 says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.”

a. The Greek word for “wise” is phronimo. It means prudent, sensible, practical. It describes one who uses common sense and makes rational plans when building his house. Such a man is thoughtful and sensible.

b. Those who hear My words and act on them.

1) Jesus refers to the entire Sermon on the Mount.

2) But broadly speaking, He refers to anything He says.

3) The hearers are a mixed group of people. They are the same ones who were astonished at the Lord’s teaching in Matthew 7:28.

4) Luke 6:37 says, “I will show you what he is like who comes to me, hears My words and acts on them.” So, these are not only casual auditors. They are people who come to Christ. They listen long enough to have great responsibility to God for what they hear.

Wise Builder	Built house on Rock	Rain, Flood, Wind, Rapids	House stood
Foolish Builder	Built house on Sand	Rain, Flood, Wind, Rapids	House destroyed

c. The example of a wise builder who builds his house on a rock.

1) The only stability of the house was the foundation. And the roof and walls were vulnerable. (Matthew 6:19-20; Mark 2:4).

2) This house was near a ravine or valley where there was a stream of water.

3) The foundation is a rock. The wise man digs through the sand and gravel to find bedrock. He fastens every part of his house to the rock. He builds there.

4) Luke 6:48 says, “He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid his foundation on the bedrock. When the flood came, the torrent crashed against that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.”

5) He anchors the entire house to an immovable rock, which pictures Christ. His fasteners are the Word of God, faith, prayer, obedience, fellowship, and the ordinances. All these strengthen the believer.

6) There are two main bands that tie him to the rock. One is the Holy Spirit. The other is faith, which is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

d. The great test: (Matthew 7:25)

1) Heavy rain pounded the roof, which is like the temptations of the devil, which pressure our faith.

2) Floods attack & push the walls and base. They are like persecutions from unbelievers.

3) The high winds assail the walls, which are like the ravaging of false doctrine.

4) The humble brook becomes heavy rapids which push against the walls. It is like the raging of our own wicked desires.

5) The result of the test for those anchored to Christ: “It fell not.”

6) Why did the house not fall? Answer: Because of the strength and stability of the rock, not due to the power of the house.

e. All the following also come upon believers:

a) Trials (Genesis 22:1)

b) Temptations (Matthew 26:69-75)

c) Loss of loved ones (John 11:1f; Luke 7:11-17)

d) Death (Acts 7:59-60)

e) Judgment Day (Matthew 7:22)

f. In another metaphor, Jeremiah 17:8 says, “They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

g. But imagine what it is like for unbelievers who must withstand the fury of God’s wrath and vengeance. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

h. Psalm 1:5 says, “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment….” When God judges, the wicked cannot bear His wrath.

i. Building our lives on Christ and His teaching makes us strong. Every part of the house anchors to the Rock.

j. All those who neglect God’s word have no idea what lies in store for them. What may seem to be an easy life, can suddenly become a stormy one

k. Squirrels are wise in their methods. Their acorns are like teachings of God’s word. Those who store the truth in their hearts have a good winter. Those who do not, perish during challenging times.

l. Those who are not believers in Christ, have no rock whatsoever. Best advice is to remedy that today.

2. The foolish builder – Matthew 7:26-27 says, “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

a. The Greek word for “foolish” is the same Greek word as in Matthew 5:22. It is moro, from which we derive the English word moron.

b. Jesus is not speaking contemptuously. It is a fact. The builder is a fool in the sense of the teaching of the Book of Proverbs.

c. His error is that he was careless and flippant. He thought it did not matter where he built. He is like a child building a sandcastle with no thought of tides and waves.

d. Failure to apply the truth of Jesus’ teaching leads to the greatest crash of our lives.

3. In another metaphor, Jeremiah 17:6 says, “He will be like a shrub in the desert; he will not see when prosperity comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.”

4. Psalm 109:7 says, “When he is tried, let him be found guilty, and may his prayer be regarded as sin.”

5. Applications:

a. Religious imitators do not make wise plans. They only think about this life and do not plan for the next.

b. Without a rock nature, disaster is certain to come.

c. By this story, the Lord Jesus emphasizes the need for wisdom in both learning and applying the truth.

d. If a man does not learn and apply wisdom from the Lord Jesus, he is destined for ruin, even if he attends Church regularly.

e. The Lord Jesus Christ is the rock. He is 100% God and 100% man. The reason that He can stabilize your life is because He is God. The reason that He can die for your sins is that He is man. He died for sinners, rose from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and is the Lord of Heaven and earth. Submit to Him, trust Him, and build your life on Him and on His teachings.

f. When we build our lives on the Lord Jesus Christ, God builds Him in us.

1) When Simon Peter confessed that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” it was evidence that God had blessed him. Jesus said to Simon, “God has blessed you, Simon, son of John. Simon was a mere man like all of us. God blessed him with salvation.

2) Jesus said that the source of this blessing was not “flesh and blood.” It was not a man’s blessing to confess that the Lord Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.

3) The living quality of Peter’s faith came from Heaven, not earth.

4) This blessing did not come to Peter from visions and dreams. It came from God the Father. He taught Peter via the Holy Spirit.

a) John 6:44 says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Notice that God draws people to Jesus.

b) John 6:45 says, “They will all be taught by God.” Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.’” So, God taught Simon who Jesus is. And God built that knowledge of Jesus into Simon by teaching Simon’s heart who Jesus is.

c) God does this teaching through the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3 says, “….no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

d) So, Simon confesses that Jesus is Messiah, the Son of the Living God. This originates from a miracle of God in his heart.

e) It is at this point that the Lord Jesus names Simon “Rocky.” He says, “you are a rock and upon this rock I will build my church.”

f) God does not build the Church on Simon son of John. He builds it on the Christ part of Peter.

g) God does not build the Church upon Peter as the ultimate foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11; Acts 3:12; 4:12; 1 Peter 2:3-8).

h) God builds the Church by building Christ into His people. The rock of which He speaks is Christ. He is the ultimate Rock (1 Peter 2:6-8).

i) All Christians are stones in the Church by faith (1 Peter 2:5). So, we are rocks too, if God has built Christ in our hearts.

j) The Apostles are, in one illustration, the foundation of the Church, with Christ as the Chief Corner Stone (Ephesians 2:20).

k) But the ultimate foundation, without whom no one would be a rock, is the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 3:11 says, “For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

l) God builds His Church on the Rock, who is Christ, by building His Son into the hearts of Christians. He even calls the Church “Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.”

m) Christian maturity is “Christ formed in us.” Galatians 4:19 says, “My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ be formed in you.”

n) Romans 8:29 says, “For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.”

o) What an incentive this is for Christians to build our lives on Christ. When we build externally, God builds us internally. That is how He builds the Church.

p) There is a warning concerning the rock. Some people trip on it. Then, after tripping, they fall on the rock.

q) 1 Peter 2:8 explains this as follows: Jesus is “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message…”

r) The wise man values the rock. The foolish man disregards the rock. He trips over Christ. He stumbles due to the humble nature of Jesus, His virgin birth, His lowly parents, His poverty, His lack of the world’s education, and His unlearned disciples, etcetera.

s) They do not consider the fact that He is God.

t) But be careful. If you trip over Christ and fall on Him, you will be the one who gets the wounds, not Him.

u) On the other hand, remember that this is the heaviest rock in the world. If Jesus falls on you, He will grind you to powder.

v) Matthew 21:44 says, “And the one having fallen on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

NOTES

[1] Please note that when God builds Christ in us, it is His human virtues that He builds. God does not build actual omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and eternity into us.