2.01 Building of House On Rock or Sand

I. BUILDING OF HOUSE ON ROCK OR SAND.

Matthew 7:24 - Matthew 7:27; Luke 6:47 - Luke 6:49. THIS parable forms the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had just taught that discipleship nay, the working of mira cles, prophesying, casting out devils, and the like would be unavailing without obedience; and He now set forth under striking figures the steadfastness of the man whose faith was not a sterile faith, but fruitful in good works, and the eventual ruin of the believer whose life and conduct did not correspond with his belief. He likens the man who hears His word, and fulfils it, to a prudent man who built his house upon a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat against that house, but it fell not: its foundations on the 70 THE PARABLES OF JESUS 71 solid rock were too secure. On the other hand, He compared the man who heard His word, and performed it not, to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand, with the result that, when it was assailed by the same adverse forces, it fell, and the ruin thereof was great. Thus St. Matthew. St. Luke reproduces the parable somewhat differently.

He emphasizes the diligence of the wise builder in preparing the foundations; according to him, the foolish builder builds, not on sand, but on the earth without a foundation; and he makes no mention of the rain or the winds only of the flood. The wind and rain storms, with the resultant inundations, represent the trials and temptations to which the disciples of Jesus would be exposed, especially in the bitter days that were immediately to precede His Second Coming.

Then only those whose will towards good had been strengthened by the faithful and long-continued fulfilment of His words would have the steadfastness to endure; while those who contented themselves with a mereprofession of belief would be unable to weather the storm, and, like the house without firm 72 THE PARABLES OF JESUS foundations, would involve themselves in great and irretrievable ruin. The parable is strongly reminiscent of the passage Ezekiel 13:10 - Ezekiel 13:14, where the lying promises held out to the people are compared to untempered fnortar daubed upon a wall. The wall itself is a figure of the last vain, desperate efforts at defence made by the people. The prophet declares that all such attempts are useless: mighty storms of wind and rain and huge hailstones will beat against the wall; the mortar with which it is plastered will not so bind it together as to enable it to resist their assaults; it will fall to the ground, and its very foundations will be laid bare. The parable also closely resembles a rabbinical parable in which one who is at once a diligent student of the Law and a doer of good deeds is compared to a man who built of loam bricks on a solid foundation of stone. Though much water came and beat against the structure, it remained immovable. On the contrary, he who studies the Law, but neglects to perform good deeds, resembles the man who builds of stone on a foundation of loam bricks: when even a little water comes, it overthrows the THE PARABLES OF JESUS 78 building. The author to whom it is ascribed, Elisha ben Abuja, lived in the second century of our era, but there is no sufficient evidence to show that he was dependent on our parable. The lesson which this parable teaches us, like the lessons to be drawn from most of the parables, is not restricted in its application to any time or to any class of persons. Know ledge and obedience are the two indispensable conditions for perseverance, and perseverance itself is the condition for salvation. With Jesus, those alone were blessed who Jieard_the word of God and kept it. - Q - TAGS: [Parables]