The House on the Rock (Luke 6:46-49)
Matthew 7:24-29 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The 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.
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. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”
The Authority of Jesus
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.“
There are very few flat places in Israel; the geography is mostly up and down with lots of rock. And in many areas, there are wadis-dry stream beds that can suddenly fill with flash floods from water from the mountains. Villagers know better than to build in these stream beds or in other places where sand is plentiful. But there’s always somebody who thinks he’s too smart to listen to reason. It’s possible that just a few days before Jesus begins this teaching, a local man chose to build in a foolish location. While neighbors tried to warn this man, he continued to lay foundation stones, claiming that there hadn’t been a flood there in hundreds of years, so why worry? Well, this builder should have worried, for a torrential rain storm in the mountains sent walls of water cascading down that wadi, tumbling those big stone building blocks as if they were so many child’s wooden blocks.
This story was far too juicy not to share with any strangers, including Jesus. And Jesus would never ignore such a great teaching opportunity. Now Jesus is using that story, and his audience is laughing and then realizing the force of this message. What is the rock that Jesus is talking about? Jesus is urging his listeners to learn the will of their Heavenly Father and then to passionately pursue it. As long as people rely on anything less than God, they are bound to be disappointed.
We read these words and smile at the illustration, but what does this message mean for us? What are the foundations of your life? Are you depending on your profession, on your wealth, on family connections, on political influence? During the recent COVID epidemic, a 43-year-old computer expert received vaccinations, only to suffer neurologic damage from the vaccinations and losing his job. COVID does not discriminate but kills people of every social class and profession. Recent news articles from Moline, Illinois are warning that the John Deere Company is about to lay off 600 workers. This company has been one of the main-stays of the local economy for more than 150 years, and workers at Deere have enjoyed good salaries and great benefits. Now these families are about to lose that financial security. In some countries, political appointees from one party may lose their positions as soon as elections bring in a new party.
Later, Simon Peter will warn that, “And there is no salvation in any other man, for there is no other name under Heaven given to the children of men by which it is necessary to receive life.” (Acts 4:12) Nothing has changed since Peter’s day; we still must trust in Jesus Christ to have a firm foundation for our lives. When we base our lives on anything else or anything less, we are as foolish as the man who built his house in the wadi. The words of an old hymn express this very well.
How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
In ev’ry condition, in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea —
The Lord, the Almighty, your strength e’er shall be.
Fear not, I am with you. Oh, be not dismayed,
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.
When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
For I will be with you your troubles to bless
And sanctify to you your deepest distress.
Throughout all their lifetime my people shall prove
My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love,
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still on my shoulders be borne.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to base our lives on faith in You, nothing else and nothing less. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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