SM#47: The Fall of the House of Religion
- BOO
- 2 days ago
- 27 min read
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell - and its collapse was great. ~ JESUS (Matthew 7:24-27)
CORE
(The heart of the message)
The way of Jesus is our only hope to withstand the storms of life. All other ground is sinking sand.
"Excuses are the nails that build the house of failure." ~ Jim Rohn
"The greatest need of many Christians is not to know more, but to obey what they already know." ~ Charles Price (Matthew)
CONUNDRUM
(Raising questions skeptics might be asking)
Hey Jesus.
You talk about people who hear your words and act on them, and those who hear your words and don't act on them. But what about those who don't ever get the chance to hear your words? You're not addressing the elephant on the mount.
What gives Jesus?
CONTEXT
(What’s going on before and after this passage)
We arrive at Jesus' final words in the Sermon on the Mount. (You made it! Hurraaay!) And, in classic Jesus fashion, he tells a story. Jesus doesn't tell this parable the way he sometimes does, leaving it up to his audience to try to figure out his meaning. Instead, he tells us up front exactly what he is talking about.
The difference between true believers and make-believers is not whether or not we listen to and learn from Jesus, but doing what he says.
Jesus began his sermon with blessing, and now he ends it with warning. Not all sermons must end with consolation.
Jesus has already encouraged his hearers to make a choice. We must choose between:
Two gates.
Two paths.
Two kinds of trees.
Two kinds of fruit.
And now, two possible foundations to build our lives upon.
Jesus contrasts two different kinds of people in his wider audience that day, and our day. Those who apply what they learn from Jesus and those who don't. Notice Jesus does not comment on a third category: those who don't have the opportunity to hear his teaching. He will pick up the topic of those who die without hearing the Gospel in other passages (e.g., Matthew 25:31-46), but that is not his concern here, nor need it ever be our concern.
The fact is, if we are reading this, we ARE in one of these two categories described in this parable, and that should be our focus.
Soren Kierkegaard, the great 19th century Christian existentialist philosopher, wrote extensively about the choice Jesus calls us into. He describes the contrast between being fans of Jesus and becoming friends with Jesus, that is, the choice between being a mere admirer and a committed imitator.
"His whole life on earth, from first to last, was designed solely to be able to have imitators and designed to make admirers impossible. ... What, then, is the difference between an admirer and an imitator? An imitator is or strives to be what he admires, and an admirer keeps himself personally detached, consciously or unconsciously does not discover that what is admired involves a claim upon him to be or at least strive to be what is admired." ~ Soren Kierkegaard (Practice in Christianity, 1850)
Kierkegaard goes on to say that admirers treat Jesus the way theatre goers relate to a play: something to be watched, appreciated, even applauded, all from a distance while sitting in the audience. But Jesus doesn't want an audience for his performance; he invites us to be full partners and participants with him.
Kierkegaard then wonders, perhaps the storms of life, like in our parable - hardships, suffering, and even the threat of encroaching danger - not only reveal the choices we have made, but can also create the urgency that helps us make a decision. This danger could be simply the closeness of death due to age or illness, or it could be persecution or or other forms of threat. His point is that, as long as we are still breathing, it is not too late to choose.
The problem of God's people hearing but not doing is as old as, well, God's people.
My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. ~ The prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 33:31)
Although this sermon concluding parable is certainly intended for personal application, it also foreshadows a prophecy Jesus will make more explicit later in chapter 24 - the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD. It would be the end of religion as they knew it. The Jews referred to the Jerusalem Temple as God's "house" (Matthew 21:13; 23:38) and believed it was indestructible, built on rock, the temple mount. But Jesus says if we are not living out his teaching, that rock is really sand and destruction is inevitable. For those following Jesus, together they become a new temple, a new "spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5).
Because the majority of Jews of Jesus' day and immediately after did not put his teaching into practice and love their enemies, turning foes into friends, they would initiate a war against Rome and face the complete ruin of their religious world.
Whether applied personally or socio-religio-politically, this passage is as relevant to our world today as the day Jesus first spoke these words.
As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ~ The apostle Peter (1 Peter 2:5)
"With Dietrich Bonhoeffer, we believe that Jesus Christ came to destroy religion. Religion, if conceived as a human attempt to become acceptable to God by whatever system of beliefs and practice, is a beggar's refuge. It will not keep out the wind and the hail. What Jesus offers is totally different. It begins not from our reaching up, but from God reaching down. it is not a religion at all, but a revelation and a rescue. ... I could never claim ultimacy of Christianity as a system. I do claim it for Jesus Christ." ~ Michael Green (The Message of Matthew)
CONSIDER
(Observations about the passage)
Therefore... Jesus ends his sermon with a final "therefore" tying this last illustration back to everything he has just taught ("these words of mine"). This might be a good time to pause and reflect on what we have learned that stands out to us.
These words of mine... Unlike any prophet or religious leader, Jesus does not say we should hear and heed "the words of the LORD" or some similar refrain (as in Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 15). Jesus speaks about his own teaching the way all prophets, pastors, preachers, priests, imams, and other spiritual leaders talk about God's teaching. Shockingly, Jesus never says "follow God" or "follow Moses" or "follow the Torah" or even "follow the Bible". Jesus always says "Follow me". Later Jesus will give his own words eternal status (Matthew 24:35), a quality he does not give the rest of the Bible (Matthew 5:18). The idea of Jesus' words having an eternal quality coheres with Jesus himself being identified as the "Word" of God (John 1:1). At the risk of getting too philosophical, it might be worth pointing out that for us regular humans, there is always a gap between our person and our words, who we are and what we say. We might intentionally hide the truth through lie or mistakenly miscommunicate the facts or change our minds after saying something or simply fail to find the right words to communicate what is really going on in side us. But Jesus' words (the words of God) reflect his soul (the Word of God), and both are eternal. Jesus is what Jesus says. When we immerse ourselves in the words of the Sermon on the Mount - not the individual English, Greek, or Aramaic words, but the message carried through whatever translation we use - we are encountering Christ himself. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is with us, speaking to us, encouraging our hearts, convicting our souls, and guiding our steps (Matthew 18:20; 28:20; John 14:16-18, 23; 16:13-15; Romans 8:9-11; 1 Corinthians 2:12-16; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 3:16-17; Colossians 1:27). And Jesus not only refers to "my" words (his teaching), but "these" words (the teaching he has just given and is still giving). The Sermon on the Mount is the Bullseye of the Bible. The key to success or failure, blessing or ruin, standing or falling in this life and on judgement day, lie in "these" words of Jesus.
"If Jesus had merely spoken of "My words," He might have referred to His teaching in general. By the use of the near demonstrative pronoun "these" (toutous), He clearly showed that he was referring to the content of the SM in particular." ~ Charles Quarles (Sermon on the Mount)
For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. ~ JESUS (Matthew 5:18)
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ~ JESUS (Matthew 24:35)
Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ~ JESUS (John 14:23)
"Jesus places his own person and teaching as the revelation of God's will in place of the Torah." ~ M. Eugene Boring (NIB Commentary)
"Jesus here refers to his own words as Jewish teachers generally referred to God's law ... Neither Matthew nor his tradition allows a reader to be content with calling Jesus a great teacher or prophet (16:13-16); one must either accept all his teachings, including those that demand submission to his Lordship, or reject him altogether." ~ Craig S. Keener (The Gospel of Matthew)
I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. ... Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. ~ C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity)
Hears/Does... Jesus is addressing us. He is talking to you. Those of us who are reading this, who are hearing the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount - we are the builders in this parable. It's too late to plead ignorance. We now know what Jesus says and by our response we will have chosen our foundation. Jesus did not teach this sermon for only his original disciples or an elite crew of super Christians, like monks, nuns, priests, and pastors, but he intended that the process of making more disciples down through the ages would include "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matthew 28:20). It is more than just learning the content but also taking action, hearing and heeding, listening, learning, and doing that makes someone more than a fan but a friend of Jesus. The Greek word for the person who "does" or "practices" the words of Jesus (same word behind "producing" or "bearing" fruit) has been used multiple times throughout the sermon so far (e.g., 5:19; 6:1; 7:12). "Doing" words is the process of transmuting teaching (the calories that give our spirits energy) into action (the exercise that keeps us healthy and strong). Jesus is putting the emphasis of his ethics on action. Bible studies and philosophical discussions can be rich and rewarding, like a scrumptious meal (scrumptious! That's a word I haven't heard in a long time. I've missed you scrumptious!). But learning without doing is like eating without exercise. The food designed to be fuel becomes the fat that weighs us down. Learning must become loving if we are to live lives that withstand the storms.
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. ~ JESUS (John 15:14)
Wise man... The Greek word for "wise" here is phronimos, not the word for wisdom we might be more familiar with, sophia. Phronimos refers to a practical wisdom that knows how to relate to people and situations and is sometimes translated as "shrewd" or "sensible". This kind of person observes closely and acts in ways that take all factors into consideration. Jesus told his disciples to "be as shrewd (phronimos) as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16). Serpents do not lumber around drawing attention to themselves, but are stealthy. They survive offensively by hunting their prey (the bad ideas of 2 Corinthians 10:5) without overly drawing attention to themselves, and defensively this lack of attention seeking helps them live in a world committed to their extinction. Our challenge as Jesus' disciples today is to live out his teaching fully and boldly, being salt and light in the world around us, and to do so in such a way as to promote Jesus and not ourselves so that others "may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).
Built his house on the rock... We are always building something. In the end, our lives will be remembered as monuments to our failure or our success, or something even better - as monuments to the grace, mercy, and peace of Christ. We are wise if we build our lives on the person and teaching of Jesus as our solid rock (Greek, petra). Jesus uses the definite article and speaks of "the" rock. He is not offering one good option among many. Jesus has the audacity to claim that his teaching, and only his teaching, is the firm foundation we can all trust. Who do you think you are Jesus? King David spoke about God setting him high on a rock for his security and safety (Psalm 27:1-6). Other passage speak about God himself as the rock who is sure and faithful (Deuteronomy 32:4, 19; 2 Samuel 22:32; Psalm 18:2, 31). King David asked "For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?" To which Jesus replies by raising his hand.
For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? ~ King David (2 Samuel 22:32)
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ~ King David (Psalm 18:2)
[EXCURSUS: WAS JESUS OR PETER THE FOUDATION OF THE CHURCH?
In Matthew 16:18, Jesus tells Peter "And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." This is a key verse that inspires our Catholic sisters and brothers to see Peter as the first Pope, the unique foundational leader of the Church. This view is supported by the fact that Jesus goes on to offer Peter (or all the apostles?) the "keys of the kingdom", a symbol of authority. In John's Gospel, Jesus gives Peter a unique recommissioning to "feed my sheep". Likewise, Peter does seem to have a prominent role in the book of Acts, giving the Pentecost sermon (Acts 2), performing the first miracle (Acts 3), receiving a personal revelation to open up the movement to Gentiles (Acts 10), and speaking up at the Jerusalem council (Acts 15). And his name almost always appears first in any list of the apostles. So why don't non-Catholics agree? A few points:
In Matthew 16, Peter has just declared Jesus to be "the Messiah, the Son of the living God" and Jesus has confirmed that this was a revelation from God. This revelation, or Jesus himself, could be the rock that Jesus says he will build his church upon. Jesus could be making a contrast, not a comparison. Picture Jesus pointing first at Peter (You are the little stone) then pointing back at himself with his thumb (and upon this bedrock I will build my church).
Jesus had renamed Simon as Cephas or Petros (masculine noun for a little stone) - the original Rocky! - yet here Jesus/Matthew makes the distinction saying Jesus will build his church on this petra (feminine noun for a large bedrock). Rather than equating the two, Jesus/Matthew may be contrasting the two.
The power of "binding and loosening" given to Peter in Matthew 16 is later given to all the apostles in Matthew 18.
Although Peter plays a prominent role in the founding of the early church, it is James the brother of Jesus who heads up the Jerusalem church.
Any other biblical references to the foundation of the Christian church refer to Jesus, his teaching, or his apostles (plural), and never Peter individually.
Peter was clearly far from infallible in matters of faith. He needs a sharp rebuke for his beliefs and practices from both Jesus (Matthew 16) and later the apostle Paul (Galatians 2).
Peter self identifies as a "fellow elder" (1 Peter 5:1), not a "Pope" or "Bishop of Bishops." The plurality of leadership seems to be embedded in the Church from the first generation. Only Jesus is the singular head of the body of Christ.
Lastly, even if Peter was identified by Jesus to be a unique leader who would act as the rock solid foundation of the church or a kind of team captain (a possible interpretation), all Christians could celebrate this while also acknowledging that a foundation is only laid once. There is no mention of the need of a successor. There is no need to lay a new foundation with every new generation any more than it would make sense to lay a new foundation on every new floor added to a home, a building, or a tall tower. That would be silly.
In the end, all Christians - Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Anabaptist - should be able to agree that Jesus and his teaching are the ultimate foundation of our faith.]
Rain/Rivers/Wind... One day "a hard rain's gonna fall" and Jesus wants us to be ready. Interestingly, both houses seem equally sturdy and strong until the storms come. Some expressions of Christian faith, both individually and corporately, seem spiritually healthy until significant troubles come their way. An increasing number of contemporary scholars see the falling rain, rising rivers, and blowing wind as representing the final, eschatological judgement of God (that is, God's judgement at the end of history). Just as God once judged the whole world by a flood, so he will judge the world again one day. This may be the case, and the only other place in Matthew that contrasts "wise" and "foolish" people is in his parable about the ten maidens in chapter 25, which also seems to be about the last and final judgement of God. In the Hebrew Bible, storms are often used as a symbol of God's judgement (Psalm 50:3-4; 83:13-17; Proverbs 10:25; 12:7; 14:11; Isaiah 28:17-22; Jeremiah 23:19-20; 30:23-24; Ezekiel 13:8-16). At the same time, it might seem odd if Jesus thought of the Father's final judgement taking the form of testing believers by trying to blow their houses down. So other scholars stretching back to Augustine believe Jesus has the storms of life in mind, experienced here and now by everyone, disciples and skeptics alike. Probably both are true. Just as we don't have to wait until we die to experience God's kingdom, God's blessing, and God's discipline, so we also don't have to wait until we die to at least begin to experience God's judgement.
"Obedience to Jesus' words is not so much protection from troubles as protection in them, just as rock under a house does not shield from storms but supports during them." ~ Frederick Dale Bruner (The Christbook)
Foolish man... Fools are people who make dumb decisions, not necessarily people who are less educated or lower in intelligence. Smart people can make foolish decisions. (More about this in the Confession section below.) The Greek word for "foolish" is móros, from which we get - you guessed it - moron. It is moronic, says Jesus, to choose shifting sand to build our entire lives upon.
Built his house on the sand... Foolish builders choose bad foundations (which, according to Jesus, is anything other than him and his teaching). Usually in the Bible, the idea of "sand" is used to refer to large numbers, like the grains of sand on a beach (Genesis 13:16; 22:17; 28:14; 32:12). That may also play into this analogy, since there is one rock, but countless other options that come together to tease our attention and allegiance away from the rock. Was the difference between the foundation of rock or sand a matter of location or depth? Jesus' original audience would know that builders in their region would all dig down to lay a foundation, but some would fail to dig until hitting bedrock. Instead they would build upon the hard compacted sand which would be stable until rains would fall and floods would rise. Luke's version describes the wise builders as those who "dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock" (Luke 6:48) and the foolish ones as those who "built a house on the ground without a foundation" (Luke 6:49). In other words, Jesus wasn’t being abstract. He wasn't painting a cartoon picture of a silly man who tries to build a beach home literally on the beach. He was describing something his listeners had seen - or maybe even done - with their own hands. Jesus is not picturing two builders who choose drastically different locations, but builders who invest drastically different amounts of time and energy to dig for bedrock. Wisdom digs deep. Fools not so much.
Its collapse was great... Jesus uses two different words for the "fall" and "collapse" of the home to paint a picture of complete ruin. Then he adds an adjective, saying it was a "great" or "huge" crash. The Greek word used for this "great" crash is megas. This was a mega crash. The fall/collapse/crash is large, loud, and no doubt sad. This wording would bring to mind the collapse of the Philistine temple in the days of Samson (Judges 16:26-30) or the fall of the tower of Siloam in Jesus' day, killing 18 people (Luke 13:4). In both cases, the walls, roof, pillars, and other structures ended up crushing the very people they were meant to protect. When our lives implode, there is always collateral damage. This is another motivator for choosing Jesus as our solid rock. Not only will our lives stand strong, but we will become a blessing to others in ways we could not apart from the influence of Jesus in our lives. There is a version of you, of all of us, that is better with Jesus, and others around us will be blessed as we discover that version of ourselves.
CONFESSION
(Personal reflection)
I confess that I have lived this parable. I have been the foolish builder, knowing but not living the teachings of Jesus. And my life has fallen with a loud, resounding, mega crash.
When my adultery was made public, someone asked me if I had lost my faith. I replied that I had not, I had just failed to live it. In fact, I said, now that I have experienced the devastating results of not following Jesus in one area of my life, I believe more than ever that Jesus was right about everything.
My life has become a living breathing sermon illustration of Jesus' teaching, for better and for worse. When I have followed the teaching of Jesus wholeheartedly, my soul has prospered and my "house" has stood sturdy, safe, and secure. And when I have rationalized and compartmentalized to excuse my sin, my soul has withered. I'm not so much talking about the external "crash" that is observable by all, but the internal descent into darkness, depression, and self loathing that I have experienced. My unseen soul has fallen with a great crash.
And so I am more convinced than ever that Jesus is the only way, the complete truth, and the best approach to life.
I am the way and the truth and the life. ~ JESUS (John 14:6)
Still, I am left asking, why was I so foolish? Why would any otherwise reasonable person build their house - or even part of their house - on sand? How dumb is that?! Why do smart people make stupid decisions?
There are many reasons for my moral failure, my sin, but let me focus on one here: I'm smart. Sort of.
Like optical illusions, sometimes our brains experience emotional illusions and - this one we often don't like admitting - even reasoning illusions that influence how we see and process our circumstances and possible choices.
We all have the ability to perform Jedi Mind Tricks on ourselves! And our subconscious is our own personal Jedi Master.
And here's the fascinating thing: research shows us that the more intelligent we are, the more intelligent our excuse-making mental machinery is. The smarter we are, the stronger our subconscious mind is at the art of self-deception. (We touched on this before in an earlier study.)
Smart people are not just smarter at identifying truth, they are also smarter at rationalizing poor decisions when they want to avoid the truth. George Orwell was right:
"There are some ideas so absurd that only intellectuals could believe them." ~ George Orwell (Notes on Nationalism, 1945, paraphrase)
Put differently, people with reduced intelligence also have a reduced excuse-making skill in their mind. Dumb people are just not as skilled at lying to themselves to rationalize their choices in order to reduce cognitive dissonance. This is why less intelligent and less educated people - "simple folk" - often make better choices. Their ethics are not complicated nor complex and they are more prone to listen to their "gut" or conscience without rationalizations.
Sure, anyone of any intelligence can make bad decisions. Our prisons are filled with uneducated criminals. But I am here focused on people who are trying to live good lives and follow Jesus. For that subset of humanity to make really bad decisions, intelligence is a liability not an asset.
Researchers have studied three interrelated phenomena that help smart people act stupid:
Confirmation Bias: The unconscious tendency to interpret information in ways that confirm what we already believe.
Motivated Reasoning: Actively looking for reasons why we're right while rejecting facts and research that don't fit our beliefs.
Bias Blind Spot: Our tendency to see biases in others but not in ourselves. Intelligent individuals can be particularly prone to this, believing their own reasoning to be superior and therefore less likely to be flawed.
Steve Jobs was an "out of the box" leader, inventor, and visionary. Experts estimate he had a genius level IQ. Yet, when he was diagnosed with highly curable pancreatic cancer, he believed he could heal his body through alternative therapies. Instead of immediately opting for the operation that could have saved his life, he spent nine months pursuing these alternate therapies, including an only fruit diet and consulting a psychic. When it was clear this wasn't working, he opted for the operation to remove the tumor, but by then it had already metastasized and the cancer killed him.
The triple-threat phenomena of confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, and bias blind spot should humble us all. And especially those of us who are reasonably intelligent.
I believe I am reasonably intelligent with persuasive communication skills - which means that my self-sabotaging subconscious (what the New Testament calls the "flesh" and Feud called the "id") is also reasonably intelligent with persuasive communication skills. Put super simply, the smarter, more educated, and increasingly skilled "good me" gets, the smarter, more educated, and increasingly skilled "bad me" gets. This is a pickle.
Should we desire to grow intellectually? Of course. As long as we are aware that the more our mind develops its capacity to understand truth, the more our flesh develops its capacity for deception.
Should we learn more Scripture? Yes. But beware that now our flesh will be able to manipulate Scripture to blind us to the truth.
Should we study theology? For sure. But know that the more we know the more our flesh knows and the more it will use what it knows to rationalize what it wants.
For people like me (and really all of us), the early church leaders have some sage words of warning:
Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ~ The apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 3:18)
If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. ~ The apostle Paul (Galatians 6:3)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. ~ James the brother of Jesus (James 1:22)
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ~ The apostle John (1 John 1:8)
Self-deception is a real possibility for everyone, and that includes church-attending, Bible-reading, Jesus-loving Christians. In fact, as we have established, self-deception is a greater danger for those of us who are reasonably smart.
Most fools are smart, just not wise.
This is yet another reason why I so appreciate the apostle Paul's vulnerability in Romans 7 where he models the humility we can all aspire to. While writing extensively about his own "flesh" (Greek, sarx), the apostle Paul laments the strength of his own tendency toward acting like an intelligent and educated fool:
For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. ~ The apostle Paul (Romans 7:18-19)
Thank you Paul, for being the patron saint of the smart fool in all of us.
COMMENTARY
(Thoughts about meaning and application)
Jesus mentions no discernable differences in the above ground structures built by the wise and foolish men. They might both be well built homes, constructed with care, and made with love - just not wisdom.
Also notice that the house built on the rock shows no unique signs of blessing or success. It may look no better than the sand situated house. In fact, the only impressive fact about "Rock Manor" rather than "Sand Castle" is that it is still standing after the storm.
Almost everything that matters about us is unseen, subterranean, and must be voluntarily exposed if we want to receive meaningful help.
So the imagery of this final parable reinforces three truths:
We cannot judge another person's spiritual health.
The above ground similarities between the two structures caution all Christians against being quick to judge another's stability. Instead, this parable is a call for all of us to start at home. (For more on this, see this article about the Plank-Eye Process.)
We should daily invest in our own secret spiritual life.
Jesus spent much of chapter 6 teaching us about the importance of an unseen, secretive, below ground spirituality. Religious people may construct pious looking lives, but their sand situated structures will not survive the storms. The fall of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 AD is paradigmatic of what will happen to any life rooted merely in an external-based religion. All religion will eventually lead to hypocrisy. All religion will eventually fail and fall with a great crash.
We cannot receive any meaningful spiritual help from others until we are willing to voluntarily expose what is going on under the surface.
While we cannot judge one another, we can help one another. And real meaningful help between humans can only happen if we are invited in to see what is not obvious at the surface level. It is in voluntary vulnerability that we experience true healing care. Within intimate, authentic, and honouring community we can help each other protect ourselves from ourselves, maximize our wisdom while we minimize our foolish excuse-making capacity, and nourish our spirits without feeding our flesh.
At 1820 Life, we sometimes talk about the three values of:
COMMUNICATION.
CONNECTION.
COMPASSION.
The human potential to be smart, educated, rational fools highlights the importance of the "connection" bit. One of the most important things any disciple of Jesus can do - including and especially intelligent, educated, thoughtful disciples - is plug into community where we can transparently give and receive wisdom. We need to go beyond learning about Jesus conversationally to really sharing our hearts with fellow believers along the way. This commitment to genuine connection with others leverages the fact that we can more easily see the stupidity in other people's lives, just as they can see it in our own life more easily than we can.
Intelligence is individual. Wisdom is communal.
This parable of Jesus cautions those of us with more smarts, more intelligence, and more education (which will be most of us reading this) to be humble and to listen to the wisdom of those around us, smart and simple, educated and not, high IQ and low. The poor in spirit have great things to teach us.
And so we might want to add one more "C" word to the list: COURAGE.
To share vulnerably about our own struggles will take courage.
To compassionately help someone else identify their blind spots will take courage.
To speak up and identify our own group's biases and bigotry rather than just focusing on the "other side's" shortcomings - that is, to break ranks with the party line of our religion, political party, or philosophical school of thought when we notice anything unChristlike - that will take a lot of courage.
And it is this last form of courage - the willingness to be self-critical of our own religious, political, cultural, ethnic or ethical group - that our society desperately needs to see more role models to inspire us. We should look for, celebrate, and seek to become those very role models.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
One final question: In the Sermon on the Mount, is Jesus teaching salvation by faith or salvation by works? The answer is: yes.
The sermon begins with front-end-loaded blessing. Our holy lives are a response of gratitude. The foundation of the rock is also a gift. We ignore it at our own peril, but we did not achieve it. Also look at what Jesus teaches in his Parable of the Hidden Treasure:
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. ~ JESUS (Matthew 13:44)
The treasure is a surprise of grace, not a reward for hard labour. The fortunate man did not work for it, produce it, manufacture it, or even purchase it. He simply discovered it. Lucky bum! Then he did go to work, liquidating his assets so he could buy the field (he could never afford to actually buy the treasure). It's true, if he had not moved to give up all he had so he could gain more, he would have never come to own the treasure. He did have to do something. But it was a response to a gift of grace, not a work to produce it. And when we see this, truly see it, we can't unsee it. Following Jesus, no matter how much we give up in the process, is ultimately joy-generating and peace-producing.
This same pattern of an initial gift producing gratitude which leads to good works rather that works attempting to earn a wage is repeated often in the New Testament. (For starters, see Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 5:5, 10; Philippians 2:12-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; James 1:22-25; 2:14-26.)
Yes, the life Jesus offers is a free gift of grace, that will cost us everything.
And we will be glad for it.
CONCLUSION
(One last thought)
If we haven't already, this is a good time to make our choice. Rock or sand. Whole-hearted commitment to the way of Jesus or polite admiration from a distance that remains firmly noncommittal.
On Judgement Day, not to have chosen will be to have chosen.
Of course, choosing to build our lives on Jesus' teaching, specifically in the Sermon on the Mount, does not mean God expects moral perfection from our lives. Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount includes a blessing for those of us who are poor in spirit, the call to be merciful because we know we need mercy, a hungering and thirsting for our own righteousness, a daily prayer for forgiveness of our sins as we forgive others, and the regular removal of planks in our own eyes before we help others with the sawdust in theirs.
Those who live out the Sermon on the Mount perfectly are far from perfect.
Our aim is to be perfect in mercy if not morality (comparing Matthew 5:48 with Luke 6:36).
With that said, let's conclude with the words of this hymn:
1 My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
2 When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.
[Refrain]
3 His oath, his covenant, his blood,
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.
[Refrain]
4 When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found:
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.
[Refrain]
~ Edward Mote (My Hope is Built on Nothing Less, 1834)
And for a little more soul...
I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ~ JESUS (John 13:15)
CONTEMPLATE
(Scripture passages that relate to and deepen our understanding of this topic)
John 14:15-27
CONVERSATION
(Talk together, learn together, grow together)
What is God revealing to you about himself through this passage?
What is God showing you about yourself through this passage?
Thinking back over the entire Sermon on the Mount, what teaching of Jesus is most difficult for you to consistently put into practice?
What is one thing you can think, believe, or do differently in light of what you are learning?
What questions are you still processing about this topic?
CALL TO ACTION
(Ideas for turning talk into walk)
Join a Small Church. By "small church" we mean any group of 3-30 people on the same journey of discovery, with Jesus at the centre. (See our Small Church page for more information.) This won't automatically lead to authentic intimacy (we can all fake it, even in small groups), but it will open up the possibility of building authentic and intimate relationships tenfold.
Let Yourself Be Known. You know that one thing that you never want to tell anyone? If it is weighing you down or distracting your ability to love well, it may be time to talk about it with someone. Whether a professional counsellor or a trusted friend, ask for help inspecting your hidden foundation.
Choose Your Foundation. If you haven't yet fully committed to Christ, ask yourself these questions: Do you believe the way of Jesus is the best way forward for humanity? Do you value his wisdom and love-shaped ethics? Do you sense your need, and our world's need, for his unique emphasis on grace, mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation? If so, then what is holding you back from wholeheartedly committing to Christ? Talk to someone about what's got you stuck.
