Solid Rock Or Sinking Sand?

SOLID ROCK OR SINKING SAND? (MATTHEW 7:21-27)

One of the biggest tourist attractions in Shanghai in 2009 was a 13-floor, 629 units apartment building under construction that suddenly collapsed, killing one worker. A shocked witness said, “It was just like an earthquake.” The apartment building is at a premium location in Shanghai, about five metro stops from downtown areas, and is sold at a price of 18,000 yuan (US$2,700) per sq meter (3.28 feet)

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-06/27/content_8330067.htm

The building, one of 11 in a wider project, toppled over almost intact when pillars that were supposed to be buried deep under the earth were uprooted. Commentators in the Chinese press have noted the project's riverside location, the rise in water levels and potentially unstable piles of mud near to the collapsed building. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8123559.stm

The South China Morning Post noted that the pilings used in the Lotus Riverside development, made of prestressed, precast concrete piles, are outlawed in Hong Kong because they aren’t strong enough to support the kind of ultra-high buildings that are common in Hong Kong. http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/06/29/shanghai-building-collapses-nearly-intact/

The parable of the two builders is a simple, straightforward and strategic parable. Matthew, along with Luke (Luke 6:46-49), inserts the parable as a conclusion to the series of short messages Jesus shared in chapters 5-7, otherwise known as the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is not a revision, a reversal or a rejection of the law, but a revival, a renewal and a reminder of the law as God intended it.

What kind of followers did Christ call us to be? How should we respond to the values of society? Why are disciples unafraid of the challenges today?

Return to the Basics

21 “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' (Matt 7:21-23)

A missionary who was speaking to a group of Hindu women was surprised to see one of them get up and walk away. Soon she returned and listened more intently than before. “Why did you leave in the middle of my message?” asked the missionary. “I was so interested in the wonderful things you were saying that I went to ask your servant if you live like you teach. He said you do. So I came back to hear more about Jesus,” said the woman. (from Illustrations of Bible Truths # 895)

An old country preacher used to say: “There are two parts to the Gospel. The first part is believing it, and the second part is behaving it.” (from Illustrations of Bible Truths # 225)

Verse 24 is rich in meaning. It must be understood in the context and backdrop of the Sermon on the Mount, beginning with the verb “hear.” After a series of vignettes using the verb “hear” five times (Matt. 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43), Jesus concluded his sermons with parable of the two builders. Two”hear” refers to what they heard from “of old” (vv 21, 33) and three to “it was said” (vv 27, 38, 43).

“These words of mine” (v 24) means His word has ultimate and utmost authority and priority on theological, moral and ethical matters. For example, Jesus equates anger with murder (Matt. 5:21) and lust with adultery (Matt. 5:28), and He insisted on keeping one’s word (Matt. 5:36) instead of keeping religious oath.

The last two “hear” words in the Sermon on the Mount before this passage refer to resisting evil - “eye for eye, and tooth for tooth evil” (Matt 5:38) - and resisting enemies - “love your neighbor and hate your enemy” (Matt 5:43) - Jesus urged listeners to disavow revenge and discover reconciliation, get along instead of get even with enemies, and to love one’s enemies, not merely one’s neighbors.

The people who “hears and puts them into practice (do)” (v 24) is contrasted with those who “say” Lord, Lord (v 21) or “perform (do)” many miracles in verse 22, as supported by the subordinating conjunction “therefore” (v 24) linking the previous passage (vv 21-23) and by the parallel account in Luke 6:46 - “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

“Everyone who SAYS (lego)” (v 21) is also contrasted with “things which I SAY (lego)” (Luke 6:46). The point is to be confessors of the word and not professors of the word, to do the right thing instead of say the right thing, and to be righteous, not religious.

“Do” miracles (v 22) is contrasted with “doing” the will of my Father (v 21) and hears Jesus’ words and “puts them into practice (do)” (v 24). Miracles are flashy and fleshly service, not faithful and foremost service. Note that the word “do” occurs four times in the passage (vv 21, 22, 24, 26).