The Word in Focus with Dr Larry Taylor

Thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 5-7

Part 19

The third and final contrast in the final section of the Sermon on the Mount is a contrast between solid and flimsy foundations.

^7:24 “Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. ²⁵ The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

²⁸ Now when Jesus had finished saying these words, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught them as one having authority and not as their scribes.

Jesus most likely had a corporate interpretation of this parable in mind, as well as the more familiar individual understanding.

In the Hebrew Bible floods are a metaphor for invading armies overwhelming the land. Isaiah speaks of the Assyrian flood coming to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel. (Which happened in 722 BC. See Isaiah 8 and 28.) Jeremiah in Judah and Ezekiel speaking from a refugee camp in Babylon speak of the Babylonian armies sweeping over what was left of Israel-Judah like a flood. 

Here, Jesus anticipates the flood of Roman force during the Jewish wars (66-73AD). The house built on sand is the Temple in Jerusalem. Its collapse was spectacular.

In each case (Assyria, Babylon, Rome) pagan armies wrecked horrible destruction, and in each case, according to the prophets, the cause was Isreal taking up the sword, seeking freedom through violence. Jesus said to put away the sword. 

Every empire in history imploded. Every contemporary empire will implode. And for the same reason. The way of King Jesus is the way of self-sacrificial service, of conquering hate with love, bitterness with forgiveness, and death by dying.

Jesus knew that Israel was on a collision course with Rome. The zealot movement was growing. People were planning an underground guerrilla warfare against the brutal Roman occupation.

When his apprentices were admiring the temple complex, Jesus told them it would all be destroyed. He went into some detail in what we call the Olivet Discourse. (Matthew 24-25, Luke 21, Mark 13) He said Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies that would utterly destroy the nation, the city, and the temple. That happened precisely as he predicted in 70 AD. 

It happened because the nation was built on sand. It happened because the nation’s religion, embodied in the temple, was built on sand. For centuries, the people chosen of God were not doing what God said to do. More specifically, they were relying on violence to right the wrongs. Violence, warfare, killing are never the way of Jesus. The way of Jesus is turning the other cheek, nonviolently refusing to obey unjust laws, welcoming the stranger, ministering to the needs of the sick, homeless, displaced, and marginalized. 

It’s not just ancient Israel. Every major empire in history was (or is) built on violence, invasion, conquering, enslaving, and suppressing. And the motive under all the violence is almost always wealth. Every national empire experiences some sort of “flood.” Every empire eventually crumbles and collapses. 

Despite all its idealism, the United States was founded in bloody conflict, on land stolen from native people, and built a global economy on the labor of slaves. It has never repented. Time and again, division, hatred, white supremacy, patriarchy, greed, and xenophobia have been the motives behind the wars and upheavals. 

The United States has never been a Christian nation. A Christian nation would do what Jesus said to do. It would, for example, welcome the immigrant and refugee, provide quality healthcare for all her citizens, enact policies that would eliminate (or at least greatly reduce) poverty and homelessness, make abortion rare by raising people out of poverty, providing daycare, job training, and job placement. A Christian nation would abhor violence, the proliferation of guns, and war. It would spend its money on helping people rather than on death machines. A Christian nation would honor people’s beliefs, would be noncoercive, and promote beauty and harmony. A Christian nation would protect the environment.

Every empire is or was a house built on sand.

Similarly, many (most?) large corporations are built on the sands of consumerism, extractive capitalism, global domination, and greed. They worship Mammon. They too will implode.

Even denominations and faith communities can be built on sand. Gargantuan megachurches mine data, hide income sources, provide outrageous financial packages to their leaders, and seek to influence legislation. 

The more familiar individual simile is obvious – one house built on solid rock, the other on sand. Both look good when finished. The difference shows up when trials come. Imagine a hurricane. Rains fall, floodtides rise, winds blow – the house on rock stands; the one built on sand is washed away.

“And, great was its fall!” Literally, “the fall was gigantic.” Over the years, we’ve seen lives crash and burn in spectacular ways – suddenly, unexpectantly, completely. The wise builder hears and does; the foolish one hears but doesn’t put it in practice. 

There was a time, decades ago now, when I heard what Jesus said, but didn’t do it. How easy it is to pick and choose what we want to obey and what we’d like to ignore. How easy it is to justify disobedience, seeing ourselves as the exception. The temptation is to presume on grace. “God will forgive me,” we think. Then comes the crash. The whole family is wounded under the rubble. We kick and scream and blame others, circumstances, or God. Eventually (hopefully) we calm down and admit we blew it. We built on sand. The house was swept away in the flood. 

But remember, with God, who loves to restore, that is not necessarily the end of the story. God can rebuild a ruined life, this time on rock. Whether or not that happens depends on our willingness to actually do what Jesus says to do. 

Repentance is not feeling bad about the crash. Repentance is not weeping over the consequences. Repentance is changing one’s mind and deciding to build on stone. Repentance is deciding to do what Jesus said to do.

Quickly, we discover we can’t. Not alone. We need others. The communion of the saints. Relationships with other doers. Most of all, we need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We need the Holly Spirit with us, in us, and upon us to guide and enable, to give us the desire and courage to turn the other cheek, love our enemies, choose the nonviolent, noncoercive way of Messiah. Thankfully, the Father gives the Holy Spirit to all who ask. (Luke 11:11-13)

Jesus said, “Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”  (Matthew 7:24-27)

I don’t want my life to collapse into ruin. So, how do I become a doer rather than just a hearer? How do I join this Jesus movement? How do I live as a citizen of heaven’s kingdom?

First, I have to change my mind in light of the fact that the Kingdom of the Heavens is here, now. Change my mind about what? I have to align my thinking with Jesus’. I turn away from power, control, greed, self-promotion, violence, religious, ethnic, or national superiority, coercion, manipulation, and thinking morality can be legislated. 

The Kingdom of God is upside down. In it, the first are last, the greatest are servants, evil is met with nonviolent resistance, hatred is conquered by love, and death is overcome by dying. Come out of Babylon. 

Turn towards Jesus by choosing to rely completely on him. That involves trusting God rather than money for security. It involves developing a habit of doing the right things for the right reasons. It means spending time every day with Jesus, learning from Jesus how to be like Jesus.

Being with Jesus means having a righteousness greater than the typical religious person. It means searching the Hebrew Bible for the deep wisdom under all those laws and begats. It means reading the Bible through the lens of the cross. It means that the words of Jesus trump everything else.

To follow the Lamb, we need to regularly cleanse our hearts of bitterness, anger, judgementalism, and arrogance. Our minds must be scrubbed clean of national exceptionalism, contempt, and hatred. We learn not to cultivate lust or practice misogyny or divorce as was common in first century Palestine. Our speech should be simple and truthful.

Following Jesus means turning the other cheek, going the second mile, and loving our enemies. It means being people of prayer, fasting, and charity, and going about doing good, especially to those Jesus called the least of his siblings. 

A Jesus-follower takes the initiative to proactively do for others what we’d like done for us. Jesus’ people are committed to justice, peace, nonviolence, and solidarity with those who are struggling in life.  A Jesus-follower loves.

1. Go in through the narrow gate deeper into the Spirit (7:13-14)
2. Beware those who would mislead us (7:15-20), but follow those who do God’s will (7:21-23)
3. Build your life on the solid rock foundation of hearing and doing (7:24-27)