Matthew 7:21-29
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
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 things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7:21-23 concludes a series of warnings against false prophets begun in verse 15.
From the source Matthew and Luke have in common, 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. The statement raises the question that we as readers need to ponder: Who can enter a life ruled by God? The profession of faith that Jesus is Lord is important. However, persons who enter the kingdom of heaven are those who actually do the will of the Father, for which we pray to be done on earth as it is in heaven the Lord’s Prayer. Becoming a faithful doer of the word is the only way to reflect a life ruled by God. The version of the saying in Luke 6:46 is worth pondering as closer to what Jesus might have said.
From the material unique to Matthew,[1] 22 On that day, the day of judgment in determining who will enter the kingdom of heaven, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Yet, it seems assured that those who prophesy in the name of Jesus, cast out demons, and do many deeds of power in the name of Jesus, would be among those who enter the kingdom of heaven. Yet, could persons who can do such mighty deeds subvert the way of Jesus? The saying may reflect the concern of the later community Jewish-Christian community that had the experience of those who seemed charismatically endowed with dramatic spiritual gifts who did not have the interior life or character the community also valued. 23 Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ Yes, even people who say and do these things have no assurances and may in fact be serving evil. External displays of religiosity are not always safe indicators of internal character and righteousness. Character and genuine righteousness are more important. Reflecting the rule of God in our lives is not a matter of the grand gesture, mighty words, or exercising prominent gifts.
Matthew 7:24-27 contains a saying on what hearing really means. The source is Q. Again, for the Jesus Seminar, referring to the final judgment was not something characteristic of the teaching of Jesus. I find this wishful thinking on the part of these modern scholars. 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!” One displays wisdom when one builds one’s life on being a faithful doer of the word of Jesus. The image of the two foundations belongs to common Israelite, Judean, and rabbinic lore. Several rabbis of the late first and early second centuries are credited with creating similar parables to stress the need of putting teaching into practice. Those who listen to Jesus’ teachings but do not act on them lay one kind of foundation; those who listen and then act build the other kind of foundation. The first invites destruction in the deluge, the second will withstand the final test.
When we gather as a community, listen to sermons, reflect on Scripture, hear sermons, examine our lives, we are in the process of building a foundation for our lives.[2] God is patiently constructing our character in such a way that we are enabled to withstand the challenges and storms that may come our way. Each of us must, therefore, examine ourselves to judge whether we are building our lives, constructing our character, on a firm foundation of faith.
Jesus discusses home construction at the end of the Sermon on the Mount in order to address to speak to the matter of the choices we make. God has graciously given each of us a hand in the construction of that building that is our soul. Each of us is busy building a life, brick by brick, board by board, one experience after another. Every experience that we have, all the good and bad that happen to us, becomes part of us. Brick by brick, stone by stone.
When I was a teen and living in Austin, MN, I was just goofing around with a friend in playing catch with a football. A throw got close to a barbed wire fence, and I scraped my right hand across one of the barbs. You can still see the scar today.
You have scars, maybe not on your body, but in your soul, from various misfortunes that have come your way. Perhaps these misfortunes have not left you bleeding and broken, but they have left you a bit bruised. "Sadder but wiser," we sometimes say after we have recovered from some bad experience. The scars are beneath the surface. Most people never see them in you, but they are part of your foundation, at the base of who you are.
We make decisions about which step to take next, which way to turn now, as if building a house, brick by brick, stone by stone. In a way, we are building a home called our soul. Our decisions are interesting because they contribute to, or detract from, our becoming certain sorts of persons.
One of the challenges of building a house is having to make hundreds of big and small decisions: wallpaper, shingles, and the carpet. Some of the decisions are rather frightening because you know that you must live with these decisions for years to come. You do not want to be in the position of saying something like, “I wish I had made the kitchen smaller and the living room larger.”
Some construction decisions look different when we move from the blueprints to the actual house. Our lives, too, become the sum of our decisions. We thought, when we were deciding, that things would turn out one way. But then, after the decision has been made, things turn out quite differently and we are filled with regret. Building is like that.
Sometimes we do not realize how dumb some of our decisions were until it is too late. I have heard more than one parent lament, "I was working so hard, while my children were young, to provide for them. Then I woke up one day and the children were grown and gone. I was foolish to have missed so much of their young lives with all of my work."
Thus, Jesus tells about a man who wisely built his house on a solid rock foundation. Another man unwisely built his house on a foundation of shifting sand. When the rain came and the rivers rose, the foolish man's house was quickly destroyed. "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."
"Christ is the cornerstone," Scripture says elsewhere. "Christ is the sure foundation." Here is a solid, dependable foundation upon which to build a life - the example, the life, and the teachings of Jesus. We demonstrate wisdom through obedience to his words.
The Sermon on the Mount is a good place to reflect upon the construction of your soul. Reflect upon the beatitudes. Reflect upon a life of nonviolence and love. Reflect upon the genuineness of your devotional acts. Make sure your life is a matter of constructing a soul that embodies the Lord’s Prayer.
The good news is, Jesus promises us that the way of wisdom is available to us all. The way to a good life, built upon a solid foundation, is not some secret, some mystery available only to a few who happen to be particularly gifted at soul construction. Jesus loves us enough to show us the way, to tell us the truth, to give us the bricks and the mortar, the beams and the rafters to build well.
When one comes to the end of life an embittered, disillusioned, soured person, we are seeing a person who lacked the moral resources to deal with life's difficulties and disappointments. As we live, through our decisions, our experiences, the people who befriend us, and the people whom we befriend, we are amassing the moral resources to deal with the demands of life. We are building, brick by brick, a solid foundation.
On the other hand, when it comes to the end, there are those who appear to have been carefully constructing their souls in preparation for the final battle. When it comes time for the winds and the rain to beat against their lives, their foundation remains secure. When one comes to the end of life with the privilege of growing old gracefully, one has learned to face the challenges throughout the course of life with a similar grace and dignity.
Little wonder that Matthew concludes the Sermon on the Mount with an affirmation of what Jesus taught. 28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
[1] Verses 22-23, according to some scholars, reflects a situation in the Christian community long after Jesus' day, when other Jews accused Christian prophets and miracle workers of subverting the Mosaic Law. For them, this kind of charge echoes such controversies over the Law as the one carried on by Peter and Paul over circumcision and kosher food. It shows Matthew’s resolve to keep the Christian movement within the bounds of the Mosaic Law. Thus, for such scholars, these sayings reflect a perspective far removed from Jesus.
[2] Inspired by William Willimon, 2002.
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