Focus: Jesus calls us to live wisely by being hearers and doers of his Word.
Function: To move people to see the connection between hearing God’s Word and doing God’s Word, so that we may reflect wisdom in our lives.
Text: Matthew 7:24-29
Worldly wisdom tends to center on high intelligence and commonly accepted values. Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawkins, for example, may therefore be perceived as scientists with great wisdom. No doubt, our universities and colleges have many wise men and women as faculty members. They have written theses, earned doctoral titles, and lectured at prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, and Columbia University. Worldly wisdom, then, usually includes high I.Q’s and high academic achievements.
But the Bible does not buy into such criteria. Wisdom comes from “fearing the Lord.” Wisdom comes from knowing your place before God, and from acknowledging his will in our lives. Should university professors and high achievers deny, for example, that there is no God, the Bible calls them “fools.”
Early on in his career, a young Dutch pastor by the name of Abraham Kuyper had earned a high academic reputation for scholarly achievements and learning. He knew his theology; that was for sure. But he did not know his Lord until he met a simple woman in his first congregation who showed him wisdom by urging Kuyper to embrace and love the Lord of true wisdom. Yes, it’s true: even smart theologians and ministers may qualify as “fools” when they do not know and acknowledge the Lord who gave them brains in the first place.
This afternoon, the Lord Jesus reminds us by way of a parable that there are two ways of living your life. You can build your life as a wise person, or you can leave behind a legacy laced by foolishness. By way of the story in Matthew 7, the Lord Jesus calls us to live wisely by being hearers and doers of his Word.
Let me say a few words about the passage. First of all, the passage forms the conclusion of Jesus’ famous sermon on the mount. That sermon began with the Beatitudes and covered a host of moral, civil and religious concerns: murder, adultery, divorce, the use of oaths, the treatment of enemies (we must love them), prayer and fasting, storing up treasures in heaven, and giving treasures or gifts to the poor and needy. The story of the wise and foolish persons building a house, then, appears at the end of Jesus’ sermon. It has the flavor of a summary teaching and of a climactic appeal. Through this story at the end of his sermon, the Lord Jesus is saying: Here is the up-shot of my message: be wise—hear and act upon my teachings.
Secondly, the passage’s punch-line story ties in directly with Jesus’ call for people to bear fruit. Just before Jesus tells us the story, he made reference to a good tree and a bad tree (vs. 18-21) and he said: “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 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.”
So, then, the story about a house solidly build upon rocks and about a house poorly build upon sand must be seen and interpreted in the larger context of Jesus’ sermon on the mount and Jesus’ comments about bearing good fruit and doing the will of his heavenly Father.
I trust, then, that now we are ready to hear the texts in its details (vs. 24, 26): “Therefore” (that is, in light of what Jesus said before), everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man…But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man….”
Note, the Lord Jesus says: “Everyone.” No one excluded. Anyone who encounters the teachings of the Lord Jesus is called to put them into practice. If you dismiss Jesus’ teachings, if you ridicule his words, if you mock their relevance, if you think that Jesus’ teachings do not apply to you, then think again. Jesus’ teachings or the Word of God applies to and comes to “everyone.” So, Jesus is speaking right now to you, and you, and you, and…me as well.
Note what Jesus says: “Everyone who hears….” Jesus uses the present, active tense of the verb “to hear.” In the original language that verb tense calls for a translation that literally goes like this: “Everyone who hears and keeps on hearing….” Jesus implies that hearing is an ongoing activity. Hearing Jesus’ words is not a once-and-for- all event. Rather, hearing Jesus’ teaching means to go back to his teaching and take note of his teachings time and time again.
I once heard president Bush speak at a commencement at Calvin College. That was a one-time event. But I never went back to listen to his speech again and again. I’ve forgotten most of what he said. Jesus, however, implies that everyone must immerse himself with his teachings. We must come back time and time again. Keep on hearing!
We must observe a similar point with the next verb: “Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice….” Here again, we notice that Jesus uses the present, active tense. The Bible translators took the verb “to do” and captured Jesus’ intent of “keep on doing his words” by translating “and puts them into practice.”
Doing Jesus’ words, then, is an ongoing activity, not a once in a lifetime event. I remember once sitting in a theme park contraption that goes around and around and around, generating about 7 G—forces. That was a one-time action on my part. You won’t see me doing that again. Hearing and doing, Jesus’ words, however, go together and they are ongoing activities, all throughout life.
What is it that we must keep on hearing and doing again and again? Note that Jesus says: “…these words of mine.” Here the Lord Jesus refers directly to his sermon on the mount, which is laced with teachings on many subjects. But Jesus also refers to the Scriptures as a whole. The words in Scripture are authentic, inspired words of God. The breath of God the Father flows through the Scriptures. And Jesus’ teachings as the Son of God resonate with the will of God as found in the Scriptures.
Remember what Jesus said earlier (vs. 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 in heaven.” Clearly, when Jesus talks about us ‘putting into practice his words,’ he is aligning himself with his heavenly Father. In fact, doing God’s will and putting into practice Jesus’ words is one and the same thing. It’s a call to live wisely by being hearers and doers of God’s Word.
The closing words of the passage underscore this very point. Why were the crowds “amazed” at Jesus’ teaching? It is because they captured an authority and authenticity in Jesus’ teaching that comes directly from the heart of God. They heard Jesus’ claim that he and the Father are one; they encountered the truth of that claim in Jesus’ teaching. And they were dumbfounded, astonished that this man called Jesus could speak as no other teacher or rabbi in Israel could or would. The crowd’s response of amazement underscores that we do well to note Jesus’ call to us today: live wisely by being hearers and doers of his teaching.
What then shall we do in response to Jesus’ call? Three things:
1. Turn to Jesus and his teachings: The teachings of Jesus are like building blocks that help us to shape and build our lives. The teachings of Jesus are like rafters that uphold the roof of a house: they give us strength in times of downpours of adversity and misery. They keep us “together” when the storms of life howl around us: when death knocks on our doors; when sickness knocks the wind out of us; when hardships and disappointments discourage our spirits. Jesus’ teachings--filled with grace and promises as well as with justice and warnings—give us stability, a peace, and a rock-solid balance in life.
Jesus’ teachings make us wise; they help us see through the wiles and lures of the devil; they give us clarity as to where our only comfort can be found in life and in death. Jesus’ teachings give us identity and purpose in life. And Jesus’ teachings leads us through the doorway of despair and death into the gift of our heavenly Father—the gift of forgiveness, of eternal life and a new heavens and earth. What shall we do in response to Jesus’ call? We must turn to Jesus and his teachings time and time again. For Jesus is our Rock on whom we build our lives.
2. Trust and deepen your faith in Christ: Whenever we hear God’s Word we may hear an invitation: “trust me,” “take the risk of obedience.” Or “this way, go ahead; it may not be clear to you now, but trust me and go there anyway.”
It is in the act of obedience and trust that we discover the truthfulness of God’s Word. It is in following through that we discover the very presence of Jesus in our midst, hearing and answering and responding to our prayers and needs and worries and hopes and fears.
By doing or enacting upon God’s Word our eyes of faith open. We see more clearly the hand of God in our lives. And we will trust more deeply, especially when times are tough and things go against us. Trust and deepen your trust in Christ.
One more thing to do:
3. Expect Trials; do not be surprised when tested: Jesus makes it clear that wise and foolish persons will face tests and trials: rains will come down; forces of water will rush at us at times; and winds will push us. As we build our lives on Jesus (or even apart from Jesus), as we live as wise persons or fools—be not surprised at trials and tests coming your way. Rather, be prepared to apply, put into practice, be doers of Jesus’ teachings, so that we may stand strong.
Years ago, I heard a story about my father-in-law. He was a hard-working Iowa farmer raising hogs. Periodically, he would sell his hogs and a trucker would haul them off the yard. One day, my father-in-law sold some hogs that had been recently vaccinated. The law required that the hogs had to stay on the farm until a certain number of days after the vaccination.
He sold the hogs; a trucker came; loaded up the entire trailer with hogs, and handed over the sales slip to my father-in-law to sign, so that the trucker could be on his way again.
My father-in-law looked at the sales slip, noticed the stipulation about vaccinations, and realized that he would break the law if he should sign the sales slip. Now all he needed to do was mark the question about vaccination, and the trucker would be on his way, the hogs off the yard and no one would ever know that the hogs were supposed to stay on the farm another week. How much more simple can it get?
But my father-in-law refused to sign the paper. To the bewilderment and consternation of the trucker, Dad opened up the gate and led out the hogs again. That was a test—one of many that came to him in his life. You and I also face tests every day.
If we are going to do what we hear Jesus teaching us, we will have to be prepared and willing to take a stand against what’s wrong. We must be willing to go against the norms of our culture, even if that includes mockery and ridicule.
Live wisely (not as fools) by being hearers and doers of God’s Word. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.