MATTHEW 7:24-27
BUILDING YOUR HOUSE ON A
SOLID GROUND
'Everyone who hears my teaching
and applies it to his life can be compared to a
wise man who built his house on
an
unshakable foundation.
When the rains fell and the flood came,
with fierce winds beating upon his
house, it stood firm because of. its
strong foundation
Words Taken from a wise counselor...
'It is never Too Late"
To be All
God Created YOU to BE!:)
"Now the Sons of Eli were worthless men;
They did Not Know The LORD....
Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD,
as a boy
WEARING A LINEN EPHOD" (1 Sam 2:12, 18).
Many readers of the story of Samuel have, no doubt,
wondered it is possible for Samuel
to serve as a priest in
the
Tabernacle at Shiloh
since he has already been introduced by the author
as an Ephrathite
(1 Sam 1:1).
Samuel represents, as it were,
a better, priesthood whom
God raised up
because of the wickedness of the
Levitical priests.
Confirmation of this interpretation comes
by way of an altogether shocking presentation
of King David later in the book.
David, who is himself
from the
tribe of Judah,
is also described like a priest,
with words borrowed directly from 1 Sam 2:18: "
And David was dancing before the LORD
with all his might,
and David was WEARING A LINEN EPHOD"
(2 Sam 6:14)
David,
The
anointed one of Israel,
is not only dressed like a priest
(see 1 sam 22:18; 1 Chron 15:27),
but also does deeds exclusively permitted
for the priesthood
(1 Sam 21:1-6; 2 Sam 24:25),
and has
sons who function as priests
(2 Sam 8:18).
This ought not be surprising, however, when we consider
The Torah's critique of Aaron
(Exod 32:1-7) and his sons (Lev 10:1-2), and
Moses' role as
a "higher than the high priest"
in his
mediation on Aaron's behalf
(Deut 9:20),
and even in his
ordination
of Aaron and his sons to
the priesthood
(Leviticus 8-9).
There is a deep-seated longing and and
'firmly- rooted'
expectation in the Hebrew Bible
for a
better priest and a better priesthood
(Zech 6:9-13; Psa 110:4),
concerning which Samuel and
David
serve as shadows
Jesus'
non-Levitical priesthood,
therefore,
is not a violation of the
Torah's storyline,
but comes as its
perfect fulfillment
"For the one concerning whom
these things are spoken
belongs to another tribe,
from which
no one has officiated at the altar
Matt *5:17*
For it is evident that our Lord
was descended from Judah, a tribe with
reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests.
And this is clearer still,
if another priest arises according to the
likeness of Melchizedek,
who has become such not on the basis of a
law of physical requirement,
but according to the
power of an indestructible life"
(Heb 7:13-16).
Matthew 7:24-27
Building on a Solid Foundation
The story of the wise man who
built his house upon a rock
is found in Matthew 7:24–27. It is one of the parables of Jesus.
During His Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus told a story about
two men:
one who built his house upon a rock and another who
built his house upon sand.
The house built upon a rock weathered the storm,
and the builder is called wise;
but the house built on the sand collapsed during the storm,
and the builder is called foolish.
The meaning of this parable is
quite obvious: proper foundations are necessary.
With a literal house, it is unwise to build on sand, because
the foundation will be unsteady and the house will eventually
suffer some kind of damage.
This will waste resources,
and all the time and work put into building
the house in the first place
will have gone for nothing.
In contrast, it is wise to build one’s house
on a sure foundation;
anchoring to bedrock makes a building
withstand the test.
But Jesus’ sermon was not concerned with
house construction or building code violations.
The spiritual meaning of the parable is found
in Matthew 7:24:
“Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
into practice is like a wise man who built
his house on the rock.”
We are each building a life.
The proper foundation for a life is Jesus’ words--
not just the hearing of them,
but the doing of them, too
(see James 1:22).
It seems at times that everything in the world is set up to make us
turn away from God’s words.
And often, our own feelings pull us toward doing the
exact opposite
of what the Bible says.
But a wise man will follow the words of God despite
these pressures—not as a way
to “show off” or earn salvation,
but because he trusts God.
All through the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus presented Himself as the
final authority
on and fulfiller of the Law;
He ends the sermon with a call to
heed His message and, in fact,
find one’s security in Him
(see 1 Corinthians 3:11).
As we follow the Lord, learning to trust and obey Him, we receive a reward: our “house” is steady and solid, unshaken by circumstances.
The wise man is the believer whose life is
built upon the Rock of Christ; in this world he has faith and hope,
and in the next
everlasting life and love
(see 1 Corinthians 13:13).
The wise man is like the tree planted by the
riverside,
whose leaf does not wither
(Psalm 1:1–3).
You are the Christ, the son of the
living God.”
"Jesus had never explicitly taught Peter and the other disciples
the
fullness of His identity,
and He recognized that God had sovereignly
opened Peter’s eyes and
revealed
to him who Jesus really was.
His confession of
Christ as Messiah
poured forth from him, a heartfelt declaration of
Peter’s personal faith in Jesus.
It is this personal faith in Christ which is the hallmark of the true Christian.
Those who have placed their faith in Christ, as Peter did,
are the church.
Peter expresses this in 1 Peter 2:4 when he addressed the believers who had been dispersed around the ancient world:
"Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men,
but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones,
are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
Peter, confesses that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God,
and those confessions of faith
are the bedrock and only foundation of the church.
In addition,
the New Testament makes it
abundantly clear
that
Christ is both the foundation
(Acts 4:11, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:11)
and the head
(Ephesians 5:23) of the church.
It is a mistake
to think that here
He is giving either of those
roles to Peter.
There is a sense in which the
apostles played a foundational
role in the building of the
church
(Ephesians 2:20),
but the role of primacy is reserved for
Christ alone,
not assigned to Peter.
So, Jesus’ words here are best interpreted as a simple play on words in that a boulder-like truth came from the mouth of one who was called a small stone. And Christ Himself is called the “chief cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:6, 7). The chief cornerstone of any building was that upon which the building was anchored. If Christ declared Himself to be the cornerstone, how could Peter be the rock upon which the church was built? It is more likely that the believers, of which Peter is one, are the stones which make up the church, anchored upon the Cornerstone, “and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
Since ancient times, builders have used cornerstones in their construction projects. A cornerstone was the
principal stone,
usually placed at the corner of an edifice,
to guide the workers in their course.
The cornerstone
was usually one of the largest,
the most solid,
and the most carefully constructed of
any in the edifice.
The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that
His church would be built upon.
He is foundational.
Once the cornerstone
was set,
it became the basis for determining
every measurement
in the
remaining construction;
everything was aligned to it.
As the cornerstone of the
building of the church,
Jesus is our standard
of
measure and alignment.
The book of Isaiah has many references to the
Messiah to come.
In several places the
Messiah is referred to as “the cornerstone,”
such as in this prophecy: “
So this is what the sovereign Lord says: ‘
See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a
sure foundation;
the one
who trusts will never be dismayed.
I will make justice
the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line’”
(Isaiah 28:16–17).
In context,
God speaks to the scoffers and boasters of Judah,
and He promises to send the cornerstone—His precious Son--
who will provide the firm foundation for their lives,
if they would but trust in Him.
In the New Testament, the cornerstone metaphor is continued.
The apostle Paul desires for the Ephesian Christians to
know Christ better: “
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God’s people and
members of God’s household, built on the
foundation of the
apostles and prophets,
with
Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
In him
the whole building is joined together
and rises to
become a holy temple in the Lord”
(Ephesians 2:19– 21).
Furthermore, in 1 Peter 2:6, what Isaiah said centuries before is
affirmed in exactly the same words.
Peter says that Jesus, as
our cornerstone, is chosen by God
and precious to him”
(1 Peter 2:4). The Cornerstone is also reliable, and
"the one who trusts in him
will never
be put to shame”
Unfortunately, not everyone
aligns with the cornerstone.
Some accept Christ; some reject Him.
Jesus is the
"stone the builders rejected”
(Mark 12:10; cf. Psalm 118:22).
When
news of the Messiah’s arrival
came to the magi in the East,
they determined to bring Him
gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But when that same news came to King Herod in Jerusalem,
his response was to attempt to
kill Him.
From the very beginning,
Jesus was “a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock
that makes them fall”
(1 Peter 2:8).
How can people reject
God’s
chosen, precious cornerstone?
Simply put, they want to build something different from what God is building. Just as the people building the tower of Babel rebelled against God and pursued their own project, those who reject Christ disregard God’s plan in favor of their own. Judgment is promised to all those who reject Christ: “Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matthew 21:44).
Jesus Christ as a cornerstone means that
He is the foundation,
the measuring guide, and the
promise of God to
His creation. He is the light
that guides us
to a straight path whenever we are in darkness.
He is the foundation
that makes our faith even stronger and
will make the Church stronger.