“The wise man built his house upon the rock…/ And the rains came tumbling down // The rains came down and the floods came up… / And the house on the rock stood firm // The foolish man built his house upon the sand… / And the rains came tumbling down // The rains came down and the floods came up… / And the house on the sand went smash!”
“The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” by Cedermont Kids
You may or may not recognize this children’s Sunday school song. This is one that I grew up singing at church, and it was one of my favorites! I remember the most exciting part of the song was singing that last line: “the house…went smash!” And then slapping your hands together as if you were smashing something between them.
Well, this children’s song is based upon a parable that Jesus taught during His earthly ministry, which can be found in the Gospel of Matthew. Let’s take a look at what it says:
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
Matthew 7:24-27 (ESV)
If you study this story carefully, you’ll notice that without knowing what the foundations of these two houses are made up of, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference—both would seem to be like two normal houses.
You’ll also notice that both men (and their houses) experienced the same storm. Yet, it was the wise man’s house that stood firm and the foolish man’s that collapsed.
Jesus told this parable at the end of His Sermon on the Mount (which you can read in Matthew 5-7). His main audience of this sermon was His twelve disciples, though there were many other people that had gathered to listen to it up on a hillside that overlooked the Sea of Galilee. That’s why it’s referred to as the Sermon on the Mount.
With the parable of the wise man and the foolish man, specifically, Jesus was challenging His disciples—and in extension all those who heard it and would read it—to answer two questions:
- What were they building their lives upon?
- If they claimed to follow Jesus, was their faith real/genuine?
Jesus wanted His disciples to determine whether they were building their faith/their lives upon Him—The Rock—or upon the world—the sand.
In Matthew 7:24, Jesus said,
“Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
“And anyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.”
The people listening that day would have understood the logic behind Jesus’ words. In Israel at that time, sand near the seashore “was hard on the surface during the hot summer months” (Wilkens 327). This gave it the appearance of being a sturdy foundation, yet in reality, it was still sand—little rocks—which would make it unstable once cold and/or stormy weather hit.
Wise builders at that time would have known this fact. So, instead of building a house on top of the sand, they “would dig down sometimes ten feet below the surface sand to the bedrock” to “establish the foundation” of a house (Wilkens 327).
People in Jesus’ day knew that building anything on the surface level sand was foolish. They knew that they had to build their foundation on the bedrock deep below the surface to ensure that it would remain standing through the storms.
Jesus was comparing the the surface level sand that the foolish man had built his house upon to the surface level teachings of the religious leaders in His day.
Michael Wilkens, a biblical commentator noted:
“The religious establishment was advocating a form of surface righteousness that masked an unstable foundation of religious hypocrisy. Eventually, its instability would be revealed as not having the answers to the deepest needs of the people” (327).
Jesus was trying to convey to His audience that they needed to build their lives on something deeper and more stable than the teachings of the religious leaders if they wanted to meet their deepest needs.
Today, Jesus is telling us that we need to build our lives on something deeper and more stable than the ever-shifting teachings of the world.
He is telling us that we need to build our lives on Himself and His written words in the Bible.
Jesus was and is asking His audience to reflect upon this challenge based upon their stage of life:
- If you haven’t yet surrendered your life to Jesus—as many of the people in the crowd had not—Jesus is asking you to either choose Him or reject Him as your foundation. Will you build your life on the Rock or on the sand?
- If you claim to be a Christian—like the disciples—Jesus is asking you to evaluate whether or not your faith is genuine. Have you built your life on the Rock or the sand?
- If you are a current or future ministry leader—like the religious teachers—you are asked to evaluate your teachings. Are you preaching the solid truth or twisted lies?
So, have you chosen Jesus, the Rock, or the sand of this world?
The integrity of our faith is what will matter when the inevitable storms of life come.
M. Eugene Boring explains this idea well in his commentary on Matthew:
“Although both builders seem to be getting along well in the present, only the one who has built with the coming storm in mind is secure” (218).
In other words, the foundation of our faith matters. We know that storms come in this life. So if we build our lives on Jesus (the Rock), we will be prepared and our foundation will not fail.
When the storm hit in Jesus’ parable, the two houses handled the winds differently:
- The wise man’s house stood firm because its foundation was on the deep, solid rock (Mt. 7:25).
- The foolish man’s house “fell with a great crash” because its foundation was on the shallow, shifting sand (Mt. 7:27, NIV).
Jesus emphasized the need for those listening and reading this parable to prepare for the storms that would and will surely come in life.
If you—like the wise man who built his house upon the rock—choose to build your life upon Jesus, the Solid Rock, then your faith will stand strong during the trials of your life.
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Psalm 18:2 (ESV)
A little over a year ago, the foundation of my faith was tested.
About a month after I began the school year at a new college, my dear grandfather passed away suddenly. I was extremely close to him, so his sudden passing rocked me to the core.
I couldn’t comprehend the fact that he was no longer living here on Earth. I knew that he was home with Jesus, but I was heartbroken that he wasn’t home with me.
I questioned God for months after my grandpa’s death—and sometimes I still wonder even though I know the truth.
God, why did you allow my grandpa to die at that moment? Why does the grief I feel have to hurt so much? God, are you even good? I believe, help my unbelief! (Mark 9:24). These are some of the questions that I asked.
Up until that point, I never truly had to wrestle with the questions of my own faith. Yes, I had been through my fair share of storms, but this one was different. This one was felt like a hurricane, or perhaps a tsunami.
Yet, by God’s grace and mercy, He provided me with a dear friend to help me process through my doubts. God provided songs and Bible passages to comfort me in my grief and confusion—one of those passages was a story of a father who asked Jesus for a miracle, and then asked for His help to believe (Mark 9:14-29).
I have chosen to make Jesus the foundation of my life, of my faith. Even though the passing of my grandpa led me to doubt and question my faith, Jesus—my foundation—patiently walked beside me and held me up during that terrible, terrible storm.
Take after the wise man and choose to make Jesus the foundation of your life. He will carry you through every storm and you will reach the other side—whether that’s here on Earth, or in Heaven at the feet of the King Jesus.
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.”
Psalm 28:7 (NIV)
*This blog post is adapted from a speech I gave my Speaking the Faith class in the Spring 2022.*
Sources
The Bible. The English Standard Version (ESV).
The Bible. The New International Version (NIV).
Boring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections.” Essay.
In New Testament Articles, Matthew, Mark III, III:87–505. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Abingdon Press, 1995.
Wilkins, Michael J. “Matthew 7:13-29.” Essay. In Matthew, 320–36. The NIV Application
Commentary. Zondervan, 2004.
Eternally Planted 