A Series on the parables of Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the
verses.)
Matthew 7:13-29
[During the first century, it was common
for a rabbi to use parables when teaching their disciples. The parables of
Jesus were stories that he told to illustrate spiritual truth using some
element from everyday life. Jesus used seeds, fish, trees, bread - things
people could easily relate to – for a “teachable moment”.]
In 1978, we bought
a house that was literally slanted. During the viewing, our realtor tried to
convince us that it wasn’t. But, when my wife laid a marble on the floor, and
it rolled from one end of the house to the other… he couldn’t deny it.
Otherwise, it was
a beautiful house with oak trim everywhere, built-in cabinets and a bay window.
Unfortunately, it was built on a landfill, and the foundation was bad. There
were huge cracks in the basement walls.
This passage in
Matthew comes at the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Like any good preacher,
he saved the punch line for the end of his sermon. To start with, he gave his
listeners this warning.
13-14 “Don’t
look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing
formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t
fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God! —is vigorous and requires total attention. MSG
The ESV translates
this as “the gate is wide that leads to
destruction” and “the gate is narrow that
leads to life”. Those gates are evident with every decision we make and every
action we take. We daily choose between life and destruction.
To this point, Jesus
closed his sermon with the parable of the wise and foolish builders, a parable about
building on a solid foundation.
24-25 “These
words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner
improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to
build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart
carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river
flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. MSG
Long after we sold
our house, it was condemned by the city and demolished. In this parable, Jesus made
the assumption that rain, floods and winds - the storms of life - will happen. But
he also taught that if you build your house - your life - on the Rock, then you
will withstand the storms of life.
It may not be
pretty. In fact, it may very messy. But in the end, Jesus is always faithful,
and his Word is eternal. How firm a foundation is not a question, but a
statement.
How
firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What
more can be said than to you God hath said,
to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?
***
15 Anyone
with ears to hear should listen and understand!
Matthew
11 NLT
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