“Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matthew 7: 24-29, NKJV.
Dear God, please speak to our hearts this day, in tones of love and mercy! Please encourage us in our innermost being to aspire to do Your will. In the holy name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
As I said earlier in our study on this chapter, in His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave to the world, the greatest treatise on ethics, this world has ever known. It was also a masterpiece on religion, and life as a whole. All of Christ’s teachings were, and are, so complete, that, “happy is the person who does them!” It was at the close of this sermon, that people marvelled at His teaching! It was like nothing they had ever heard before! He spoke with authority, not like the other religious teachers.
The reason Jesus’ authority was felt, and appreciated, was because He embodied His teachings! He preached what He believed – therefore, He lived what He preached. Not like the religious preachers of His day, of whom He spoke these words, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23: 1-4). Empty words, lifeless words. Their words were void of significance, because those who taught them, did not practice them!
On the other hand, Jesus taught us a form of forgiveness that we have never seen before, nor after. He taught: ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5: 44). Some of His last words, as He hung dying, were: ” ‘ “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do” ‘ ” (Luke 23: 34). His Words were Words of life, because He lived them!
Therefore, when He spoke the words of our Scripture for today, the people were spellbound. They could believe His Word. They could build upon His Word. They could trust His Word. The philosophies of human beings oftentimes sound good, but when put to the acid test, many crumble! Not so with the teachings of the Master. He spoke Words of life – “Wonderful Words of life.” The reason? Because He is life; and everything that comes from Him, is life-producing.
We do good to take heed to the words of John, the revelator: “Blessed is [the person] who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1: 3). John was speaking of the words written in the book of Revelation. But we can be sure that they can just as effectively, be applied to, “every word, that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD” (Matthew 4: 4)!
These words have, and will, withstand “the floods [that come], and the winds [that blow] and beat on that house;” and your house will not fall, if it is “founded on the Rock – Christ Jesus, and on His “Wonderful words of life” (P. P. Bliss)!