The Parable of Factory-Made Homes (Matthew 7:24-27)

Drew and Scott, 2 co-workers, were both shocked and surprised to see each other at Big Al’s Factory-Made Home Sales. After chatting in the waiting room a bit, the two men realized it made sense for both of them to be there. Both men worked for the same company, under the same job title with job description. Both of them worked the same shift and hours, and both got paid the same wages. Both of them put aside a little of each paycheck in a savings account to put towards a house, and now both of them had saved enough to purchase a house, so they could move out of their small apartments. It only made sense that they both went to Big Al’s Factory-Made Home Sales, the most affordable homes in the area.

After a short while, Big Al invited both men into his office to finish signing and initialing papers, so they could officially become home owners. As both men signed here and initialed there, Big Al spoke up in his southern draw, “Now I’m going to give you boys a tip. I know my houses look so fine that they look like you can move into them day one, but these houses need a foundation. Heed my advice and build a foundation for your home before moving into them.” Drew and Scott paused and looked at each other. They knew they both thought the same thing, but only Scott bravely spoke. “Are you kidding me?! You know how much money I’ve poured into this home! Now you want me to spend even more money by building foundation?! I think not! I suppose I could save some by cutting labor costs and providing my own labor, but I already burned enough of my free time working overtime in order to save up for this home, and I’m not about to waste anymore free time by building a foundation. Please deliver the home to the address I provided in the paperwork and place it on the cinder blocks. It will be good enough for me.” With that, Scott signed his last signature, initialed his last initials, snatched his keys and walked out of the office.

Drew leaned back in the office chair. He thought about what Scott said, and he could definitely relate. He too worked a lot of overtime and spent a lot of money on his home. Big Al, on the other hand, made a good point, too. Al had worked in the business so long, he must knew what he was talking about. After signing his last signature and initialing his last initials, Drew asked Big Al if he could kindly hold on to the home until Drew had a foundation in place on his lot. Big smiled and agreed. Drew then went back to his apartment and called his landlord to see if he could extend the lease a bit longer. The landlord understood and agreed to extend the lease another month. Then Drew began laying his foundation. It might have taken him a few more weeks to move in his new home than Scott, but finally, Drew could move into his new house.

Shortly after Drew moved into his new home, meteorologists buzzed on the news about Hurricane Damion. “Hurricane Damion is on its way! Just because this hurricane has been downgraded from a category 5 hurricane to a category 3 hurricane does not mean it should be taken lightly! Gather up supplies. You may go days without power or water. Board up your houses. When the hurricane comes, remember to stay in the center room of your house on downstairs floor.” Everyone listened the meteorologists. Anyone who attempted to go to a grocery store within a 5-mile radius of their home found all the bottled water and batteries sold out! Both Drew and Scott prepared for the storm, buying extra supplies and boarding up the houses. Both felt confident in their new homes. Drew felt especially assured with his newly laid foundation. Scott did feel confident, but as the hurricane got closer, Scott thought about how his father and mother complained that he never visited enough, so Scott decided now would be a good time to visit his parents out in the Great Plains.

The day came when the Hurricane Damion arrived. It only took 1 day to pass through, but it left its mark, from the uprooted trees to the down power lines. When Drew heard the hurricane passed over, he walked out the front door, took a few steps out into the front lawn, and he looked back at his house. The hurricane’s winds had ripped off a few shingles and a strip of siding, but besides that, the home stood intact. Drew smiled, glad he took Big Al’s advice. A few days later, Scott’s flight home touched down in the airport. From there, Scott drove home…or at least he thought he did. When Drew got there, he found an empty lot. He went to go look at the house number on the mailbox, but the mailbox had disappeared, too. He checked the GPS on his phone, and yes, he had the write address. Where was his house? After driving around a bit, in the nearby trailer park, Scott found his home…or what he believed to be his home. In reality, Scott found a pile of wood, drywall and insulation. Scott pulled out his cell phone, dialed up his mother, and said, “Hey mom, you know how you always complain that I never visit enough? Well, guess whose coming back to visit?”

What you have just read is what I call The Parable of the Factory-Made Homes. This is a 21st century version of a parable Jesus told in the 1st century. Back while in seminary, my preaching professor taught us that when teaching a parable of Jesus, a preacher should re-tell the parable in a 21st century context. I agree with his teaching. All the parable Jesus taught Jesus extremely contextualized, so his open-minded audience would understand the message, while the close-minded audience would not understand. Therefore, Jesus used the 1st century culture as his context, a context which would make no sense to the modern-day culture in the 21st century. So preacher should study what Jesus intended the parable to mean, and then teach the parable in a 21st century cultural context that the audience could comprehend. Still, because I am not an omniscient rabbi, my parable fails in comparison to the Lord’s parable, so let’s understand the original parable in light of the 1st century context.

I invite you to turn Matthew 7:24-27. Recall that Matthew is a Jewish man, writing to a Jewish audience, convincing them that Jesus was the long-awaited Jewish Messiah. Matthew does so by stocking his Gospel account full of Old Testament references. Old Testament references does not merely refer to quoting Old Testament Scripture. Matthew constantly paints Jesus in light of the Old Testament heroes of faith, like Abraham, Moses and David, to display HIM as like these men, but better. This parable comes from the Sermon of Mount. Just as Moses taught the Israelites the Law on Mount Sinai, so Matthew paints Jesus, on the Mount, teaching the Law, just like Moses. In accordance with covenants, after listing the laws and stipulations of the covenant, Moses would then pronounce blessings to those who obey and denounce curses on those who disobey. In the same way, Jesus ends his teaching with promises to bless the obedient and curse the disobedient, in the form of a parable. More specifically, this famous parable concluding the Sermon on the Mount. This context gives a stronger meaning to the Sermon on the Mount itself. Jesus just finished teaching believers about kingdom of heaven living. This parable challenges the audience to follow the teaching Jesus just laid before them. Jesus knows the crowd heard his teaching, and now he challenges the crowd to listen to his teaching. The choice does not lie within which teachings to accept and reject, but rather, the crowd can only choose to either follow the teachings presented before them. If the people put the teachings of Jesus into practice, the people have accepted them, but if they don’t put Christ’s words into practice, the people reject them. As commentator R.T. France states, “The teaching of the Sermon of the Mount is not an ideal to be admired, but a law to be obeyed.”

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” ~Matthew 7:24

Following the pattern of Proverbs (see Proverbs 10:8&14), Jesus parallels a wise man and foolish man, only with a slight different, demonstrating that the contrasting decisions result in contrasting consequences. For the first simile, Jesus compares those who listen to his words to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. In the Greek, Jesus emphasizes the word “mine,” demonstrating that his teaching is not another rabbi’s interpretation but the truth from God himself. Up to this point, the Jewish people put their hopes in the traditions and interpretations of the Pharisees, which were like shifting sands. Jesus called the crowd to put their trust in his truth, which came from God, the same God they knew from the Old Testament. In the parable, the wise man builds his house on the rock. Jesus took advantage of his setting, and this statement would have made sense to all the locals. In Galilee, a man building a house on a rock foundation would not have to dig far, and sometimes did not have to dig at all. A Jewish audience would immediately know the rock refers to God. The Old Testament refers to God as the rock numerous times because the metaphor illustrates the strength, security and stability of the Lord (see Deuteronomy 32:4, 1 Samuel 2:2, 2 Samuel 22:3, Psalm 18:2 and Isaiah 17:10).

“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.” ~Matthew 7:25

What Jesus describes in Matthew 7:25 is your typical Galilean autumn storm. Most often, Galilean autumn storms would cause flash flooding. Galilee can become quite dry in the autumn. The dry ground cannot speedily absorb the torrential downpour, resulting in flash flooding. Not only would the heavy rains themselves cause the land to flood, but the rains would cause nearby rivers to overflow, adding to the floods. Pretty, during these Galilean autumn storms, it would appears as if the waters came from both down and up. Jesus uses 2 action verbs to describe the winds, emphasizing that the winds came from every direction and that suck winds have the power to knock over buildings. Those listening to the story would expect the house to collapse, yet it does not. The Galilean homes built on a rock foundation would survive such storms. In the last independent clause of verse 25, the Greek text emphasizes “stood firm,” but past perfect indicative passive state. This tense emphasizes that the house stood firm because of its rock foundation. Likewise, those who hear the words of Jesus and put them to practice will survive the storms of life, both literally and metaphorically.

“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. 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 7:26,27

The Jewish audience, familiar with the Proverbs, expect Jesus to provide a counter example to contrast the fates (see Proverbs 10:25, 12:7 and 14:11). For this counter example, Jesus describes someone who does not apply his words as a foolish man who builds his house on sand. The Greek word used here for foolish is μωρός (moros), from which we get the English word “moron.” Scholars have attempted to locate where the sandy lands might be, but the consensus seem to be that Jesus means the land that’s not the rock foundation. Notice the words Jesus used to describe the storm that hit the house with the sandy foundation matches the words used to describe the house with the rock foundation. The floods caused by the Galilean autumn storms would wash away sands and destabilize any house built on the sand foundation. While a home built on the rock might receive some wear and tear from the story, a house built on the sand would face utter destruction. Likewise, anyone who does not pay attention to the words of Jesus lead themselves down the road of utter destruction.

In both Christ’s parable and my re-telling of Christ’s parable, the reader will see the main characters had many similarities. Both men wanted to build a house. Both men got a house which looked ready to move into and settle. Both men might have even used the same design and the same materials to build the house. The variance, however, was the foundation. That variance resulted in impacting the men differently. When the storms came, the wise man still had a house, but the foolish man had a pile of rubble where the house one stood. To bring the parable up to its meaning, in the same way, multiple will hear the words of Jesus numerous times. The only thing separating those people is whether they apply, or do, those words.

Rabbis during the time of Jesus actually debated if hearing or doing was more importance. Although the consensus seemed to be both hearing and doing, a lot of them actually concluded hearing was more important than doing. They figured that a believer cannot do unless the hear, and thus, hearing had to be more important. Jesus, however, says contrary. If someone hears his teaching, he or she now has a duty to follow them. Perhaps Jesus might have intended to call out the Pharisees nearby, who knew what the Law had to say, but they did not obey it. If I may roughly paraphrase the words of commentator A.T. Robinson, “If a Christian wants to live dangerously, the Christian should listen to sermons with no intention of following them.”

Readers tend to think of the storms representing hardships in life, and rightfully so, but the storms could also represent God’s justice. Think about it. In the parable, those who built their home on the rock find themselves rewarded with a safe and secure home during storms, while those who build their house on the sand find themselves cursed with a destroyed house. In the same way, everybody who hears and does the words of Jesus will find themselves blessed on the day of judgment, while everyone hears the words of Jesus and does not do them will find themselves cursed. In the end, at the final judgment, it will all come down to what God thinks, not what other people think, nor what we think of ourselves. Therefore, the best application of this parable is to prepare ourselves for the final judgment by doing what Jesus has taught us.

While the final judgment will be the last and greatest judgment of all, the Christian should not focus solely the great, final judgment that will come in the future. Judgment can happen in the present, just as much as it will in the future. Judgment will sometimes come from God, but judgment can also come in forms from the world and from life in general. Until the day of the great, final, judgment, the Christian should interpret the storms on the trials and tribulations that will lead up the eschaton. The trials and tribulations, although small in comparison to the great, final judgment, will prepare and test the Christian for the great, final judgment. Those who deny their faith when the trials and tribulations on this earth come will not pass the great, final judgment. Those who will survive the trials and tribulations of life, as well as the great, final judgement, are those who heard the words of Jesus and put them into practice. Just like in the parable, many will hear the words of Jesus, and many will go through trials, tribulation and judgment. Those who put the words of Jesus into practice will survive all trials, tribulations and judgments, but those who did not practice Christ’s words seal their fate. And what’s the number 1 test and trial? Time. False apostles, prophets and teachers stop speaking of the faith in a matter of time, but the true children of God live act out the Word of God until their final breath.

This parable teaches Christians 3 lessons.

First, the parable leaves Christians to ask themselves, “What do we really believe?” Clearly, this parable teaches that true belief doesn’t simply profess. Belief does not simply parrot the words of Jesus, either. True belief leads the believer to act. If believers really believe something, it will cause the believer to act in a certain way. If Christians proclaim the Lord has omnipotent, or all-power, Christians should depend on him when they feel powerless, rather than on their own strength. If Christians proclaim God as omnibenevolent, or all-good, Christians should blame him for when evil happens in their life. If Christians act contrary to their doctrine, or don’t act at all, do they really believe their doctrine?

Second, this parable instructs Christians to work hard on their faith. I took this parable of out Matthew because most Christians recognize the parable from Matthew, but Luke also records Jesus teaching this parable during his Sermon on the Level Plain. While the two variations of the parable have slight differences (some of which probably account to the location), one sticks out in particular. Luke records Jesus mentioning that the wise man dug deep into his foundation on the rock. Foundations take hard work to build. When the bedrock of Galilee sits on or near the surface, to make it function as a sturdy foundation, the builder has to dig deep into it. One of my ancient sources comes from a Greek historian. He records that once he visited an Arab man in Galilee. The Arab man knew of the earthquakes and floods that hit the land, so he dig 10 meters (or 30 feet) deep into the bedroom to make sure the pillars would not move during a natural disaster. The Greek historian looked on in amazement, not at the elegance of the pillars, but rather, at the how deep the Arab man dug just to make sure the pillars stood still. I understand this amazement. I assisted on an archaeological dig when I visited Israel. For this archaeological dig, I had to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to get ready for a dig at 4:00 a.m. Just like a typical work shift, I ended at noon. An archaeological dig need to happen so early in the morning because the sun is brutally unforgiving. Temperatures could easily rise 100 degrees Fahrenheit by noon. I carried around a half gallon jug of water every day, and every day, I finished it by the end of the day. Even with an awning over the dig site, working outside, even washing pottery, becomes unbearable. This is the 21^st century, with digital alarm clocks and light bulbs. Imagine living in Galilee in the 1^st century A.D. Digging requires the sunlight to see, so the digger of a foundation has work in the heat of sun. The builder faces temptation to build in the sand because of ease. The builder has to spend less time in the sun and doesn’t have work as building his home on a sandy foundation. The rock foundation requires the builder to spend all day out in the hot sun and requires extra work. As the parable demonstrates, however, the hard work pays off in the long run because it creates the house that stands firm in the storms.

Do Christians work that hard at their faith? Human nature tends to lean to easy route, but the Bible calls Christians to move than the easy route. Jesus did not take the easy route, but instead, he took the route to cross. As Christians, the Bible calls Christians to follow the path of Jesus. Christians must not succumb to the easy route. As the parable shows, the easy route leads to shaky foundations in the faith. On the flip side, the Christians who work hard on their faith will find themselves on the firm foundation of Jesus. The new nature the Holy Spirit provides all Christians the strength to endure these hardships. May Christians embrace this gift the Holy Spirit has given them to build up their faith.

For the 3^rd application, if someone asks for a one-word summary this meaning of this parable, the answer is “Choose.” If someone asks for a two-word summary this meaning of this parable, the answer is, “Actively choose.” I believe this parable teaches that if you’re not on the foundation of the rock, that automatically places you on the sand. Unless you actively choose to listen and follow the words of Jesus, then by default, you face utter destruction. If you have not actively chosen Jesus, I urge you to do so, confessing your sins and believing in Jesus. If you have actively chosen, trust in Jesus to help you stand firm during hardships and judgments.