Matthew 7:24
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Therefore
The word "therefore" serves as a critical connector, linking the preceding teachings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to the practical application He is about to illustrate. In Greek, the word is "οὖν" (oun), which indicates a conclusion or result. This suggests that what follows is a direct consequence of the teachings that have been laid out. Jesus is emphasizing that His teachings are not merely theoretical but are meant to be lived out in practical, everyday life.

everyone who hears
The phrase "everyone who hears" underscores the universal invitation and responsibility to listen to Jesus' words. The Greek word for "hears" is "ἀκούει" (akouei), which implies not just the act of hearing but also understanding and internalizing the message. This highlights the importance of being attentive and receptive to the teachings of Christ, as hearing is the first step towards transformation.

these words of Mine
"These words of Mine" refers specifically to the teachings of Jesus, particularly those in the Sermon on the Mount. The authority of Jesus' words is emphasized here, as He speaks not as a mere teacher but as the Son of God. The phrase invites reflection on the divine wisdom and eternal truth contained in His teachings, which are meant to guide and shape the lives of His followers.

and acts on them
The phrase "and acts on them" is crucial, as it distinguishes mere listeners from true disciples. The Greek word "ποιεῖ" (poiei) means to do or to make, indicating that action is required. This calls for obedience and application of Jesus' teachings in one's life. It is a reminder that faith without works is dead, and true discipleship involves living out the principles Jesus taught.

is like a wise man
"Is like a wise man" draws a comparison to a person who is prudent and discerning. The Greek word for "wise" is "φρόνιμος" (phronimos), which conveys the idea of practical wisdom and insight. This wisdom is not merely intellectual but is demonstrated through actions that align with God's will. The wise man is one who builds his life on the solid foundation of Christ's teachings.

who built his house
The phrase "who built his house" symbolizes the construction of one's life and character. In the ancient world, building a house was a significant endeavor, requiring careful planning and a strong foundation. This metaphor illustrates the importance of establishing one's life on the teachings of Jesus, ensuring stability and resilience in the face of life's challenges.

on the rock
"On the rock" signifies a firm and unshakeable foundation. The Greek word "πέτρα" (petra) refers to a large, solid rock, symbolizing strength and permanence. In biblical context, the rock often represents God or Christ Himself, as seen in passages like 1 Corinthians 10:4. Building on the rock means anchoring one's life in the truth and reliability of Jesus' words, ensuring that it withstands the storms of life. This imagery calls believers to trust in the steadfastness of Christ as the cornerstone of their faith.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of this parable, delivering the Sermon on the Mount, teaching about the importance of putting His words into practice.

2. The Wise Man
Represents those who hear and act on Jesus' teachings, building their lives on a solid foundation.

3. The House
Symbolizes one's life or spiritual state, which can withstand trials if built on the right foundation.

4. The Rock
Represents the teachings and person of Jesus Christ, a stable and unchanging foundation.

5. The Sermon on the Mount
The context in which this teaching is given, encompassing Matthew chapters 5-7, where Jesus outlines the principles of His kingdom.
Teaching Points
Hearing and Doing
It is not enough to merely hear Jesus' words; true wisdom is demonstrated through action and obedience.

Foundation Matters
The foundation of our lives determines our ability to withstand life's challenges. Building on Christ ensures stability.

Spiritual Discernment
Like the wise man, we must discern and choose the right foundation, avoiding the shifting sands of worldly values.

Endurance Through Trials
A life built on Christ will endure trials and tribulations, much like a house on a solid rock withstands storms.

Daily Application
Integrating Jesus' teachings into daily life requires intentionality and commitment, leading to spiritual growth and resilience.
Bible Study Questions
1. What does it mean to "hear" and "act" on Jesus' words in your daily life?

2. How can you assess whether your life is built on the rock of Christ or on shifting sands?

3. In what ways can you ensure that your spiritual foundation remains strong and unshakeable?

4. How do the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount challenge you to live differently in today's world?

5. Reflect on a time when your faith was tested. How did your foundation in Christ help you endure that trial?
Connections to Other Scriptures
James 1:22-25
This passage emphasizes the importance of being doers of the word, not just hearers, similar to the wise man who acts on Jesus' words.

1 Corinthians 3:11
Paul speaks of Jesus Christ as the only foundation, reinforcing the idea of building one's life on Christ.

Psalm 18:2
Describes God as a rock and fortress, highlighting the stability and protection found in Him.

Luke 6:47-49
A parallel passage to Matthew 7:24, providing additional insight into the parable of the wise and foolish builders.

Proverbs 10:25
Illustrates the security of the righteous, akin to the house built on the rock that withstands storms.
Building Upon the RockJ. Vaughan, M. A.Matthew 7:24
False Foundations RemovedR. South, D. D.Matthew 7:24
Foundations Always Important Even in Small ThingsE. R. Conder, D. D.Matthew 7:24
Life a Structural ProcessE. R. Conder, D. D.Matthew 7:24
Life-Structures are VariedE. R. Conder, D. D.Matthew 7:24
The BuildersE. R. Conder, D. D.Matthew 7:24
The Foolish BuilderJ. E. Good.Matthew 7:24
The Foundation Imparts Strength to the StructureJ. Vaughan, M. A.Matthew 7:24
The Great TeacherH. Allele.Matthew 7:24
The Memory-HouseE. R. Conder, D. D.Matthew 7:24
The Sure FoundationC. Clayton, M. A.Matthew 7:24
The Thought-HouseE. R. Conder, D. D.Matthew 7:24
The Two BuildersJ. Burns, LL. D.Matthew 7:24
The Two Builders and Their HousesC. H. Spurgeon.Matthew 7:24
The Two HousesAlexander MaclarenMatthew 7:24
The Wise and Foolish BuildersAmerican Hom. MonthlyMatthew 7:24
The Wise and Foolish BuildersE. Cooper., J. B. Baker.Matthew 7:24
The Wise and the Foolish Building for EternityE. Andrews, LL. D.Matthew 7:24
The Wise BuilderJ. E. Good.Matthew 7:24
Sermon on the Mount: 8. Wise and Foolish BuildersMarcus Dods Matthew 7:15-29
The Saying and Hearing Contrasted with the DoingP.C. Barker Matthew 7:21-29
The Title to the KingdomJ.A. Macdonald Matthew 7:21-29
The Rock and the SandW.F. Adeney Matthew 7:24-27
People
Jesus
Places
Galilee
Topics
Acts, Builds, Built, Compared, Heareth, Hears, Liken, Likened, Practice, Prudent, Puts, Resemble, Rock, Sayings, Teachings, Wise
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 7:24

     8366   wisdom, source of

Matthew 7:21-27

     2423   gospel, essence

Matthew 7:24-25

     4354   rock
     5769   behaviour
     5948   shrewdness
     7024   church, nature of
     8102   abiding in Christ
     8117   discipleship, benefits

Matthew 7:24-26

     5240   building

Matthew 7:24-27

     2426   gospel, responses
     4306   minerals
     4360   sand
     4851   storm
     4855   weather, God's judgment
     4860   wind
     5159   hearing
     5165   listening
     5207   architecture
     5317   foundation
     5438   parables
     5478   property, houses
     5891   instability
     5953   stability
     8112   certainty
     8166   theology
     8239   earnestness
     8454   obedience, to God
     8761   fools, in teaching of Christ

Matthew 7:24-29

     1660   Sermon on the Mount
     2357   Christ, parables
     2363   Christ, preaching and teaching
     5627   word

Library
November 22. "Cast the Beam Out of Thine Own Eye" (Matt. vii. 5).
"Cast the beam out of thine own eye" (Matt. vii. 5). Greater than the fault you condemn and criticise is the sin of criticism and condemnation. There is no place we need such grace as in dealing with an erring one. A lady once called on us on her way to give an erring sister a piece of her mind. We advised her to wait until she could love her a little more. Only He who loved sinners well enough to die for them can deal with the erring. We never see all the heart. He does, and He can convict without
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

January 12. "Ask and it Shall be Given You" (Matt. vii. 7).
"Ask and it shall be given you" (Matt. vii. 7). We must receive, as well as ask. We must take the place of believing, and recognize ourselves as in it. A friend was saying, "I want to get into the will of God," and this was the answer: "Will you step into the will of God? And now, are you in the will of God?" The question aroused a thought that had not come before. The gentleman saw that he had been straining after, but not receiving the blessing he sought. Jesus has said, "Ask and ye shall receive."
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Judging, Asking, and Giving
'Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? 4. Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye! 5. Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Two Paths
'Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.'--MATT. vii. 13-14. A frank statement of the hardships and difficulties involved in a course of conduct does not seem a very likely way to induce men to adopt it, but it often proves so. There is something in human nature which responds to the bracing
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Two Houses
'Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock.... 25. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand.'--Matt. vii. 24, 25. Our Lord closes the so-called Sermon on the Mount, which is really the King's proclamation of the law of His Kingdom, with three pairs of contrasts, all meant to sway us to obedience. The first
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Christ of the Sermon on the Mount
'And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at His doctrine: 29. For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.'--MATT. vii. 28-29. It appears, then, from these words, that the first impression made on the masses by the Sermon on the Mount was not so much an appreciation of its high morality, as a feeling of the personal authority with which Christ spoke. Had the scribes, then, no authority? They ruled the whole life of the nation with
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. vii. 7, "Ask, and it Shall be Given You;" Etc. An Exhortation to Alms-Deeds.
1. In the lesson of the Holy Gospel the Lord hath exhorted us to prayer. "Ask," saith He, "and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? [2135] Or if he ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? [2136] If ye then,"
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Known by their Fruits.
(Eighth Sunday after Trinity.) S. MATT. vii. 16. "Ye shall know them by their fruits." The religion of Jesus Christ is one of deeds, not words; a life of action, not of dreaming. Our Lord warns us to beware of any form of religion, in ourselves or others, which does not bring forth good fruit. God does not look for the leaves of profession, or the blossoms of promise, He looks for fruit unto holiness. We may profess to believe in Jesus Christ, we may say the Creed without a mistake, we may read
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

Casting Blame.
8th Sunday after Trinity. S. Matt. vii. 15. "Inwardly they are ravening wolves." INTRODUCTION.--A Schoolmaster finds one day that several of his scholars are playing truant. The morning passes and they do not arrive. At last, in the afternoon, the truants turn up. The master has a strong suspicion where they have been: however, he asks, "Why were you not at school this morning?" "Please, sir, mother kept me at home to mind the baby." "Indeed--let me look at your mouth." He opens the mouth,
S. Baring-Gould—The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent

False Prophets
(Eighth Sunday after Trinity.) Matthew vii. 16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. People are apt to overlook, I think, the real meaning of these words. They do so, because they part them from the words which go just before them, about false prophets. They consider that 'fruit' means only a man's conduct,--that a man is known by his conduct. That professions are worth nothing, and practice worth everything. That the good man, after all, is the man who does right; and the bad man, the man who
Charles Kingsley—Town and Country Sermons

A Man Expects to Reap the Same Kind as He Sows.
"Herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit . . . after his kind."--Gen. i: 12. "Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?"--Matt. vii: 16. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." --Romans viii: 13. A Man Expects to Reap the Same Kind as He Sows. If I should tell you that I sowed ten acres of wheat last year and that watermelons came up, or that I sowed cucumbers and gathered
Dwight L. Moody—Sowing and Reaping

The Mote and the Beam
That friend of ours has got something in his eye! Though it is only something tiny--what Jesus called a mote--how painful it is and how helpless he is until it is removed! It is surely our part as a friend to do all we can to remove it, and how grateful he is to us when we have succeeded in doing so. We should be equally grateful to him, if he did the same service for us. In the light of that, it seems clear that the real point of the well-known passage in Matthew 7:3-5 about the beam and the mote
Roy Hession and Revel Hession—The Calvary Road

Doctrine of Non-Resistance to Evil by Force must Inevitably be Accepted by Men of the Present Day.
Christianity is Not a System of Rules, but a New Conception of Life, and therefore it was Not Obligatory and was Not Accepted in its True Significance by All, but only by a Few--Christianity is, Moreover, Prophetic of the Destruction of the Pagan Life, and therefore of Necessity of the Acceptance of the Christian Doctrines--Non-resistance of Evil by Force is One Aspect of the Christian Doctrine, which must Inevitably in Our Times be Accepted by Men--Two Methods of Deciding Every Quarrel--First Method
Leo Tolstoy—The Kingdom of God is within you

Fifth Lesson. Ask, and it Shall be Given You;
Ask, and it shall be given you; Or, The Certainty of the Answer to Prayer. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened,'--Matt. vii. 7, 8. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.'--Jas. iv. 3. OUR Lord returns here in the Sermon on the Mount a second time to speak of prayer. The first time He had spoken of the Father who is
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

Sixth Lesson. How Much More?'
How much more?' Or, The Infinite Fatherliness of God. Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone; or if he shall ask for a fish, will give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?'--Matt. vii. 9-11 IN these words our Lord proceeds further to confirm what He had said of the certainty of an answer to prayer. To remove
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer

The Beggar. Mt 7:7-8

John Newton—Olney Hymns

Here Again Arises a Very Difficult Question. For in what Way Shall we Fools...
28. Here again arises a very difficult question. For in what way shall we fools be able to find a wise man, whereas this name, although hardly any one dare openly, yet most men lay claim to indirectly: so disagreeing one with another in the very matters, in the knowledge of which wisdom consists, as that it must needs be that either none of them, or but some certain one be wise? But when the fool enquires, who is that wise man? I do not at all see, in what way he can be distinguished and perceived.
St. Augustine—On the Profit of Believing.

Asking, Seeking, Finding. --Matt. vii. 7, 8
Asking, Seeking, Finding.--Matt. vii. 7, 8. Ask, and ye shall receive; On this my hope I build: I ask forgiveness, and believe My prayer shall be fulfill'd. Seek, and expect to find: Wounded to death in soul, I seek the Saviour of mankind; His touch can make me whole. Knock, and with patience wait, Faith shall free entrance win: I stand and knock at mercy's gate; Lord Jesus! let me in. How should I ask in vain? Seek, and not find Thee, Lord? Knock, and yet no admittance gain? Is it not in Thy
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

Assurance and Encouragement. --Matt. vii. 7, 8
Assurance and Encouragement.--Matt. vii. 7, 8. While these commands endure, These promises are sure; And 'tis an easy task To knock, to seek, to ask: Sinner hast thou the willing mind? Saint, art thou thus inclined? Dost thou expect, desire, believe? Then knock and enter, seek and find, Ask and receive.
James Montgomery—Sacred Poems and Hymns

The Strait Gate;
OR, GREAT DIFFICULTY OF GOING TO HEAVEN: PLAINLY PROVING, BY THE SCRIPTURES, THAT NOT ONLY THE RUDE AND PROFANE, BUT MANY GREAT PROFESSORS, WILL COME SHORT OF THAT KINGDOM. "Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."--Matthew 7:13, 14 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. If any uninspired writer has been
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Parting Counsels
'And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: 23. Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. 24. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. 25. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Author's Preface.
I did not write this little work with the thought of its being given to the public. It was prepared for the help of a few Christians who were desirous of loving God with the whole heart. But so many have requested copies of it, because of the benefit they have derived from its perusal, that I have been asked to publish it. I have left it in its natural simplicity. I do not condemn the opinions of any: on the contrary, I esteem those which are held by others, and submit all that I have written to
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

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