Upon This Rock

“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,” Matthew 7:24, KJV.

Focal Passage: Matthew 17:24- 29; KJV used throughout this entry.

Rocks are essentially building stones. It serves as a base for something to be founded upon. This is why Jesus said that whoever adheres to his sayings is put in the position of a wise man. Wise men are those who have discernment or understanding. Consider this conversation Jesus had with Peter in Matthew 16:15-18, “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” The rock Jesus spoke of was faith. It was the revelation and the faith to believe the revelation.

When our faith is founded on God and not foolishness of the world, we will be able to stand in the midst of any trial. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock,” Matthew 7:25. Just because we have faith in God that doesn’t mean that storms won’t come, it just means that God is faithful to get us through them.

Verse 26 states, “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.” What would happen if we built physical homes upon soft sand? It would sink. The ground is not firm enough, it’s not solid and strong, and it’s weak and failing. This is a literal example of how important it is to take care of our spiritual home. There is going to come a time when each one of us will leave this earth as we know it and it’s not going to be in the same human form of a body that we now own.

The human body reminds us daily of how finite it is. There are varying aches and pains like migraines or as simple as a paper cut on the hand. With each passing decade we can note differences in our appearances that denote aging in some capacity. We can’t even trust ourselves, our own bodies, as it too weakens or fails just as a physical home does. “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.” Much emphasis today is commonly focused on the wrong things. Often it’s placed on what we can see instead of those things which are not tangible. Is that faith (Hebrews 11:1)?

Verses 28-29, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”

Jesus is the Rock, the foundation of our faith for those who have accepted Him.