The parable of the Two Builders: Matthew 7:24-27, Luke 6:47-49
The House Upon Sand and the House Upon Rock
While Jesus was preaching and teaching there were many people who said they would follow Jesus after hearing him preach. They called themselves his disciples but they did not practice what Jesus preached, like loving others and changing their attitude. Jesus then told them it means nothing to say "'Lord, Lord' when you do nothing to follow my commandments or do the will of God". So Jesus decided to tell them a story of how two men built their homes. It is called the parable of the two builders. Here is his parable:
"All those who listen to my words and do something about them are like a wise man who builds his house on a rock. The man laid a strong foundation by digging deep into the earth. Then he worked carefully and slowly making sure the building was strong and secure on the rock. And then the rains and floods came and the wind blew hard and beat against the house. But the house did not fall because it was built on a strong foundation.
But the person who hears my words and does nothing with them is like a stupid or foolish man who built his house on the sand. This man did not build a strong deep foundation and built his house very quickly. His tall house was built fast and he moved in feeling safe. Soon the rains and floods came and the wind blew beating against the house. The tall house without a strong foundation just couldn't stand up to the flooding and winds and it cracked and the whole house collapsed."
The crowds were surprised at Jesus' story. Jesus warned them that if the people did not build their life on a deep foundation and follow his teachings then they too would find that their house had fallen down.
Questions to ask:
1) What does the deep foundation in the story represent? What does the house represent?
2) Do you think that following Jesus' teachings and building your house on a strong foundation is easy or hard? Why?
3)Why do you think Jesus used the parable about a house as a way to show people they needed to do more than just hear his teachings? Who did the two builders represent?
4)Why is it important for us to follow Jesus teachings?