By the time we reach the end of the Sermon on the Mount, it ought to be clear that Jesus is not, in this text, the rock on which a person must build their life. No, Jesus is the storm that will come and put severe pressure on the lives they have built. Jesus is the storm. He is the flood, and the wind (Matt 7:25, 27).

I was recently studying the end of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, and something struck me about the parable of the builders. Take a look at it.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 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. 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.” (Matt 7:24-27)

This little parable brings the Sermon to an end, and it is famous enough that anyone who has been around church knows what it means, right? There’s even an old children’s song about it: “The wise man builds his house upon the rock…” According to the third and fourth verses:

So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
So build your house on the Lord Jesus Christ
And the blessings will come down.

The blessings come down as the prayers go up
The blessings come down as the prayers go up
The blessings come down as the prayers go up
So build your house on the Lord

Is that what this parable teaches?

A Closer Look at the Parable

Jesus is not the least bit mysterious. This parable is perhaps one of the clearest he ever told. No attempt to trick anyone here:

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man… And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will like a foolish man…

So the building of a house on the rock is a picture of not only hearing Jesus’ words but also obeying them. And the building of a house on the sand is a picture of hearing Jesus’ words and not obeying them. So the rock in this parable is a metaphor not for Jesus but for a Christian’s obedience to Jesus. The sand is a picture of disobedience, or perhaps even indifference, to Jesus’ commands.

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