PARABLE OF THE TWO BUILDERS (LUKE 6:46-49; MATTHEW 7:21-27)

This is the first parable given in both Matthew and Luke's gospels, and is perhaps the most simple of all Jesus' parables. Some books on the parables don't even bother dealing with it. Almost every interpreter says it refers to being obedient to the will of God.

Concerning the physical picture, Palestine suffers heavy rains leading to runoff and flooding, either one of which may be implied here. The question of inadequate foundation is a real one in the general area where I live. In one part of town, the ground is clay and builders need to lay a deep foundation or the slab will eventually crack. By contrast, in the more hilly part of town, one reaches solid rock after only digging a few inches down.The three present tense participles in verse 47 (comes, hears, puts into practice) denote continual actions. Compare James' teachings:

    1:22. But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.

    1:25. Those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.

The image of rock and foundation is found several places in the NT. It usually refers to Christ or his teachings. You may be familiar with the words in an old hymn: “On Christ the solid rock I stand; all other ground is shifting sand.”

There are some minor differences in Matthew's account compared to Luke's:

1. Matthew uses the terms “wise” and “foolish” to characterize the two builders. Keep in mine that he was writing to a mainly Jewish audience and in OT thinking there are actually strong moral and theological components to those terms (as in the Proverbs).

2. Matthew has the picture of two men building on different ground (rock and sand) while Luke deals with the presence or absence of a foundation on the same ground. Kistemaker notes that the details may have been tailored to fit the building practices of Palestine (Matthew) and of the Gentile world (Luke).

3. Matthew's version starts out in the future tense: “everyone who hears these words...will be like...” This clearly indicates in Snodgrass' mind that the Final Judgment is in mind, not just the storms of everyday life. Most others agree although Hendricksen says that it doesn't necessarily imply this. However, Luke's version ends with “great was the fall” which Fitzmyer notes is clearly eschatological.

The image of Christ or his teachings as a rock or foundation occur elsewhere in the NT and may be intended here. However nuances which have been suggested and should be rejected are: (a) Peter is the rock, (b) the church should stick to evangelizing the Jews and ignore the Gentiles, or (c) the Temple is in danger of falling.

 Kistemaker and Marshall both point to Ezekiel 13:10-16 as the possible background to this story. In that passage, God brings a strong storm to break down a wall that the people have constructed.

The New Bible Commentary states that Matthew's parable “is a fitting conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount.” Similarly, Geldenhuys calls Luke's version “an amazing climax to the Sermon on the Plain.

This passage begins with Matthew 7:24, a powerful statement since Jesus says that His words must be followed (see Deuteronomy 28:15,30). And it concludes in v. 29 by stating that Jesus “taught authoritatively.”