Building

Matthew 9:16-17, 5:14-15; Luke 6:46-49

Good Morning!  Welcome to our ongoing series on the parables of Jesus.  Many of these parables are well-known to us. From the earliest ages, we learn parables.   Perhaps you noticed that the verse on the front of the bulletin: "The wise man built his house upon a rock, and the rains came a tumbling down … The rains came down and the floods came up, and the house on the rock stood firm."  It’s not a direct quote from the Bible, but rather a paraphrase of one of today’s parables taken from the children’s song.  These stories are familiar to many.

And yet, even though we’ve heard some of them times again and again, and even though Jesus explained some of them directly to the disciples in the gospels; there are still passages which hold treasures which we have not grasped totally.  There are also parables that we maybe don’t understand so well.  What was Jesus getting at anyway? 

Carl introduced the series last week saying that telling a parable is like someone laying something common or ordinary, something easier to understand, alongside something challenging or difficult to understand so that we can understand the difficult thing better.

In particular, Jesus is using the natural world to help us to see and grasp the spiritual or eternal.  About twenty times, Jesus uses the phrase “is like.”  Fifteen times, Jesus says either “the kingdom of God is like” or "the kingdom of heaven is like.”

Making right connections and understanding Jesus’ parables is, in part, the work of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would “guide us into all truth.”  (John 16:13)

There is also a portion of understanding that rests on us.  Jesus also said, “Consider carefully what you hear,” (Mark 4:24) and then he went on to say that we are accountable for the truth that have heard.

Do you always listen the same?  Do you have the same attention to detail at all times?  Do you notice that your ability to listen varies?  John Bullard has shared before that you can listen in an almost passive way when you think you’re just receiving a message for yourself alone.  But, imagine if there were a hundred people waiting to hear you explain the three parables we are going to look at today.  As soon as we got finished, you’d walk into another auditorium and they’d be waiting.  Suddenly, you’d start taking careful notes and trying to absorb as much as possible.

If you are sent to listen and take notes for someone else in a class, do you change your behavior?  I know I do.  If my boss sends me to a meeting, I suddenly want to be able to paint an accurate picture for him.  For some reason, I’m content to have a less accurate picture for myself.  We often behave as listening for ourselves is less critical than listening on behalf of someone else.

Carl also shared how parables are ways that Jesus connected with mixed crowds of people where some were hard toward God and others were eager to draw closer to God.  I’m excited by this series to see how I can share parables with others in a way that leads to spiritual conversations.

So, as we continue in this series, I encourage you to listen well and consider carefully what you hear, invite the Holy Spirit to fill you and give you understanding, and listen on behalf of others who you are accountable to share with (Matthew 12:37)  Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, speak into our hearts freshly the truths of these parables.  The words are no doubt familiar to us and to some the meaning also, and yet, You can use them freshly in our lives and in the lives of others who we encounter.  I pray that You would draw us and others we know to You.  In Your Name we pray.  Amen.

Today, we’re going to focus on three parables which deal with the topic of “Building.”  I’d like to read all three together, and then we’ll jump in and look at each one of them.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.  Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."  --Matthew 9:16-17

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." --Matthew 5:14-15

"Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?  I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.  He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." --Luke 6:46-49

We’ve got several “don’ts.”  There is a declaration, “You are.”  We’ve got several warnings with  consequences.  There are some “how to’s.”  All three parables have to do with how we should live our lives.  I didn’t ask Carl why he chose the title Building. 

[Surprisingly, we don’t talk all that much about the individual messages in a series.  There is some up front planning that goes on, but often that can just be a conversation.  Then, we pray about things, but we don’t really try to work things together on our own, we mostly depend on the Holy Spirit to weave the whole thing together.  That is a lot less stressful than trying to figure all those details out on our own, and it works a lot better than whatever we would come up with on our own.]

The message title today is “Building.”  Not building up structures, but rather building up us.  “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”  (Colossians 2:6-7)

Let’s dig in starting with the parable from Matthew 9:

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.  Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved." --Matthew 9:16-17

The context here is Jesus has just called Matthew from the tax collectors' booth.  There is a celebration meal at Matthew’s house later where the Pharisees ask the disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  Jesus answers, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” 

Then, Jesus is questioned by John the Baptist’s disciples why they and the Pharisees fast, but Jesus’ disciples do not.  He begins by answering that the guests of the bridegroom cannot mourn while he is still with them.  However, they will fast once he is taken from them.  In other words, as long is Jesus is with them, it is not yet time for fasting.  Jesus does not say that the practice of fasting is wrong or has been abolished.  In fact, He fasted for forty days Himself before He began His ministry.  Here, He just says, “It’s not the right time for my disciples to fast.”  Then, he tells the parable. 

Today, we don’t do a whole lot of garment repair any more.  I don’t remember seeing anyone wear clothes with patches in a long time.  We have been so materially blessed, that when clothes wear, we just throw them out and buy more.  In some cases, there is pride in clothes that are worn to the point of having holes in them.  In fact, you can buy clothes with holes already cut in them.  Crazy!

In Jesus’ time, that was not the case.  Clothes were not cheap, and they were to be well cared for.  Remember the old saying, “A stitch in time saves nine.”  Do you know what that means?  One stitch made to a small tear can prevent a bigger one.  It’s also about taking the correct action earlier rather than waiting and letting a problem grow to a less manageable level.  Well, Jesus is saying that fixing a tear in a garment can also be done in such a way that you actually make the situation worse.

With respect to the practice of fasting, Jesus is communicating that something new is going on.  He is not going to put a new patch on the old system.  If He tried to do that, it would only make the situation even worse.  In fact, He gives a glimpse of how foolish that would be in the Sermon on the Mount.  He talks about the intent behind the Law, that anger is the same as murder and lust is the same as adultery.  Not only does the Law mean you do what’s right on the outside, it means you are perfect and holy on the inside, too.  No amount of fasting is going to make that possible.

Jesus came to fulfill the Law. (Matthew 5:17) Fulfilling does mean to meet the requirements of.  But Jesus didn’t fulfill the Law in the sense that He showed us how to each individually fulfill the Law.  He didn’t show us how to put a patch on our sinfulness and be good enough.  Instead, He fulfilled the Law so that He could be the perfect sacrifice for all sin.  Then, no one else would have to pay the penalty.  Jesus isn’t about patching.  He’s about transforming, making all things new. (Revelation 21:5)

You can read about the greater picture in Ephesians 2:11-22.  Jesus didn’t come just to rescue the Jewish people from their sins.  He came to save us all, Jews and Gentiles, the whole world.

He continues the parable by introducing the concept of how you store wine.  We usually see wine in glass bottles.  In Jesus’ time, it was stored in an animal skin, usually a goat skin.  As wine ferments, it releases carbon dioxide.  Casks and glass bottles can withstand these pressures.  A flexible leather pouch can stretch without breaking.  Have you ever see a piece of leather age and get dried out?  It can get quite hard.  All the elasticity, all the stretch is gone.

If you put new wine which releases gas inside a hardened leather wineskin well, it’ll break.  And that’ll be a terrible waste plus an enormous mess.

The image goes both ways.  You can’t put a new patch onto old cloth.  You can’t put new wine into old wineskins.  Either way, inside or outside, this mixing will destroy both.  Fortunately, for us, Jesus makes us new creations so that we can take into ourselves the new wine of His Spirit. (II Corinthians 5:17)

In the case of fasting, it could be said that the disciples themselves were too immature, too weak spiritually, to take on that discipline.  Jesus tells us that He will not give us more than we can bear (John 16:12).  There are other examples in Scripture that show the example of not pushing before things are ready.  (God Himself did not lead the Israelites out of Egypt into the way of the Philistines but rather to the wilderness.  Likewise, Jacob did not overdrive his flocks accompanying Esau when he returned to Canaan.)  Commentator Matthew Henry said it this way,

"For want of … care, many times, the bottles break, and the wine is spilled; the profession …  miscarries and comes to nothing, through indiscretion at first. Note there may be over-doing even in well-doing, a being righteous over-much; and such an over-doing as may prove an undoing through the subtlety of Satan."  -Matthew Henry

We are to encourage one another.  We are even to spur one another on to good deeds.  In fact, the King James Version says that we are to provoke one another to good deeds.  Those are strong words.  But, if we do this without love, if we give legalistic systems and rules only, then we can put a heavy burden on people, more than they can bear.  And that would be wrong.

Let’s look at the second parable:

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house." --Matthew 5:14-15

Jesus tells this parable at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.  He opens with the Beatitudes (blessed are … poor in spirit, meek, mourners, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, persecuted), then He says to the disciples that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world.  He follows the parable with the explanation that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but rather to fulfill them.

Based on the context, the light that Jesus is talking about is the light from a life that lives (or is marked by) the Beatitudes, a beautiful inner character which exemplifies love, enduring all things and remaining pure.

This is such a cool and crazy statement.  Jesus does not give any conditions.  The introduction to the Sermon on the Mount says that Jesus’ disciples came to him, and he taught them.  This message is addressed to Jesus’ followers.  It is a declaration.  If you are a follower of Jesus, you are the light of the world.  You don’t even get a choice.  If you follow him, you are light.

It’s also wild because Jesus said that He is the light of the world.  (John 8:12)  Later, He tempers it saying that He is the light of the world while He is in the world. (John 9:5) So, because Jesus is no longer in this world, you are the light of the world.  We’ve been raised up to His level.  This is a tough concept for us.  Sometimes we want to protest.  No God, that can’t be true, but He who knows are hearts best declares it to be true.  Here’s a quote from Oswald Chambers that I think may help us with reacting properly to the attitude which wants to fight against what Jesus wants to do in us.

"Have you been impoverishing the ministry of Jesus so that He cannot do anything? Suppose there is a well of fathomless trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says – "Let not your heart be troubled"; and you shrug your shoulders and say, "But, Lord, the well is deep; You cannot draw up quietness and comfort out of it." No, He will bring them down from above. Jesus does not bring anything up from the wells of human nature. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and by saying, "Of course I cannot expect God to do this thing." The thing that taxes almightiness is the very thing which we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish His ministry the moment we forget He is Almighty; the impoverishment is in us, not in Him." --Oswald Chambers, February 27, “Impoverished Ministry Of Jesus”, My Utmost for His Highest

In connection with the city on the hill, it is noteworthy that there is a city called Saphet (Safed) which is near to the Sea of Galilee where Jesus would have been teaching.  (It’s only 7.5 miles from Capernaum.)  It’s at an elevation of 3000 feet.  It is the highest city in all Israel, even still today.  It is literally on top of the mountain.  Obviously, such a city could not be hidden.  It was also probably the first thing that popped into the disciples minds when Jesus said city on a hill, and it resulted in instant agreement.  The city on the hill could not be hidden.

Just as city on a hill cannot be hidden, it cannot be built in secret.  That thought is not original to me, but I cannot remember where I picked it up.  It encourages me to think that the “building” process that the Lord is taking each one of us through is also part of his work to shine the light.

We’re back to a children’s song again:  This Little Light of Mine.  Should we hide it under a bushel [basket]?  No!  But there is a strong temptation to hide the light that is within us.  There are various reasons:  for safety, to stay out of the limelight, out of fear of future failure on our part.  [It may seem silly, but I didn’t want to have the plastic ichthys, the symbol of a fish, on my car because I thought I might do something wrong and someone would judge me or Jesus because of my carelessness.]  But, Jesus has made us lights, and we should shine and be ready to testify (I Peter 3:15-16).  Charles Spurgeon said it this way, “Christ never contemplated the production of secret Christians …”

A stand is planned and consciously used to maximize the spread of light enabling everyone to see.  The light is not just the spoken Word of the gospel.  It is also love in action.  Jesus spoke in parables, but He intends that we make the truth known.  The light must be distinct and clear, not clouded or covered.  Jesus said in John 8:12 that whoever follows Him will have the light of life.  Our brightness (or influence) does not and cannot grow in becoming like the world but rather in becoming like Jesus.  We are light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-20) … we are to shine as lights (Philippians 2:15, like stars in the universe as we hold out the word of life).

Let’s go on to our last parable:

"Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say?  I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice.  He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." --Luke 6:46-49

The context here is the closing of the “Sermon on the Plain.” Jesus precedes this parable with the parable of the tree and its fruit.  We bring out of what we have stored up in our hearts whether they are good or evil things.  That parable ends with the verse “out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.”  Following the “house on the rock” parable, the “sermon” ends, and Jesus returns to Capernaum.

The Greek word for Lord there is Kyrios.  Kyrios means owner or sovereign.  A Kyrios has absolute authority over what belongs to him.  Kyrios is the title that a slave would use to greet their master.  People were honoring Jesus with this exalted title.  And yet, they didn’t do what Jesus said to do, most of which was to love God and love your neighbor. 

To call Jesus “Lord,” and then not to obey is a glaring inconsistency.  (James 1:22-25)  As I was considering this, the idea of a soldier who fails to do what is right came to mind.  That is called “dereliction of duty.”  I realized that I didn’t really know what dereliction meant, so I looked it up.  It means intentional abandonment.  And that sums up what was going on here.  Calling Jesus Lord without taking action on what He says is important, well, that is being derelict.  In the military, dereliction during times of war is punishable by death.  In peace time, you can lose rank and/or pay, get dishonorably discharged, and even go to prison for up to a year.  Things like a sentry being drunk or sleeping while on post or leaving one's post without being properly relieved are derelict.  In general, it is failure to obey an order or regulation.    This sounds harsh, I know, but in Matthew 7:21, Jesus is very clear.  Not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

There is the image of a ticket with two parts.  The idea is that the ticket would be for entry into heaven.  One part says faith – void if detached.  The other part says works – not valid for admission. 

It is clear in Scripture it is only through faith that we enter heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9).  It is equally clear in Scripture that faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26).

So what is the one like who hears and does what Jesus says?  He digs down to the rock.  He builds the foundation on the rock.  He builds his house on that strong foundation.

What about the one who hears but does not do what Jesus says?  He just builds the house right there, on the ground, the bare dirt.

How do the houses look from the outside (at least at first)?  Jesus makes no distinction.  They are likely similar in appearance.  In fact, the house that was built without a foundation was probably finished first.  That builder didn’t have to “waste time” digging down and laying a foundation.

How do they fare when facing the storm or torrent?  The house on the rock stood firm, and the house on the sand went smash.

How does this apply to how we build our lives?  Well, people build on all kinds of shifting sands.  Some build on philosophies of men.  Others build on self-esteem.  Some build on their good works.  Some build on relationships they have.  Another person might build on their abilities or intelligence. 

I can remember an engineering professor I once had who told the class that he believed in his own intellect because no one could take that from him.  Even then, when I was about twenty years old, I remember thinking how absurd that was.  Of course, your intellect can be taken from you.  I never knew my paternal grandfather in a relational way.  Even though he lived until I was 13 or 14 years old, he had Alzheimer’s, and by the time I was old enough to remember, he had lost the ability to connect with me in a way that I could understand.  I saw him regularly, but he was not “there” if you can understand what I mean.

Some people say that as long as you believe in something, then it doesn’t really matter what you believe.  What does the parable say about those ideas?  It says there is only one foundation.  That foundation is the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  It is doing what He says, following His commands.  If you build on any other thing, in the storm, your life will crumble and fall apart.

Storms are going to come.  We will all face storms in one form or another at some time or another.  In the telling of this parable found in Matthew (7:24-27), the storm comes from every direction at once.  The rain comes down from above.  The floods come up from below.  And, the winds beat against the house from the sides, any one of which could destroy the house.

What do you think about the storms in your life?  We know from Romans 8:28 that God is working all things together for the good of those who love Him.  I have seen it written that God uses the winds to strengthen us, and the fire to temper us.  James 1:2-3 … “Consider it joy my brothers when you face trials of many kinds because the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”

Are we thankful for the storms in our life?  When the trial comes, God often reveals to us the weakness of our own foundation.  Do we dig deeper when the storm tosses us? 

I’ve given this example before about the need to stay away from sin.  Many times, I’ve tried to slide up to the edge of sin as close as possible without falling over.  In the case of building on the rock, I think I see a similar tendency except in that case, I have tried for years and years to see how small of a foundation I could survive on.  Digging is hard work.  Has everyone seen a beach house?  I’m talking about the ones up on stilts.  What if only one of the stilts was built on the foundation?  How strong would that house be?  How many of the stilts should be built on the foundation?  All of them, right?  I think that for years and years, I tried to get by with one or two stilts on the rock and the others just resting on the ground.  Why don’t we want to sink every support down and anchor it on the rock?  I don’t know, but I want to do that more than I ever did in my life before.

Abraham lived as a sojourner, a wanderer.  As far as we can tell, he lived in tents his whole life, all 175 years.  He never lived in a house.  Hebrews 11:10 says, “Abraham looked forward to the city with foundations.”  Abraham’s faith was credited as righteousness, and we will see him in heaven.  But just as he never lived in a house, he also did not see the fulfilled and complete sacrifice of Jesus.  He was not able to build on the rock in the same way that we are.  Abraham longed for what you and I have immediate access to.

William Wilberforce was a man who faced storms in his life.  He fought against the established slave trade in England and saw it finally eliminated in 1833 just three days before his death.  He loved the Lord and was a faithful follower of Christ.  I would like to read a passage that he wrote.  He was an excellent parliamentarian, and you can see it from his vocabulary and lengthy sentences, but it is a favorite passage.  I hope it encourages you in justifying the effort required to dig deep in Christ.

"And why, it may be asked, are we in this pursuit alone to expect knowledge without inquiry, and success without endeavour? The whole analogy of nature inculcates on us a different lesson, and our own judgments in matters of temporal interests and worldly policy confirm the truth of her suggestions. Bountiful as is the hand of Providence, its gifts are not so bestowed as to seduce us into indolence, but to rouse us to exertion; and no one expects to attain to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory, without vigorous resolution, and strenuous diligence, and steady perseverance. Yet we expect to be Christians without labour, study, or inquiry. This is the more preposterous, because Christianity, being a revelation from God, and not the invention of man, discovering to us new relations, with their correspondent duties; containing also doctrines, and motives, and practical principles, and rules, peculiar to itself, and almost as new in their nature as supreme in their excellence, we cannot reasonably expect to become proficients in it by the accidental intercourses of life, as one might learn insensibly the maxims of worldly policy, or a scheme of mere morals."--William Wilberforce

There is a hymn called Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise.  In that hymn, there is a line which declares God unresting and unhasting.  It means that God never stops working, but He is never in a hurry.  We see the same example in Jesus’ earthly life.  He was unresting and unhasting.  We should strive to follow His example.  We need to be diligent, not exasperated.  We need to be faithful, not fearful.  We need to be patient and self-controlled, not rash or vengeful.

There is no other foundation … only Jesus.

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.  If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.  If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.  If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames." --I Corinthians 3:11-15

"There is nothing thrilling about a labouring man’s work, but it is the labouring man who makes the conceptions of the genius possible; and it is the labouring saint who makes the conceptions of his Master possible. You labour at prayer and results happen all the time from His standpoint. What an astonishment it will be to find, when the veil is lifted, the souls that have been reaped by you, simply because you had been in the habit of taking your orders from Jesus Christ." --Oswald Chambers, October 17, “Greater Works,” My Utmost for His Highest

"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior …" --Isaiah 43:1-3

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, I pray that we would be ones who build our lives upon You, our Lord, our Rock.  Energize us and cause us to shine for You.  May we not climb down from the lampstand, but may we shine for all to see.  Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning.  Thank You that we are new, new creations in Christ.  Help us to die to ourselves daily and follow You faithfully.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.