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Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (Matthew 7:24)

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Jesus\u2019 sermon on the mount rhymes with much of Deuteronomy and the Old Testament law.\xa0 Matthew\u2019s point in writing this sermon down for us was to cast Jesus as the new Moses and offer continuity between Jesus and Israel\u2019s history.\xa0 Jesus says as much in the sermon, saying: \u201cI have not come to abolish [the law or the prophets] but to fulfill them.\u201d

Moses in Deuteronomy offered blessings for obedience to the commands of God and curses for neglect.\xa0 Jesus\u2019 sermon also begins with blessings: the beatitudes.\xa0 And, as the sermon ends we hear that invitation to blessing and warning against a curse.\xa0 It comes in the parable of the wise and foolish builders.\xa0

Both builders hear the words of Jesus.\xa0 To both builders, the story is told.\xa0 To both builders, the new commands of Jesus are given.\xa0 But when the storm comes: only one of the builders has a structure left standing.\xa0 It\u2019s the one who not only heard Jesus\u2019 words, but also put them into practice.\xa0

In the mouth of Jesus, this isn\u2019t really about blessings and curses: this parable declares that we choose our own fate by our response to him and his word.\xa0 To you good Reformed listeners, you must understand that the Bible is simply not as systematic as our Reformed tradition on these points.

Biblical cultural commentator, Ken Bailey, once spent some time asking various contractors across the Middle East how deep they had to dig the foundation of a house before beginning to build.\xa0 To a person the answer came: you must dig to the rock.\xa0 The only reason you wouldn\u2019t dig to the rock is because you\u2019re either lazy or stupid.\xa0 If you want to build a house that will stand in the mountainous regions of the Middle East: you dig the sand away and build your foundation on the rock.\xa0 Otherwise, it blows over or gets washed away.\xa0 It\u2019s that simple.\xa0 Everyone knows that building your house on top of the sand is simply not a sane option.\xa0 It\u2019s a recipe for disaster, and should you choose it, you have cursed yourself.\xa0 \xa0\xa0

The alternative\u2014the path of blessing\u2014takes some hard work.\xa0 But digging down to find the rock and rest your home upon it offers security and shelter for many years to come.\xa0 Jesus says that putting his words into practice is like that: hard work and strenuous at times, but also good and rewarding work.\xa0

A life built on him and his words is ultimately a life that knows a secure and steady home with God against life\u2019s storms.\xa0 And that, is a way of blessing.\xa0 The way that Jesus calls us to practice. \xa0\xa0\xa0\xa0

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