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with me in your Bibles to Matthew's 
gospel. We're in Matthew chapter seven. A couple of weeks ago, 
we looked at the two claims in verses 21 to 23. This evening, 
I want to look at the two builders in verses 24 to 29. So the end 
of the sermon on the Mount It teaches us something concerning 
the importance of God's holy word and the necessity for us, 
as those hearers, to be doers of that word. I want to begin 
reading in chapter 7 at verse 13, as this is the beginning 
of the end with reference to the Sermon on the Mount. So 7.13, 
enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is 
the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in 
by it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way 
which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of 
false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly 
they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. 
Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears 
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, 
nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not 
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, 
by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to 
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who 
does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in 
that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, 
cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your 
name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart 
from me, you who practice lawlessness. Therefore, whoever hears these 
sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man 
who built his house on the rock. And the rain descended, the floods 
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house. And it did 
not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who 
hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like 
a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain descended, 
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, 
and it fell, and great was its fall. And so it was, when Jesus 
had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at 
his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority and not 
as the scribes. Amen. Well, let us pray. God, 
thank you for the Sermon on the Mount. Thank you for Matthew's 
Gospel. Thank you for the entirety of the Word of God. And we pray 
now for the Holy Spirit to guide us, the Spirit who gave us this 
Word. We pray that He would lead us 
and teach us and help us now to appreciate what we have in 
the passage before us. And grant us the grace, Lord 
God, to not only hear the Word, but to be doers of that Word. 
Grant us the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, not 
just on the Lord's day, but each and every day. Our desire is 
to bring glory and honor and praise unto you. Again, forgive 
us for our sins and our unrighteousness and everything that would cloud 
our understanding. And we ask this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, it's an obviously 
pointed passage, and it has affinity with Proverbs 9. Wisdom builds 
a house, and then that wicked woman builds a house. The wisdom, 
of course, brings in those who want to find refuge and safety, 
and then the wicked woman brings in the simple, the naive, those 
who are rebellious at heart, those who resist and reject the 
word of the living and true God. Obviously, as well, that hymn 
that we just sang, in my hope is built on nothing less than 
Jesus' blood and righteousness, certainly sees some affinity 
or connection with this present passage. And this whole section, 
beginning in verse 13, is Christ applying the Sermon on the Mount. 
In other words, he's not just providing information, but he 
is calling upon persons to exercise their will. Now, I realize in 
a Calvinistic situation, people will freak out about that, but 
we shouldn't freak out about that because God, the Lord Most 
High, calls us to believe. He calls us to listen. He calls 
us to obey. And so as we come to this particular 
section, Christ highlights two ways in verses 13 and 14, two 
types of trees in verses 15 to 20, two claims in verses 21 to 
23, and then these two builders in verses 24 to 27. And as we 
reflect upon this, I think that R.T. France is right. He says, 
the resultant four sections, therefore, press increasingly 
closer to home. The first, the two ways, is a 
simple contrast between saved and lost. The second concerns 
outsiders who merely pretend to be insiders. The third looks 
at those who think they are insiders but are not. And the fourth draws 
a line even within the group of insiders, those who hear Jesus' 
words between those who respond and those who do not. So what 
we're dealing with in verses 24 to 27 isn't the heathen, it 
isn't the pagan, it isn't the person outside of the sound of 
the preaching of God's word, but rather both builders hear 
the words of Christ. Both builders are then marked 
by either A, acceptance of it and obedience to it, or rejection 
of it and disobedience to it. So let's look first at the wise 
builder, secondly the foolish builder, and then finally we'll 
close off by looking at the authoritative preacher. as verses 28 and 29 
set Christ forth. But notice the description. It 
is the conclusion of this particular section of the sermon and the 
sermon as a whole. It says, therefore. This brings 
it all to a conclusion and a very pointed and a very powerful way 
to end the message. And it actually ends on the negative. 
It ends on the foolish builder. So notice in the first place 
the object in view. Whoever hears these sayings of 
mine, ultimately man is judged by and man is governed by the 
word that proceeds from the mouth of Christ. This is the standard. This is the measuring tool. This 
is what all men are supposed to respond to favorably. And then the specific response 
with reference to the wise builder, whoever hears these sayings of 
mine and does them. That's the emphasis that we need 
to take away from this. Not only do we hear the word 
of Christ, but we do what the word of Christ bids us. Previously 
in verses 21 to 23, we saw that that applied specifically to 
the judgment seat of Christ on that day of judgment prior to 
our entrance either into the kingdom of heaven or excluded 
and off to hell itself. But this does speak more to that 
sort of James 2 sanctification or James 1 being doers of the 
word. And again, it's in a fitting 
and appropriate section. Christ has spoken to many things 
in Matthew chapters five to seven. He's spoken the Beatitudes. He 
has spoken concerning the law of Moses. He has spoken concerning 
acts of righteousness or piety. He has spoken concerning anxiety, 
carnality, all those sorts of things. And now he brings it 
all home and says that the wise man is the one who hears these 
words of mine and he does what I say. This is the emphasis. The scene described previously 
is the day of judgment. The scene described here is the 
one who does what God's Word says. It is not perfect. It is not spotless. It is not 
perpetual. It is not exact. It is not entire. But by the grace of God, with 
the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit of God, the orientation 
of the wise man is to do God's will. It is to embrace what is 
told us, and it is not to resist it, or reject it, or to try to 
argue our way out of it, but rather to go with what God has 
said. John Gill says, he is not only 
an hearer, but a doer of the word of the gospel. The doctrines 
of it, he receives in the love of them. and exercises faith 
on them. Upon Christ is grace and righteousness 
held forth in them, which is the great work and business of 
a Christian, he is to do, and does do in this life. The ordinances 
of it he cheerfully obeys, and all the duties of religion he 
performs from love to Christ, without any view to obtain eternal 
life hereby, which he only expects from Christ as his sayings and 
doctrines direct him. So the one who walks on the narrow 
way, the one who avoids the false prophets, the one who does the 
will of the Father, that means specifically believing on the 
Lord Jesus Christ, is the wise man who hears the words of Jesus 
Christ and does what he says. And then Christ uses this most 
appropriate illustration to give us the powerful message behind 
this. Notice. He says, I will liken 
him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. It is my hope 
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. 
I'm not a builder, I'm not a contractor, but I have some familiarity with 
such things. If you are laying a foundation, 
it has to be rock. You cannot lay foundation in 
the sand and hope that your house is going to stand. You have to 
dig deep, you have to pour the concrete, and it's upon that 
basis that you build. And that's what Christ said. 
I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 
He goes on in verse 25 to say, the rain descended, the floods 
came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did 
not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Now, as Jesus says 
that, we are reminded of the reality that building on the 
rock, being the sort of wise man or woman that receives the 
Word of Christ and does them, does not make us immune from 
the trials of life. It does not make us immune from 
the hardships and the difficulties and the afflictions that are 
associated with life in a sin-cursed world. This is the reality that 
the people of God face. the rain descended, the floods 
came, the winds blew, and beat on that house. Later on in Matthew 
chapter 8, we see Christ in the midst of the storm. Christ is 
with the disciples in the boat, and there is this great storm 
such that seasoned fishermen, men that knew this particular 
a lake, they knew this particular weather stream, they knew these 
particular threats, were afraid at the thought of even dying. 
And Christ is right there, and Christ, of course, settles them 
and steadies them, and Christ speaks the word, and the winds 
stop, and the rains stop, and the waves stop. But the primary 
lesson is that even though Christ is in the boat with you, it doesn't 
mean there's not going to be storms. It doesn't mean there's 
not going to be waves. It doesn't mean there's not going 
to be hardships. There's rain in the Christian 
life as well. I haven't noticed that when it 
rains in Chilliwack, all of our homes are somehow immune. No, 
rain falls on us. Wind falls on our houses. Storms 
affect the people of God. But the difference between the 
people of God and the non-people of God is that our houses are 
built firmly on the rock, and therefore they weather the storm. 
They're able to stand. It's not based on the wisdom 
of the builder, but rather on the steadiness of the foundation. 
That is what is highlighted. John Gilligan says, the foundation, 
the person, the blood and righteousness of Christ is as a rock, firm 
and strong. It will bear the whole weight 
that is laid upon it. It is sure and certain. It will 
never give way. It is immovable and everlasting. The house built on it stands 
safe and sure. So it's not the wisdom of the 
builder that's in view primarily, it's the foundation upon which 
he builds. My hope is built on nothing less 
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. If that is not your confession, 
if that is not your profession, if that is not what makes your 
heart beat and sore, then may I appeal to you to hear the words 
of Christ and to do them. In the first instance, believe 
on him, come to him in faith with repentance, looking unto 
him alone for salvation, for forgiveness, and for a righteousness 
that ultimately avails with God. Because there is a storm coming, 
a storm that far exceeds anything that you have faced in this world. 
It is the storm of God's holy wrath. You see it back in chapter 
seven at verses 21 to 23. When Christ says, depart from 
me, I never knew you. That is gonna make anything you 
have seen up to that point a walk in the park. It's gonna make 
everything you have seen in terms of hardship and affliction and 
trial and difficulty look like chump change. When Christ cast 
you away, that is the worst storm. the very fury and wrath of God 
Almighty. That is something to be feared. 
That is something to seek refuge in Christ for. That is something 
that will hopefully function as an impetus to call you out 
of your sloth and slumber into the very arms of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Sometimes we hear, you can't 
scare people into the presence of God. Well, you can preach 
the Bible, and the Bible certainly highlights the fear of God. The 
Bible certainly highlights that coming day of dread and terror. 
The Bible certainly highlights the reality that there is a place 
of weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, and that's where all 
unwise builders will ultimately go, and that's what Christ proceeds 
to speak to next. Notice the foolish builder in 
verses 26 and 27. He says, everyone who hears these 
sayings of mine, again, not pagans, not heathens, not atheists, not 
Islam, not, you know, Buddhists. These are persons within the 
context of the preaching of Christ's word. These are persons that 
occupy spaces in our churches. These are persons who come into 
contact with the scriptures, the written word of God. They 
come into contact with preaching, the spoken word of God. They 
may listen to sermon audio. They may, you know, listen to 
the Bible on tape. They may listen to a whole host 
of things. So it's not the case that he's dealing with the heathen 
at this particular instance. He is dealing with those who 
at least occupy space with reference to the reception of God's holy 
word. So everyone who hears these sayings 
of mine and does not do them. You see the difference there? 
Does not do them. This particular fellow walks 
on the Broadway. He listens to false prophets. 
He is not a doer of the will of God. That is, he doesn't have 
faith in Christ. He is the one who hears the word 
of Christ and doesn't do it. And I think the prophet Ezekiel 
speaks to this very clearly in his book, well, God to Ezekiel. God is highlighting the response 
of Israel to the preaching of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 33, 30 to 
33, God the Lord says, as for you, son of man, The children of your people are 
talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the 
houses. And they speak to one another, 
everyone saying to his brother, please come and hear what the 
word is that comes from the Lord. There was a buzz created. during 
Ezekiel's preaching ministry. There was interest generated 
over Ezekiel's preaching. Persons would talk, hey, have 
you heard the prophet? Have you heard the man of God? 
Have you heard his preaching? Have you heard what he's saying? 
He is, in many respects, the conduit by which God the Lord 
is speaking to the nation. So there was this curiosity or 
there was this interest. It says, so they come to you 
as people do. They sit before you as my people, 
and they hear your words, but they do not do them. See, it's 
the same sort of thing that obtains here at the end of the Sermon 
on the Mount. Whoever hears the words or hears my words and does 
not do them, that is precisely what's going on in Ezekiel's 
day. He goes on to say, for with their mouth they show much love, 
but their hearts pursue their own gain. In other words, they 
come up to Ezekiel afterwards and they say, good sermon. They 
say, good word. They say, we really enjoyed what 
you had to say. There is that external expression 
of appreciation concerning the word of the living God. But as 
he says, their hearts pursue their own gain. Better to do 
God's word than to commend God's prophet. Better to obey the will 
of Jesus Christ than to simply say, what a good sermon. Better 
to internalize and act upon it than simply to pay lip service. 
Jesus deals with that in his ministry as well, citing the 
prophet Isaiah, this idea of lip service. And then God through 
Ezekiel says, or to Ezekiel says indeed, you are to them as a 
very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play 
well on an instrument. For they hear your words, but 
they don't do them. They like to hear it the way 
that persons like to listen to a good violinist. They like to 
hear it the way that a person likes to hear a good pianist. 
They like to hear it, but they don't do it. Simply liking it 
in some external fashion without the application of it is what 
God is condemning in Israel at the time of the prophet. You 
are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant 
voice and can play well on an instrument. For they hear your 
words, but they do not do them. And when this comes to pass, 
surely it will come, then they will know that a prophet has 
been among them. Now, intriguingly, the particular context of Ezekiel 
33 is the fall of the southern kingdom under Nebuchadnezzar. This was Israel's problem. God 
had sent them prophets. God had dispatched to them men 
like Ezekiel, men like Isaiah, men like Jeremiah, men like all 
sorts of prophets that we find in the Old Testament scriptures. 
and Israel would receive it. They might even pay that external 
lip service to how good it was, but they didn't obey it. And 
their failure to obey it ultimately resulted in the curses of the 
covenant coming down upon the country, the nation as a whole, 
vis-a-vis the Babylonians and that captivity. They spent 70 
years there for their having violated the covenant of God 
Almighty. They are released. They are freed. The decree goes out from Cyrus. 
There are many that returned back to Judah, about 55,000. 
A lot of them stayed back in Babylon, which is intriguing. 
They got Babylon in them and they didn't want to leave. They 
didn't want to depart. But about 55,000, 58,000 people after the 
exile go back to Judah. But even then, what happens? 
They build the temple. They rebuild the temple. And 
in that setting, in that situation, same sort of thing. They might 
have liked to hear the word of God in some external sense, paying 
lip service, but they didn't do it. They went through the 
motions with reference to the temple. They went through the 
motions with reference to sacrifice. The prophet Malachi speaks to 
this. In the prophet Malachi, the Lord God indicts the people 
for their having brought the lame and the blind and the mangy 
and the defective sacrifice. Leviticus 23 is very clear. When you bring an animal out 
of your flock to present a sacrifice unto Yahweh, It needs to be the 
best of the flock. It's not supposed to have defect. 
It's not supposed to be the three-legged goat. It is not supposed to be 
the one that won't fetch much money. It's supposed to be the 
best for God. And yet they brought the lame. They brought the blind. They 
brought the maimed. And they even, in certain instances, 
stole sacrifices on the way to the temple in order to present 
those as sacrifice to God. You see, all of this to indicate 
that the previous history of Israel, it is marked by this 
reception externally of the Word of God, and yet a failure to 
do what God says. It is very much akin to what 
James speaks in James 1, 22-25, but be doers of the Word, and 
not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of 
the Word and not a doer, He is like a man observing his natural 
face in a mirror, for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately 
forgets what kind of man he was." This is probably more appropriate 
to younger people. You kind of look at the mirror, 
and you walk away, and you kind of forget. Older people, you start to look 
at the mirror and say, I don't remember that kind of neck thing there. 
I don't remember looking like that. And it kind of sticks in 
your head. What's happening here? I remember all these wrinkles. 
The point is very clear. It's kind of like a man who looks 
in the mirror, walks away, and forgets what it is that he saw. It's the same thing. We hear 
the Word of God. We hear a lot of sermons. We 
hear a lot of sermons in our church. We have Sunday morning, 
Sunday evening. We have a confession study every 
other Sunday morning. We have a Bible study every Wednesday 
night. We have a theology meeting every other Saturday morning. 
We have a lot of stuff with reference to hearing the word of God, but 
are we acting upon it? Are we internalizing it? Are 
we building our houses upon the rock? Or are we building on the 
sand like this wretched man that pays lip service externally to 
the word of God, but does not do what God says? This is where 
we need to be. Obedient. He says, for he observes 
himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 
But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues 
in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, 
this one will be blessed in what he does. I don't want to get 
too much onto what James is saying here, but I think it illustrates 
well what Jesus is saying. But one of the things that James 
says, he says, he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and 
continues in it, Christianity is not just a fitness start. 
Okay, I made this confession, I made this profession, I went 
forward in a tent meeting, I said my sinner's prayer, now I can 
just sort of live however it is I want. No, you need to continue 
in it. And you need to continue in it 
day in and day out until the day that you die. If God saves 
you as a young man or a young woman, you got 30, 40, 50, 60 
years of life ahead of you. You've got to pace yourself and 
you've got to formulate the mindset that I'm not going to stop, I'm 
not going to shrink back, I'm not going to be the delicate 
little child that doesn't persevere, that isn't steadfast. Brethren, 
if there was ever a time where the church should look differently 
from the world, it is now. We have a generation of people 
that can't handle basic stress in their lives. As Christians, 
there are storms. As Christians, there's wind. 
As Christians, there's rain. Are we going to melt under this 
or are we going to persevere by the grace of God, having built 
our foundation upon the rock and seeking to honor and glorify 
God? That's what is different about 
the persons that are matched up Here, the wise man hears the 
word, he internalizes that word, and he's a doer of that word. 
The fool isn't. The fool hears it, he may like 
it, he may pay lip service to it, but he builds his house in 
the sand. He rejects, he resists, he disobeys. He doesn't do what God says. And then notice the illustration. 
He built his house on the sand. This can't be good. Absolutely, 
positively can't be good. Building a foundation in the 
sand is never a wise move. Don't build your house upon the 
sand. But notice, the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds 
blew and beat on that house. Notice that the unrighteous are 
not immune to suffering. The unrighteous are not immune 
to difficulties. The unrighteous face the same 
sorts of things in this present world that we do, but they don't 
have any stability. They don't have any security. 
They don't have any foundation upon which to stand. It's really 
a pathetic picture. It's really sad. Doesn't that 
encourage you that even though you go through afflictions and 
even though you go through hardships and trials and difficulties, 
even though there are storms and rains and floods and winds, 
You've got Jesus, you've got Christ, you've got the solid 
rock upon which to stand and you see others that go through 
these sorts of things and they don't have that. It really is 
a pitiable condition that these persons find themselves in. It's 
really not an enviable position whatsoever. So the rain descended, 
the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and 
notice it fell. That's not surprising. It fell. Of course it fell because it 
wasn't founded upon the rock. It was founded upon the sand. 
It didn't have the stability. It didn't have the foundation. 
It didn't have Christ to secure and stabilize it. And then notice 
how he ends the sermon on the mount, and great was its fall. Christ would fail homiletics 
101 today. Christ would fail in the church 
growth movement. Christ would fail at this point. 
He's too negative. He is too negative. He ends the 
sermon on this negative Nelly note. He says that the bad guys 
are ultimately going to fall and great will be their fall. 
Christ knows the hearts better than any of us, and Christ ends 
where he ends to make an impact, so that you will ponder, so that 
you will consider, so that you will contemplate, where am I 
at tonight? Have I built my house upon the 
rock? Have I, by the grace of God, 
staked it upon that rock, which is Jesus, or have I built on 
sinking sand? Because if I built on sinking 
sand, this is my future. This is my end. This is going 
to be what happens to me. It says that it fell and great 
was its fall. I would encourage each and every 
one of you to go to Ezekiel 33 and ask yourself, is this the 
way that I appreciate preaching? Go to James chapter one and ask 
yourself, is this the way that I approach the word of God? And 
obviously go to 724 to 27 and ask yourself, which one am I? 
Am I the wise man who built on the rock or am I the foolish 
man who built on the sand? because ultimately your future 
depends upon it. And I would encourage that you 
do not tarry and you do not wait. If you conclude I've built on 
the sand, then repent and believe the gospel. Go to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Go to this one that in Matthew 
chapter 11 says this, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and 
earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent 
and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed 
good in your sight. All things have been delivered 
to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. 
Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to 
whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Notice what he says in 
verses 28 to 30 in Matthew 11. Come to me. all you who labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Isn't that a 
beautiful statement? Come to me and I will. Come to 
me and I will. Not come to me and I'll make 
you grovel. Come to me and I'll send you back to your experience. 
Come to me and I'll make you, you know, wonder. Come to me 
and I will give you rest if you are weary and heavy laden. And 
in the context, this isn't you had a rough week at work. That's 
not what's in view here. I worked a 70-hour week, and 
I'm really tired, I'm really weary. That's not what's in view. 
It's sin. It's the heavy burden of sin. 
It's the ladenness with sin. The psalmist is the backdrop 
for this when he talks about sins going over, as it were, 
his head. And here the Lord Christ says, 
come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will 
give you rest. And then this goes right into 
Matthew chapter 12 in the Sabbath controversies. Christ is the 
giver of rest. Christ is the one who brings 
that relief to sinners. Christ is the one who invites, 
in this particular passage, all those who are weary, all those 
who labor, all those who are heavy laden, to come to him. That's the emphasis, come to 
him. Not sit and look at yourself, 
but rather come to Him. John 3, just as Moses lifted 
up the serpent in the wilderness, so also must the Son of Man be 
lifted up. When we look to Him, we live. When we believe on Him, we live. Metaphorically, this is said 
to receive Him and to rest upon Him. It is to seek refuge in 
the Lord Jesus. Come to me, all you who labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And then comes 
the life of sanctification in verse 29, take my yoke upon you 
and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will 
find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden 
is light. Friend, if you're here tonight 
and you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, if you 
are this sinking sand builder, you listen to Christ's words 
there in Matthew 11, 28, and come. Notice that he says, I 
will give you rest. I love it. It's a come to me 
and I will. not come to me and I might, come 
to me and I hope to, come to me and I'll assist you, but come 
to me and I will give you rest. Now back to our text in Matthew 
7, let's look at the authoritative preacher. We've got a wise builder, 
we've got a foolish builder, but the sermon ends with a statement 
by Matthew concerning the response of the people. Verse 28, and 
so it was when Jesus had ended these sayings that the people 
were astonished at his teaching. One commentator, Grant Osborne, 
says, all five of Matthew's discourses end with some form of, quote, 
it happened when Jesus had finished. But this is the only one that 
continues with the crowd's reaction. In other words, how did the crowd 
respond to what Christ had taught in Matthew chapters five to seven? And we see specifically the people 
were astonished at his teaching. Now the tense of the verb indicates 
that it was continuous. It wasn't something like they 
said, well, that was interesting. No, they were amazed and astonished 
at the teaching of the Savior on this particular occasion. 
Spurgeon said it was no fault on their part to be astonished, 
but it was a grave crime to be astonished and nothing more. 
See, simply to be astonished puts them in the same category 
as those eager hearers in Ezekiel's day. They love to hear you the 
way that one loves to hear a good singer. They love to hear you 
the way that one loves to hear a good violinist, but they don't 
do your words. And in this instance, it just 
simply tells us that they were astonished, but it doesn't indicate 
that they came. They believed, and by grace, 
they built upon that rock, which was Jesus Christ the Lord. Now, 
note the reason for this astonishment. They were astonished at his teaching, 
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. He taught them as one having 
authority and not as one of the scribes. Now, perhaps you have 
read a little bit in scripture or outside of scripture. It was 
very rabbinic, that means the Jews who taught, to tell us what 
Jews who taught before us taught on something. In other words, 
rabbinic teaching oftentimes included what Rabbi Hillel said, 
or Rabbi Shammai said, or Rabbi whoever said. That was very common. And even in my own preaching, 
I'll cite Rabbi John Gill. I'll cite Rabbi John Calvin. 
I'll cite these various men that have shed light upon the pages 
of Holy Scripture. That was a joke. But anyways, 
that was pretty much symptomatic, typical of their teaching. And 
when Jesus taught, he didn't do that. Certainly he cited Isaiah, 
he cited Ezekiel, he would cite the prophets, he would cite Moses 
to be sure, but he didn't look at rabbinic tradition. Christ 
was a chief rabbi. Christ knew perfectly the interpretation 
of the Word of God. He didn't have to cite Hillel. 
He didn't have to cite Shema. He didn't have to cite these 
various persons because he spoke authoritatively as the prophet 
of God Almighty. Remember that scene later on 
in Matthew chapter 17 on the Mount of Transfiguration. The 
Lord God Most High shows his approbation to his son. The son 
is transfigured before the eyes of the disciples. His garments 
are shining whiter than anything that a launderer can do. And 
the Lord God Most High says, this is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. And then he says, hear him. When 
he says, hear him, he doesn't mean don't listen to Isaiah, 
don't listen to Jeremiah, don't listen to the rest of the Old 
Testament prophets and lawgiver Moses, but he's saying that Christ 
is the prophet who has come in accordance with what those men 
spoke, and he is the authoritative interpreter of what those men 
wrote. That's why back in the Sermon 
on the Mount, when Jesus engages in the antitheses, he says to 
them, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you 
shall not murder, but I say to you, persons are wrong who think 
that Jesus there is correcting Moses. No, Jesus is interpreting 
Moses. Jesus is correcting the scribes 
and the Pharisees. They taught that as long as you 
didn't actually stop someone's heart from beating, then you 
fulfilled the command. Jesus says, no, you're not supposed 
to call your brother, Raka. You're not supposed to engage 
in character assassination. You're not supposed to say things 
that are ungodly or untoward, because that is a violation of 
the sixth commandment. The antitheses are not Jesus 
and Moses, it's Jesus and scribal interpretation, those who had 
botched Moses. So Christ as the prophet is able 
to speak authoritatively in the hearing of men. And that's what 
astonished these people. I would also suggest, he taught 
them as one having authority and not as the scribes, that 
his subject matter was different. His doctrine was different. He 
was, or he put himself up as the right to legislate for the 
kingdom of God. But I say to you, I mean, he 
takes this position upon himself as the prophet of God, speaking 
authoritatively the word of God and as the interpreter of that 
blessed word. And then as well, with reference 
to what he's already said in the Sermon on the Mount, he is 
the one for whom the disciples are persecuted. Look at Matthew 
5, 10 to 12. No rabbi before him or after 
him could ever do this. No human, normal earthly human, 
coming through ordinary generation could ever say what Jesus says 
in Matthew 5, 10 to 12. Blessed are those who are persecuted 
for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed 
are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds 
of evil against you falsely. For what? For my sake. And that's 
a pretty powerful statement for a man to make. That man must 
be special. That man must be unique. That 
man must be the second person of the blessed Trinity who came 
into this world for us men and for our salvation, who took on 
our humanity with all the essential properties and the common infirmities 
thereof and yet without sin. He says in verse 12, rejoice 
and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in heaven for 
so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Notice he 
is the one who fulfills the law and the prophets. Verse 17 in 
chapter five, do not think that I came to destroy the law or 
the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but 
to fulfill. It's an amazing statement, isn't it? Brethren, I don't care 
how good your rabbi is, he can't say that. I don't care how good 
your pastor is, he can't say that. None of us can say that, 
but Christ can. And in this particular instance, 
what Christ is showing is the continuity that he bears with 
the Old Testament prophets and the law. In other words, he's 
a new religious teacher. He's a man who's just embarked 
on his public ministry. Crowds are attracting to him. There are multitudes gathered 
before him. Persons no doubt are wondering, 
how is he connected to Moses? How is he connected to Isaiah? 
How is he going to deal with the law and the prophets? Well, 
he tells us, don't think that I came to destroy. Don't think 
that I came to remove. Don't think that I came to abrogate 
the law and the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but 
to fulfill. And praise God Almighty that 
He does fulfill because in His fulfillment of the law and the 
prophets, we have His righteousness imputed to us and received by 
faith alone. He is the one who condemned the 
righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees. Notice in 
520. 520, for I say to you that unless 
your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes 
and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 
Now here's where I believe that Christ is using the Sermon on 
the Mount as a child tutor, as the law to encourage the hearers 
to seek refuge in him. In other words, your righteousness 
must exceed the best righteousness on display in modern society. Well, that must mean I need a 
perfect righteousness. And if that's what that means, 
it casts me at the foot of the cross so that I can find this 
alien righteousness, which is given by God and received by 
faith alone. He is the one who accurately 
expounds the law of God. Chapter 5, 21 to 48. Again, the 
antitheses. Not between him and Moses, but 
between him and the scribal tradition. As well, the text we looked at 
a couple of weeks ago. He is the one who determines 
the eternal destiny of all mankind. Notice in verse 23 in chapter 
7. And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart 
from me, you who practice lawlessness. It's up to Christ where men go. 
It's up to Christ whether we enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
It's up to Christ whether we are excluded from that kingdom 
of heaven and find ourselves in that place of weeping and 
wailing and gnashing of teeth. He is the one alone upon whom 
all of mankind's eternal destiny depends. So that they were astonished 
because he taught as one having authority really shouldn't surprise 
those of us who have been at this for any amount of time, 
because we know that Christ is the prophet, Christ is the priest, 
Christ is the king, and he is the best interpreter of Moses. 
He is the best interpreter of the prophets. He is the one who 
has all authority. Well, in conclusion, I want to 
remind us with reference to the similarities between the builders. 
You know, if we're not contractors, if we're not those who are present 
when a structure is built, we don't know what the foundation 
is. You know, sometimes people get into problems like that, 
don't they? They get a big crack in their garage. I'm mindful 
that my wife told me recently we got a big crack in our garage. 
You know, it kind of terrifies me. Big crack in the garage might 
mean there's a crack somewhere else. I don't like that thought. 
But unless we see a crack in the foundation or we're present 
when the foundation is laid, we don't know. And in this instance, 
both persons hear the words of Christ. Both persons are in the 
right place at the right time. They're similarities. Remember 
the false prophets. They're wolves, but they don't 
dress like wolves. They dress like sheep, don't 
they? They try to finagle their way in. They don't come in with 
big horns and big teeth and big fangs and say, I'm a wolf and 
I'm here to destroy your church. That's not what they do. They 
are wolves dressed as sheep so that they can, from within, destroy. And so when it comes to the similarities 
between these two builders, we're not really sure if we haven't 
seen the foundation. The wolves look like sheep, so 
the foolish builder may appear like the wise builder. The foolish 
and the wise both hear the word of Christ. The separating issue 
is what they do with that word of Christ. But you know what 
oftentimes manifests this? You know what oftentimes demonstrates 
this? Is trial. It is affliction. It is hardship. It is storms. It is winds. It is rains. Now, 
I'm not suggesting that every one of the blood-bought children 
of God are always the stalwart when it comes to affliction. 
They may have an episode. They may fall apart. They may 
have some issues where they come unglued, at least for a time. 
But by the grace of God, they get back up. Though I fall, I 
will rise, the prophet Micah said, and that by the grace of 
God. Affliction and trial and hardship 
and difficulty more often than not manifest where we have built. If we lose it, if we panic, if 
we freak out and are never recovered, that is indicative that our foundation 
was built upon the sand. In fact, Calvin comments, true 
piety is not fully distinguished from its counterfeit till it 
comes to the trial. You see, God has purposes for 
trial. You've heard my thoughts on the 
health, wealth, and prosperity gospel. I don't want to duplicate 
that here except to say that it's completely and absolutely 
heretical. Afflictions and trials and hardships 
are used by our gracious Heavenly Father for good in the lives 
of his people. God causes all things to work 
for good to those who love him, to those who are the called according 
to his purposes. Brethren, the moment we think 
that the trials and the afflictions and the hardships are evidences 
that God is mad or angry or leaving us, we are wrong. God uses those 
things for his glory and for our good. I mentioned this morning 
the analogy and the marriage relationship. A marriage, a good 
marriage, doesn't just happen. It's not just luck. There's a 
lot of work that goes into such a situation. Well, how does a 
good marriage oftentimes prosper and flourish and thrive? But 
by experiencing trials together. It makes persons come together 
even more. See, we have the completely contrary 
approach to trials and afflictions than what God's word demands. 
We look at it and say, oh, it's terrible, it's horrible, I gotta 
run and hide and avoid any trial. Brethren, trial is a necessary 
part of life. Can I give you parents some encouragement? Let your kids eat dirt. Let your 
kids develop their immune system. Let them have some hardship in 
their lives. Because if you don't, they're 
going to be the kinds of people that need safe spaces on college 
campuses. We need to let our children learn. Trials and afflictions. And I'm 
not saying let them run through the house with scissors at their 
door. I'm not suggesting that. But brethren, if we try to over-protect 
and over-sanitize and over-control everything in their lives or 
in ours, we're avoiding a means that God uses for good. Affliction. What's the psalmist 
say in Psalm 119? It was good for me that I was 
afflicted. It was good for me that I tasted 
the rod. What's the apostle say in Hebrews 
chapter 12? No discipline for the moment 
is joyful, but it yields the fruit of righteousness. That's 
God's purposes and means. And when the trials come, instead 
of freaking out and losing it, we submit to God. and we trust 
in that foundation, which is Christ. Now in terms of obvious 
differences, the wise man builds on Christ, the fool builds on 
everything but Christ. He builds on his own works, he 
builds on his own wisdom, he builds on perhaps money, he builds 
on whatever it is. But it's falling, it's sand, 
it's sinking. We just sang, on Christ the solid 
rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand. The wise man 
may battle, Well, he will battle. The wise man may fall at times. We see it in the history of redemption. We see it in scripture. We see 
it in our own hearts. He may suffer these various things, 
but by the grace of God, he gets back up. By the grace of God, 
he lives to fight another day. By God's grace, he faces the 
various things that confront him, and he stands fast. We just sang that. When darkness 
veils his lovely face, I rest upon unchanging grace. In every 
rough and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil. Isn't 
that a beautiful statement? When darkness veils his lovely 
face, I conclude that he's not my God anymore. That's how we 
are. Oh, well, darkness has veiled 
his lovely face, so I'm just gonna give up everything. I'm 
just gonna say, forget it. What does that evidence? If God 
doesn't give me what I want, I'm done. If the Canucks don't 
win, I'm gonna turn to whatever other hockey team is out there. 
We're fair weather fans, brethren, if God doesn't give us good things. 
Wasn't this the devil's accusation with reference to Joe? He only 
serves you because you give him good things. What does God do? 
Take his good things and see what happens. Brethren, if that 
is our attitude, we are mercenaries and we are in this for what God 
gives and not for God himself. But Edward Moat nails it when 
he says, when darkness veils his lovely face, I rest upon 
unchanging grace. I don't live based on feeling, 
I don't live based on experience, I don't live based on whim, but 
rather I have built my house on the solid rock which is Jesus 
Christ, I'm going to trust in unchanging grace. In every rough 
and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil." He goes on 
to write, His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the overwhelming 
flood. When all around my soul gives 
way, He then is all my hope and stay. When it comes to us, we 
don't ponder the oath of God. He seals our salvation with an 
oath. He seals the priestly ministry 
of Jesus Christ, or he appoints Christ by an oath. Covenant. We hear the word covenant, hopefully 
not us, but people hear that and they say, well, that's, you 
know, covenant theology, that's for the few guys in the church 
that like to read Berkhoff and those sorts of things. Brethren, 
if you have not learned the value and the comfort of covenant by 
this point, may I encourage you to study more? Because it's covenant 
that stabilizes the people of God. It's covenant that keeps 
our feet grounded. It's covenant that keeps us connected 
to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Edward Mote realized 
that. Edward Mote said, his oath, his 
covenant, his blood, support me in the overwhelming flood. 
When the overwhelming flood comes, what's your encouragement? Man, 
I'm a great guy. I've done so well." That's never 
the encouragement of the true people of God. The true people 
of God say, His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the overwhelming 
flood. When all around my soul gives 
way, He then is all my hope and stay. And then finally, the wise 
man will stand ready on the day of judgment when the great storm 
of God's wrath is unleashed. We sang this, when I shall launch 
in worlds unseen, oh, may I then be found in him, dressed in his 
righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne. That's 
it right there. You want to stand before God 
faultless before the throne on that day? Come to the Savior. 
Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Hear His words and do them. We need a righteousness. We need 
to be able to stand before that throne. We need to be clothed 
in something that we have not wrought, something that we have 
not produced, something that we have not provided. We need 
the righteousness of Jesus Christ imputed to us and received by 
faith alone. We need the forgiveness or the 
pardon of our sins, that remission that comes from God when he justifies 
us freely by his grace. When I shall launch and world's 
unseen, oh, may I then be found in him, dressed in his righteousness 
alone, faultless to stand before the throne. May God in heaven, 
may God almighty bring us all to that place where we can sing 
that hymn out of genuine hearts of gratitude and faith to our 
God for his having worked in us. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word and we thank you for the clarity 
and the power of Jesus' words here in the end of Matthew 7. 
I pray that each and every one here would be clothed in that 
righteousness, that each and every one here would be believing 
on the Lord Christ, that each one here would hear those words 
of the Savior. Come to me, all you who labor 
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. May sinners come 
by your grace, and may saints continue to come by your grace, 
and may we know the joy of being found in him, not having our 
own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is from 
you through faith in Jesus Christ. Go with us now, Father, help 
us in this coming week to bring glory to you, and we ask through 
Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation and then be dismissed.