Luke 6:47,48 - Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible

Bible Comments

The Security Of The One Who Hears The Words Of Jesus And Does Them (6:47-48).

F f Every one who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them (Luke 6:47 a),

g g I will show you to whom he is like (Luke 6:47 b),

h h He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep (Luke 6:48 a),

i i And laid a foundation on the rock (Luke 6:48 b),

j j And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house (Luke 6:48 c),

k k And could not shake it, because it had been built well (48d).

Every one who comes to me, and hears my words, and does them,

I will show you to whom he is like,

He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep,

And laid a foundation on the rock,

And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house,

And could not shake it, because it had been built well.

There is a difference between this parable here and the parallel one in Matthew 7:24-27. Sometimes in different messages Jesus emphasised His previous words by repetition. Sometimes He did it by alteration. Here the man is seen as putting in effort. He ‘digs deep'. He wants to be certain of the soundness of the foundation (it hints at nothing about a cellar). Then he lays a foundation on a rock. (This is done equally by both Jews and Gentiles). The result is that when the bad years come and floods arise his house is able to cope with the pounding of the water. In the same way the man who hears Jesus' words and does them will be able to stand against all that life can throw at Him and against all the attacks of the Enemy. Nothing will hurt him (Luke 10:19). He is unshakeable.

When a person tells you that they are having difficulty believing, ask them about their lives. The problem in all probability lies in what they are doing, or planning to do, rather than with their faith or lack of it. The house is being shaken because it is no longer on the rock.

Disaster For Those Who Hear the Words of Jesus and Do Not Do Them (Luke 6:49).

Luke 6:47-48

47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.