The Two Destinies (7:24-27).
Having given His firm warning Jesus now returns to the idea of the two choices which are open before them, but this time in terms of two houses built on two ‘foundations'. Yet it is not the foundations that the emphasis is on but the destinies. All must now decide how they will respond to His words, and upon it will depend their eternal future. Those who hear His words and do them will find themselves built on a foundation which ensures that they are secure for eternity, so that when the judgment comes they will stand firm. But those who hear His words and do not do them will find on that day that all collapses around them. They have no foundation.
Analysis.
Jesus ends with two perfectly balanced and contrasting positions. They are not in the form of a chiasmus but of two direct parallels, matching phrase by phrase, each of which is, however, a chiasmus. We have divided them up so that the parallelism can be observed quite clearly.
a A Every one therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them,
b B Will be likened to a wise man, who built his house on the rock,
c C And the rain descended, and the floods came,
c D And the winds blew, and beat on that house,
b E And it fell not,
a F For it was founded on the rock.
a A And every one who hears these words of mine, and does not do them,
b B Will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand,
c C And the rain descended, and the floods came,
c D And the winds blew, and smote on that house,
b E And it fell,
a F And great was its fall.
Notice that in each case in ‘a' we are told how they responded, and in the parallel the final consequence. In ‘b' we are told the foundation each built on and in the parallel what the consequence was. Centrally in ‘c and its parallel are the descriptions of God's activities.
Note carefully the contrasts.
One does His words, the other does not.
One is wise, the other is foolish.
One built on rock, the other on sand.
One house was ‘beaten on' (tribulation/strict examination), the other was ‘smitten' (final judgment).
One did not fall (it stood firm), the other fell (it collapsed).
One was founded on rock, the other violently collapsed.
Apart from the last each statement has its opposite counterpart and we expect the last one to end, ‘for it was founded upon the sand', but it does not. For He is bringing out the point that it had no foundation. When the test came there was nothing there. Jesus thus leaves them with the thought hanging in the air, ‘and great was its fall'. That is the final thought that He wants them all to take away with them.
So the Sermon that begins with the words ‘Blessed by God are those who are poor in spirit, for to them belongs the Kingly Rule of Heaven', ends with (speaking of those who have turned their backs on the Kingly Rule of Heaven and have built on ‘false prophets' of whatever kind) ‘great was its fall'.