Author: Gary Witcher

Parables Two

	"Therefore every one who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them," Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:24,25, "may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the  floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall; for it had been founded upon the rock."
	"And every one who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them," the Master contrasts beginning in verse 26, "will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
	"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
	Remember from our discussion last week that a parable might be defined as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.  What, then, is the earthly story that Jesus is telling?  It involves two men who build houses for themselves.
	The first constructs his house upon rock.  The parallel account of this parable in Luke 6:47-49 indicates that this man has to dig a deep hole to locate the rock.  So he does not simply find a rocky spot to build his house.  He goes to the trouble of digging a deep foundation in order to set the house on bedrock.
	The second builds his house upon the sand.  Luke says it is built upon the ground without any foundation.  The point is that he expects to build a house without preparing any kind of foundation.   The two houses could be placed side-by-side on the same kind of soil.  The difference is the amount of work undertaken to prepare the site for the building.
	Along come strong winds and flooding waters.  The first house, the one with its foundation on the rock, withstands the flood.   The second house, the one that is simply placed upon the ground with no foundation, collapses immediately, as we learn in Luke 6:49.  Its ruin is described as "great."
	Remember that Jesus is not giving an account of an actual occurrence. But everything He says is factual.  People really do build houses.  Some are more conscientious than are others in laying a good foundation.   When storms come, the house with a sound base will withstand, while the house with no foundation will fall.
	With all of this in mind, lets think about the heavenly meaning that Jesus intends for this earthly story.
	Jesus states that the first man is like someone who hears the words of the Lord and acts upon them.  The second man is like one who hears the words but does not act upon them.
	To get the full meaning of the parable, we need to back up to verse 13 of Matthew seven and look at the context.  This is true, by the way, when considering any biblical passage.  Evaluation of all Scriptures must be carried out based on the setting.
	"Enter by the narrow gate;" Jesus warns in verses 13 and 14, "for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."
	It is sad, but true, that the majority of people will not go to heaven.  Don't accuse us of saying this; we're just relaying the clear teaching of these verses.  It may be even more surprising when we realize that most supposedly RELIGIOUS people will not go to heaven.   Is Jesus talking about people who have never heard what He has to say,  or  does verse 26 specify those who have heard His words?
	This becomes even more clear in verses 21-23.
	"Not every one who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father, who is in heaven.
	"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
	"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"
	Once again, are we or are we not looking at people who think they are religious?  Will they or will they not go to heaven?  What, then, is the deciding factor? What is the key?
	Did both men know how to build proper foundations?  The indications are that they did.  Why, then, did both houses not survive the flood?  The second house did not survive because the builder did not put into practice what he knew.
	Is it enough to hear what Jesus has to say?  Is it enough to call Him, 'Lord'?  As we have pointed out before, the idea of "faith" as used in the Bible is one of action, not of feeling.   In fact,  "believe" and "obey" are often used interchangeably, as we have seen in passages such as Hebrews 3:18,19.  Hebrews chapter 11, the great discourse on faith, points out time and time again that "by faith" important Old Testament figures were compelled to certain actions.  Nowhere is this concept stated more clearly than in the latter part of James chapter two.  The Greek word that is translated "believe" carries the connotation "trust and obey."  All we have to do to understand this concept is substitute the word  "faithful" for "obedient."
	How often do you listen to a broadcast such as this one and say, "That's right!" about something that is said?  How often do you change your actions to correspond with what you have heard and believed?

	"But no one puts a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment;" Jesus points out in Matthew 9:16, "for the patch pulls away from the garment, and a worse tear results."
	"Nor do men put new wine into old wineskins;" the Lord continues in the next verse, "otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."
	In the first parable, Jesus reminds us that we do not mix materials when we patch a piece of clothing.  The fabric in the garment has already been shrunk, while the new piece has not.  By combining the two we are asking for an even worse rip in the garment.  This advice was even more valuable in the days of Jesus when none of our modern synthetic materials were available.
	Jesus notes in the second parable that wineskins stretch during the fermenting process.  Anyone who puts new wine into a skin that has already been stretched can expect to loose both the container and its contents.
	Two parables are given here, but the meaning is the same for both. Recall from our preliminary discussion last week that the parables must be interpreted in light of the original listeners, the Jews.
	Looking at the context in Matthew chapter nine as well as in Mark 2:21,22 and Luke 5:36-38, we learn that these parables are given in reference to attempts by  the Jews  to bind Jewish  traditions on  the followers of Jesus.  What the Master is trying to explain with His reference to patching old cloth with new and placing new wine in old skins is that He is not simply trying to make a few modifications in the Jewish system.  What He is establishing is something entirely new.
	Paul repeats this same teaching in the book of Galatians.  He points out in Galatians 2:16 that no flesh can be justified by works of the Law. Verse 21 claims that, if righteousness can be obtained through the Law, then Jesus died needlessly.  Remember this thought and we'll take a closer look at it in a moment.
	Galatians 3:13 says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law.
	"But before faith came," Paul points out in verses 23-25,  "we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed.  Therefore the Law has become our tutor to  lead us  to Christ, that we may be justified by faith.  But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."
	According to this passage, the Law is a tutor.  And we are no longer under that tutor.
	Paul gives a very interesting allegory of the Old and New Covenants in the latter part of Galatians chapter four.  He picks up in chapter five with the thought we mentioned in chapter two, verse 21.
	"Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision," the Apostle stresses in Galatians 5:2-4, "Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law.   You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
	Perhaps all of you are saying, "That's right!"  It would be hard to say anything else, since the words are those of the Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul.
	In chapter seven of the book of Romans Paul compares trying to follow both the old and new laws with a woman who is married to two husbands.  In verse six he points out that we have been released from the Law.  In verse seven the Apostle specifies that he is talking about the law that includes the statement, "You shall not covet."
	In 2 Corinthians 3:7 Paul identifies the Old Law as "the ministry of death."  He explains that he is talking about the law that was written on stones.
	What Paul is pointing out in these passages is that, if we seek to please God by following the law of Moses, including the 10 Commandments, we are saying that Christ died needlessly, according to Galatians 2:21, and that Christ is of no benefit to us, according to Galatians 5:2.   The 10 Commandments are part of the Law of Moses, the Old Testament Law. Verse three points out that we cannot chose to keep just part of that Law. It is all or none.  If we want to follow the 10 Commandments we had better start getting some sheep and offering some sacrifices.
	"Having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us," Paul writes in Colossians 2:14, "and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
	Read the whole chapter and see what Paul is referring to.   Here's a clue: verse 16 says it has to do with Sabbath-keeping.
	Read the book of Hebrews and notice the contrast between the Old and New laws.
	"When He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete," Hebrews 8:13 states.  "But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear."
	Does this mean that we are saying we can kill, commit adultery and do all the other things forbidden by the 10 Commandments?  Paul's opponents accused him of the same thing, and we find his reply in the book of Romans.  "May it never be," the Apostle repeats a number of times in reply to similar accusations.
	The point is that, what we do we do because of what Jesus teaches in passages such as Matthew 5:21-48 and not because of what we are told by the 10 Commandments.
	Are there any religious bodies today that are trying to mix elements of the old law with the new?  Are there any religious groups today that are trying to combine following the 10 Commandments with salvation by grace?  Jesus says we cannot patch old cloth with new, and we cannot put new wine in old wineskins.
	The Law binds us to slavery.  "My word is truth," Jesus claims.
	And only Jesus and His truth can set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)