Summary
Hearing and Acting
At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus draws a sharp line between two builders. "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock… And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand" Matthew 7:24-27. The Greek word translated "rock" does not picture a stone or a boulder but a massive formation—immovable, solid, stable. The hearers in the Holy Land knew exactly what was at stake: sudden torrential rains could sweep down without warning, and a house pitched on sand was already as good as gone.
The distinction is not between those who hear and those who don't. Both builders hear. The difference is whether the hearing produces a life that acts on what has been heard. To hear and to do is to plant one's life on something that does not move when the storms arrive. As Peter writes, "All flesh is like grass… The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord remains forever" 1 Peter 1:24-25. The wise are not spared the rain, the floods, or the winds; they simply stand because their foundation does.
Why, then, would anyone build on sand? Because sand has its own appeal. The Beatitudes that open this same sermon expose the pull of the softer ground. Jesus calls blessed the poor in spirit, but sand whispers that we are not really sinners. He calls blessed those who mourn, but sand offers a life without sorrow over sin. He calls blessed the meek—those of controlled strength—but sand prefers will imposed at any cost. He calls blessed those who hunger for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for his name; sand offers self-defined right, retribution, divided hearts, conquest over neighbors, and the quick change of clothes into compromise so we can blend in. Sand castles look fine until the tide comes up.
God will not leave his people in that foolishness. The very reason the words of Jesus are often printed in red traces back to a man named Louis Klopsch, who in 1899 was reading Jesus' words at the Last Supper: "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood" Luke 22:20. He resolved that the words of Jesus should appear in red so that every reading would call to mind the blood of Christ. Through that blood our sin is atoned for, we are redeemed, and we are reconciled to God. The empty tomb seals the promise.
Christ himself is the rock on which the hearer builds. He is the way, the truth, and the life John 14:6; the light of the world, so that whoever follows him will not walk in darkness John 8:12; the strength of his people, who promises, "I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" Isaiah 41:10; and the song of the church, who fills hearts with thanks to God the Father Ephesians 5:19-20.
So the call of Words of Jesus.- "Hearing and Acting" is a simple one, given to sand-lovers whom God keeps drawing back to solid ground: hear the red letters, and live on them. By his grace he gives ears that hear and hands that act, and the house he builds in us will stand.
Video citations
- Words of Jesus.- “Hearing and Acting” 9-7-25 — Would you open your Bibles Please with me to Matthew the 7th chapter if you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture you'll find in the Pew rack in front of you or underneath you you'll find that in…