"Rock and Sand"

Overview

Rock and Sand

At the close of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts two builders: one who hears His words and acts on them, and one who hears but does not. Torrential rains and floods test both houses. The house founded on rock stands; the house built on sand collapses with a great fall Matthew 7:24-27. The image is simple enough for a child's song, yet it diagnoses the deepest question of our lives: on what foundation are we actually building?

That question presses in on the first Easter morning. The women come to the tomb at dawn expecting to anoint a corpse, but find the stone rolled away and are met by two messengers: "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you…" Luke 24:1-8. And He had told them—repeatedly. In Matthew 16:21, Matthew 17:22-23, and Matthew 20:17-19, Jesus had plainly foretold His suffering, death, and resurrection on the third day. Yet when the women report what they have seen, the apostles dismiss it as "an idle tale" Luke 24:9-12. Peter runs, sees, and returns home merely amazed. Thomas refuses to believe. The travelers to Emmaus walk in despair. The promises of Christ were rock; their fears and assessments were sand—and when the rains of Good Friday fell, their house went splat.

The good news is that the rock held even when the disciples did not. On the cross, Jesus, the spotless Lamb, took the world's sin and bore the wrath we deserved, reconciling us to God. Raised from the tomb, He has opened heaven and applies His victory to us in baptism, clothing us in His perfect righteousness. He alone is our hope John 14:6, our light John 8:12, our strength Isaiah 41:10, and our song Ephesians 5:18-19.

We still drift toward the sand—trusting our own thinking, our fears, the endless loop of bad news. But the risen Christ keeps lifting us back onto Himself and onto His promises. Distance, isolation, and storms cannot undo what He has done; God has already closed the distance our sin created through the cross. So hear His Word, and by His grace act on it. Build there. The house on the rock will stand firm.

Transcript

Let's open our Bibles, please. 1s

This morning to the 24th chapter of the gospel of Luke for our study on this Easter day. 3s

When one comes to Easter day, it is such a joyous day for so many reasons. 12s

And one of the joys are the great hymns associated with this day. 19s

Jesus Christ is risen today. 26s

Thyne is the glory. 29s

But a beautiful hymn we just sang, taking a familiar hymn and changing the lyrics, 32s

addressing the days in which we live. 40s

Beautiful hymns that abound. 43s

Perhaps you've found yourselves in these days leading up to Easter, 46s

humming these great Easter hymns or singing along with them. 50s

But in these days, amidst my own humming and singing, 58s

I've come to have in my mind this other song that I just can't let go of. 65s

It's this. 75s

The wise man built his house upon the rock. 77s

The wise man built his house upon the rock. 83s

The wise man built his house upon the rock. 88s

And the rain came a tumble and down. 92s

The rain came down and the floods came up. 97s

The rains came down and the floods came up. 102s

The rains came down and the floods came up. 106s

But the house on the rock stood firm. 111s

There are other verses, of course, two that children sang. 117s

And one of the verses talks about a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. 121s

And building that house on the sand when the rains came and the floods came up. 131s

His house, the song goes, went, splat. 137s

Now why is it? 146s

Why is it with all of the great hymns associated with Easter? 148s

Why in addition to having those hymns in my mind and singing them? 154s

Why couldn't I let go of this children's song? 160s

Why have I had that song? 168s

Also going through my mind? 171s

That song comes from a story that Jesus gave recorded in Matthew 7th chapter. 178s

Jesus would oftentimes teach in parables, parables, earthly stories with a heavenly meaning. 187s

And so Jesus, the incredible teacher, he would take a very very familiar image. 193s

And he would then apply a spiritual truth in association with that image. 200s

The people on the Holy Land would certainly understand torrential rains. 206s

It would come down in buckets. 211s

And if the house was not built upon that which was solid, 214s

well then the homes there could simply be washed away with this torrential flood that would come with the rains. 219s

Jesus took that familiar image of the torrential rains. 228s

And whether or not one would build on that which is solid or not. 234s

And he taught. 239s

He said this. 240s

Everyone then who hears these words of mind and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 244s

The rain fell, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock. 254s

And everyone who hears these words of mind and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 266s

The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was its fall. 277s

These words come at the end of Jesus's great sermon on the Mount. 291s

He's calling the people, 297s

to not only hear the words that he shares, 299s

not only to hear them but to act on them by the grace of God to build their lives on the solid rock of his promises. 305s

Why has that song that children's song been in my mind as we've approached Easter? 317s

Because on that first Easter there were so many houses that were built on the sand. 332s

Look at me please. 346s

At Luke chapter 24 verse 1, there we read. 348s

But on the first day of the week at early dawn they came to the tomb taking the spices that they had prepared. 354s

So as the women came to the tomb, what was it that they were expecting? 363s

They were expecting to find a dead Jesus in the tomb. 368s

That's why they had brought the spices. 374s

They were going to prepare his body. 376s

They were expecting a dead Jesus. 380s

But what did they find? 384s

Look at verse 2 please. 386s

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb and when they went in they did not find the body. 389s

While they were perplexed about this suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. 396s

The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground but the men said to them, 403s

Why do you look for the living among the dead? 410s

He is not here but has risen. 413s

Remember how he told you while he was still in Galilee that the son of man must be handed over to sinners 417s

and be crucified and on the third day rise again. 424s

Then they remembered his words. 431s

What? 437s

Jesus has recorded in Matthew 16. 439s

The Scripture says this from that time on, 442s

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering 447s

at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed. 454s

And on the third day be raised. 460s

Matthew 17. 465s

Jesus said to them, 467s

The son of man is going to be betrayed into human hands and they will kill him. 469s

And on the third day he will be raised. 475s

Matthew 20. 482s

While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the 12 disciples aside by themselves 483s

and said to them, 489s

On the way, see, 491s

We are going up to Jerusalem. 494s

And the son of man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes 497s

and they will condemn him to death. 502s

Then they will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified 505s

and on the third day he will be raised. 511s

This was not a passing comment that Jesus made. 519s

Jesus over and over and over again taught them exactly what was going to happen. 526s

It was not a passing comment. 538s

Look when he pleased it, verse 9. 542s

And returning from the tomb they told all of this to the 11 and to all the rest. 546s

Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and the other women with them 552s

who told this to the apostles. 558s

Now catch this. 561s

But these words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them. 564s

It seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them. 578s

The next verse. 591s

But Peter got up, ran to the tomb, 594s

stooping and looking in he saw the linen cloths by themselves, 598s

then he went home, amazed at what had happened. 604s

The women come to the disciples. 614s

You've got a group of witnesses that have seen the same thing and they turned to the disciples and they say, 618s

this is what we have seen and the response that the disciples give is, well this is nonsense. 625s

Peter goes to the tomb, 631s

sees indeed that there is nobody there and he turns around to go back home again, amazed. 634s

That's not, faith. 648s

That's just not understanding indeed what happened. 653s

The women only when they were reminded understood. 663s

But understanding wasn't their first reaction. 672s

Was it? 680s

The disciples taught over and over and over again by Jesus exactly what was going to happen. 682s

Oh, this is nonsense. 689s

This is nonsense. 691s

This is an idle tale. 692s

Knock it off. 694s

When you go on into the story and you come to Thomas, he didn't believe it. 698s

He didn't believe that Jesus had risen from the tomb. 702s

You also read about the two disciples walking along the road to Amaz and they are downcast. 706s

They're depressed. 712s

They're filled with despair. 713s

They didn't believe the resurrection. 716s

You have a count after a count after a count. 720s

There is confusion. 723s

There is despair. 726s

There is depression. 729s

Why? 732s

Because the people were not acting on the solid rock of the promises of the Lord Jesus. 737s

They were acting on the shifting sands of their own assessment. 749s

Their own thinking. 762s

Their own fears. 765s

When the events of Friday occurred and Jesus was crucified and his body was played 770s

in a tomb. 777s

The rains came down. 784s

The rains came down. 787s

The rains came down. 797s

And the house on the sand went, splat, God comes in His grace to the world. 804s

He comes in His grace to the world riddled with sin. 829s

And on the cross Jesus Christ took the world's sin, including your sin and my sin. 839s

And he paid the price for that sin. 851s

The second member of the Trinity, the Lord Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb of God took our 859s

place and the wrath of God for sin fell not on us, but on Jesus. 866s

He reconciled the world unto Himself. 879s

The grace of God, this undeserved love poured out to us. 886s

He was raised out of the tomb overcoming death, reclaimed in the waters of baptism and the 894s

victory of the cross and the empty tomb is applied to us. 904s

And the gates of heaven open up to us. 910s

God giving us, indeed, by His action and His grace, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. 916s

And indeed, God opens up for us this eternity, His grace. 927s

He wraps us in the perfect righteous garment of the Lord Jesus Christ so that when He looks 936s

upon us what He sees is the perfect righteous garment of Jesus. 942s

That's grace. 953s

Christ alone is our hope. 959s

Hope not in the sense of a wishful thought but hope in the sense of confidence. 966s

Jesus said, in John 14, I am the way and the truth and the life. 972s

No one come up to the Father except through me. 979s

Christ alone is our light. 986s

Jesus said, in John 8, I am the light of the world who ever follows me will never walk 991s

in darkness but will have the light of life. 1000s

Christ alone is our strength. 1007s

Isaiah 41 records, God saying, I will strengthen you. 1012s

I will help you. 1017s

I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. 1018s

Christ alone is our song. 1025s

Ephesians the 5th chapter records, be filled with the Holy Spirit as you sing songs 1029s

and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves singing and making melody to the Lord 1034s

in your hearts. 1042s

Jesus is our hope. 1046s

Jesus is our life. 1049s

Jesus is our light. 1051s

Jesus is our strength. 1054s

Jesus is our song. 1057s

And to us, to us who have the tendency to keep trying to build our houses on the sand. 1062s

He keeps picking us up and putting us back on the solid rock of himself and upon the solid 1077s

rock of his promises. 1090s

On this Easter morning, the sanctuaries are empty. 1101s

But the risen Lord Jesus Christ fills the hearts of his church. 1109s

We may be socially distanced for a time, but we rejoice because God has dealt with the distance 1121s

between himself and us that distance borne out of our sin. 1132s

He's dealt with it through the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1138s

We may turn on the news each day and it seems as if we get an endless loop of bad news. 1146s

But we are a people with the good news of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1154s

The rains come and the waves beat against the house and the storms range. 1166s

But the house that's built upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ, the house that's built 1179s

upon the solid rock of his promises. 1191s

That house will not fall. 1196s

For the house built on the rock, it stands firm. 1200s

The house on the rock, it stands firm. 1211s