The Life That Falls Apart
The rock foundation represented the Lord Himself and the truths He had been presenting, especially the truth concerning inner transformation. The sand spoke of Pharisaic righteousness which the people knew and on which many were basing their hopes. In storms the first would give stability; the second would result in destruction.
demons. There is only one devil (Satan), but there are many demons. The demons are those angels who sinned with Satan by following him when he revolted against God. Some are confined (2 Peter 2:4), but many are active in the world (12:43–45). They seek to thwart the purposes of God (Eph. 6:11–12); they promote their own system of doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1); they can inflict diseases (9:33); and they possess the bodies of men and of animals (4:24; Mark 5:13).
Grapes and figs do not grow on thornbushes or thistles. Good fruit trees produce good fruit, but bad fruit trees produce bad fruit. In Jesus’ evaluation, the Pharisees were obviously producing bad fruit; the only thing to do with bad trees is to cut them down and destroy them. If they do not fulfill their purpose for existence, they should be removed.
A Steady Life Needs a Sturdy Foundation.
FOUR CHOICES THAT WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE:
Two Gates. 13-14
Two Roads. 13-14
Two Teachers. 15-19
Two Foundations. 24-27
The alluvial sand ringing the seashore on the Sea of Galilee was hard on the surface during the hot summer months. But a wise builder would not be fooled by such surface conditions. He would dig down sometimes ten feet below the surface sand to the bedrock below, and there establish the foundation for his house. When the winter rains came, overflowing the banks of the Jordan River flowing into the sea, houses built on the alluvial sand surface would have an unstable foundation layer; but houses built on bedrock would be able to withstand the floods. Excavations in the late 1970s in the region uncovered basalt stone bedrock that was apparently used for the foundation of buildings in antiquity.
When I Stand at the Judgment Seat
When I stand at the judgment seat of Christ
And He shows me His plan for me;
The plan of my life as it might have been
Had He had His way, and I see
How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there
And I would not yield my will,
Shall I see grief in my Savior’s eyes;
Grief though He loves me still?
Oh, He’d have me rich, and I stand there poor,
Stripped of all but His grace,
While my memory runs like a hunted thing
Down the paths I can’t retrace.
Then my desolate heart will well-nigh break
With tears that I cannot shed.
I’ll cover my face with my empty hands
And bow my uncrowned head.
No. Lord of the years that are left to me
I yield them to Thy hand.
Take me, make me, mold me
To the pattern Thou hast planned.
The Judgment seat “is meant for us professing Christians, real and imperfect Christians; and it tells us that there are degrees in that future blessedness proportioned to present faithfulness.”
- Alexander Maclaren, 1826–1910