Jesus is teaching the crowds with a sermon that, today, we call the Sermon on the Mount. He has called his disciples and now he is teaching the people what it means to live as one within the kingdom of God.
As he is wrapping up his teaching, Jesus admonishes and warns the crowd that they shouldn’t just listen to what he has to say and move on. No, instead, they should go and do what he said, and if they do, then they will be building their lives on a strong foundation:
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Luke 6:46-49
I have a couple of thoughts on what Jesus is saying here:
First, as the crowds frequently noted, Jesus teaches quite differently than the Pharisees or teachers of the law. Jesus says that the people must do what he says. Note the emphasis here. Jesus isn’t just reading the scripture and telling the people to do what it says. He is telling the people directly, using his own words, what they must do.
This is very different than what a regular person would do. This is different from what a teacher would do. And furthermore, this is very different from what a true prophet would do! Each of these would recognize that there is an authority much greater than themselves and that they are simply a teacher or a carrier of a message instead of the authority themselves.
But that is not how Jesus speaks. He speaks with authority. He says that the people must put his words into practice. This is not how a teacher teaches. This is how God speaks. He speaks with authority. He is the Sovereign. He is the Lord, and when the Lord speaks, that is what must be done.
So there is an issue of identity for Jesus in what he is saying here. Jesus truly is Lord. He is God who has come to earth to show himself in the flesh, amongst his people. He is Immanuel, God with us.
Second, Jesus says that we must do. We must act. We must put his words into practice. That is how we can stand upon a firm foundation. We don’t stand firmly because we have a good philosophy, or even because we understand all of the right teachings. The knowledge of Christ will give you a good start. It helps you know what to do. But the practice is what will allow you to have the foundation upon which you can stand.
Jesus says that you can weather the storm. You can stand even when you are beaten down. But you can only do these things if you know Jesus’s words, and you do Jesus’s words. If you put them into practice. Only in this way can you truly stand upon a foundation that will not move. Otherwise, if you know what Jesus says but you haven’t actually put them into practice, you will be destroyed. The sands will shift underneath you and you will collapse. And you will be destroyed.
So, let’s not simply call Jesus Lord, Lord. Instead, let us be a people who do what he says, who put into practice what Jesus has called us to do, and in this way, when the storms come, we will stand.