Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 7:26
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Verse 26. And every one that heareth – and doeth them not] Was there ever a stricter system of morality delivered by God to man, than in this sermon? He who reads or hears it, and does not look to God to conform his soul and life to it, and notwithstanding is hoping to enter into the kingdom of heaven, is like the fool who built his house on the sand. When the rain, the rivers, and the winds come, his building must fall, and his soul be crushed into the nethermost pit by its ruins. Talking about Christ, his righteousness, merits, and atonement, while the person is not conformed to his word and spirit, is no other than solemn self-deception.
Let it be observed, that it is not the man who hears or believes these sayings of Christ, whose building shall stand, when the earth and its works are burnt up; but the man who DOES them.
Many suppose that the law of Moses is abolished, merely because it is too strict, and impossible to be observed; and that the Gospel was brought in to liberate us from its obligations; but let all such know, that in the whole of the old covenant nothing can be found so exceedingly strict and holy as this sermon, which Christ lays down as the rule by which we are to walk. “Then, the fulfilling of these precepts is the purchase of glory.” No, it is the WAY only to that glory which has already been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. To him that believes, all things are possible.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
There are and will be others, that, as foolish builders, run up a house in haste, without looking to the goodness of the foundation, and happen to build it upon loose ground. So they flatter themselves with the hopes of the house in the heavens not made with hands, 2Co 5:1, without looking to the bottom and foundation of these hopes, whether they be such as Christ hath warranted or not; but either build their hopes upon Gods infinite mercy, or the sufficiency of Christs merits, or their own works, hearing the word of God, and performing some other duties of religion, never regarding to live to the obedience of the will of God. And the same event will be to these men as to such foolish builders; their building may stand a while, but when a day of visitation, or death, or sharp afflictions or temptation, comes, then their house, their hopes, all fail and perish in a moment, because they had no good foundation, Job 8:13,14; Job 11:20; 27:8; Pro 11:7.
And great was the fall of it: their misery and calamity shall be the greater, by how much their hopes have been the stronger, the disappointment of their expectation adding to their misery.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
26. And every one that heareth thesesayings of minein the attitude of discipleship.
and doeth them not, shall belikened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon thesanddenoting a loose foundationthat of an empty professionand mere external services.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And everyone that heareth these sayings of mine,…. Who only externally hears them, but has no understanding of them; do not believe them, nor like and approve of them, but hates and despises them; or if not, depends upon his external hearing of them, and contents himself with a speculative knowledge, without the practice of them,
and doth them not; does not yield the obedience of faith to the doctrines of the Gospel, nor submits to the ordinances of it, but neglects them, and all other duties of religion: or if he does obey, it is only outwardly, not from the heart; nor from a principle of love; nor in faith; nor in the name and strength of Christ; nor for the glory of God, but in order to obtain life for himself: such
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand; or, as Luke has it, “without a foundation upon the earth”; upon the surface of the earth, without digging into it for a foundation: and such may be said to build
without a foundation, who pretend to make their peace with God by their own works; who hope for pardon on the foot of the mercy of God, and their own repentance; seek for justification by their own, and not the righteousness of Christ; look for acceptance with God, for the sake of their own worthiness; and who expect salvation in any other way than by Christ: as in each of these articles, they leave out Christ, they may be said to build without a foundation indeed, and to build “upon” the surface of “the earth”; as they do, who build their hope of salvation upon anything that is merely external; as, their riches and grandeur, their wisdom and learning, their natural descent, and religious education, their civility, courteousness, and what is called good nature, their liberality and alms deeds, their morality, common justice and honesty, their legal righteousness, whether moral or ritual, and a round of religious duties; and such may be said to “build upon the sand”, on that which will bear no weight, but gives way, and sinks. The salvation of the soul is a weighty thing; and that which is like sand, as is everything of a man’s own, can never support it: God has therefore laid the salvation of his people on his own Son; and he must be a “foolish man” that builds on anything short of him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And doeth them not ( ). The foolish builder put his house on the sands that could not hold in the storm. One is reminded of the words of Jesus at the beginning of the Sermon in 5:19 about the one “who does and teaches.” Hearing sermons is a dangerous business if one does not put them into practice.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine,” (kai pas ho akouon mou tous logous toutous) “And everyone repeatedly hearing my words or instructions,” that is, who pays attention to them, who is responsibly enlightened, to whom the Lord stretches His hand appealingly, Pro 1:20-28; Rom 10:21; Mat 27:37-39.
2) “And doeth them not,” (kai me poion autous) “And is not doing them,” either in salvation, or as a pattern of life and service, who hears and understands God’s call to both, but does not obey by giving heed in 1) Believing, 2) Confessing, 3) Being baptized, announcing his commitment to walk a new life of service, Joh 6:29; Joh 8:24; Act 16:31; Rom 10:9-10; Rom 6:4-5.
3) “Shall be likened unto a foolish man,” (homoiothesetai anori moro) “He shall be compared closely with a moronic, or imprudent man,” a man lacking of any reasonable judgement in behavior, though he has mentality to decide or not to decide, to receive, to trust or reject Jesus Christ as his rock (foundation) for salvation and his house or church as a place of service and worship, 1Ti 3:15.
4) “Which built his house upon the sand:” (hostis okodomesen autou ten oikian epi-ten ammon) “Who built or founded his residence upon the sand foundation,” an unstable shifting, insecure foundation from ravages of wind and water. Sand is a light soil, easily removed from one place to another, either by blowing wind or running water. This pictures a person who makes an external profession, piety, good-works, and righteousness, that is self righteousness, like that against which Jesus warned, Mat 5:20; Luk 6:46; Rom 10:1-4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
“And every one who hears these words of mine,
And does not do them,”
In contrast are not those who do not hear His words, but those who do hear them but do not do them. The words are firmly addressed to would be disciples. There is no sadder picture that these people who hear the words of life, take them in, but do not live them out because they have not allowed them to take root in their hearts (compare Mat 13:4-7).
Mat 7:26 b
“Will be likened to a foolish man, who built his house on the sand,”
Such people are like a foolish man who builds his house on sand. He could not take the trouble to establish foundations. It was not where he built that was different (both paced the same floods) but how he built. He found Jesus’ words attractive but did not take them to heart. He built his beliefs on the sand of a failing world, rather than on the rock of Christ’s Lordship.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Ver. 26. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, &c. ] Which is the greater number of hearers, for most men hear to hear, and not to practise, a Some hear merely of form, or for fashion’ sake, or to save the penalty of the statute, or to find some recipe to procure a sleep, or to still the clamours of their consciences, or to make amends and purchase dispensation for some beloved lust, as Herod; or expecting from the preacher some choice novelty, as Mat 3:8 , some deep point, Mat 12:37 , or dainty expressions, asEze 33:32Eze 33:32 . Or they hear and jeer, Act 17:32 ; hear and carp, as Doeg; hear and resist the Holy Ghost, Act 7:51 . Or at least are no whit wrought upon, whether we pipe or lament to ThemMt 11:17. Or if they hear and admire, as those, Mat 22:22 ; yet they amend nothing, or but for a season, as the stony ground, Mat 13:20-21 ; they are hearers of forgetfulness ( ), Jas 1:25 ; like hour glasses, they are no sooner full, but running out again; like nets or sieves, they retain only the chaff or weeds, let go the pure water and good grain. The word runs through them, as water through a riven vessel (that is the apostle’s metaphor, Heb 2:1 , ), or as that which is written upon moist paper, as others will have it. A general cause of our not practising what we hear is, that we put this spiritual treasure into broken bags, this precious liquor into leaking vessels. Whereas our souls should be as the ark, and our memories as the pot of manna, to retain what we have received, that we may have it ready for practice, as Saul had his cruse and his spear at his head, and David his scrip and stones ready by his side. A heavy ear is a singular judgment, Isa 6:10 ; but a slow heart and a heavy hand, to conceive and do what we hear, paves a way to remediless misery; besides the fool to boot which the judge here putteth upon him.
Shall be likened unto a foolish man ] And he is a fool indeed whom Christ calleth fool. Conscionable hearers are counted good men (God wot), but simple, silly, and of no parts. But “wisdom is justified of her children.” To walk precisely, is to walk wisely, Eph 5:15 . And he that heareth and guideth his feet in the way, is wise,Pro 23:19Pro 23:19 . And, “Who is a wise man among you, and endued with knowledge? Let him show out of a good conversation his works,” &c., Jas 3:13 . All others are fools, because they fail in the main point of their salvation: they are troubled about many things, but neglect the one thing necessary; they trifle out their precious opportunities, and in hearing or other services they do worse than lose their labour, for they commit sin and heap up wrath. Their house will down, as the spider’s house doth, and all their building, ploughing, planting, sailing, come to nothing.
Which built his house upon the sand ] Wherefore it soon sinks and shatters, as having not the loose earth thrown up first, by the practice of mortification and self-denial. Men should first sit down, and cast what it would cost them to build the tower of godliness, or e’er they leap into profession. They should put their hearts often to those grand questions of abnegation. Can I (as all must that will be Christ’s disciples) deny myself in all my selves (for a man hath many selves within himself, and must utterly and absolutely deny them all), take up my daily cross (for omnis Christianus crucianus, every Christian is a Crucian or cross bearer, saith Luther; the rain will fall, the floods flow, the winds blow, and beat upon his building, he shall have many trials and temptations that looks towards heaven, troubles without, terrors within, his back burden of both), and follow Christ through thick and thin, by doing and suffering his whole will? Many will follow Christ in such duties as suit with their humours, and no farther, as the rusty hand of a dial; they will break the hedge of his law, to shun a piece of foul way: they follow Christ, as the dog follows his master, till he come by a carrion, and then he turns him up. Orpah made a fair proffer of going along with Naomi, but when she had better considered it, she turned again. Lot’s wife set fair out of Sodom, but looked back. So do many forward hearers set their hands to God’s plough, but (loth to plough up the fallow ground of their hearts, and to lay a good foundation in humiliation) they start aside like broken bows, and steal away like cowardly soldiers ( ), Heb 10:38 , and so judge themselves unworthy of eternal life, and unfit for God’s kingdom, Luk 9:62 . For the foolish shall not stand in his sight, he hateth all the workers of iniquity, Psa 5:5 . Caleb was not discouraged by the giants, therefore he had Hebron given him, the place of the giants, when the spies and murmurers were never suffered to enter; no more shall they that hold not out to the death obtain the crown of life.
a Panaetios apud Scythiam esse ferunt tam diffasa aurium magnitudine, ut omne corus ex eis contegant. Isidore xi. 3.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 7:26-27 . , Jesus seems here to offend against His own teaching, Mat 5:22 , but He speaks not in passion or contempt, but in deep sadness, and with humane intent to prevent such folly. Wherein lay the second builder’s folly? Not in deliberately selecting a bad foundation, but in taking no thought of foundation; in beginning to build at haphazard and anywhere; on loose sand ( ) near the bed of a mountain torrent. His fault was not an error in judgment, but inconsiderateness. It is not, as is commonly supposed, a question of two foundations, but of looking to, and neglecting to look to, the foundation. In the natural sphere no man in his senses commits such a mistake. But utterly improbable cases have to be supposed in parables to illustrate human folly in religion.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mat 7:26. , he that heareth) He who neither hears nor does, clearly does not build at all.- , on the sand) which frequently looks like the rock, but is not of the same consistence.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
doeth: 1Sa 2:30, Pro 14:1, Jer 8:9, Luk 6:49, Jam 2:20
Reciprocal: Lev 11:5 – but divideth Deu 14:7 – General Job 18:14 – confidence Pro 14:11 – house Eze 13:14 – the foundation Mat 13:6 – because Mat 13:21 – root Luk 6:48 – and laid Gal 3:1 – Foolish Heb 4:1 – any Jam 1:23 – General Jam 2:14 – though 1Pe 2:15 – foolish
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7:26
The man who builds a house on the sand is like one who estimates his needs by present conditions only. In the absence of water and wind, sandy ground would seem about as firm as a rock, or at least enough so that it would appear firm and hard and suitable to hold up a house. Likewise, if no tests were made of a man’s work in this life, either now or at the judgment, then one kind of spiritual structure might be as acceptable as another and hence he might as well do as he sees fit about it.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 7:26. Doeth them not. Life is the test, not knowledge, or profession, which may be included here under the word heareth.
Foolish, i.e., senseless, singularly imprudent
The sand. The transitory teachings and works of man. For moral results, science itself is shifting sand compared to the Rock, Christ.