Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 7:24-27

"Every one therefore that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them, shall be likened unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and if fell not: for it was founded upon the rock. And every one that heareth these words of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and smote upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall thereof." — Matthew 7:24-27 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: Because there would be some who would admire what the Lord said but would not follow it with action, He threatens them beforehand, saying, “Every man that hears these words of mine, and does them, shall be likened to a wise man.”

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He did not say, “I will consider the one who hears and acts to be wise,” but rather, “He shall be likened to a wise man.” The one who is likened is a man, but to whom is he compared? To Christ. For Christ is the wise man who built His house—that is, the Church—upon a rock, which is the strength of the faith.

The foolish man is the Devil, who has built his house—that is, all the ungodly—upon the sand, which represents the insecurity of unbelief or carnal people. Such people are called sand because of their barrenness, because they do not hold together but are scattered by their diverse opinions, and also because they are innumerable.

The rain is the doctrine that waters a person, and the clouds are those from which the rain falls. Some clouds are raised by the Holy Spirit, such as the Apostles and Prophets, while others are raised by the spirit of the Devil, such as the heretics.

The good winds are the spirits of various virtues, or the angels who work invisibly in the senses of men to lead them to good. The bad winds are the unclean spirits.

The good floods are the Evangelists and teachers of the people. The evil floods are men full of an unclean spirit and overflowing with many words, such as philosophers and other teachers of worldly wisdom, from whose belly come rivers of dead water.

Therefore, the Church that Christ has founded can neither be undermined by the rain of false doctrine, nor overturned by the blast of the Devil, nor swept away by the rush of mighty floods. It does not contradict this that some in the Church do fall, for not all who are called Christians are Christ's; rather, “The Lord knows them that are his” (2 Timothy 2:19).

But against the house that the Devil has built comes the rain of true doctrine, the winds of the Spirit's graces or the angels, and the floods of the four Evangelists and the rest of the wise. And so the house falls—that is, the Gentile world—so that Christ may rise. The ruin of that house was great: its errors were shattered, its falsehoods exposed, and its idols throughout the whole world were broken down. Therefore, he who hears Christ's words and does them is like Christ, for he builds on a rock. This rock is Christ, who is all good, so that on whatever kind of good anyone builds, he may be seen to have built upon Christ. And just as the Church built by Christ cannot be thrown down, so no adversity can overthrow any Christian who has built himself upon Christ, according to the verse, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” (Romans 8:35).

He who hears the words of Christ and does not do them is like the Devil. For words that are heard but not acted upon are like sand; they are dispersed and scattered. The sand signifies all evil, or even worldly goods. Just as the Devil's house is overthrown, so too are those who are built upon the sand destroyed and fall. And great is that ruin if he has allowed any part of the foundation of faith to fail. The ruin is not as great, however, if he has committed fornication or homicide, because he has a way to rise again through repentance, as David did.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, the “great ruin” is to be understood as that which the Lord will declare to those who hear and do not act, saying, “Go ye into everlasting fire” (Matthew 25:41).

St. Jerome: Alternatively, all the doctrine of heretics is built on sand—which is loose and cannot be bound into one mass—and is therefore destined to fall.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Alternatively, by the showers He signifies the allurements of smooth and gently invading pleasures. With these, the faith is at first watered as if by spreading streams. Afterward comes the rush of torrential floods—that is, the stirrings of fiercer desire. Lastly, the full force of the driving tempests rages against it, meaning the universal spirits of the Devil's reign attack it.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Alternatively, rain, when it denotes evil, is understood as the darkness of superstition. Rumors of men are compared to winds. The flood signifies the lust of the flesh, as if flowing over the land, and it also represents how what is produced by prosperity is destroyed by adversity. The one who has his house founded upon a rock fears none of these things—that is, the one who not only hears the Lord's command but also does it. In all these things, the one who hears and does not act exposes himself to danger. For no one confirms in himself what the Lord commands, or what he himself hears, except by doing it. ¹

It should be noted that when He said, “He that heareth these words of mine,” He shows plainly enough that this sermon is completed by all those precepts that form the Christian life. Therefore, those who desire to live according to them may rightly be compared to one who builds on a rock.

1. Serm. in Mont. in fin.