What the Two Builders Parable Actually Means

This parable, found in Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49, introduces us to two people attempting to build houses on two types of foundations: rock and sand.

We all know what happens if you build on top of sand. All it takes is some water, and the sand will slip right out from under that house.

So why would anyone build a house on top of sand? What point is Jesus making with this story? Let’s walk through it and find out. We’ll cover:

• Overview
• Establishing the context
• Who was Jesus talking to, and why?
• Examining the Symbols
• Lessons and Modern Applications

An overview of the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders

Photo by Littlehampton Bricks

The parable of the two builders (also called “the wise and foolish builders”) is one of Jesus’ more well-known parables. It’s a simple story, but like most of His parables, it goes deeper than it seems to at first.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.

 

“And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27, ESV).

Now let’s piece it apart to study it.

• Jesus describes two people who each build themselves a home (Matthew 7:24; Luke 6:47-48).
• One builds on solid rock, a good foundation (Matthew 7:24-25; Luke 6:48), and the other builds on sand, an unstable foundation (Matthew 7:26; Luke 6:49).
• At first, both houses appear secure (Matthew 7:24-26; Luke 6:48-49).
• But then comes a storm of rain, wind, and flooding, testing the strength of both houses (Matthew 7:25, 27; Luke 6:48-49).
• The house on the rock remains standing, even after the heavy storm (Matthew 7:25; Luke 6:48).
• The house on the sand isn’t stable enough to withstand the storm and collapses completely (Matthew 7:27; Luke 6:49).
• Jesus characterizes the wise builder as someone who hears His teachings and obeys them, while the foolish builder represents someone who hears His words, but makes no effort to act on them (Matthew 7:24, 26; Luke 6:47-49).

Sounds pretty straightforward. But here’s something to consider before we unpack things further.

It’s easy for our minds to make an exaggerated caricature of someone called “foolish” in a story like this. But the foolish man in this parable probably isn’t a terrible, reckless person who has no common sense or is bad at making everyday decisions. And the wise builder probably isn’t the smartest person in the room, gliding through life and making all the best decisions.

It turns out that this parable isn’t about how smart or practical someone is, but about how obedience and action are the true test of whether someone is wise (sincere, dedicated) or foolish (negligent, flippant) with their professed faith.

The foolish or wise person could be any of us at any time, depending on our mindset and priorities. And the warning in this parable could even apply to respected Christians who donate money and are active in church. That’s how deep this can get.

Establishing the context

To fully grasp the significance of this parable, it helps to consider the setting and what led up to it. That tells us a lot more than if we just read the passage by itself.

It would’ve been roughly two years before Jesus’ crucifixion. He’d just delivered the Sermon on the Mount, which covered some cautionary topics like:

• Hypocritical giving and public prayer for display (Matthew 6:1-6)
• Fasting for attention (Matthew 6:16-18)
• Treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21)
• Judgmental attitudes (Matthew 7:1-5)
• The narrow and wide gates (Matthew 7:13-14)
• False prophets (Matthew 7:15-20)
• Verbal confession without obedience (Matthew 7:21-23), which immediately precedes this parable.

So Jesus chose to conclude His sermon with the parable of the wise and foolish builders. And some scholars have noted how it’s a fitting way to sum up the newly-framed moral code of the Sermon on the Mount—with a single, easy-to-remember metaphor.¹

Who was Jesus talking to (and why)?

Right at the outset, Jesus defines His audience. He’s not directly addressing skeptics or unbelievers. Instead, He’s talking to those who claim to follow God, and also those who declared their intent to follow Him during His earthly ministry (Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 6:46).

Evidently, Jesus has expectations for those who would represent Him. And reasonable ones, at that. He was concerned about people who talk the talk, but don’t walk the walk.

More specifically, these would be people who think their spiritual condition is great, even admirable. They use the right language, participate in religious activities, and might even do great things publicly, in the name of God (Matthew 7:22). But to these same people, Jesus says, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23, ESV).

Why? Because while the lives they’ve built might look solid on the outside, when the storms of life test the faith they so boldly proclaim, it collapses.

From Matthew 7:21-22 and Luke 6:46, we can figure out what makes the difference:

• They hear Jesus’ words, but they remain listeners, not doers. They don’t internalize His words. They don’t try to make His ways the foundation of their lives. And even worse, they’re satisfied with this—enough to build their lives upon this incomplete, shallow belief.
• They may claim that their allegiance is with God, but they make little effort to align their lives with His will.
• They equate true discipleship with outwardly-visible postures or actions, but are not inspired by love for God.

This mindset was prevalent in Jesus’ day (much like it can be today), especially among the religious elite. The scribes and Pharisees commanded respect, wielded powerful influence, and made their religious practices very visible to the public.

They tithed meticulously, even down to their garden herbs (Matthew 23:1-8). They fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), prayed publicly, and considered their positions a badge of honor (Matthew 6:5-6; 23:5). Yet, they were building their whole lives on top of sand.

And these were the spiritual role models for the Jews at the time, so this mindset was contagious. The culture was steeped in it. Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with this type of thinking. So it makes sense that Jesus saw this as an issue to confront from several angles.

Examining the Symbols

Now that it’s clear the type of mindset Jesus was addressing with this short story, let’s identify what the symbols in the parable represent: house, rock, sand, flood, and wind.

House/home

Photo by Zenith

In Scripture, a house often represents more than a physical shelter. It can symbolize the structure and framework of a person’s whole life and belief system.²

As the psalmist put it, “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1, ESV).

So a life that isn’t grounded in God and His principles, no matter how fancy or well-constructed it appears, won’t be able to stand on its own for long. Just like in the parable.

Rock/solid foundation

God Himself is described as a solid rock in the Bible, an unmovable, dependable refuge for His people in times of trouble (Deuteronomy 32:3-4, 31; Psalm 18:2; 62:6).

So in this parable, building on a foundation of solid rock represents a faith that involves hearing and doing what He taught (Matthew 7:24-25). In other words, a true, sincere, through-and-through belief in the only One who can stand against storm life throws at us.

(To be clear, the stability of the rock and the house isn’t dependent upon our own ability to hear or do what Jesus says, but on our choice to. We’re still broken humans. But when the belief and commitment to Jesus Christ is genuine, it’s His strength and perfection that keeps us from being swept away.)

Sand/unstable foundation

In contrast, the shifting sand foundation represents a hollow, shallow, unstable faith that doesn’t hold up under scrutiny or difficulty.

Think about it: If someone hears Jesus’ words and calls Him “Lord,” you’d expect them to believe those words enough to at least try to put them into practice, right? So if there’s no effort to put their “Lord’s” teachings into practice, it would naturally lead to questioning the authenticity of their professed belief.

But it usually takes time for this to be revealed.

For a physical foundation, sand could possibly look stable, especially when dry—or when life is moving along fine.

This could easily be the case for any human on the planet. On a good day, we may find ourselves thinking that we’ve built ourselves a good, respectable life by our own strength and know-how.

But sand’s weakness is soon exposed when wind or rain shows up. We may have carefully framed an exceptional house, but when our lofty ideals get hit by the randomness and uncertainties of life, it can feel like we’ve been knocked flat on the ground.

So considering what Jesus was talking about right before He tells this story, sand reflects a foundation based on human values: appearances, superficiality, pride, greed, or religious activity without genuine submission to the word of God.

Storm/flood/rain/wind

“And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall” (Matthew 7:27, NJKV).

This imagery would have been vividly relatable to Jesus’ hearers, for sudden floods in the valleys and wadis around Galilee were a real danger after heavy rains.

According to Matthew Henry’s Commentary, Jesus is teaching that opposition, hardships, challenges, etc. (the “storms” or “floods” of life) are the inevitable test for anyone’s faith. There’s no avoiding them.”³

Wind is also part of the storm. Wind is invisible, but its effects are visible. This could easily represent the storms of life that shake us, even if we can’t see why or what’s doing it.

Along with the rain and flooding, Jesus told of the winds that “blew and beat against that house” (Matthew 7:25, 27, ESV). And the apostle Paul’s words, from years later, can give us a vivid description of what happens when storms confront those whose faith isn’t built upon Jesus. They are “tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14, ESV).

Lessons and Modern Applications

Now that we’ve broken this down, how does all this fit back together? What does this parable mean for us today?

At its core, Jesus is always calling us to move from hearing to doing. The specific trials of life and the trials of our faith are not the central issue of this parable—they only expose what our foundation was built on (1 Peter 1:7).

And the two categories of belief-builders are still the same today. The symbolism is timeless.

Anyone sincerely seeking Christ—no matter where they are in their faith journey, even if they’re working up the courage to take the very first step—are building upon a solid foundation that will still be there even through the worst of life’s storms.

But for those who hear and do not practice, the whole structure will eventually give way.

This isn’t simply a matter of weakness—it reveals something deeper. Building a faith and belief structure on sand is different from struggling or sometimes failing to live out a new belief. Because the building process is separate from the foundation.

When building a literal house, we can make mistakes. We can encounter real challenges that set us back. But if the foundation remains strong, we can safely backtrack, make corrections as needed…or even start over completely, if we need to.

But if the foundation is hollow or faulty, it doesn’t even matter how well the building process goes.

If a person hears the words of Jesus and habitually chooses not to put them into practice, that’s evidence that they don’t truly believe those words to begin with. And if this continues while also professing to others that they believe Jesus’ words…that involves a deception that requires effort to keep up.

And that’s what Jesus is most concerned about.

Say that two people agree to follow your instructions on an important job. They also make sure to tell this to everyone they’re collaborating with, so everyone can be on the same page.

But what if one of those people starts doing things their own way, cutting corners here and there? You’d be very concerned—not only about how the job will turn out, but about how this person is representing your leadership and instruction.

Even if the other person makes mistakes or misunderstands your instructions from time to time, they’re honest about it. They ask for help. So this doesn’t worry you in the same way as the other person who is prioritizing corner-cutting over accurately representing you as the authority, or showing any concern for integrity.

Similarly, there hearers-not-doers in this parable are not just struggling with their faith or wrestling with the difficulties of life in a fallen world. They are choosing not to practice what they profess to be. They’re prioritizing other things over an honest pursuit of Christ’s character. They’re building their faith upon something else entirely.

The New Testament calls this hypocrisy. It’s destructive and misleading, which is precisely what Jesus wants to nip in the bud here.

He’s not condemning honest struggle or human weakness. He actually sympathizes with it. (So if we’re still trying to get the blueprints for our house figured out, that’s ok.)

Instead, He’s confronting the person who says “Lord, Lord,” but builds on sand anyway.

How to build on the rock

Photo by bima

To get the most out of this parable’s message, it’s always a good idea to prayerfully examine ourselves from time to time. We can ask God to help us evaluate our motives.

Are we responding to the words of God as we learn them, or are we more concerned with just becoming familiar with them? Do we seem more concerned with outward religious activity than what’s happening inside our minds?

Why do we do what we do? Is our faith shaped by a genuine desire to follow Jesus, or by a need to appear right or spiritually strong?

Like the scribes and Pharisees, it is possible to look spiritually strong while neglecting the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). But if we’re regularly checking in with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that’s the best defense against these temptations.

Building on Jesus is a life-long journey, but here are some key principles to start with:

• Don’t stop at Bible study. Make it a point to look for hints of God’s influence in the world around you.
• Be responsive to God’s word, even if it seems challenging or intimidating at first.
• Practice obedience in small, unseen moments, not just big ones. The more we practice the easier it gets.
• Prayer can happen anywhere, anytime. Even without discernable words. Make a habit of directing your attention to God throughout the day, even if you don’t know what to say.
• Focus on your internal character, rather than worrying about how others might perceive you. (Easier said than done, of course!)
• Remember that God wants you to have peace, and not to live in fear. Once you choose to call Jesus as “Lord,” you don’t have to worry about losing your salvation by accident or by mistake. If you build your faith on Jesus Christ and His character and teachings, that will always be your foundation—regardless of how many times the “house” might need remodeling or rebuilding.

All in all, to know that Jesus was so concerned about hypocrisy and proper faith-building can be comforting. It’s a way of reassuring us that our hearts and minds matter infinitely more to Him than appearance. And it shows that He wants to protect His believers not only from external “storms,” but from those that might arise from within our own communities.

1. Tasker, R. V. G., “Matthew”, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, IVP (1961). [↵]
2. See Proverbs 14:1; 24:3-4; Matthew 12:43-45; Luke 11:24-26; 1 Timothy 3:4-5; Hebrews 3:3-6) [↵]
3. Henry, Matthew, “Matthew 7 Commentary,” Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible, accessed via BibleStudyTools. [↵]

More Answers