Sermon on the Mount ਨਮੂਨਾ

Who doesn’t love building sandcastles with the kids at the beach? Sandcastles can be a lot of fun, but they have a big problem—they wash away when the waves come! Why does this happen? Because sandcastles are made of sand! Real buildings have a foundation—usually concrete—that ensures they aren’t going to wash away or fall down with a little bad weather.

As we come to the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, this is what He says: “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.” (Matthew 7:24-25)

Jesus tells the crowd that listening to all these things He’s been teaching them and then actually doing them is like building a house on a strong foundation. If the people listening choose to follow Him, their lives will be built on what matters. They will stand strong no matter what comes.

Then Jesus goes on to say, “But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:26-27)

This means that if someone ignores what Jesus teaches, their life will be like a sandcastle! It will not have a solid foundation to help it stand strong when hard times come.

Becoming a good athlete is something that requires a strong foundation, too. It takes practice. It takes listening to the coach and following their instructions. If an athlete never listened and never practiced, they wouldn’t improve much at all.

When He gave the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was building His team of people that would change the world and coaching them on how to live. After Jesus died, rose again, and went back to heaven, it was His followers who went all over the world to tell people about Him and live in a way that pointed people to Him. Because of them, millions of people have heard about Jesus—including you and me.

Jesus invites us to be part of this team, too. He offers us new life when we believe in Him as our Savior. He has given us words to live by that will make us stand out. We can change the world. And we start by following Him and all He’s taught us.

Reflect: What foundation have I built my life on? What have I learned from the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount that I need to apply to my life?

Read: Matthew 7:24-29

If you’ve appreciated studying some of Jesus’ teachings from the Sermon on the Mount, there’s a lot more wisdom where that came from! Consider spending some time reading through all of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.