The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders is also known as the Parable of the Two Builders, the Parable of the Builder, and the Parable of the House on the Rock.
The Parable of the Two Builders is found in two Gospels in the Bible; Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49. You can find them HERE.
Parable of the Builder Summary
The Parable of the Builder summary is: Jesus explained that the people who listen to His words and put them into action are like builders who build their house on a solid foundation. When the storms come, those houses remain intact. However, those who don’t put Jesus’ words into practice are like builders who built their houses on sand. When the storms come, the houses are destroyed.
Parable of the Two Builders – Matthew 7 24 27 Meaning
Jesus spoke the Parable of the Two Builders at a time in His ministry when crowds gathered to listen to Him. The Parable of the Builder was one in a group of parables that Jesus used to teach people how they should live their lives.
The Parable of the House on the Rock means that having faith in Jesus forms a firm foundation for your life. When trouble and tragedy come, you will have the strength to withstand the storm. Those who don’t trust in Jesus lack the foundation to withstand life’s storms.
Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders Lessons
1. Don’t wait for the storm
Jesus uses the analogy of establishing a firm foundation for a reason. Setting a foundation is the very first and most important step of building a structure. It’s not a last-minute emergency measure. If your foundation isn’t set before a storm comes, there’s no time to do it once the rain and wind arrive. That’s much too late. Your building will crumble.
Setting a foundation in Jesus takes time and commitment, similar to how you develop a close relationship with another person over time. You have to spend time talking with and listening to Him. You need to get to know Him and learn to trust Him. This happens with a regular commitment to follow Him.
2. You don’t have to be strong
The storms in life can be harsh. Sometimes we spend our days dreading the “what-ifs” because we’re so afraid of what storms may come into our lives. How will we survive a divorce or a sick child? What if we don’t get that job or pass that important exam?
The beauty of having a firm foundation set in Jesus is that we don’t have to worry about those things. No one wants to face struggles, but when we know we have Jesus at our side, He’s the rock we can always count on. We know we can lean into His strength. He tells us,
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
When you put your faith and trust in Jesus, He IS your strength through any challenge that comes your way.
3. Go ALL IN
The Wise and Foolish Builders represent those who genuinely seek to follow Christ and those who serve God in word only. It’s great if you go to church weekly and are kind to your neighbors. But if your relationship with Jesus is superficial, like checking items off a “to-do” list, He’s looking for more than that flimsy foundation. A foundation based on worldly desires and goals will not survive a storm.
Jesus wants to light up our lives. He wants to be our best friend. He wants us to WANT to follow His commands and seek out His will for our lives. He wants to be our first priority. When we truly seek to deepen our relationship with God, we establish a foundation that is nearly impossible to crumble in a storm.
4. Don’t be the Foolish Builder
The foolish builder thought his building was fine. He probably had carpentry skills and his building probably looked good! This is what happens to us when we fool ourselves about our relationship with Jesus. We might feel we’re Christian because we were raised that way. We might believe in God. We might attend church at times. But if there’s nothing of substance in our relationship with Christ, then we really don’t have a relationship with Him.
We can easily fool ourselves without realizing it. The Pharisees stood on their self-righteous high ground about how religious they were because they upheld the letter of the law. But what they couldn’t see was that they were so focused on the rules (the law) that their relationship with God remained hollow.
We might read the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders and assume we are the Wise Builders. Instead, be wise and take a serious look at the state of your relationship with God. Are you choosing worldly status over Him, such as wealth, possessions, or social acceptance? How much and how often do you seek Him? How much of your relationship with God is in your heart instead of just your head?
Are you seeking deeper faith, a more meaningful life, or greater inner peace?
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Parable of the Two Builders – Matthew 7 24 27
The Parable of the Two Builders (Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builder or the Parable of the House Built on the Rock) is found in two Gospels in the Bible; Matthew 7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49. Both versions are listed below.
The Wise and Foolish Builders – Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
The Wise and Foolish Builders – Luke 6:46-49
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. 48 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. 49 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.”
The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders Commentary
Find the Parable of the Wineskins (or the Parable of the New Wine in Old Wineskins) Commentary. Bible Study Tools.com offers free and paid versions. For this article, I referred to Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary.
This post may contain affiliate links. This is my full disclosure.
More Parables!
Do you love the parables as much as I do? You may enjoy reading life lessons on these others (listed below), these activities for adults and children, or this list of Parables and Meanings. More parable lessons are underway. See them all HERE!
Do you love journaling? Does writing down your personal reflections help you process your thoughts more fully? Perhaps these Christian writing journals will be helpful as you reflect on the life lessons of the parables.
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- The Parable of the Prodigal Son Life Lessons
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