
Why does Jesus conclude his Sermon on the Mount with a little story about the construction of two houses?
“This powerful image. . . retained its function as the striking conclusion to a challenging discourse which has left Jesus’ hearers with a simple but demanding choice: to hear and ignore, or to hear and put into practice. It is a make-or-break choice with eternal consequences. And as we noted in v. 21, it is Jesus himself who is the key to this choice; it is his words (and not, as one might have expected, God’s words) which must be done. Indeed, to do Jesus’ words here seems to be the equivalent of ‘doing the will of my Father in heaven’ in v. 21. To ignore his words, therefore will result in total spiritual disaster.” (R. t. France, The Gospel of Matthew, p. 296).
Quote from the Reflection for Trinity Presbyterian Church