Matthew 7:24

“Every one therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them,”

The emphasis here is on the fact that they have heard His words  and done them  It is not enough to hear, and to approve, and to ‘believe'. All these are good but they must end in action. His orders are there to be carried out. It is not a question of being saved by good works, but of good works necessarily resulting from true belief and a true attitude towards Him. If they truly believe in Him they will do them. Action is the inevitable consequence of belief, especially when the consequences are so great. If they truly recognise and acknowledge His Lordship they will have no choice.

‘Of mine'. This is the second time Jesus has slipped Himself into the equation when they might have expected Him to speak of God (compare ‘Depart from Me'). Previously it had been ‘does the will of My Father in Heaven'. Now it is ‘Does My words'. He could so easily have said ‘does these words', but He did not. The point He is emphasising is that they are  His  words. And it is His words which are the foundation on which they are to build, for His words express the will of His Father. We can compare His words in John's Gospel, ‘My Father works even until now, and I work' (John 5:17). ‘This is the work of God, that you believe on Him Whom He has sent' (John 6:29). The same principle is in mind here. They must closely associate Him with His Father, and thus they must do His words.

Matthew 7:24 b

“Will be likened to a wise man, who built his house on the rock,”

Jesus regularly speaks of those who do His will as ‘wise'. We can compare the ‘faithful and wise servant' (Matthew 24:45) and ‘the wise virgins' (Matthew 25:4). See also Luke 12:42; Luke 16:8. Those who are wise respond to His words. This contrast between the wise and the foolish comes out regularly in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Consider for example Proverbs 12:15 which is very apposite, ‘The way of the foolish is right in his own eyes, but he who is wise listens to counsel'. That is precisely the situation here.

And what did the wise do? He built his house on the rock. He dug down until he found a firm foundation. And that foundation was not wise sayings, but obedience to Jesus Christ. It lay in a full response to Him. That was wisdom.