What did Jesus mean by saying "and great was its fall" at Matt 7: 27?

Question

We read at Matt 7 : 26-27 (NRSVCE) :

And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!

One sees that the allegory would have been complete even without the phrase "and great was its fall". That the Lord did use the phrase, indicates that it was not a causal expression. May be he was prophesying the ready-to-happen fall of Jerusalem . Or, may be he was doing a flash-back of the fall of Adam and Eve. So what did Jesus intend by saying "and great was its fall" at Matt 7: 27?

Answer 1

Matthew 7:24-27 refers to the parables of the wise and foolish builders in Proverbs 14:1-14:11.

Proverbs 9:1-Proverbs 14:1 explains the "house upon the rock" is built with Wisdom = Chakmah ( חָ֖כְמָה ) for "Fear of YHVH" = Yiret YHVH ( יִרְאַ֣ת יְ֖הוָה ) by focusing on righteous obedience to יהוה through honesty, diligent learning, discipline & charitable works.

Proverbs 14:1 [MT] "The wisest of women builds her house, But folly tears it down with its own hands." ( חַכְמ֣וֹת נָ֭שִׁים בָּנְתָ֣ה בֵיתָ֑הּ וְ֝אִוֶּ֗לֶת בְּיָדֶ֥יהָ תֶהֶרְסֶֽנּוּ )

Proverbs 14:11 [MT] explains the "house of the wicked" ( בֵּ֣ית רְ֭שָׁעִים ) made by foolish builders who despise יהוה and will get destroyed : " The house of the wicked will be demolished, But the tent of the upright will flourish. " ( בֵּ֣ית רְ֭שָׁעִים יִשָּׁמֵ֑ד וְאֹ֖הֶל יְשָׁרִ֣ים יַפְרִֽיחַ )

Proverbs 14:11 is what Yeshua of Nazareth is referencing in Matthew 7:27, when he is quoted by Greeks:

"and" = kai ( καὶ ), "[great]" = megalē ( μεγάλη ), "was" = ēn ( ἦν ), "The" = hē ( ἡ ), "Fall" = ptōsis ( πτῶσις ), "of it" = ** autēs ( αὐτῆς )**.

Answer 2

In recent years the whole world has seen many video films of catastrophic collapses of houses, hotels and businesses into raging waters that have flooded past them. Rain, floods and wind are known to bring entire buildings down in four or five seconds, dropping into the violent floods and being swept away down-river before they sink. Nor is this confined to monsoon flooding. Flash-floods where there never are monsoon rains have done just the same. The ground from under buildings is borne away and the buildings on them utterly collapse in an instant.

That is when we can see how great the fall of those buildings are. It is the suddenness that shocks people. One minute they are standing, the next they have disappeared. Jesus was out to impress upon his audience that the folly of hearing his words but not obeying them would result in a sudden, spiritual collapse - or, catastrophe - for such foolish people.

Indeed, there was nothing casual about Jesus adding the phrase, "and great was its fall". It was deliberate, to emphasize a great tragedy. It may have caused his hearers to think back to the devastating flood in Noah's day.

With hindsight, we can look back to slightly later warnings in the New Testament, such as the angel saying how sudden, total and shocking the fall of Babylon the Great will be (Revelation 18:1-10). Interestingly, this spiritual entity is said to sit on many waters (17:1). In actuality, although the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 was total and shocking, it was not sudden because Rome's armies suddenly withdrew during their first siege, not returning till later. By then, Christ's followers had understood his warning to flee when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies and got out, with their lives.

With individuals who give the appearance of having built well (spiritually speaking), the test will come when the foundation on which they built will be exposed by trials. If it was not the solid foundation of Christ the Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4, Romans 9:33 cf. Isaiah 26:4 & 28:16) then they will be exposed as having built on spiritual sand. Then their edifice will crumble and they risk being washed away with it. It will happen suddenly, Jesus warned, and the ruin will be great.

Answer 3

Matthew 7:24 “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. 25The 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. 26But 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. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

It is a special effect of imagery. From the cinematography point of view, the story and the chapter ends with a big BANG!

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

and it fell: and great was the fall of it—terrible the ruin! How lively must this imagery have been to an audience accustomed to the fierceness of an Eastern tempest, and the suddenness and completeness with which it sweeps everything unsteady before it!

The Lord did use the phrase, indicates that it was not a causal expression.

Right. Further, it was an exceptional ending.

Bengel's Gnomen

We see, from the present example, that it is not necessary for all sermons to end in a consolatory strain.

In case, people miss the importance of this. Vincent's Word Studies explicitly point to Bengel

Great was the fall of it The conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. "Thus," remarks Bengel, "it is not necessary for every sermon to end with consolation."

The crash serves as a contrast to the stability of the house built on the solid foundation.

May be he was prophesying the ready-to-happen fall of Jerusalem.

Not in Matthew 7. Jesus did not say that Jerusalem was built on sand, physically or figuratively. In fact, he plainly prophesies the fall of Jerusalem in Matthew 24:1-2.

Answer 4

Great was the fall is in reference to the devastation a person may experience.

When there foundation is not built upon Jesus and the person builds there foundation on any alternative source.

The Bible clarifies this as the outcome.

The storm are the trails tribulations and wilderness we face at different times throughout our personal relationship with Jesus.

Blessings.

Answer 5

What did Jesus mean by saying "and great was its fall" at Matt 7: 27?

The parable is not about 'justification by faith' but rather about 'living faith' or 'living by faith' that ultimately leading us to the victorious and glorious entry into Heaven.Concversely, the 'faith' not practised on voliton is like a house built on the sand and crashed utterly is useless. This concept strongly aligns with Biblical and reformed theological principles that 'justification faith is not a faith stand alone.'

1. Contextual Backgrounds:

It is important to know that this parable is not a stand alone parable, rather, as is the consensus, it finds its place within the broader context of Jesus's teachings in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5 -7:23), which often reffered to as the 'Constituation of the Kingdom of Heaven' for Kingdom citizens. It is due to the discourse presents outlines of sets of ethical, moral instructions and standards for God's people, focusing on how they should emobody their faith while naviagting through the challenges of the world.

In alignment with this 'living faith' aspcet of Jesus's parable and teachings, James underscores the importance of the 'living faith' saying, 'faith without deed is deads.' Paul also highlights how faith led Abraham to glory in God’s promise, when he remained faithful to the promise, even though he and his wife were too old and considered as dead in terms of childbearing (Romans 4:19-20).

Moreover,the words of the Prophet Habakkuk and Jesus himself emphasize the significance of living by faith and cherishing every word of God (Hab 2:4; Matt 4:4; Deut 8:3).

In short, the parable serves as an illustration of a ‘living faith’ that ultimately leading us to the victorious and glorious entry into Heaven, after it withstand the storms and challenges which people of faith may encounter in their lifetimes, much like the house built on the rock withstand the buffets of waves and storms.

2. The Natural Reading of the Parable

The natural reading of the parable is as follows: Everyone who listens to Jesus’s words and acts upon them is akin to a wise builder who constructs his ‘house’ on a ‘rock.’ It is only natural that such a house to withstand the ‘storms’ of life.

3. The target audiences

Contextually and semantically, the primary target audience for this parable consisted of the Jewish community, the descendants of Abraham and the chosen people of God. This audience also encompassed all Christians who, by faith, confess Jesus as ‘Lord and Savior,’ as they are regarded as the spiritual descendants of Abraham (Gal 3:29).

As stated earlier, the parable’s emphasis on ‘living by faith’ coupled with Jesus’ transitional statement from the Sermon on the Mount to the parable, further reinforce the idea of the primary audience as previously posed. Jesus’ statement in Matthew 7:21 underscores the importance of ‘doing’ the will of the Father in Heaven as a precursor to entering the kingdom of Heaven.

Therefore, all signs point to ‘everyone who hears’ referring to the Jewish community—the chosen people of God—and, by extension, to the ‘spiritual descendants of Abraham,’ those justified by faith in Jesus. After all, ‘Gentiles’ and non-believers are unable to ‘hear and do’ the words of Jesus without first experiencing justification by faith and becoming part of the‘Community of the believers.’

In sum, the primary target audience for this parable was the Jewish community, the chosen people of God, which includes all Christians who, by faith, confess Jesus as ‘Lord and Savior,’ as they are considered the spiritual descendants of Abraham. Conversely, those who listen to Jesus’s words but do not implement them are like foolish builders. To build a house on the sand is ‘foolish’ to begin with, and its collapse is natural consequence of ‘cause and effect’ when it encounters ‘storms.’

4. The significance of Greek words

The Greek word “ποιεῖ” translates to “do” in English, comes from the verb “ποιέω.” This is the same verb from which “ποίημα” translates to “poem” in English) is derived. In the parable, Jesus equates ‘doing the words’ with ‘building a house,’ essentially comparing it to composing a ‘poem.’ In practical terms, it’s akin to a person ‘actively’ and meticulously laboring, as if writing a poem, in constructing his own house, a figure of speech for ‘building up faith.’

‘My Words’ in context, refer to Jesus’s teachings including all His teachings on various aspects of ‘God’s wills’ for our life. In the parable, Jesus and His teachings represent the ‘Rock,’ the firm foundation.

The phrases ‘fell’ and ‘fall’ in Greek – πτῶσις & πίπτω, in Verse 27, originate from πίπτω (piptó) commonly used to denote ‘falling down.’ However, in the New Testament, it also was used to denote ‘loss of faith and separation from grace.’ For example, in Luke 2:34 – ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12; Hebrews 4:11; Revelation 2:5).

Conclusion:

• Therefore, the term ‘fall/fell’ signifies a faith useless/worthless or nonexistent like the house swept away in the storm, ultimately, in conjunction with Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23, leading to a ‘denial’ of entry to Heaven
• The spiritual message of the parable is that everyone who faithfully lives out the teachings of Jesus will surely enter the kingdom of Heaven (See also, 2 Peter 1:10-12). But everyone who makes a deliberate decision ‘not to,’ in contempt of Jesus and His words, will not make it into Heaven.
• As Christians, we know well that following Jesus’s instructions is the sole path to entering the Kingdom of Heaven. He proclaimed, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life,’ and Peter confirmed, ‘Lord, you have the words of eternal life.’ Furthermore, Jesus said, ‘The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the words that I have spoken will judge him on the last day’ (John 12:48). That is, theological interpretations, or doctrinal statements of salvation do not have any place on that last day.