Jesus, the Solid Rock

God Is Our Rock

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Jesus said the wise man built his house “on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). All through the Bible, God's people used that same picture for God Himself. A rock is strong, it does not move, and it keeps you safe when the water rises.

He is the Rock. Moses sang, “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice” (Deuteronomy 32:4). God never changes, and He never does wrong.

A safe place. David wrote, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (Psalm 18:2). A fortress is a strong tower where people are safe. A deliverer is someone who rescues.

Rock of my strength. “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God” (Psalm 62:7). A refuge is a hiding place.

Trust Him at all times. The next verse says, “Trust in Him at all times, you people; Pour out your heart before Him” (Psalm 62:8). You can tell God everything.

A God of truth. Moses went on, “A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4). Everything God says is true, so His words are safe to build on.

Jesus is the Rock. When Jesus told us to build on the rock of His words, He was saying something only God could say. The Rock of the Old Testament is Jesus.

A stone people threw away. “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). Many people rejected Jesus, but God made Him the most important stone of all.

Peter preached it. Peter told the leaders in Jerusalem that Jesus is the “stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone” (Acts 4:11).

The cornerstone. The cornerstone was the first stone laid in a building. Every other stone lined up with it. God's family is built with “Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20).

No other foundation. Paul also wrote that no one can lay any foundation except the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Every other foundation is sand.

Always the same. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Friends change, places change, and we change. Jesus does not.

Words that last. Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

What we learn. A house is only as strong as what it stands on. Jesus is the only foundation that will never crack or wash away.

What to do. This week, when you feel worried, say Psalm 18:2 out loud and tell Jesus that you are trusting Him.

The rock in Jesus' parable is not a new picture. The Old Testament calls God the Rock again and again, so when Jesus says His own words are the rock to build on, He is speaking with God's own voice.

Tsur. The Hebrew word for rock in Deuteronomy 32:4 is tsur (say: TSOOR), a great mass of solid rock or a cliff. “He is the Rock, His work is perfect.” Moses uses the word for God more than once in that song, because no false god could compare.

Petra. In Matthew 7:24 the Greek word is petra (say: PET-rah), bedrock, the solid rock under the soil. Luke adds that the builder “dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock” (Luke 6:48). The wise man dug through the soft ground until he reached what would hold.

Psalm 18:2. David piles up pictures: rock, fortress, deliverer, shield, horn, stronghold. Every one of them says that God protects His people. David sang it after God rescued him from his enemies.

Psalm 62:7-8. David calls God “The rock of my strength” and then turns to the people: “Trust in Him at all times.” Knowing God as the Rock leads to honest prayer: “Pour out your heart before Him.”

A God of truth (32:4). The same verse calls the Rock “A God of truth and without injustice.” A rock that cannot move matches a God who cannot lie. That is why the sayings of 7:24, spoken by God the Son, can carry the weight of a whole life.

The rejected stone. Psalm 118:22 says, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.” Jesus applied this psalm to Himself, and Peter preached it to the council: “This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders’” (Acts 4:11).

The chief cornerstone. In Ephesians 2:20 God's household is “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” The apostles and prophets gave us God's Word; Jesus is the stone that holds the whole building in line.

A living temple. The building “grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). Every believer is a living stone in a house where God lives by His Spirit (2:22).

Isaiah's promise. Isaiah foretold a tested, precious cornerstone laid in Zion as a sure foundation, and said that whoever believes will not be put to shame. Peter applies that promise to Jesus.

Unchanging. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). Bedrock does not shift with the seasons, and neither does Christ.

Application. Ask what you lean on most when life feels shaky: grades, friends, being liked, being good. Each of these is sand. Bring each one to Jesus and stand on Him.

The Rock That Gave Water

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Jesus is the Rock we build our lives on. The Bible also shows Him as a Rock that gives life. That picture begins in the desert, long before Jesus was born.

No water. God's people camped at Rephidim, “but there was no water for the people to drink” (Exodus 17:1). They grumbled at Moses and were afraid they would die of thirst.

God's answer. God told Moses, “you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink” (Exodus 17:6).

A river in the desert. “He opened the rock, and water gushed out; It ran in the dry places like a river” (Psalm 105:41). God gave far more than a little cup.

Kind to grumblers. The people even asked, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:7). God still gave them water. He is kind to people who do not deserve it.

That Rock was Christ. Paul wrote that they “drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). Jesus was caring for His people long before He was born in Bethlehem.

Struck for us. The rock was struck so the people could live. Jesus was struck on the cross so we could live. “He was wounded for our transgressions… And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Transgressions means sins.

Living water. Jesus told a woman at a well, “whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:14).

Come and drink. At a great feast Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink” (John 7:37).

The Holy Spirit. Jesus said rivers of living water would flow from everyone who believes, and “this He spoke concerning the Spirit” (John 7:39). The Holy Spirit lives in everyone who trusts Jesus.

A new heart. God promised, “I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). Jesus can make a hard heart soft and new.

Free for everyone. “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). Freely means as a free gift.

What we learn. Jesus is the Rock who holds us up and the Rock who gives us life. He was struck so that we could drink.

What to do. The next time you get a drink of water, thank Jesus that He gives living water to everyone who comes to Him.

The Rock in Matthew 7 is a foundation. Exodus 17 shows the same Rock as a fountain. Jesus is both: the ground we stand on and the life we drink.

Rephidim (Exodus 17:1-7). Israel quarreled with Moses, and the place was named Massah and Meribah, which mean testing and quarreling. Their question, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (17:7), was answered with water from the rock.

God stood on the rock. God said, “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb” (Exodus 17:6). The water came from the place where God stood.

Remembered for centuries. Israel kept singing about this rock: “He split the rocks in the wilderness” (Psalm 78:15); “He also split the rock, and the waters gushed out” (Isaiah 48:21); “And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst” (Nehemiah 9:15).

1 Corinthians 10:1-4. Paul says the fathers “all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.” God the Son was with Israel in the desert.

Struck once. Many Christians see the rock struck at Horeb as a picture of Jesus, struck once on the cross for our sins. Hebrews says He “has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

Isaiah 53:5. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.” The One who was wounded is the One who heals.

John 19:34. After Jesus died, a soldier “pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.” John tells us this so we know Jesus truly died for us.

John 7:37-39. At the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus cried, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.” John explains, “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.”

Hearts of stone. Ezekiel 36:26-27 promises a new heart and God's own Spirit within, so that God's people will walk in His ways. The Spirit turns stone hearts into living ones.

Revelation 22:17. The Bible's last invitation uses the same picture: “And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

Application. Building on the Rock and drinking from the Rock go together. Obeying Jesus is not done in our own strength. It flows from the Spirit He gives, so ask Him for that help every day.

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