He is like a man who was building a house, who dug deep, and laid its foundation upon the rock; and when a flood came, the torrent burst upon that house but it could not shake it, because it was well built.

But the man who merely hears them and does not practice them is like a man who built a house upon the ground without a foundation. The torrent burst upon it, and at once it collapsed, and the wreck of that house was complete."

Lest, perchance, after he has laid the foundation but cannot complete the building, all who see it begin to make sport of him,

Produce, then, fruit that is consistent with the repentance that you profess, and do not even begin to say within yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our forefather,' for I tell you, God can raise up descendants for Abraham even out of these stones.

But He answered, "I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!"

Now while some people were talking about the temple, how it was decorated with beautiful stones and votive-offerings, He said,