Answer:
Sometimes Jesus told parables to people. A parable is an easy-to-understand story that helps people understand something that is very hard to understand.
Jesus told a parable about two men who each decided to build a house. The two men went out looking for the perfect place to build the house.
The first man was very wise. He thought carefully about the kind of house he wanted to build. He wanted a house that was strong. If a strong wind or heavy rains came he did not want his house to break up or wash away. This wise man knew that the most important part of a house is the foundation. The foundation is the first thing that is built. It is the bottom of the house. The foundation has to be sturdy and strong to make the house sturdy and strong.
The wise looked everywhere and then he found the perfect place. He found a huge flat rock. The rock could be the foundation for the house. The wise man dug around and chipped the rock until it was the perfect size for his house. Then he built his house on the rock.
After he was finished he lived in the house. Many times storms came to his house. The winds blew and the rains came but the wise man sat comfortably in his house. He did not worry about the storms because he had built his house on a rock.
In Jesus’ parable he told of the other man that built a house. This man was foolish. He did not think carefully about the kind of house he should build. He just found a nice flat place and started building. He built his house on sand. The foundation kept slipping and sliding in the sand but the foolish man did not care. He just wanted to build a house.
When the foolish man finished his house he moved in. Guess what happened when the first storm came? The winds blew and the rains came down and the foolish man’s house fell apart. It fell apart because it did not have a strong foundation.
After Jesus told the parable he explained to the people what the parable really meant. He said that the wise man was like someone who listened to Jesus’ instructions and then followed t he instructions. Jesus’ instructions are always right. When a person builds his life on Jesus’ words he is building a strong foundation. He will be strong inside.
The foolish man in the parable was like someone who listened to Jesus’ instructions but then did not follow them. A person that does not build his life on Jesus’ words will not have a strong foundation. He will be weak inside.
The people were amazed at the parable that Jesus taught. They were happy that he made things very easy to understand. His parable helped them want to listen to more things that Jesus had to say. The parable also made them want to follow Jesus’ instructions.