Luke 6 concludes with Jesus reinforcing this idea of those whose blessings depend on heaven, and those whose blessings are built on earth.
He begins by talking about trees. “Each tree is known by its own fruit,” Jesus says; good trees give good fruit, bad trees give bad fruit. Fig trees grow figs. Thornbushes grow thorns. Grapevines grow grapes. Everything produces according to its kind, just like God told them to in Genesis 1:24.
Then Jesus takes it up a notch: He’s not talking about trees, but about people. “A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart” (v. 45, hcsb). Solomon said this in Proverbs 4:23. Jesus says it a few more times in Matthew—adding, in Matthew 12:34, “how can you who are evil say anything good?” Here in Luke He asks “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” Our mouths can lie, but our actions—they’re the fruit of the tree.
It’s really quite sobering to think of our hearts as being a storeroom for evil or good. In an ultimate sense, of course, our hearts are redeemed, and Jesus seems to be talking in that absolute sense here—yet, as Solomon tells us to watch over your heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23) and Deuteronomy 4:9 says “be careful and watch yourselves closely”, and Solom says again in Proverbs 23:19 to “set your heart on the right path”, and, many other verses—take heed, be vigilant, be careful, be watchful. Preserve our hearts because out of them flow our actions.
Jesus tells us this, as well. Who is the man with the storeroom of good? “I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them…” (v 47, hcsb). So here we see the actions the fake followers Jesus addresses lack: this man 1) comes to Christ, 2) hears Christ, and 3) acts on what Christ says.
And why? Because when he was building his house, he “dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.” This is full-circle, back to the idea of treasures in heaven. The man stands because he is built on something solid, not something shifty and insecure. Just like the blessed in the beatitudes, his fulfillment is safe in eternity; his life is built on Christ, and Christ will not fall.
But for the one whose house is not built on Christ, “the destruction of that house is great!” (hcsb, v 49) The world is passing, and the treasures of it will fade in but a moment, and destruction awaits.
So, we must build our houses, our heart-storerooms, our tree—on the Foundation that will not fail—taking care to rest each brick on it, before the river of God comes and washes away everything without such divine mooring.