The sermon is over. But before moving on to the next part of the story, Matthew adds a closing comment, an observation about how the crowd reacted to Jesus’ preaching. The people were amazed, because they saw something in Jesus’ demeanor and heard something in his words that their teachers refused to recognize: this was a man with the authority of God.

Jesus’ first warning at the end of the sermon was that there are two roads from which to choose. Only one leads to life; the other leads to destruction. Similarly, his fourth and final warning—the closing words of the sermon—warn that there are two ways of building a house, one wise and one foolish, and the foolish way leads to destruction.

I imagine Jesus’ hearers being shocked by Jesus’ words in the third warning. How can people who do such amazing things as casting out demons and miraculous healings be rejected by him and called “evildoers”? Would we have reacted similarly? If so, we need to be reminded of what Jesus says in the rest of the sermon: faithfulness isn’t about showy demonstrations, but about obeying the teaching of Jesus in the way we relate to others.

Jesus’ third warning overlaps with the second. Whereas before he warned against false prophets, now he warns against false disciples, some of whom claim to have prophesied in his name. Indeed they claim more than that: they say they have done miraculous things in his name. People can do what seem on the surface to be amazing works of ministry, but not have a relationship with Jesus—and in the end, he will send them away.

What do we count as admirable or worthy of applause among Christians? What kinds of things win the approval of others? Jesus’ third warning, again, suggests that we may be looking at the wrong fruit, for not everyone who seems to have a “successful” ministry actually has a relationship to Jesus.

How can one tell between a sheep and a wolf? Jesus answers the question by shifting metaphors: you can tell what kind of a tree you’re looking at by the fruit it produces. His words help us understand one of the challenges of the church today. Why have there been such devastating, high-profile ministry failures? Because we were looking for the wrong fruit.

Jesus’ second warning is about false prophets, whom he likens to wolves disguised as sheep so they can infiltrate and devour the flock. False prophets claim to speak God’s truth, but spread lies, potentially leading the sheep astray. Be careful, Jesus warns. It’s not just about what people say they believe; it’s about how they live in relationship to others.

Sometimes, the gospel is presented as a choice between two destinies: heaven and hell. Choose Jesus and go to heaven, or refuse Jesus and go to hell. But the Christian life is more than just choosing where to spend eternity; it’s choosing to follow Jesus in all of our daily decisions and challenges.