Rivers

Jesus warns at the end of the Sermon on the Mount that those who hear His words and fail to do them will collapse. The image of the collapsing house, as NT Wright has suggested, likely refers to the temple: Jesus is setting out a program for Israel’s national survival (as well as a program for Christian discipleship); if Israel would follow his words, their house will be secured by the rock and will not be left desolate.

Jesus describes the house of Israel being overwhelmed not by a “flood” but by a “river” (Gr. POTAMOS, as in “hippo”). This neatly fits Wright’s interpretation, as it appears to be an allusion to Isaiah 8, where the prophet warns that the Euphrates will overflow its banks and spread over Judah (vv. 5-8). Just as Assyria/Euphrates threatened Judah in the time of Ahaz, so Jesus warns that Rome/Tiber threatens to overwhelm Jerusalem and its house.