Scripture

“Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.”

Observation

Jesus tells a story about a land owner who develops his land and then leases it out to some farmers. At the time of the harvest, he sends servants to collect his share. The farmers kill one of the servants and beat the others.

Finally he sends his son. He reasons that they will surely respect him. The tenants, though, think that if they kill the son, they will keep the estate. So they kill the son.

Jesus then asks the religious leaders what they think he will do to the farmers. They say that he will kill them and put different tenants in. But they know that He is speaking this parable against them.

Application

Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22-23 which says that the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. He is that stone. He adds a new twist when He says, “Anyone who stumbles over the stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush anyone who it falls on.”

We can see in this saying that people have a choice about how they relate to Jesus, the stone.

Firstly, we can stumble up against Him and be broken. That means we allow Him to break our selfish ways, our sinful self-determination and our rebellion. In breaking us, God always rebuilds us. He recreates us in His image.

If we don’t stumble into Jesus, then the stone will fall on us, crushing us. In the end, everyone who refuses to worship Jesus will be judged by Him.

The Pharisees understood that Jesus was speaking this to them. He was offering them an opportunity to repent.

He still offers us that chance to turn to Him.

Prayer

Lord, I come to you now and acknowledge my sins. Please break me and mould me into your new creation. Amen.