Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
Jesus said something very strange that has puzzled many people since the day He said it: "Whoever falls on this Stone [Himself, His history as Savior of the world] shall be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder" (Matt. 21:44).
The leaders of the nation were planning to kill Him; Caiaphas, the high priest, hated Him; Pilate the Roman governor would deliver Him to death, knowing He was innocent; and King Herod would agree to His death. The greatest judicial travesty in all history!
Jesus had just reminded them of the well-known story of building Solomon's temple. One large stone had baffled the workmen--they couldn't figure out where to put it and they abandoned it in the weeds, to the heat of summer and the storms and frost of winter. Finally, they discovered that it was the "chief cornerstone," where it proved to be an exact fit. So, said Jesus, He is the "[head] stone which the builders rejected" (vs. 42).
So far, it is clear. But why the idea of anyone "falling on the Stone and being broken"? Well, Peter was an example of such a person. A proud man, he was sure he would never give in to pressure and deny his Lord, but before the rooster crowed in the morning he had denied Jesus three times. Peter wept bitterly when he realized the sinfulness of his own heart. His repentance was deep. He "fell on the Stone and was broken." The love of self was broken up; his heart was broken. It was reported in early times that ever afterward there was a tear glistening in his eyes.
On the other hand, look at Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod: all they have is the final judgment. Christ will not grind them to powder--what will do it is their own history. He will not say a word to condemn them in that final judgment; they will do it themselves. They will salvage nothing for eternity.
A wise writer has used this text about the "Stone" in appealing to church members to let the Holy Spirit melt their proud hearts, and to teachers in Christian schools whose self-centered pride hides Jesus from the view of their students, and to ministers and church leaders who repeat Peter's denial of Christ. It's an "either/or" judgment we all face: self must be humbled eventually. Either by our own voluntary choice to take up the cross on which self is crucified, or to go on making self the center of our heart's devotion.
The former calls for tears of melted-heart repentance now; the latter points to "powder" being blown away like dust in a windstorm, an eternal record of nothingness. Herod, Caiaphas, and Pilate have given us an expensive object lesson.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: February 5, 2000.
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