Anchor My Faith

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Author: Stephen Weller
726 words, 4 minutes read time

Increased Tension

Scripture: Matthew 21:44-46; Mark 12:12

We didn’t quite finish this section in the previous lesson. In this lesson we will pick up the drama with Jesus continuing to draw from prophecy about himself.

Mt 21:44 “And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Jesus had just identified himself as the stone that the builders rejected which became the cornerstone of the kingdom of God. He now speaks of what this stone will do to the one who falls on it. In Isaiah 8:14 – 15 (ESV) we read of this: ¹⁴ “And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many shall stumble on it.

They shall fall and be broken; they shall be snared and taken.”’ Paul also speaks of this in Romans 9:32 – 33 ESV: ³² “Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, ³³ as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”’

As a sanctuary, Jesus is a place of protection and a place of worship, but for many they will take offense of him and as a result they stumble over him as something in their way; not someone who can provide what they desperately need. Instead of coming to Jesus to be rescued from their bondage to sin, he instead becomes to them a trap and a snare. Why was this happening to them? Because they did not pursue Jesus by faith but with revenge.

The crushing power of the stone is seen in a prophecy of Daniel. In Daniel 2:34 – 35 we read: ³⁴ “As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.”

^{Mt 21:45} When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet. ^{Mk 12:12} So they left him and went away.

The chief priests and the Pharisees were at least alert enough to realize that the parable was about them and their desire to arrest him grew, but their fear of the crowds was greater and as a result they were restrained from taking Jesus into custody. That fear may have been the result of the sovereignty of God because it was not yet the hour of Jesus to be taken. There was still work to do and the correct day had not yet come.

Going back to Matthew 21:11 at the time when Jesus was riding on a colt into Jerusalem for the triumphal entry, the whole city was stirred up and the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

Because of the stalemate formed between desire to arrest Jesus and the fear of the crowds, the chief priests and the Pharisees left him and went away to wait for a more opportune time.

Conclusion

In this section Jesus points out the failure of the religious leaders in doing their assigned tasks of properly teaching the people about God and properly guiding them in walking with him. He makes it clear that their time of judgment is coming upon them for their disobedience. The application for us is how well are we doing in fulfilling the command given in Ephesians 2:10 ESV: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”