“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?” Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.’ When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking about them.” Matt. 21:42-45
Devotional Thought For The Day
One of our greatest sorrows in life is the preponderant number of people around us who like “the builders” have rejected that Stone which is the cornerstone, the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, many of our own “builders,” the important people who shape and determine many aspects of human life and society today, have in fact rejected the LORD and His Christ. We are among the few who have been placed upon the Way that leads to life, and we are living amongst the many who have chosen the broad path of unbelief that leads to destruction. [Matt. 7:13,14] We are in the minority, we who have known and believed the love that God has for us, who have heeded His call to repentance and have believed the good news of His gracious forgiveness, mercy, and redemption in Christ Jesus. We are oriented and committed to abiding in His Word, committed to living in accord with what His Word describes as love, and His love does indeed produce “its fruits” in our lives. But this puts us in conflict with those who are arrogantly self-determining, who choose their own definitions of good – which are often contrary to the Word of God, Holy Scripture, and they are in the majority. This is discomforting in a variety of ways – we are out of step, non-conformists, imperiled by their animosity and malice, ostracized, and we often have to suffer the ill-effects and the judgments that fall upon those who rebel against God. It is daunting, as Jesus well knows, to live in the face of this evil.
We tend to look at life and issues democratically. We know well that votes determine many decisions, and we have a general trust that the majority will get it right. So it is difficult to feel good about the reality – that it is but a remnant that adheres to God; we feel “out-voted” and overpowered, and must struggle with the fact that when it comes to God and the Kingdom of God – when it comes to ultimate issues of human life and being – the majority gets it wrong. Likewise, when it comes to conflict and combat, we know that numbers matter. It often feels as if we are losing, that the church is losing, that God is losing, that His kingdom is endangered with extinction. We wonder if the “cornerstone” has indeed been set, and if human history will bear out the fact that the Kingdom of God built upon Jesus will indeed prevail. There are so many people who could care less that the kingdom of God has been taken away from them – and it is difficult for us not to accept their valuation of God’s kingdom, and to also consider it of little consequence and value. We know personally the blessings that Jesus provides for us in His salvation, the blessings of the leaven of His love within us, and also the comfort and confidence of eternal life. However, even the value of these blessings can be eroded from our hearts and minds by the disregard and despite that the majority have for God and His kingdom.
So we must listen carefully to what our dear Lord and Savior asserts. He has become the cornerstone, and if anything is certain it is this, that God will certainly prevail in the end, and that His kingdom is the one impregnable reality. Everything else will pass away, but not God’s Word [Matt. 24:35]. So also His descriptive Word in regard to the consequences of being on the wrong side of Him: “The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” This is not God’s will – we know that He wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. [1 Tim. 2:4] But He will not force or coerce people to take refuge under His gracious mercy and forgiveness and salvation, but only invite them. [Matt. 23:37] So His Word inevitably and invariably comes to pass – and as we live we see some people falling over Jesus and being broken to pieces, and others upon whom He falls, who are utterly crushed. We will see this existentially and completely on the Last Day, but even now we are able to see evidences of it – over the course of time. But sadly, those on the wrong side of Jesus are much like cattle – they simply munch their way through life not knowing their origin, their God-given purpose, or their end. Their unbelief has made them insentient as to the meaning of their experiences and their very being.
To their credit “the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables” and “perceived that He was speaking about them.” Today, many refuse to even hear His parables – even some who have chosen to leave the church because they have found more interesting, important, and compelling things to be doing on Sunday mornings. And even among those who hear there are many who do not perceive that He is speaking about us – warning us to cling to Him by faith, to receive His gracious mercy and forgiveness, and to live in the renewing power of His love that produces its fruits in our lives. Like the chief priests and Pharisees, they believe that religion is only words and perceptions, mere regimen, and approaching God on the basis of our self-chosen protocol, determining God and “reality” on our own, rather than humbly living in truth, God’s reality, and in repentance and faith – in submission to His Word, the Bible. But what Jesus asserts is real and true for all people – not only for the openly ungodly and wicked but also for the religious people of the world. But for those who abide in His Word, who live in His love, the assurances of His power and judgment are an essential comfort and strength – in the face of our minority status and the ways of the world around us. So let us stick with Jesus, knowing that all who build on His Word are safe and secure in all circumstances and for all of eternity. [Matt. 7:23,24]
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus, help and secure us in faith and trust in You, and in fervent devotion to Your kingdom. May Your gracious and redeeming love indeed the produce the fruits of Your kingdom in our lives. Preserve us from all weakness and the temptations of the world around us, and from fear and resignation. Keep us mindful of Your power and prerogative, and of all that You have promised and guaranteed by Your Word. Give us Your peace and joy at all times and in all circumstances. Amen.