Falling on the Stone…
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. (Matthew 21:44)
The stone is Christ. The Scripture uses a stone to picture one coming to Him for salvation. (It’s a foundation or corner stone) And if one refuses to be broken upon the stone, then one day that stone will fall upon him or her in judgment. If you come to Christ as the unchangeable, unmovable stone, it will not break. You will break. You must break. Your will must break. Your allegiance must break from self to Christ.
All who come to Christ, must come in brokenness and submission of their will to Him as Savior and Lord. It’s not enough that you come to Him as Savior. He is Lord and you must come to Him as Savior and Lord. That is so important that at the very beginning of the book of Acts, Peter proclaimed to the whole nation of Israel: Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Act 2:36)
Since God has made Him both Lord and Christ, I have no authority from God to present Christ as being anything less than whom the Father has made Him to be. I do not have permission from God to present Him as anything less than that. He is both Lord and Christ and I must tell you that He is both Lord and Christ.
When the Philippian jailor asked what to do to be saved, Paul told him: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31).
The setting of the stone verse in Matthew 21:44 is broader than to an individual. Jesus was preaching to the chief priests and Pharisees who were leaders of the Jewish Temple. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Mat 21:42)Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. (Matthew 21:42-45)
The Jewish nation had been the keeper of God’s message of salvation. Israel had been God’s rock to the rest of the world. But Israel was in the process of blindly rejecting their promised Messiah and were about to put Him to death. God was about to take His message of salvation from Israel and give it to another nation, a new nation, the Church that was about to be formed. The church would be a new “nation” that would proclaim God’s message to the Gentiles. The church would not be given Israel’s property and land. The church would be given Israel’s mission of preaching the gospel of the crucified Christ who was raised from the dead.
McGee summarizes it like this: “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof"—that is, taken from the Jews and given to the church. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1Pe_2:9). The church is that "holy nation."
But this transaction did not annul or make void God’s promises He made to Abraham and to the nation of Israel. This is temporary until one day Israel will repent and all the promises made to Israel will be fulfilled. Israel did not become the church. The church did not become Israel. The church did not inherit the land God gave to Israel. The church did not inherit the promise God made to David that God would build him a house. The church did not assume the promise God made to Israel through the prophet Daniel. The church did not take the place in the Book of Revelation that connects with Daniel to explain the end time judgments and the establishment of Israel in its restored state.
MacArthur comments: Christ is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" to unbelievers (Isa_8:14; 1Pe_2:9). And the prophet Daniel pictures Him as a great stone "cut out of the mountain without hands," which falls on the kingdoms of the world and crushes them (Dan_2:44-45). Whether a ceramic vessel "falls on" a rock or the rock "falls" on the vessel, the result is the same. The saying suggests that both enmity and apathy are wrong responses to Christ, and those guilty of either are in danger of judgment.
In Summary: God temporarily removed the preaching that had belonged to Israel, and gave it to the newly-formed church. To bring that about, the Temple was destroyed and the blood sacrifices ceased. The Jewish priesthood ceased to exist. For two thousand years, Israel was dispersed throughout the world. In 1948, Israel declared itself to be a nation and U. S. President, Harry Truman was the first (against the advice of his State Department) national leader to recognize Israel as a nation. This was a fulfillment of prophecy in that God was gathering Israel back to the land from all the nations of the world. Harry Truman’s mother had drilled into Harry Truman: “Be good to the Jew, Harry.” Little did she know how much she was fulfilling prophecy when she was raising her little son in Missouri.
There is abroad the erroneous doctrine in churches today known as “Replacement Theology.” That is, that the church replaced Israel and all of God’s promises to Israel were revoked. On that basis, they claim that Israel is illegally occupying the land of Israel today. This is hogwash! God has not revoked His long-term promise to Israel and Jesus, the Jewish messiah is going to reign upon the Throne of David for one thousand years. There will be another Jewish temple built in Jerusalem.
But right now, the church (not all the visible denominations), the Body of Christ is the proclaimer of God’s Gospel of salvation and will be until Christ returns and in the twinkling of an eye calls up His church to be with Him. We are grafted into Israel.
In 1983, Dr. David Hocking preached a series of messages over the radio Biola Hour entitled: What The Bible Says About ISRAEL AND ITS LAND. I got a copy of the pocket booklet version of those messages. Several years later, I got his permission to reprint his booklet.. Barbara typed off the booklet and we posted it on www.biblewalking.com. However, I’m having trouble opening the file. I will look into this and try to post it in a future article. It is the best 12-page statement I’ve seen on what the Bible says about Israel and its land. (The booklet is 20 pages.) Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
October 5, 2017 – THURSDAY
A.M. Isaiah 31-33
P.M. Philippians 1
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Great Memory Verses:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. (1Corinthians 3:6-9)
Song for Today:
The Holy Hills of Heaven (5:49) (Gaither Group)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXrL-Z44KHc
Wait a few seconds. You may have to wait for an ad.
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. (Matthew 21:44)
The stone is Christ. The Scripture uses a stone to picture one coming to Him for salvation. (It’s a foundation or corner stone) And if one refuses to be broken upon the stone, then one day that stone will fall upon him or her in judgment. If you come to Christ as the unchangeable, unmovable stone, it will not break. You will break. You must break. Your will must break. Your allegiance must break from self to Christ.
All who come to Christ, must come in brokenness and submission of their will to Him as Savior and Lord. It’s not enough that you come to Him as Savior. He is Lord and you must come to Him as Savior and Lord. That is so important that at the very beginning of the book of Acts, Peter proclaimed to the whole nation of Israel: Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. (Act 2:36)
Since God has made Him both Lord and Christ, I have no authority from God to present Christ as being anything less than whom the Father has made Him to be. I do not have permission from God to present Him as anything less than that. He is both Lord and Christ and I must tell you that He is both Lord and Christ.
When the Philippian jailor asked what to do to be saved, Paul told him: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31).
The setting of the stone verse in Matthew 21:44 is broader than to an individual. Jesus was preaching to the chief priests and Pharisees who were leaders of the Jewish Temple. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Mat 21:42)Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. (Matthew 21:42-45)
The Jewish nation had been the keeper of God’s message of salvation. Israel had been God’s rock to the rest of the world. But Israel was in the process of blindly rejecting their promised Messiah and were about to put Him to death. God was about to take His message of salvation from Israel and give it to another nation, a new nation, the Church that was about to be formed. The church would be a new “nation” that would proclaim God’s message to the Gentiles. The church would not be given Israel’s property and land. The church would be given Israel’s mission of preaching the gospel of the crucified Christ who was raised from the dead.
McGee summarizes it like this: “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof"—that is, taken from the Jews and given to the church. "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1Pe_2:9). The church is that "holy nation."
But this transaction did not annul or make void God’s promises He made to Abraham and to the nation of Israel. This is temporary until one day Israel will repent and all the promises made to Israel will be fulfilled. Israel did not become the church. The church did not become Israel. The church did not inherit the land God gave to Israel. The church did not inherit the promise God made to David that God would build him a house. The church did not assume the promise God made to Israel through the prophet Daniel. The church did not take the place in the Book of Revelation that connects with Daniel to explain the end time judgments and the establishment of Israel in its restored state.
MacArthur comments: Christ is "a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" to unbelievers (Isa_8:14; 1Pe_2:9). And the prophet Daniel pictures Him as a great stone "cut out of the mountain without hands," which falls on the kingdoms of the world and crushes them (Dan_2:44-45). Whether a ceramic vessel "falls on" a rock or the rock "falls" on the vessel, the result is the same. The saying suggests that both enmity and apathy are wrong responses to Christ, and those guilty of either are in danger of judgment.
In Summary: God temporarily removed the preaching that had belonged to Israel, and gave it to the newly-formed church. To bring that about, the Temple was destroyed and the blood sacrifices ceased. The Jewish priesthood ceased to exist. For two thousand years, Israel was dispersed throughout the world. In 1948, Israel declared itself to be a nation and U. S. President, Harry Truman was the first (against the advice of his State Department) national leader to recognize Israel as a nation. This was a fulfillment of prophecy in that God was gathering Israel back to the land from all the nations of the world. Harry Truman’s mother had drilled into Harry Truman: “Be good to the Jew, Harry.” Little did she know how much she was fulfilling prophecy when she was raising her little son in Missouri.
There is abroad the erroneous doctrine in churches today known as “Replacement Theology.” That is, that the church replaced Israel and all of God’s promises to Israel were revoked. On that basis, they claim that Israel is illegally occupying the land of Israel today. This is hogwash! God has not revoked His long-term promise to Israel and Jesus, the Jewish messiah is going to reign upon the Throne of David for one thousand years. There will be another Jewish temple built in Jerusalem.
But right now, the church (not all the visible denominations), the Body of Christ is the proclaimer of God’s Gospel of salvation and will be until Christ returns and in the twinkling of an eye calls up His church to be with Him. We are grafted into Israel.
In 1983, Dr. David Hocking preached a series of messages over the radio Biola Hour entitled: What The Bible Says About ISRAEL AND ITS LAND. I got a copy of the pocket booklet version of those messages. Several years later, I got his permission to reprint his booklet.. Barbara typed off the booklet and we posted it on www.biblewalking.com. However, I’m having trouble opening the file. I will look into this and try to post it in a future article. It is the best 12-page statement I’ve seen on what the Bible says about Israel and its land. (The booklet is 20 pages.) Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
October 5, 2017 – THURSDAY
A.M. Isaiah 31-33
P.M. Philippians 1
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.)
Great Memory Verses:
I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building. (1Corinthians 3:6-9)
Song for Today:
The Holy Hills of Heaven (5:49) (Gaither Group)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXrL-Z44KHc
Wait a few seconds. You may have to wait for an ad.
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