Matthew
21:44 And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls,
it will grind him to powder. NKJV
Many years ago there was no refrigeration so the
people who went to hunt game animals needed to be able to preserve their meat
for long periods of time. Salt was discovered to be a preserver and it was used
to make large amounts of meat last for longer periods of time before it would
rotten. Salt was also used as an antiseptic to keep wounds from getting
infected with something that would damage the limb and perhaps cause it to
require amputation. The salt when applied inside an open wound or deep cut
would burn or hurt terribly but the pain was endured in order that the wound
might be healed. There are many other things or creatures that act in a twofold
capacity to preserve or destroy. I think of the deserts where many poison scorpions
reside. One sting from the scorpion’s tail to a man could result in death, but
that same scorpion if captured and handled properly by that same man could be a
source of food/nourishment to his body if he is stranded in the desert and
needs to survive.
Our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of Himself as such a
One that will serve to heal many and bring many sons to glory, while He will
literally crush (like a huge boulder) many souls that reject or resist Him as
the only way to wholeness. In the Scripture Matthew 21:44 in the first half of
the passage, our Lord uses the Greek word sunthlao,
which means to dash together; to break; denoting union by association,
companionship, possession, and resemblance. He spoke this to the religious
leaders after He had just given them two parables; the first parable was a
simple illustration of an obedient son and a disobedient son which they clearly
understood.
Our Lord wanted them to see their disobedience to
the message of repentance trumpeted to them by John the Baptist and at the same
time see how those people that they looked down on, called sinners, and
despised heard, understood, saw their woeful condition and were convicted and obeyed
the message of repentance. The second parable they really understood because it
was a picture of what they and their forefathers did to every true Prophet of
God sent to them by YAHWEH. Now YAHWEH is here standing before them not speaking
through a Prophet but The Prophet literally and they are stumbling over their
only means of spiritual healing. So our Lord said in the first half of this
passage that many will see their broken spiritual and sinful condition and fall
on This Stone (Jesus) and be completely healed. They will have as the Word says,
“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” See the article entitled “The New Life”,
http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=79783).
Isaiah
66:2 “But this is the man to whom I will look {and} have regard: he who is
humble and of a broken {or} wounded spirit, and who trembles at My word {and}
reveres My commands.” QAB
Jeremiah
23:29 Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]?
says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks in pieces the rock [of most
stubborn resistance]? QAB
Matthew
13:23 “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and
understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold,
some sixty, some thirty.” NKJV
Romans
9:33 As it is written, Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone that will make men
stumble, a Rock that will make them fall; but he who believes in Him [who
adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] shall not be put to shame {nor} be
disappointed in his expectations. QAB
Likewise just as the religious Jews standing before
our Lord stumbled over Him so will many of the multitudes even be swayed by the
glitter of the world and human efforts of religion and spirituality all the
while stumbling over the only Way of healing in so doing will be hurt by the
One who desired to heal them. In the second half of Matthew 21:44, our Lord
used the Greek word pipto peto, which
means to literally fall on or alight on. This is where the stone that can heal
can also hurt. He speaks of judgment for the rejecters and resistors of Him
being the only way to Heaven and the only source of true spiritual life, and
the only truth in the entire universe. Our Lord is not in competition with
anyone or anything for the satisfaction of the souls of men. The grinding into
powder is not complete annihilation as some have interpreted, but it speaks of
that eternal place where the sins that men and women would not relinquish and
that they presumed gave them much pleasure (though it were temporary) will now
forever be like a continuous grinding millstone on grain that crushes them over
and over and over with guilt and regret in hell never bringing satisfaction but
torment. See the article entitled “The Natural Man”, http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=80381.
Isaiah
57:9 And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy
perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself
even unto hell. KJV
Matthew
13:40-42 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will
be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they
will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice
lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing
and gnashing of teeth. NKJV
2
Corinthians 4:3-4 But even if our Gospel (the glad tidings) also be hidden
(obscured and covered up with a veil that hinders the knowledge of God), it is
hidden [only] to those who are perishing {and} obscured [only] to those who are
spiritually dying {and} veiled [only] to those who are lost. For the god of
this world has blinded the unbelievers’ minds [that they should not discern the
truth], preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the Gospel of the
glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image {and} Likeness of God. QAB
“The human heart is like the millstone in a mill; when you put
wheat under it, it turns and grinds the wheat into flour. If you put no wheat
in, it still grinds on, but then it is itself it grinds and slowly wears away.”
Martin Luther 1483-1546
“The law breaks the hard heart, but the gospel melts
it. A stone duly broken,
may be still a hard stone;
but the gospel melts.” Ralph Erskine 1685-1752
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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