Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder

 

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  

 

Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  

'The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief cornerstone'?

"Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

 

- Luke 20:9–19 

 

On Saturday we read that it happened on one of those days, as Jesus taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

 

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  My study Bible comments that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews who are entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God, and the beloved son is Christ Himself.  When the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, this is understood on two levels:  First, that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem; and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, and not those of His own "vineyard" (Israel, or the people of God).  The others who later receive the vineyard, my study Bible explains, are the Gentiles brought into the Church. 

Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  Here Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22, a powerful psalm associated with messianic expectation and the coming Kingdom.  My study Bible comments that that stone is Christ.  It notes that, according to the commentary of St. John Chrysostom, this saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those who fall on the stone are people who suffer the effects of their own sins while still in this life.  But those on whom the stone falls are unrepentant people who become powder in the final judgment. 

 

 What does it mean to be ground to powder in this context?  Of course, as St. Chrysostom's commentary illustrates, this is about the final judgment.  "Powder" gives us a metaphor to think about.  A powder scatters.  If we look closely at Christ's own words about Himself and His power in one regard, we think about these words:  "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad" (Matthew 12:30).  This is what a powder does, it "scatters abroad," and as such it has no being, nothing to hang it together, no substance.  When something scatters as a powder, it does so seemingly into thin air, and therefore nothing remains of it, perhaps not even a memory.  In St. Chrysostom's understanding of this saying, then, it is far better to stumble and be broken in this life, for in this place of brokenness we may seek to find what we lack, what will put us back together again.  Recently I've been listening to various individuals who have rather newly come to Christ and to faith, having followed various other ways to find meaning and spirituality.  Many have spoken of the brokenness they found in other practices, such as those who follow cults or perhaps pseudo-revivals of ancient pagan religions of various types.  Many speak of this type of brokenness, that the promises which seemed to beckon resulted in broken lives, tragedy, and difficulties.  Whether we speak of modern day cults around charismatic individuals, or those founded upon various practices such as drug use, or even worship of demonic elements, these are similar to addiction, in the sense that false promises of happiness turn to a kind of slavery, a disappointment in which our last state is worse than the first.  I have met people for whom a dabbling in the occult meant coming face-to-face with a force that seemed to threaten madness, with saving grace found in Christianity, a road back to security and a stable, organized life.  In the First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul speaks of one whose unrepentant sin is such that he advises, "deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Corinthians 1:5).  What this means is that St. Paul hopes for the kind of worldly brokenness that may be an only path to salvation for this person.  There are times in life when one will find brokenness that seems to be purposeless and inexplicable, such as harm that comes from a parent, abuse that is simply cruel, and other unfortunate circumstances in life.  But every sort of brokenness is a potential opening to Christ and to salvation.  Sometimes our own heedless behavior leads us to come up short against God's powerful presence, stumbling over the stone that is Christ's word and His teachings.  Even when a self-destructive impulse is in response to hardship and bad circumstances, our brokenness resulting from such can be God calling us to know God's love, and to find that right path to being saved, one that does not harm our own dignity further, but gives us good insight, real humility, and the capacity for needed change.  So let us consider this image of the stone.  For some who run in the opposite direction, it is the brokenness that follows which can redeem.   In the parable of the Sower, Jesus speaks of the seeds of His word which fell among thorns.  These are "those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity" (Luke 8:14).  Such cares, riches, and pleasures of life can blind us, a way to powder that scatters into nothing.   Let us hope for all to find way to what is better, and be grateful even for the brokenness we might experience that leads to such.  For despite the world's appearances, we are the fortunate ones who are better off.