You all just sang a mighty song just now.
Inviting the Lord to speak through His word to your hearts.
!
It's the kind of word that requires a response.
And so in that mighty song that we just sang, we invited the Lord to do something for us.
To speak through His word and to grab our hearts and to lead us into the kinds of truths that we all need this morning.
So that we can be the kinds of people that represent Him properly.
And the kinds of people that will be approved by Him as servants who are faithful.
It's a word that carries authority.
I wonder if you have any experiences like me.
Of people who have tried to speak into your life a word of authority.
But they have none.
Okay?
Like for example, I'm thinking of a time back in the day when I was a high schooler.
And I was mowing lawns for the summer.
And I know that's kind of a lost art.
Any of you teens mow lawns for the summer?
Okay?
Except for David who mows here.
Okay?
Good.
Calvin.
I see one back there.
Great.
Mow lawns for the summer.
Okay?
It's kind of a lost art.
Well, I was like a junior or senior in high school.
And so it was towards the springtime.
And so because of being a junior or senior, I was taking accelerated classes.
And I was part of a sporting event.
And so all the practices kind of built into that.
And I was involved in church.
And all of the obligations on my time.
There was just one day a week I had to mow.
That was Saturday.
So I had to do five lawns on a Saturday back to back.
And then if there was any weekend where it rained and I couldn't do on a Saturday, I tried.
I had to fit it in to the rest of the week.
Okay?
All of that is background for the scenario that I'm going to share with you.
So I'm mowing this lawn.
Okay?
And it's a Saturday.
And I'm halfway through the front part of the lawn about ready to move my way into the back.
And somebody is taking a walk.
Somebody from the neighborhood.
He's coming around the corner.
And he gets my attention and asks me to turn off the mower.
Okay?
So I turn off the mower.
And he says, hey, do you live here?
I said, no, I don't live here.
He said, well, you realize, don't you, that you should be mowing much more often than you're mowing.
You realize that?
Now, my dad trained me well.
Okay?
He trained me well.
And so my response was, well, thank you for that.
Appreciate it.
I'm doing my best.
And I just can't get around to it more than just once a week.
But in reflection, what's really going on in my mind is, who do you think you are?
Like, obviously, this is not your yard.
Lord, obviously, you're not the one who's calling the shots.
And you're not the one who's paying me.
You don't even live next door.
What do you care?
Who do you think you are?
Or maybe for you younger ones that are still living at home, and you have a sibling that says,
you know you're not supposed to do that.
And you say, who do you think you are?
I'm sure none of you have ever done that.
That's very good of you.
That's good.
But there are occasions, are there not, when someone speaks into our life, and they carry
a measure of authority because of the position they have.
For example, I went to a parts store recently, and I got some parts for my car.
There was some work I needed to do.
And the guy at the counter says, hey, now, by the way, make sure that when you do this,
you do this in this order.
Don't do that first.
Do that second.
And he helped to lay out for me some of the order to make sure I wasn't going to ruin the
very thing I was trying to fix.
And then he stepped back and realized, oh, wait, wait a second.
You didn't ask for this advice.
I'm just giving it to you.
And so he kind of backtracked a little bit.
But I'm like, hey, no, listen, this is great.
Thank you very much.
I need the help.
You can speak into my life.
You can have some authority in this area.
It's okay.
Or those of you who've been to a doctor, and you've had maybe an event that's taken place,
and the doctor says, now, listen, this has happened.
Make sure that you stay away from this, and that you do this, and you take that, and they
carry some authority, some weight with the words that they say.
We understand that teaching and instruction is a way for us to exert a level of authority.
Right?
When someone asserts themself over you, they teach you like a teacher.
They instruct you.
They exhort you.
They rebuke you.
They confront you.
Chances are, if they're doing that, they have a level of authority.
When they have authority, it matters.
It carries force.
When they don't have authority, you're like, who do you think you are?
Why in the world are you opening your mouth?
You can just go away.
Hopefully, you're not responding that way.
But Jesus' public ministry from the very beginning is one that exerted this kind of authority.
Jesus taught wherever he went.
He's teaching in synagogues.
He's teaching in villages.
He's teaching in countrysides.
He's teaching along the shoreline.
He's teaching along the way.
His disciples are coming along.
Wherever Jesus is going, he's teaching.
It's a way for him to demonstrate this measure of authority.
He not only has information to share.
He has authority in the things that he shares.
And of course, there's no place that carried as much authority and a center of authority as the temple.
In Jerusalem.
The very center of worship for the nation of Israel.
The heart and soul of the country was right there in Jerusalem.
And so, this is where the presence of God was.
And so, there's no other place that the force of teaching and authority would be present than in the temple.
And that's where we encounter Jesus today.
If you have your Bibles, please open them with me to Luke chapter 20.
And if you're using the Pew Bible, you can find us on page 879.
879.
We find in this section, the religious leaders, the supposed authorities over Israel,
are confronting Jesus with the question that we're going to find in verse 2.
That is, tell us by what authority you do these things.
In other words, who do you think you are?
And if it wasn't clear throughout the whole of Jesus' public ministry,
in this last week of Jesus' life leading up to the cross,
it's going to come at rapid succession.
And the identity of Jesus is going to come through in the way that he speaks.
It's going to come through in the things that he does.
It's going to come through in the parables and the illustrations that he uses.
He's going to receive and promote his identity so that it is without question
who Jesus is and what he's come to do.
So, Jesus will respond to this question.
And he'll help in this passage, in verses 1 to 18,
to address four ways, four identities that Christ has
that he's going to provide for this group of religious leaders.
First, Jesus is the Savior.
Jesus is the Savior.
If you're there with me in Luke chapter 20,
let me just read the first couple of verses to build the context for our study today.
It says,
One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel,
the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him,
Tell us by what authority you do these things.
Or who is it that gave you this authority?
Right here at the beginning, we notice that Jesus is teaching.
And we don't know what day this is,
but we do know this is the pattern of Jesus' life in ministry
over the stretch of these few days.
We saw that back in Luke chapter 19, verse 47.
And he was teaching daily in the temple.
This is what Jesus was going to do.
He was making himself accessible.
Having ridden into the city of Jerusalem,
this triumphal entry on a Sunday,
and having purged and cleansed the temple on a Monday,
here he is on a Tuesday, a Wednesday, or a Thursday.
We don't know.
Here he is again in the temple teaching.
Right at the center of it all.
Jesus is not hiding.
He's there in plain sight.
He's not running for cover.
He's not isolating outside of Jerusalem.
He's not biding his time.
And as the Passover festivities are taking place,
here the Passover lamb will teach and serve his people.
This Passover festivities,
they're all coming to find their Passover lamb,
and the Passover lamb is right there in front of them,
teaching them, serving them.
Here Jesus is preaching and teaching,
and likely teaching in the court of the Gentiles.
This is the outer court of this complex temple system.
Listen, this is the very place where Christ had just come the day before,
and he had purged it of the money changers.
He had purged it of those who were buying and selling animals.
Here he was again, having cleared it out,
and having reclaimed this space for its intended purpose,
that we find in chapter 19, verse 46.
My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of robbers.
And here Jesus is,
restoring it back to its original purpose,
the idea of worship and affection and devotion to God.
This would be the spot in the temple.
Of course, it had the greatest access,
being the court of the Gentiles.
Whether you were an outsider or an insider,
whether you were a male or a female,
the teaching ministry of Jesus is here.
And notice what he's teaching.
It says he's teaching and preaching the gospel.
This word for teaching and preaching are present participles,
which means this is an activity that has this ongoing sense
of Jesus' life throughout this week.
That is why Jesus is here in the temple.
He's confident in the plan of the Father.
His grace is extended to the people.
His example of self-sacrifice
and continuing to extend himself
and expend himself for these individuals.
This compassion to a people
who in just a few short days
are going to put him on the cross.
It's referred to throughout the gospel of Luke
as teaching this good news.
This gospel we find all the way at the beginning
in his public ministry in Luke chapter 4.
He's preaching the good news of the kingdom.
Well, what was that?
Well, it was the good news of forgiveness of sin.
It was the good news of repentance
and salvation that was offered through Jesus.
It was this good news that most recently we saw
as Jesus is making his way through Jericho
and he makes a stop at Zacchaeus' house
and he says in Luke 19 verse 10,
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.
That was good news.
And that's why Jesus was here.
And no doubt during the Passover,
as the people of Israel were celebrating
and taking part of these Passover festivities,
the remembrance of the blood
that had been painted on the doorposts
and this physical deliverance out of Egypt.
And here Jesus was just days away
from providing the greatest deliverance
that man would ever need,
the deliverance from sin.
No doubt providing greater urgency,
helping to provide a level of energy and power
for the word of the gospel that he was teaching
and preaching to these people today.
Jesus is here as the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
Drawing the crowds who packed that space
and flocked to hear him,
here he is.
And they're eating out of the palm of his hand
as we saw in chapter 19.
They were hanging on every word.
But Jesus' teaching was not just gaining
the observation and the attention of the crowds.
It was gaining attention from another group as well.
This group of religious leaders
who approach him and ask this question.
Jesus.
Jesus was the Savior.
And now as the Pharisees will ask him,
by whose authority do you do this?
Jesus will launch into another form of his identity
by helping them understand
that Jesus is also sent from heaven.
He is the heaven-sent messenger.
He is the validated voice from God to men.
Notice at the end of verse 1 of chapter 20,
it says,
He answered them,
Now tell me,
was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?
And they discussed it with one another and said,
If we say from heaven,
he will say,
Why did you not believe him?
But if we say from man,
all the people will stone us to death,
for they are convinced that John was a prophet.
So they answered that they did not know
where it came from.
And Jesus said to them,
Neither will I tell you
by what authority I do these things.
In order to really understand
or appreciate what's taking place here,
we have to recognize that the temple
being a place that was primarily devoted
to worship and prayer and sacrifice,
it was also the center of teaching.
We saw this as a center of teaching
going all the way back
to the very beginning of the Gospel of Luke
where we find Jesus there.
He is learning from teachers.
In Luke chapter 2, verses 46 and 47,
it says that after three days,
they found him,
speaking of Mary and Joseph
who were Jesus' parents,
he was sitting among the teachers,
listening to them
and asking them questions.
All who heard him
were amazed at his understanding
and his answers.
Here Jesus is in the temple,
the center of worship,
but also a place of teaching and learning.
And Jesus is there,
learning there in the temple as a boy.
But this was not your run-of-the-mill
kind of worship center.
This was the center of Jewish religion,
the heart and soul of the nation.
And so just as local rabbis and teachers
would need the approval
of the synagogue leaders
in order to teach in a synagogue,
you can imagine that this place
of such notoriety
would also need validation
from somebody of interest
and authority within the temple structure,
a religious leader.
So this was not an invalid question.
This was a legitimate question
that they're asking.
The truth is,
these religious leaders
have been wanting to put Jesus to death
for some time now.
Ever since Lazarus was raised from the dead,
and this,
that event was the last straw in their mind.
We find from John chapter 11
that it was because
of the raising of Lazarus from the dead,
they were all set on destroying him.
So here he is,
he's teaching again.
And it's abundantly clear
that the religious leaders
weren't the one who validated him
and authorized him to teach in this place.
Entire city knew
that those very people
were seeking to arrest him.
Well,
here he is,
carrying out ministry
in plain sight.
In direct view
of their normal activities,
on their home turf,
as it were,
it's a direct assault
to their supposed authority.
A direct competition
with their teaching.
You can imagine
that they're trying to carry out
their own little teaching venues,
but the person
who seems to be
attracting the most attention,
and it says in other places
that the entire city of Jerusalem
was drawn to the teaching of Christ.
And so,
Jesus is getting all of the attention,
drawing it away from them.
And here he is,
gaining favor with the people,
putting the religious leaders
in their place,
challenging their threat of arrest,
which, of course,
he had every reason to do.
They come into the temple
and they ask this question.
By what authority
do you do these things?
And Jesus will respond
as he does so often,
rather than with a direct answer,
he will now give them a question.
Jesus asks them
a question
related to
John the Baptist
and his ministry.
Because Jesus wasn't
after just an answer.
These individuals
knew the answer.
They had the information.
They didn't need
any more added truth
to help them understand
who Jesus claimed to be.
This was an issue
of their heart.
And likely a question
that they were using
to draw Jesus out
into the open,
to help him
come to a place
of discrediting himself
in their minds
by committing blasphemy.
blasphemy.
This was a way
to trap him.
But Jesus wasn't going to
go for that.
So he asks them
this question
we see in verse 3.
Was the baptism
of John
from heaven
or from man?
Ultimately,
the answer was not
the issue.
It was an issue
of the heart.
Who is John?
Was he from heaven
or was he from man?
And if your heart
is aligned
in the right place,
then you'll be able
to recognize
who I am
and you'll be willing
to accept what I say.
Jesus was not unwilling
to disclose the truth
to this group.
On several occasions,
even recently,
Jesus was more than happy
to identify
who he was.
Just five months earlier,
we find at the feast
of dedication
in John chapter 10,
they ask a very pointed question,
the same group of men.
How long will you
keep us in suspense,
he says,
in John chapter 10,
verse 24.
If you are the Christ,
tell us plainly.
And Jesus answers,
I told you
and you do not believe.
The works that I do
in my Father's name
bear witness about me.
But you do not believe
because you are not
among my sheep.
I've already told you.
I've already made this clear.
It's very evident.
Your heart is set against me
because you do not belong to me.
You're not one of my sheep.
So this wasn't an issue
of needing more knowledge.
This was an issue
of a heart.
So Jesus poses this question
and it was clear
that the religious leaders
knew who John the Baptist was.
They had been present
at John the Baptist's ministry
going all the way back
to the beginning
as we find in John chapter 1,
verse 19.
It says,
and this is the testimony of John.
When the Jews
sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem
to ask him,
who are you?
He confessed
and did not deny
but confessed,
I am not the Christ.
This is John the Baptist.
And the same group
of religious leaders
sending their own representatives
out to John the Baptist
to ask this pointed question.
But John will continue
to fill out the answer
in John chapter 1,
verses 29 to 34.
I'm not the Christ
but I'll tell you who is.
It says,
the next day,
he,
speaking of John the Baptist,
saw Jesus coming towards him
and said,
behold,
the Lamb of God
who takes away
the sin of the world.
There he is.
After me comes a man
who ranks before me
because he was before me.
For this purpose,
I came baptizing with water
that he might be revealed to Israel
and I have borne witness
that this is the Son of God.
There he is.
Without mistake,
as clearly
and as directly
as you could be,
John the Baptist
gave witness
of the fact
that Jesus was,
in fact,
the Son of God.
He was the Lamb of God.
And these religious leaders
knew it.
They knew from the very beginning
and they had challenged Jesus
throughout his ministry
and the identity of Christ
as being from heaven
was clear.
But they need to respond.
So they have a little huddle.
And in this little huddle,
they're negotiating their answers.
They're making sure
they come up with the right answer.
If we say he's from heaven,
he will say,
why did you not believe?
But if we say from man,
then all the people will stone us.
So the answer,
we do not know.
Which was the lesser
of two evils,
perhaps.
But the answer they give
still undermines
their credibility.
Because if the people
who are there,
the common folks,
as it were,
who know who Jesus is
and have appreciated
and come to understand
the ministry of John the Baptist,
if they know
where John came from,
how is it
that these spiritual
religious leaders
have no idea?
Their credibility
is gone.
And while Jesus
would not answer
their question directly,
now he will provide them
an answer
through this parable
that he shares
that provides
very clear information
again on his identity.
This parable,
we find in verses 9 to 16,
help us understand
that Jesus is claiming
to be the son,
the very son of God.
Jesus is the son.
Beginning in verse 9,
it says,
And he began to tell
the people this parable.
A man planted a vineyard
and led it out to tenants
and went into another country
for a long while.
When the time came,
he sent a servant
to the tenants
so that they would give him
some of the fruit
of the vineyard.
But the tenants beat him
and sent him away
empty-handed.
And he sent another servant,
but they also beat
and treated him shamefully
and sent him away
empty-handed.
And he sent yet a third.
This one they also wounded
and cast out.
Then the owner of the vineyard
said,
What shall I do?
I will send my beloved son.
Perhaps they will respect him.
But when the tenants saw him,
they said to themselves,
This is the heir.
Let us kill him
so that the inheritance
may be ours.
And they threw him out
of the vineyard
and killed him.
What then will the owner
of the vineyard do to them?
He will come
and destroy those tenants
and give the vineyard
to others.
When they heard this,
they said,
Surely not.
Of course,
the point of the parable
and the pieces of the story
are fairly clear.
The nation of Israel
was often related
to a vineyard
in the Old Testament.
We find that really prominently
prominently in Isaiah chapter 5.
Isaiah 5 verses 1 and 5 and 7
says this,
Let me sing for my beloved
my love song
concerning his vineyard.
My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill
and now I will tell you
what I will do to my vineyard.
I will remove its hedges
and it shall be devoured.
I will break down its walls
and it shall be trampled down.
For the vineyard
of the Lord of hosts
is the house of Israel.
And those religious leaders
knew exactly
when Jesus is speaking
about this vineyard
that he is relating
this picture
to the nation of Israel.
And of course,
the tenants
of that vineyard
were these religious leaders
that God entrusted
this vineyard to.
They were supposed to care for it.
They were supposed to tend it.
And the servants
who were sent to gather
some of the fruit
were the prophets.
Those prophets
that carried the instructions
and commands of God.
They came to yield
or to benefit
from the fruit
of the vineyard.
This life
of the nation
of Israel
and the affections
and the fruit
of that nation.
They came with a word
from the owner.
His instructions,
his demands,
but the tenants
pushed them away.
It's exactly
what Jesus
refers to
throughout his public ministry
about the normal response
of the people
of Israel,
the tenants,
as it were,
of the nation of Israel
to the instructions
and words
from the prophets.
Kind of crystallizes
for us
in Luke chapter 13
verse 34
where Jesus cries
over the city.
Oh Jerusalem,
Jerusalem,
the city that kills
the prophets
and stones those
who are sent to it.
How often
I would have gathered
your children together
as a hen
gathers her brood
under her wings
and you were
not willing.
This is not only
the testimony
of Jerusalem,
but Jerusalem
that kind of
represents the nation
in totality,
the heart and soul
as it were
of the people
of Israel
and the response
especially here
in the center
where the religious leaders
were helping
to provide
their leadership
and authority.
This was the center
of resistance
as it were
from the word
from the prophets.
And finally,
the owner
sends the son
and Jesus refers
to this son
in the final part
of this parable.
And there's some
enlightening things,
some elements
that we find
in this final section
about the response
of the tenants
to the son.
Notice,
first of all,
that the tenants
recognize the son.
They recognize the son.
This is the heir,
they say.
They know who it is.
They realize
that he's not
just another servant.
It's clear to them.
And so the plan
that they have
to remove him
and to kill him
is not a plan
devised out of ignorance
but out of knowledge.
Out of knowing identity,
they know the son
and they're still
going to carry out
this plan.
Next,
secondly,
notice the insanity
of their plan.
let us kill him
so that the inheritance
may be ours.
Now,
in what universe
would that actually
be true?
But that's what
depraved minds do.
Depraved minds
and hearts
turn reality
and truth
upside down.
Rationality
is removed.
They convince themselves
of an alternate reality
reality.
And by the way,
that's what
depraved hearts
and minds
do consistently.
We think,
we're going to do
our own thing.
I want to have
this inheritance
for myself.
I'm going to reject
the clear
marching orders
of the Lord himself.
And I'll be able
to have what I want
and I'll be able
to get it
and enjoy it.
And our depraved minds
create an alternate
reality
for us
just like it did
for the tenets
of this parable.
No, actually,
the opposite
is going to happen.
You're not going
to be able
to have the inheritance.
There are consequences
that are coming.
And so Jesus poses
the question
to the crowd.
He says,
what then will
the owner
of the vineyard do?
And in our passage
here in
the Gospel of Luke,
Jesus will answer
that question,
provide the answer
to that question
in verse 19.
Excuse me.
Verse 16.
He will come
and destroy
those tenants
and give the vineyard
to others.
In Matthew's account,
we find that the crowd
actually responds
to the question.
Matthew chapter 21,
verse 41,
it says,
they said to him,
he will put those
wretches to a miserable
death
and let out the vineyard
to other tenants
who will give him
the fruits of the season.
Now, which is it?
The answer is,
both.
Jesus asks the question
to the crowd
and the answer
is so obvious,
the crowd responds.
And Jesus reinforces
the truth
by reiterating it
and saying,
yes,
that's exactly
what's going to happen.
But then we get
this response
from another group
of individuals.
And while the text
in Luke is not clear,
I think this group
of representatives
that says,
certainly not,
is the group
of religious leaders
who understands
that this parable
is exactly directed
to them.
Notice in verse 19
of Luke chapter 20,
the scribes
and the chief priests
sought to lay hands
on him
at that very hour
for they perceived
that he had told
this parable
against them.
Have you ever had
somebody share a story?
And you knew
that they built you
into that story
to prove a point?
You ever have that happen?
I used to go
to a church
where the pastor
would often
share little stories
and you wonder,
okay,
I wonder who he
talked to this week.
I wonder who
that was about.
And that's what
Jesus is doing here,
by the way.
Jesus is telling
this story
and as Jesus,
as this story
is unfolding,
these scribes
and these Pharisees
know exactly
who he's talking about.
And so their response
is surely not,
which was different
from the obvious response
of what the crowd says,
he's going to kill
those wretches.
He's going to turn this over
to a new group of tenants.
That's the obvious answer.
And in this response,
surely not,
this is the strongest negative
in the Greek language.
Certainly not.
This cannot happen.
They reject
the parable
and the parable giver,
his authority to teach,
his authority
to claim
this instructional
authority over them.
And this emphatic
rejection
from this religious group
now turns
into this final response
we find from Jesus
in verses 17 to 18
where the son
becomes a stone.
Jesus is
the stone.
He's the stone.
Notice
verse 17.
He looked directly
at them.
Their response,
certainly not.
Jesus looks at them.
You can see
this look of intensity.
You can see
this look of authority.
You can see
this look of urgency.
Jesus wants
to get the message
through
because if they don't
get this message,
they're not going
to be getting anything.
He says,
what then
is this
that is written?
The stone
that the builders
rejected
has become
the cornerstone.
Everyone who falls
on that stone
will be broken
to pieces
and when it
falls on anyone,
it will crush them.
Jesus is
creating this
strong rebuke
and warning
for this group
of religious leaders.
This inescapable
reality
of the son's
presence
who is here.
And Jesus
will use
and draw
this verse
out of Psalm 118
verses 22
and 23
which says,
the stone
that the builders
rejected
has become
the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's
doing.
It is marvelous
in our eyes.
And what's fascinating
about the Hebrew
of this verse
is the word stone
is the word eben.
The word son
is the word ben.
like Benjamin.
It's a play on words
I really believe
where Jesus
as the son
as ben the son
is helping them
understand
he's also the stone
of ben.
He's the one
who will crush them.
He's the stone
who will come
and ultimately
be the force
that destroys them
if they continue
to reject.
Jesus wants them
to understand
the seriousness
of the decisions
that they're making.
And interestingly
he draws this
out of Psalm 118
which had just
been spoken
two days before
in his triumphal entry.
In Psalm 118
notice in verse 26
it says
blessed is he
who comes
in the name
of the Lord.
We have blessed you
from the house
of the Lord.
This verse
that comes
after the stone
that the builders
rejected.
Jesus I believe
is trying to help
realign
and reassemble
this chronology
in the minds
of the hearers
so they understand
the stone
will first
be rejected
before the stone
will ever come
in triumph.
Similar to what
we find
in 1 Peter
chapter 1
verses 10
and 11
concerning the salvation
the prophets
who prophesied
about the grace
that was to be yours
searched inquired
carefully inquiring
what person
or time
the spirit
of Christ
in them
was indicating
when he predicted
the sufferings
of Christ
and the subsequent
glories.
The suffering
would come first
the rejection
would come first
and then the conquering
then the victory
then the triumph.
Jesus is trying
to help them
understand
he is the son
but he's also
this stone.
The implications
of course
are inescapable
and this has been
taken
a couple
of different ways
but I think
it's best to see
that both
the stumbling
on the stone
and the falling
of the stone
refer to the same thing
and that is
the rejection
of the stone.
The stone
that the builders
rejected
and then Jesus
phrases it
in this way
about stumbling
on the stone
you'll be broken
to pieces
and the stone
falling on you
you'll be crushed
to pieces.
Both this active
and passive
rejection
of Christ
the stone
both an active
and passive
rejection
of the stone
will lead
to destruction.
You will either
be broken
into pieces
by falling
onto the stone
or you'll be
crushed to pieces
by the stone
falling on you.
In both cases
there is rejection.
In both cases
there is
destruction.
This crushing
stone
of course
I believe
is also
drawn out
and symbolized
for us
in Daniel
chapter 2
the dream
of Nebuchadnezzar
and you remember
that it was Daniel
who talked about
Jesus
the son of man
who is seated
on his throne
and Jesus
has just
drawn that out
and applied that
to himself
in this march
up from Jericho
to Jerusalem
he's the son of man
and now
we find
this stone
that's pictured
here
a stone
that will
break in pieces
the image
of bronze
and gold
and the nations
that they represent
and we find
that Jesus
is that stone
just as you saw
that a stone
was cut from the mountain
it says
by no human hand
and that it broke
in pieces
the iron
the bronze
the clay
the silver
and the gold
a great God
has made known
to the king
what shall be
after this
the dream
is certain
and its interpretation
is sure
Jesus
son of man
is the breaking
crushing stone
submit
and yield
to the sun
to the stone
so we come
to this question
that we started with
who do you think
you are
who do you think
you are
and we all need
to ask
and answer
that question
for ourselves
is there another
solution
response to the stone
we can stumble
on the stone
the stone
can fall on us
is there another way
and I think
that is also clear
in 1 Peter chapter 2
1 Peter chapter 2
verses 4 to 6
says this
as you come
to him
a living stone
rejected by men
but in the sight
of God
chosen and precious
you yourselves
like living stones
are being built up
as a spiritual house
to be a holy priesthood
to offer
spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God
through Jesus Christ
for it stands
in scripture
behold
I am laying
in Zion
a stone
a cornerstone
chosen and precious
and whoever believes
in him
will not be put
to shame
how are you responding
to the stone
the elect
and precious
and chosen
stone
the son
of God
are you
bowing
your heart
your life
your knee
to worship
the son
Jesus
have you
have you acknowledged
and confessed
your sin
have you submitted
to him
as the one
who is master
over your life
have you embraced
him as the
as the precious
stone
and then
what's
what's fascinating
about this
symbolism
that we find
in first Peter
is that
is now a
kingdom
becomes a household
a household
now
of living stones
that are assembled
together
and assembled
with Jesus
as the
living cornerstone
the chief
cornerstone
is your life
built on him
is your life
aligned to his
standards
is your life
understanding
the significance
of his
not only influence
but also
authority
over you
have you
believed in him
are you pursuing
him
are you seeking
to know
in love
in worship
in fellowship
with
the son
because this
assembled
household
is a
place
of worship
and so
as living
stones
we're being
assembled
as the
household
of God
which means
the
the center
of
of our
existence
is worship
and devotion
to him
is that how
you would
evaluate your
life
is it how
you would
provide a
an inventory
of this past
week
the things
that really
matter
for you
is it that
the worship
of God
and placing
him
as center
this living
stone
is that
how you can
be characterized
Jesus offers
for us
in this final
week
a
a beautiful
clear picture
of his
identity
he is
the son
he is
the stone
he is
the one
who is
sent from
heaven
so he has
all authority
but he's
also the
savior
have you
experienced
and enjoyed
the saving
power of
God
who came
to seek
and to
save
the lost
and
as those
who love
the savior
have a
mission
to make
the savior
known
may God
help us
this week
as we
grow in
our affection
for the
elect
and precious
chief
cornerstone
oh lord
we thank
you
for making
it so
clear
thank you
for your
bold
sacrificial
ministry
there in
Jerusalem
even in
this
final
week
of life
you did
not run
you did
not hide
you did
not bide
your time
out in
the outskirts
in the
the byways
and in
hills of
Jerusalem
but you
were right
in the
center
that
living
word
that
made
its
way
so
accessibly
to
your
people
and
God
I
pray
that
our
response
to
the
living
stone
would
not
be
to
stumble
on
it
would
not
be
for
it
to
crush
us
but
for
us
to
bow
our
hearts
before
you
to
be
broken
before
you
and
to
accept
and
receive
you
as
the
savior
to
believe
on
you
as
this
living
stone
and
may
we
as
your
people
be
characterized
by
worship
the
household
of
God
this
living
these
living
stones
together
with
purpose
of
devotion
and
worship
to
you
may
that
be
true
of
us
Lord
I
pray
in
Jesus
name
amen
God
bless
you
have
a
great
week