Crushing Religion

August 29

(Luke 20:15-19 NIV) ““What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? {16} He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!" {17} Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone '? {18} Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed." {19} The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.””

(Psalm 118:22 NIV) “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone.”

(Isaiah 8:13-15 NIV) “The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, {14} and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare. {15} Many of them will stumble; they will fall and be broken, they will be snared and captured.”

(Isaiah 28:16 NIV) ““So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.””

(Daniel 2:34, 44-45 NIV) “While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them…. {44} In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. {45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands--a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.”

The Parable of the Vineyard contains one of the clearest claims ever made by Jesus to be the unique Son of God. The Pharisees understood His claim and they hated Him for it. They not only knew who they were in this parable, they knew what Jesus was saying about Himself. Jesus is Lord. He is the Rock -- the stone that the builders rejected. He is the Cornerstone of the Church. We fall on him in brokenness and receive mercy, or we are eventually crushed by His holy judgment. We have to be broken before we can be mended. We have to be mended, or we will be crushed. Do not resist being broken before the Lord. The pride of the Pharisees shunned brokenness and they were eventually crushed by God. Choose the brokenness that leads to life, or be crushed into dust on the last day. Make a decision. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day