Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
The stone is Christ, the stone rejected by the builders and made the cornerstone and sure foundation laid by God Himself for His church. The saying was spoken in the parable of the vineyard against the priests and teachers of the Jewish nation for robbing God of fruit and turning the people from Christ, with the kingdom to be taken from them and given to a fruit-bearing people, yet the warning reaches all the wicked and the church today. To fall upon the stone and be broken is to come to Christ now in humility, repentance, confession, conversion and dying to self, which is the sinner's only hope before probation closes. What is broken is self in all its forms — pride, self-righteousness, stubborn will and evil traits — yielded so God can soften, mold and change the person into Christ's likeness and make him a vessel fit for service and peace. Whoever refuses to be thus broken now will meet the Rock unyielding, and when it falls it will crush him in judgment beyond remedy to destruction and eternal loss.
The Stone Identified
The stone is Christ, the stone rejected by the builders that was made the cornerstone and the head of the corner. He is the foundation of the Christian church, not Peter, the same tried, precious cornerstone and sure foundation laid in Zion, the same rock on which Christ builds His church. Those who stumble against Him are broken, while those on whom the stone falls are crushed and brought to complete destruction.
He is the foundation stone chosen and laid by God Himself, a sure and tried stone able to endure the burdens and griefs of the whole world. Falling upon that stone means coming to Christ broken, casting burdens and guilty hearts upon Him. He bears whatever is cast upon Him, gives relief to the guilty, and never disappoints those who trust in Him.
He Himself bore every test, stood in the wilderness of temptation under the pressure of Adam's guilt and that of his posterity, and came off more than conqueror over the powers of evil. Building upon this stone and making Him the foundation therefore gives perfect safety, security, and rest. He is the secure foundation and chief cornerstone, and those joined to Him become living stones.
Self-improvement without connection to Christ cannot make a person a living stone, and those not fixed to Him will collapse when trials come.
Vineyard Parable and Israel
The saying belongs to the parable of the vineyard, whose guilty husbandmen are the priests and teachers of the Jewish nation. Their guilt was refusing to return to the Lord the fruit of His vineyard, robbing God of the service He claims by misleading the people and turning the nation away from Christ. They set human teaching and man-made commandments above the Word of God, presenting human tradition as the standard instead of the law of God unmixed with tradition as the great standard of obedience, and when Christ came presenting the claims of God they denied His right to stand between them and the people. They refused His rebukes and warnings, would not sacrifice pride of reason and praise of men for truth, and set themselves to turn the people against Him and to compass His destruction, and for the rejection of Christ and the results that followed they are responsible, for a nation's sin and a nation's ruin are due to its religious leaders.
The Jewish nation's contemptuous and cruel treatment of God's servants and its killing of the beloved Son bring severe punishment and the vineyard taken away. The Pharisees recognized that Jesus had identified them as those whose sentence they themselves pronounced. The kingdom is taken from those who rejected Him and given to those who obey its Ruler, to a people who produce its fruits.
The warning applies not only to the Jews but to all the wicked. The parable of the vineyard applies not alone to the Jewish nation but has a lesson for the church in this generation. God has endowed the church today with great privileges and blessings, and He expects corresponding returns.
Those who refuse Christ as Redeemer share the fate of the unbelieving Jews, and the stone's falling upon them pictures their punishment and ruin. The only safety is to build on Christ the right foundation, for hopes built on untested foundations will collapse.
Falling and Being Broken
Falling on the Rock, Christ, and being broken means coming to Him in humility and being broken in heart and character through repentance, confession, conversion, new birth, and dying to self. It is the sinner's only hope, to face peril and undergo a transforming work of the heart, and it must be done now and speedily, before it is too late, before probation closes and before the day of the Lord's anger. Those who regard themselves as whole must submit so He can soften and change them into His likeness, rather than remain controlled by an unchristian spirit. Those now first but untrue will soon be last unless they fall and be broken, for otherwise the cherished wrong spirit continues and mercy's voice is not recognized.
What is broken is self in all its forms: pride, self-righteousness, stubborn will, self-sufficiency, self-esteem, self-importance, cold Pharisaism, evil traits, and old, inherited or cultivated habits and traits. The surrendered will, temper, thoughts, and impulses are yielded so God can soften, melt, refine as by fire to consume dross, mold, shape, and change the person into Christ's likeness and image. This willing brokenness prepares the heart for the Holy Spirit and the fullness of God, gives self-control, comfort, and peace, lays a sure foundation that stands temptation, and enables sanctified work for souls with winning kindness; refusing leaves the heart hard, resistant, dishonored, and without peace. Unless self is broken God cannot place His mold upon the person, and truth must not be reshaped to fit faults but the life shaped by accepting correction, recognizing error, and giving up self-will.
Breaking comes when the truth of God's Word reaches the heart through the Holy Spirit, not by merely hearing or knowing words. It comes through dread of sin and recognizing no righteousness of one's own, through coming as a little child in prayer, humbling self under God's mighty hand, with childlike humility, faith in forgiving love, sorrow and tears, and retracing wrong steps at once instead of persisting and dragging others into darkness. It comes by letting truth break the surrendered soul so the Spirit takes possession and shapes life after the divine Pattern, by yielding while He moves rather than persisting in deception, false pretenses, and resistance like rebellious Israel. Those who feel the Spirit's pleadings must become teachable and yield the stubborn will, for the life record must be met in judgment.
Those thus broken receive truth inwardly and understand its sacred character, while those who keep it only as theory do not understand it and reject the laid foundation for one of their own devising. The broken soul becomes a learner with room for the Word to enter, sees and practices Christ's teachings differently, comprehends and studies them as treasure, and shows His power visibly so others recognize it in the heart. They are made vessels fit for honor, fit for service, freed from corrupting influences, gathered in His everlasting arms, given tender sympathy for the erring and delight in obedience, and restored to love, prayer, and spiritual sight. Thorough change of the whole heart, entire cleansing, breaking from the accuser by confessing heeded suggestions, refusing them further, resisting the tempter, and drawing near to God, with repentance, confession, forsaking sin, and welcoming Christ within, brings reverent worship, order, unity of love, tenderness, and the putting away of malice, faultfinding, bitterness, and evil speaking.
Those in responsible places, positions of trust, and ministers must fall on the Rock and be broken by repentance, giving up self-sufficiency, self-satisfaction, selfishness, neglect of duty, and independence. So the Lord can make them vessels of honor, cleanse and sanctify them to receive life and salvation, let Jesus abide by faith, and reveal further truth to searchers. Controlling, condemning judges who exalt their ideas, follow Rome's path, rule God's heritage, and condemn what God uses must receive converting power for self-knowledge and knowledge of duty and workings, so they no longer rule fellow men. Those who stubbornly persist in sin and selfish independence, even after long misuse of grace, face God's wrath, though He still accepts a genuinely broken heart in wholly repentant confession.
The call presses on the Laodiceans, on the church in America, and on all who feel rich, whole, and without need, hold truth only as theory, or trust human wisdom. They must recognize need, take hold of Christ's righteousness, lay aside selfish pride, turn from leaving first love, and make decided changes before God and His people. Otherwise they reject the laid foundation for one of their own devising, remain full of supposed wisdom with no place for the Word, and see Christ's teachings only dimly as nice but not necessary. Nominal faith does not unite to Him, and the word spoken to one definite case applies to many in the same condition who do not see the message applies to them.
Breaking self comes through discipline of the mind: controlling impulse and uncontrollable thoughts, subduing self, training the will to submit, bringing the unyielding spirit into subjection to God's will and obedience to the principles of His law. It is learning daily in Christ's school meekness and lowliness of heart, wearing His yoke, lifting His burdens, denying inclination, and sacrificing seeming present good and personal advantage for future and general good. Then content, happiness, peace, and rest spring up, with the mind of Christ, good example, and tender faithful care beginning in the home instead of lording authority. Without this breaking self is cherished, the trouble stays within with unrest, impatience, and unhappiness, blocking usefulness, true happiness, faith, and the future life.
The humbling must be done in view of what is soon to come upon the earth and the day of the Lord's anger, letting self break in pieces before God, walking in all meekness and lowliness with a humble heart though hard to do. To the humble Jesus speaks, His everlasting arms encircle them, and He will not leave them to perish by the wicked. It means taking the right position before Christ rather than avoiding consequences by one's own plan, bending the proud will, seeking the Lord wholeheartedly with humble weeping confession so He puts His mold and light and love within, surrendering hatred and unjust feelings while the Spirit exposes and removes sin. It means retracing wrong steps at once rather than dragging others into darkness, and turning from pursuits that make eternal things secondary; refusing to confess and repent leaves sins charged in the books of record to be revealed at judgment, including secret sins and thoughts, leaves people blind, hard-hearted, spiritually insensitive, hindering another's faith and imperiling both souls, encouraging unbelief as stumbling blocks, and risking removal of the candlestick and great darkness.
Falling means coming with a heart broken in repentance and confession over putting the Saviour to shame, yielding the stubborn will rather than following rebellious Israel, humbling self under God's mighty hand, and turning to Jesus rather than letting pride and self-will bar salvation. There is still hope and saving help for the broken cry for mercy, and the softened, subdued, humbled heart that acknowledges error can be converted. Those who refuse remain spiritually lifeless without fruits of conversion, stay proud and unconvicted, grieve away the Spirit of truth into darkness, meet their life record in judgment, and, like gold tested in fire, are consumed as dross if Christ's image is not formed in them. Meeting the Rock without yielding brings ruin unless the person is broken, melted, and softened through surrender.
Crushed by Falling Stone
Whoever trips over Christ the rejected stone is broken, but those on whom the stone falls are crushed completely and ground to powder. The stone is Christ, the stone rejected by the builders that was made the cornerstone and head of the corner, the foundation of the Christian church. The image warns of the consequences of rejecting Christ, for rejecting the stone brings judgment and complete destruction. In the vineyard parable the Jewish nation's contemptuous and cruel treatment of God's servants and its killing of the beloved Son lead to the vineyard being taken away and to severe punishment. The Pharisees recognized that Jesus had identified them as those whose sentence they themselves pronounced, and the kingdom would be taken from those who rejected Him and given to an obedient, fruit-producing people.
Those who fall on the Rock and are broken are humbled, while those who refuse this and persist in a selfish, unchristlike course will be crushed when the Rock falls on them. The stone's falling on a person shows its power to bring judgment. Christ, rejected and treated with abuse, will rise in life and power as judge, and those who reject Him and refuse God's grace will be crushed by His judgments. That warning applies not only to the Jews but to all the wicked, while those who fall upon Him find their guilty hearts given relief in Him.
Falling on the Rock is the sinner's only hope, requiring facing peril and being broken through a transforming work of the heart in repentance, confession, conversion and new birth in this life. If he does not fall on the Rock, it will fall on him and break him beyond remedy, bringing destruction, eternal loss, perishing in an evil way, and hopelessness. Meeting the Rock without yielding brings ruin, leaving the person on a false path, spiritually lifeless, bearing his own sins and responsibility instead of letting Christ bear them, like a strange vine gathered and burned. The required breaking is being lifted up, out and away from self, refined by purifying fire to consume dross and tin, softened in temper, self-controlled, transformed by the Spirit, digging deep to lay a sure foundation that stands the floods of temptation and the devices of the enemy. It means becoming teachable and yielding the stubborn will rather than continuing on the path of rebellious Israel, surrendering hatred and unjust feelings to God and accepting the Spirit's work of exposing and removing sin, so that while mercy remains Jesus can build the person into His likeness.
Willing brokenness now escapes being ground to powder when the Rock falls on the unbroken later, by sanctifying heart and mind, breaking away from past neglect of duty, giving up cold Pharisaism toward neighbors, and working for souls with kindness that wins them to Christ. The appeal is therefore to yield while the Spirit moves, to humble oneself and be spiritually changed before it is too late, rather than persist in deception, false pretenses, half-heartedness and cherished wrong spirits. Falling upon the Rock is repenting and being broken and being born again, with self dying so that only Christ's grace can make the heart tender, and it must be done speedily and humbly before God rather than facing the coming day of the Lord's anger, for probation will soon close. Those who are now first but have been untrue to the cause of God will soon be last unless they fall upon the Rock and be broken, for if they do not the wrong spirit they have cherished will continue to be cherished and they will not recognize mercy's sweet voice. Refusing leaves pride unbroken to meet the Rock as judge, with sins still charged in the books of record to be revealed at the judgment, including sins committed in secret and the thoughts of the heart.
The stone is Christ, the stone rejected by the builders and made the cornerstone and sure foundation laid by God Himself for His church. The saying was spoken in the parable of the vineyard against the priests and teachers of the Jewish nation for robbing God of fruit and turning the people from Christ, with the kingdom to be taken from them and given to a fruit-bearing people, yet the warning reaches all the wicked and the church today. To fall upon the stone and be broken is to come to Christ now in humility, repentance, confession, conversion and dying to self, which is the sinner's only hope before probation closes. What is broken is self in all its forms — pride, self-righteousness, stubborn will and evil traits — yielded so God can soften, mold and change the person into Christ's likeness and make him a vessel fit for service and peace. Whoever refuses to be thus broken now will meet the Rock unyielding, and when it falls it will crush him in judgment beyond remedy to destruction and eternal loss.
The Stone Identified
The stone is Christ, the stone rejected by the builders that was made the cornerstone and the head of the corner. He is the foundation of the Christian church, not Peter, the same tried, precious cornerstone and sure foundation laid in Zion, the same rock on which Christ builds His church. Those who stumble against Him are broken, while those on whom the stone falls are crushed and brought to complete destruction.
He is the foundation stone chosen and laid by God Himself, a sure and tried stone able to endure the burdens and griefs of the whole world. Falling upon that stone means coming to Christ broken, casting burdens and guilty hearts upon Him. He bears whatever is cast upon Him, gives relief to the guilty, and never disappoints those who trust in Him.
He Himself bore every test, stood in the wilderness of temptation under the pressure of Adam's guilt and that of his posterity, and came off more than conqueror over the powers of evil. Building upon this stone and making Him the foundation therefore gives perfect safety, security, and rest. He is the secure foundation and chief cornerstone, and those joined to Him become living stones.
Self-improvement without connection to Christ cannot make a person a living stone, and those not fixed to Him will collapse when trials come.
Vineyard Parable and Israel
The saying belongs to the parable of the vineyard, whose guilty husbandmen are the priests and teachers of the Jewish nation. Their guilt was refusing to return to the Lord the fruit of His vineyard, robbing God of the service He claims by misleading the people and turning the nation away from Christ. They set human teaching and man-made commandments above the Word of God, presenting human tradition as the standard instead of the law of God unmixed with tradition as the great standard of obedience, and when Christ came presenting the claims of God they denied His right to stand between them and the people. They refused His rebukes and warnings, would not sacrifice pride of reason and praise of men for truth, and set themselves to turn the people against Him and to compass His destruction, and for the rejection of Christ and the results that followed they are responsible, for a nation's sin and a nation's ruin are due to its religious leaders.
The Jewish nation's contemptuous and cruel treatment of God's servants and its killing of the beloved Son bring severe punishment and the vineyard taken away. The Pharisees recognized that Jesus had identified them as those whose sentence they themselves pronounced. The kingdom is taken from those who rejected Him and given to those who obey its Ruler, to a people who produce its fruits.
The warning applies not only to the Jews but to all the wicked. The parable of the vineyard applies not alone to the Jewish nation but has a lesson for the church in this generation. God has endowed the church today with great privileges and blessings, and He expects corresponding returns.
Those who refuse Christ as Redeemer share the fate of the unbelieving Jews, and the stone's falling upon them pictures their punishment and ruin. The only safety is to build on Christ the right foundation, for hopes built on untested foundations will collapse.
Falling and Being Broken
Falling on the Rock, Christ, and being broken means coming to Him in humility and being broken in heart and character through repentance, confession, conversion, new birth, and dying to self. It is the sinner's only hope, to face peril and undergo a transforming work of the heart, and it must be done now and speedily, before it is too late, before probation closes and before the day of the Lord's anger. Those who regard themselves as whole must submit so He can soften and change them into His likeness, rather than remain controlled by an unchristian spirit. Those now first but untrue will soon be last unless they fall and be broken, for otherwise the cherished wrong spirit continues and mercy's voice is not recognized.
What is broken is self in all its forms: pride, self-righteousness, stubborn will, self-sufficiency, self-esteem, self-importance, cold Pharisaism, evil traits, and old, inherited or cultivated habits and traits. The surrendered will, temper, thoughts, and impulses are yielded so God can soften, melt, refine as by fire to consume dross, mold, shape, and change the person into Christ's likeness and image. This willing brokenness prepares the heart for the Holy Spirit and the fullness of God, gives self-control, comfort, and peace, lays a sure foundation that stands temptation, and enables sanctified work for souls with winning kindness; refusing leaves the heart hard, resistant, dishonored, and without peace. Unless self is broken God cannot place His mold upon the person, and truth must not be reshaped to fit faults but the life shaped by accepting correction, recognizing error, and giving up self-will.
Breaking comes when the truth of God's Word reaches the heart through the Holy Spirit, not by merely hearing or knowing words. It comes through dread of sin and recognizing no righteousness of one's own, through coming as a little child in prayer, humbling self under God's mighty hand, with childlike humility, faith in forgiving love, sorrow and tears, and retracing wrong steps at once instead of persisting and dragging others into darkness. It comes by letting truth break the surrendered soul so the Spirit takes possession and shapes life after the divine Pattern, by yielding while He moves rather than persisting in deception, false pretenses, and resistance like rebellious Israel. Those who feel the Spirit's pleadings must become teachable and yield the stubborn will, for the life record must be met in judgment.
Those thus broken receive truth inwardly and understand its sacred character, while those who keep it only as theory do not understand it and reject the laid foundation for one of their own devising. The broken soul becomes a learner with room for the Word to enter, sees and practices Christ's teachings differently, comprehends and studies them as treasure, and shows His power visibly so others recognize it in the heart. They are made vessels fit for honor, fit for service, freed from corrupting influences, gathered in His everlasting arms, given tender sympathy for the erring and delight in obedience, and restored to love, prayer, and spiritual sight. Thorough change of the whole heart, entire cleansing, breaking from the accuser by confessing heeded suggestions, refusing them further, resisting the tempter, and drawing near to God, with repentance, confession, forsaking sin, and welcoming Christ within, brings reverent worship, order, unity of love, tenderness, and the putting away of malice, faultfinding, bitterness, and evil speaking.
Those in responsible places, positions of trust, and ministers must fall on the Rock and be broken by repentance, giving up self-sufficiency, self-satisfaction, selfishness, neglect of duty, and independence. So the Lord can make them vessels of honor, cleanse and sanctify them to receive life and salvation, let Jesus abide by faith, and reveal further truth to searchers. Controlling, condemning judges who exalt their ideas, follow Rome's path, rule God's heritage, and condemn what God uses must receive converting power for self-knowledge and knowledge of duty and workings, so they no longer rule fellow men. Those who stubbornly persist in sin and selfish independence, even after long misuse of grace, face God's wrath, though He still accepts a genuinely broken heart in wholly repentant confession.
The call presses on the Laodiceans, on the church in America, and on all who feel rich, whole, and without need, hold truth only as theory, or trust human wisdom. They must recognize need, take hold of Christ's righteousness, lay aside selfish pride, turn from leaving first love, and make decided changes before God and His people. Otherwise they reject the laid foundation for one of their own devising, remain full of supposed wisdom with no place for the Word, and see Christ's teachings only dimly as nice but not necessary. Nominal faith does not unite to Him, and the word spoken to one definite case applies to many in the same condition who do not see the message applies to them.
Breaking self comes through discipline of the mind: controlling impulse and uncontrollable thoughts, subduing self, training the will to submit, bringing the unyielding spirit into subjection to God's will and obedience to the principles of His law. It is learning daily in Christ's school meekness and lowliness of heart, wearing His yoke, lifting His burdens, denying inclination, and sacrificing seeming present good and personal advantage for future and general good. Then content, happiness, peace, and rest spring up, with the mind of Christ, good example, and tender faithful care beginning in the home instead of lording authority. Without this breaking self is cherished, the trouble stays within with unrest, impatience, and unhappiness, blocking usefulness, true happiness, faith, and the future life.
The humbling must be done in view of what is soon to come upon the earth and the day of the Lord's anger, letting self break in pieces before God, walking in all meekness and lowliness with a humble heart though hard to do. To the humble Jesus speaks, His everlasting arms encircle them, and He will not leave them to perish by the wicked. It means taking the right position before Christ rather than avoiding consequences by one's own plan, bending the proud will, seeking the Lord wholeheartedly with humble weeping confession so He puts His mold and light and love within, surrendering hatred and unjust feelings while the Spirit exposes and removes sin. It means retracing wrong steps at once rather than dragging others into darkness, and turning from pursuits that make eternal things secondary; refusing to confess and repent leaves sins charged in the books of record to be revealed at judgment, including secret sins and thoughts, leaves people blind, hard-hearted, spiritually insensitive, hindering another's faith and imperiling both souls, encouraging unbelief as stumbling blocks, and risking removal of the candlestick and great darkness.
Falling means coming with a heart broken in repentance and confession over putting the Saviour to shame, yielding the stubborn will rather than following rebellious Israel, humbling self under God's mighty hand, and turning to Jesus rather than letting pride and self-will bar salvation. There is still hope and saving help for the broken cry for mercy, and the softened, subdued, humbled heart that acknowledges error can be converted. Those who refuse remain spiritually lifeless without fruits of conversion, stay proud and unconvicted, grieve away the Spirit of truth into darkness, meet their life record in judgment, and, like gold tested in fire, are consumed as dross if Christ's image is not formed in them. Meeting the Rock without yielding brings ruin unless the person is broken, melted, and softened through surrender.
Crushed by Falling Stone
Whoever trips over Christ the rejected stone is broken, but those on whom the stone falls are crushed completely and ground to powder. The stone is Christ, the stone rejected by the builders that was made the cornerstone and head of the corner, the foundation of the Christian church. The image warns of the consequences of rejecting Christ, for rejecting the stone brings judgment and complete destruction. In the vineyard parable the Jewish nation's contemptuous and cruel treatment of God's servants and its killing of the beloved Son lead to the vineyard being taken away and to severe punishment. The Pharisees recognized that Jesus had identified them as those whose sentence they themselves pronounced, and the kingdom would be taken from those who rejected Him and given to an obedient, fruit-producing people.
Those who fall on the Rock and are broken are humbled, while those who refuse this and persist in a selfish, unchristlike course will be crushed when the Rock falls on them. The stone's falling on a person shows its power to bring judgment. Christ, rejected and treated with abuse, will rise in life and power as judge, and those who reject Him and refuse God's grace will be crushed by His judgments. That warning applies not only to the Jews but to all the wicked, while those who fall upon Him find their guilty hearts given relief in Him.
Falling on the Rock is the sinner's only hope, requiring facing peril and being broken through a transforming work of the heart in repentance, confession, conversion and new birth in this life. If he does not fall on the Rock, it will fall on him and break him beyond remedy, bringing destruction, eternal loss, perishing in an evil way, and hopelessness. Meeting the Rock without yielding brings ruin, leaving the person on a false path, spiritually lifeless, bearing his own sins and responsibility instead of letting Christ bear them, like a strange vine gathered and burned. The required breaking is being lifted up, out and away from self, refined by purifying fire to consume dross and tin, softened in temper, self-controlled, transformed by the Spirit, digging deep to lay a sure foundation that stands the floods of temptation and the devices of the enemy. It means becoming teachable and yielding the stubborn will rather than continuing on the path of rebellious Israel, surrendering hatred and unjust feelings to God and accepting the Spirit's work of exposing and removing sin, so that while mercy remains Jesus can build the person into His likeness.
Willing brokenness now escapes being ground to powder when the Rock falls on the unbroken later, by sanctifying heart and mind, breaking away from past neglect of duty, giving up cold Pharisaism toward neighbors, and working for souls with kindness that wins them to Christ. The appeal is therefore to yield while the Spirit moves, to humble oneself and be spiritually changed before it is too late, rather than persist in deception, false pretenses, half-heartedness and cherished wrong spirits. Falling upon the Rock is repenting and being broken and being born again, with self dying so that only Christ's grace can make the heart tender, and it must be done speedily and humbly before God rather than facing the coming day of the Lord's anger, for probation will soon close. Those who are now first but have been untrue to the cause of God will soon be last unless they fall upon the Rock and be broken, for if they do not the wrong spirit they have cherished will continue to be cherished and they will not recognize mercy's sweet voice. Refusing leaves pride unbroken to meet the Rock as judge, with sins still charged in the books of record to be revealed at the judgment, including sins committed in secret and the thoughts of the heart.