Luke 7:18-23. The Stone the Builders Rejected!
Jesus and John the Baptist
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Reflection:
John the Baptist was a great prophet like they had never seen before, but he was still human. He still wondered if Jesus was the true Messiah. So instead of going to Jesus himself, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus. A prophet had messengers, who often communicated the prophet's message, but in this case John might have been a little fearful of asking Jesus himself. So his men ask Jesus his question. Instead of being offended by the question, Jesus gives them a direct answer.
How does he answer their question? He replies by saying, judge this question by the works I am doing. And this is what they have not only seen but heard. Meaning these things were not happening in isolation. Probably more important is the connection between what Jesus is doing and the prophecies in both Isaiah 35:5 and Isaiah 61:1. What he is doing is exactly what the prophet had predicted. Any of the Jews who had read and heard these portions read in the synagogue on the Sabbath, should not have missed the significance in their fulfillment by Jesus.
But Jesus ends on an ominous note. He says, "Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me". This is a little difficult to understand what Jesus is saying here. Usually when Jesus says "blessed are", it is the result of putting into practice something Jesus has done. But here blessedness comes from not stumbling because of who Jesus is. Another verse in Matthew 21:42, which is repeated by Peter in Acts 4:11 says, "the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone". In ancient building practices, the cornerstone was the largest, most solid, most well constructed stone upon which the whole building was built. Later in Ephesians 2:19-21, Paul will use this metaphor to describe the church, with Jesus being the cornerstone the apostles and prophets building the foundation upon it."
So what then does this mean given the extensive use of this metaphor in the bible? It means that if they reject what Jesus is saying and doing, they will miss the key to building God's kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. If they reject Jesus, they reject the cornerstone and the whole building will fall. And as we will see, God will go to other builders who will build on the true foundation of Jesus as the Messiah.
So a good question for we who seek to continue to build on the foundation of Jesus, is to ask how are we tempted to build on a different foundation? Have we substituted anything for Jesus? Jesus can become a stumbling block because it causes us to rely completely on him and give him credit for the work that is done. Our temptation in the flesh is to try and build our own projects, but without the right cornerstone that building will be built on the wrong foundation. We know what happens to buildings without a good foundation in times of stress. But the Good News is as we build on Jesus we can be assured that our foundation is rock solid and will endure forever.
18 John’s disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, “John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’”
21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 23 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”
Reflection:
John the Baptist was a great prophet like they had never seen before, but he was still human. He still wondered if Jesus was the true Messiah. So instead of going to Jesus himself, he sent two of his disciples to Jesus. A prophet had messengers, who often communicated the prophet's message, but in this case John might have been a little fearful of asking Jesus himself. So his men ask Jesus his question. Instead of being offended by the question, Jesus gives them a direct answer.
How does he answer their question? He replies by saying, judge this question by the works I am doing. And this is what they have not only seen but heard. Meaning these things were not happening in isolation. Probably more important is the connection between what Jesus is doing and the prophecies in both Isaiah 35:5 and Isaiah 61:1. What he is doing is exactly what the prophet had predicted. Any of the Jews who had read and heard these portions read in the synagogue on the Sabbath, should not have missed the significance in their fulfillment by Jesus.
But Jesus ends on an ominous note. He says, "Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me". This is a little difficult to understand what Jesus is saying here. Usually when Jesus says "blessed are", it is the result of putting into practice something Jesus has done. But here blessedness comes from not stumbling because of who Jesus is. Another verse in Matthew 21:42, which is repeated by Peter in Acts 4:11 says, "the stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone". In ancient building practices, the cornerstone was the largest, most solid, most well constructed stone upon which the whole building was built. Later in Ephesians 2:19-21, Paul will use this metaphor to describe the church, with Jesus being the cornerstone the apostles and prophets building the foundation upon it."
So what then does this mean given the extensive use of this metaphor in the bible? It means that if they reject what Jesus is saying and doing, they will miss the key to building God's kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. If they reject Jesus, they reject the cornerstone and the whole building will fall. And as we will see, God will go to other builders who will build on the true foundation of Jesus as the Messiah.
So a good question for we who seek to continue to build on the foundation of Jesus, is to ask how are we tempted to build on a different foundation? Have we substituted anything for Jesus? Jesus can become a stumbling block because it causes us to rely completely on him and give him credit for the work that is done. Our temptation in the flesh is to try and build our own projects, but without the right cornerstone that building will be built on the wrong foundation. We know what happens to buildings without a good foundation in times of stress. But the Good News is as we build on Jesus we can be assured that our foundation is rock solid and will endure forever.
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