Luke Bible Study, Day 32
Today’s passage: Luke 20
Focus verse:“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (Luke 20:18)
The twentieth chapter of Luke has five segments that all relate—to one degree or another—to the religious leaders. The tone is critical. Most scathing is Jesus’s parable of the tenants.
It tells of a man who plants a vineyard and rents it out. At the end of the season, he sends his representative to receive his share of the harvest.
The tenants send the man away empty-handed. Each subsequent representative is mistreated. At last, the farmer sends his son. Surely the tenants will respect him.
They don’t. They kill him. For their repeated crimes, they receive punishment. He kills them and rents the vineyard out to others.
This parable implicates the nation of Israel, in general, and the religious leaders specifically.
Jesus next quotes a prophetic psalm to them: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). He is the cornerstone. We get that. But what follows is a bit confusing.
Jesus goes on to say anyone who falls on the stone will be broken, while those it falls upon will be crushed. Both outcomes are bad. Is there no hope?
Metaphorically, if we don’t look where we’re going, we’ll trip over Jesus. We’ll be broken. This implies ignorance.
Alternately, the stone will roll over the aloof people and crush them. This implies arrogance.
The alternative is to neither ignore nor dismiss Jesus. Instead, we should follow him. He is, after all, the cornerstone—the foundational element on which the whole building is constructed.
With him as our cornerstone, we are secure.
In the book of Acts, Peter and John are arrested for healing a lame man. They’re brought before the religious leaders who want to know how Peter and John did this.
Peter repeats Jesus’s teaching about being the cornerstone the builders rejected. The disciple then declares, “Salvation comes from no one else or in any other name” (Acts 4:7-12).
Peter must really like this imagery, because he’ll use it again.
This time it’s in his first letter to Jesus’s church. Peter reprises what the Teacher says about being the cornerstone. Then Peter expands on it, calling Jesus the living Stone.
As his followers, we’re likewise his living stones. We’re built into his spiritual house (as in his temple). There we are to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to him.
Peter continues. We are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God’s special possession. As such, we’re to shine his light into the darkness (1 Peter 2:4–10).
Questions:
- How do we respond to Jesus as the cornerstone?
- What do we think about being living stones built into a spiritual house as a royal priesthood?
[Discover another related Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah 8:14–15.]
Read the next lesson or start at the beginning of this study.
Tips: Check out our tips to use this online Bible study for your church, small group, Sunday school class, or family discussion. It’s also ideal for personal study. Come back each Monday for a new lesson.
Read more about the book of Luke in Dear Theophilus: A 40-Day Devotional Exploring the Life of Jesus through the Gospel of Luke, now available in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.