Matthew 21:42-46
New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away
from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He
who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will
be crushed.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard
Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They
looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the
people held that He was a prophet.
Verse 44 of
this passage stood out to me.
When I read this verse I thought to myself that I would rather fall on
the capstone of Jesus Christ and be broken for Him than to be crushed
underneath it and destroyed. Looking at
Psalm 51:17 we are told,
“17 The
sacrifices of God are a
broken spirit;
a broken and
contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
O God, you will not despise.
God does
not want our sacrifices of time, money or energy, He wants our sacrifice of a
broken spirit. When we have a broken
spirit we realize that we are not all that important, that our ways are not
always the best ways. We realize that
God is a an Almighty God who left His throne in order to sacrifice Himself as
the sacrificial Lamb for us We realize
that there is nothing that we can do to change but that it is through the work
of His hands and His hands only that we are even in existence. In other words, we put life into
perspective. When we do that it I easier
to look at someone and say, I forgive you or to accept the forgiveness of
someone else. The baggage we carry in this life suddenly becomes lighter
because we know that He is carrying it for us.
I would rather be crucified with Christ because I know of His
resurrection power than to be crushed by His heel, destroyed by His just
judgment.
When we are broken for Christ it allows the
Holy Spirit to come and dwell within us to make us a changed person. It is not by our own power, it is not our
will, it is not our conscience, that makes that change, it is the work of the
Holy Spirit. Do you have room in your
life for the Holy Spirit? Or are you
trying to be strong in your own strength?
We cannot say that we are a follower of Christ, yet, be unwilling to
forfeit your spirit and be broken for Him, and try to continue to do things by
our own strength. We need to fall down
onto the rock of salvation and be broken for Him. There are two types of people in
this world, either the ones have been broken for Christ or those who have
not. Those who have not will be crushed.
The Lord
has done this and as the verse says, “it is marvelous in our eyes”. The Pharisees knew that Jesus was talking
about them and they were not the least bit happy about it and did not heed the
calling. What about you? Are you being broken or are you being
crushed?
As you
seek Him may you find joy, peace, and contentment in being broken for Christ.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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