“Jesus answering said unto them [John’s two disciples], Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me” (Lk. 7:22-23).
Jesus proved he was the Messiah by fulfilling Isaiah’s Messianic prophecies. He healed those with physical impairments and preached the gospel of Jubilee to the poor. These outward signs that he was the Messiah were enacted parables teaching different aspects of conversion.
The earlier articles in this series have dealt with these spiritual aspects underlying the healings of Christ. Those who would be freed from the bondage of death (dead raised) must be enlightened (the blind see), must be obedient (deaf hear), cleansed of their sins (lepers cleansed) and must walk with newness of life (lame walk). Moreover, they must believe the gospel, trusting God will fulfill His promises (gospel to poor).
The key test is a person’s attitude to Christ. To those who disobey the call, desire “wisdom” or are ensnared by the cares of this life, Christ becomes a stone of stumbling and rock of offense. But to those who accept God’s grace, believe it, repent and walk in His way, Christ is a foundation stone upon which they are built into a holy temple for the habitation of God.
In this article, we look at the last words of Jesus’ response to John: “Blessed is he, whosoever shall not find occasion of stumbling in me” (Lk. 7:23 RV).
God Lays a Stone in Zion
In his response to John’s disciples, Jesus is almost certainly alluding to the following two stone prophecies in Isaiah:
- “Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself; and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken” (Isa. 8:13-15; cp. 28:13).
- “Thus saith the LORD God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation; he that believeth shall not make haste” (Isa. 28:16).
The New Testament alludes to these two stones along with two other stones: - The corner stone that had been rejected by the builders: “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psa. 118:22-23).
- And the stone in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream: “Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2:34-35).
There are many important concepts in these passages. To some, the stone is “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense;” it is “refused.” The stone causes these people “to stumble, to fall, be broken, snared and taken,” it “breaks them in pieces,” grinding them into dust like “the chaff of the summer threshing floors.” To others, the stone is “a foundation stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation” becoming a “great mountain” [rock, RV].
Worshiping God or False Gods
These stone prophecies are connected to altars and the worship of the true God or false gods.
Altar made by Ahaz to false Assyrian god
II Kings 16 provides the historical background for Isaiah’s prophecies about the foundation stone and the stone of stumbling. King Ahaz made an alliance with the king of Assyria. As part of the alliance, Ahaz adopted Assyria’s religion.
Putting an altar for Assyria’s god in the temple of God, he found the altar of burnt offering overshadowed this foreign altar. Consequently, he moved the true altar from the foundation stone into a northern corner of the temple and moved the laver to the foundation stone. As a result of this maneuvering, the foundation stone had literally become a stumbling stone to those worshipping the false god.
In time, Hezekiah removed the false altar and put things back in their original places; in particular, he put the true altar back on the foundation stone. Thus the foundation stone in Zion was a stumbling stone and rock of offense to those who worshipped pagan idols, but it remained a precious foundation stone to worshipers of the God of Israel.1
Nebuchadnezzar’s image
The stone in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is an altar stone. It is “cut out of a mountain without hands” (Dan. 2:34,45) following the command, “If thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it” (Ex. 20:25). This altar stone smites the image at its feet and brakes it into pieces that are blown away like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors.
Breaking idols into pieces
Allusion to the breaking into pieces of the idols and the people who worship them recurs in these stone prophecies (Isa. 8:15; 28:13; Dan. 2:34,44). The allusion has its roots in the history of Israel.
Moses recounts his destruction of the golden calf in these words: “I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount” (Dt. 9:21).
In the reign of King Josiah: “They brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them” (II Chr. 34:4).
Christ uses the words against the Pharisees when explaining the parable of the husbandmen: “Jesus saith unto them [the chief priests and the Pharisees], Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the LORD’S doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder” (Mt. 21:42-44; cp. Psa. 118:22-23; Isa. 8:15; 28:13; Dan. 2:34-35).
Christ the Precious Foundation Stone
In particular, the stone prophecies refer to Christ as the altar and the sacrifice upon which salvation depends.
Christ crucified is that stone
Peter testifies before the rulers after healing the impotent man: “By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand before you whole. This is that stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12; cp. Psa. 11:22).
The cross was a stumblingblock
“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness…For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock…” (I Cor. 1:18, 21-25; cp. Gal. 5:11).
Belief in Christ the Key
Through his self-confidence, failure and recovery, Peter had learned a deep lesson. He describes our choices in his first epistle.
Jesus is a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God. Those who believe will not be confounded. To them Christ is precious. But to the disobedient, he is a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
Having heard the word, we make a choice — belief and obedience or no response. Not doing anything is an active decision. Our choice determines whether Christ is a precious corner stone to us or a stone of stumbling.
“Healed” by Christ
Every true believer has been “healed” by Christ. We were once blind, but now we see. We were lame, but now we walk. We were lepers, but now we are cleansed. We were deaf, but now we hear. We were dead, but now we live. We were poor, but now we are rich through the gospel. We were ashamed, but now we are saved by the precious foundation stone, even our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One