March 19, 2014
Zechariah 3:8, 9; Luke 20:17
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
We are looking at The Seven-Faceted Stone from Zechariah 3:8 and 3:9:
…behold, I will bring forth My servant the Branch….For behold, upon the
stone that I have set before Joshua, upon that one stone are seven eyes or
facets….Behold, I will carve upon it its inscription, says the LORD of hosts,
and I will remove the iniquity and guilt of this land in a single day….
This stone having seven facets represents our Lord Jesus Christ – and He is portrayed as a stone or rock in seven different ways in the New Testament. In Luke 20:17 and 18 He is seen in the first three: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone…. Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” We will examine the third facet after a quick review of the first two:
1. Jesus is “…the chief cornerstone…” in that He is the most important and first laid stone in the living temple God is building in which He is dwelling.
2. “Whoever falls on that stone will be broken….” No one can come to Jesus and accept Him into his or her heart and life without being broken! He or she is broken so that God can remold that one into the image of His Son.
3. “…on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” This is a frightening aspect of The Seven-Faceted Stone! You will either be broken upon “…the chief corner-stone…”, or you will be crushed under it! The first way is voluntary, the second is not. The idea of falling upon the stone may not sound voluntary, but Strong’s Concordance suggests that the Greek ‘pipto’ carries the idea of ‘alighting’ upon the stone. It is a voluntary landing upon Jesus Christ – allowing yourself to be broken upon Him!
Psalm 55:22 carries the same theme: “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” In the first phrase we are told to “Cast your burden on the LORD….” We might picture taking the weight we are carrying and flinging it upon Jesus. But in the next phrase, “…and He shall sustain you…,” shows the burden is YOU! US! I am the burden that needs to be cast upon Jesus!
The Lord invites us in Matthew 11:28 though 30 to:
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is
light.
We find in Mark 8:34 another invitation – a command, really: “…Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Again, taking up your cross means you are going out to die! The only thing that is to be put on the cross is YOU…not some burden you are carrying!
Now none of the Bible translations or commentaries that I researched go in the direction that I am suggesting. So I may be off base, here! But the idea behind what I will say is Biblically sound.
The commentaries say that being broken upon the Stone and crushed under it are the results of rejecting Jesus as “…the chief cornerstone….” I think the first is the voluntary throwing of oneself upon Jesus by faith – being broken because we are all broken sinners and we need to come to that conclusion if we are to accept Him as the only answer to our sin problem – our brokenness! Realizing that, we are broken upon the Stone so God can remake us into what He originally intended for us to be – stated in Genesis 1:26: “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness….” Jesus came to restore what Adam lost through sin! But our old sinful nature must be broken for God to fulfill His plan.
The only alternative to being voluntarily broken on the stone, Jesus Christ, is to be involuntarily crushed under it at the final judgment! What dreadful words to hear the Lord say, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels….” (Matthew 25:41). What total loss to see all that you have focused on – all upon which you have spent your life’s energies – burnt up in total loss! (see II Peter 3:10). Or, as Jesus put it, crushed into powder!
The terrifying impact of the judgment about to be experienced by those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is recorded in Revelation 6:15 through 17:
…the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the
mighty men, every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the
rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and
hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the
Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
…It is not a pleasant thought!
Now you have the choice! Then it will be too late! Choose to voluntarily be broken upon the Stone Christ Jesus before you are involuntarily crushed under it!