Matthew 21

"And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust." (Matt 21:44)

The Stone that is mentioned in this verse is Christ. But the question is, "What did Christ mean when He spoke this about Himself?"

When I first came across this verse, I couldn't discern the difference between the two people spoken of. Neither option seemed pleasant and both seemed to give the same result. But I have since realized that these two people are potentially at completely different ends of the theological spectrum.

Yesterday, our senior pastor returned to the pulpit having just returned from India where he was with a small group of men on missions there. He came back and preached a message out of Matt 9:25-28. He spoke of his experiences in India preaching and sharing the gospel, and you could tell that he really meant the words he spoke. He preached four points from the passage: See as Christ saw, Feel as Jesus felt, Pray as Christ prayed, and Act as Jesus acted (these are the BJ versions of those points).

You see, he had gone over to India, to a nation of over a billion people, where raw sewage ran down the streets, where they saw two dead bodies just lying out on the roadside, where the smog and smell were so grotesque that many leave just after arrival, and where a Christian witness is almost invisible. And the result? He was broken. It was such a far cry from Christ.

When we come to Christ, we must come broken. Repentance is the cornerstone of our faith. We realize our own sinfulness, and in light of His holiness and perfect standards, fall down upon the rock of Christ and seek Him for forgiveness and new life. I am convinced that if we come any other way, we have not truly come to Christ. And yet this broken experience is only the beginning of our humble walk with Christ. Time and time again we are broken by Christ, because of Christ, and for Christ. My senior pastor was able to once again be broken by that Wonderful Rock over the past two weeks. And that brokenness has not produced bitterness or dejection, but instead passion and excitement. When was the last time you were broken on account of Christ? In worship? In service? If it's been a while, maybe you ought to ask why.

But on the other end of the spectrum lies a group of people who, instead of falling upon the rock, are headed for a day when that Rock will instead fall upon them. It will shatter their pride and self-righteousness. It will scatter like dust their justifications and excuses for their rejection of God. It will fall upon them as the wrath of God, poured out against the unrighteous. It will produce judgment. What a scary reality that awaits them.

And it is for this reason that my pastor was so broken. No one should ever desire that any perish like this. Indeed God mourns over the loss of the wicked (Ezekiel 33:11 "Say to them, 'As I live!' declares the Lord GOD, 'I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways!") Christ gave my pastor the chance to see as He sees and feel as He feels, and it broke him.

How broken are you for the lost? Maybe the first question should be, have you personally fallen broken upon Christ for the forgiveness of your own sin? Or are you one who has never really repented and still faces the Rock, stepping moment by moment towards its crushing judgment?

It is the Rock that the world has rejected, yet His is the Cornerstone of all Creation. Where are you in relation to this Rock today?