The last part of verse 44 says, “But on whomever it falls, it shall scatter him as chaff.” This refers to the nations which Christ will smite at His coming back (Dan. 2:34-35). To the believers, Christ is the foundation stone in whom they trust (Isa. 28:16); to the unbelieving Jews, He is the stumbling stone (Isa. 8:14; Rom. 9:33); and to the nations, He will be the smiting stone.
At the end of this parable, the Lord Jesus not only indicated that the kingdom would be taken from Israel and given to the church; He also referred to God’s building. Very few Christians today are clear about God’s building. Although you may have been in Christianity for years and may have heard that Christ was the Son of God, the Savior, the Redeemer, and perhaps even your life, you probably never heard that Christ is also God’s building stone. As we have pointed out, He was the stone rejected by the builders. The Jewish leaders must have been shocked to hear that Christ was a stone. In talking with them concerning the vineyard, indicating thereby that He was the son of the owner of the vineyard, Christ eventually referred to Himself as the stone rejected by the builders. Today, hardly any Christians have the concept that our Savior is a stone for God’s building.
In Acts 4:10 and 11 Peter referred to Jesus Christ of Nazareth as the stone rejected by the builders. Then in verse 12 he said, “And there is no salvation in any other; for neither is there another name under heaven given among men in which we must be saved.” Christians often use Acts 4:12 in preaching the gospel, but rarely, if ever, do they tell people that Christ is not only the Savior but also the stone. That our Savior is a stone reveals the fact that God’s salvation is for God’s building. The Savior is related to salvation, and the stone is related to building. But today’s Christians have not seen this matter adequately. God’s intention on earth is not simply to have a vineyard—it is to have a building. In the ancient times the nation of Israel was a vineyard; however, today the church is not merely a vineyard, but also a building. The church is a farm that produces materials for God’s building (1 Cor. 3:9). Whatever this farm grows is for the building. Although this matter has been missed by both Jews and Christians, the light has come to us in these last days so that this truth may be recovered. We have come to know that Christ is not only the Savior, but also the stone.
In the life-study of Revelation, we saw that Christ is the Lion-Lamb-stone. He is the Lion for victory, the Lamb for redemption, and the stone for building. In a sense, both Jews and Christians see the matter of redemption. However, they have not progressed to see the building. Christians today simply do not realize that Christ is a stone. In verse 42 the Lord said that the stone, not the Savior, would be rejected by the builders. Eventually, in resurrection, this rejected stone became the cornerstone. This is seen clearly in Acts 4, a chapter dealing with the resurrection of Christ.
The cornerstone is the stone that joins the walls. As the cornerstone, Christ connects the Jews and the Gentiles. Through Christ as the cornerstone the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers are brought together as one building for God. Thus, Christ is not only the foundation stone to support the building, but also the cornerstone to join the two main walls.
In verse 44 we see that Christ is not only the building stone, but also the stumbling stone. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. In Romans 9:32 Paul says that the Jews “stumbled at the Stone of stumbling.” The Jews that have rejected the Lord Jesus have fallen upon this stone and have been broken to pieces.
In verse 44 the Lord also says that this stone will fall on certain ones and scatter them as chaff. Thus, the Lord is also a smiting and scattering stone to the Gentiles. Daniel 2:34 and 35 say, “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 threshingfloors.” These verses indicate that when Christ comes the second time, He will be a stone cut without hands falling from the heavens upon the great image. Daniel 2:35 also says, “The stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” The great image signifies the worldly powers from Babylon down to the ten kingdoms of the restored Roman Empire, which will exist at the time of Christ’s coming back. Christ will be the smiting stone that will scatter all the broken nations as chaff. Then He will become a great mountain, that is, the kingdom of God on earth.
Therefore, Christ is a stone to three categories of people: for the believers, He is the building stone; for the rejecting Jews, He is the stumbling stone; and for the Gentiles, He is the smiting stone. If you believe in Him, He will be to you the building stone. If you are a Jew and reject Him and are stumbled by Him, you will experience Him as the stumbling stone and be broken to pieces. If you are an unbelieving Gentile fighting against God, you will know Him one day as the smiting stone, for He will smite you and scatter you like chaff driven by the wind.
As a believer, Christ to you is a building stone. But how much building have you actually experienced? Although we are believers and although Christ is the building stone, we may not have very much building. Some genuine believers have even stumbled at Christ. On the one hand, they believe in Christ; but on the other hand, they say that they cannot take the way of Christ, and they shake their head at Him. In other words, they were stumbled at Him. Thus, instead of being built up by Christ, they have been stumbled by Him. Furthermore, some true believers have been smitten by Christ and blown away like chaff. It is rare to find genuine believers who are truly being built together. Such a building cannot be found in today’s Christianity. If you look for it in Catholicism, you will find abominations and fornication instead of building. Neither can the building be found in the denominations. On the contrary, today’s Christianity is full of stumbling and breaking. Yes, many have been brought to the Lord in Catholicism and in the denominations. But after they were brought to the Lord, they were spoiled. Instead of being built, they were stumbled or smitten.
We need to examine ourselves and ask how much of the building there is among us. Matthew was the only one among the four writers of the Gospels to give us a clear record of Christ as the stone. His record is complete. In no other portion of the Bible can we find Christ presented as a stone in three aspects: the building stone, the stumbling stone, and the smiting stone. All three aspects are found in Matthew for the kingdom.
The church is the life-pulse of the kingdom. This means that just as the body dies when the pulse stops, so the kingdom is wholly dependent upon the church. The church, in turn, is completely dependent upon the building. If there is no building, there is no practical church life. The church life is not simply a matter of meeting together or of having a little fellowship. In whatever locality we are, we need to be builded. For this, we must enjoy and experience our Christ as the stone. He is not only the foundation stone that bears us up, but also the cornerstone that joins us together. In Him and through Him we are built together.
Apart from such a building the church is vain, and without the church the kingdom has no life. The church is the kingdom life, and the reality of the church is the building. How we need to experience Christ as the building stone! He is the building element, the building life. Christ is life to us not only for victory, but all the more for building. The inner life people have spoken a great deal about Christ as the victorious life. But I never heard any one of them give a message saying that Christ is the building life. He is not only the victorious life, but also the building life. If you simply experience victory through Christ as life, your experience is not yet adequate. You must go on to experience the building life of Christ. Ultimately, Christ as life within us is for God’s building. You may be victorious, but still not be built. We need to be built. When we are built, we shall have the reality of the church life, and the church will be the life-pulse of the kingdom. Then the kingdom will be here in actuality.
To repeat, the actuality of the kingdom is the church, and the reality of the church is the building. In other words, the kingdom depends upon the church, and the church depends upon the building. We need to consider to what extent we have experienced Christ as the building stone. I believe that in the days to come the Lord will show us much more concerning the building. This building is closely related to the new man. On the one hand, the new man has been created, but on the other hand, the new man is being built. In order to have this new man, we need to experience Christ as the building stone.
After such a marvelous revelation, the Jewish leaders sought to seize the heavenly King that they might kill Him (vv. 45-46). This indicated that they, as the builders, fully rejected Christ as God’s building stone.