Daily Writing

Monday, 10 August 2026

And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: Matthew 22:1

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And answering, the ‘Jesus’, again, He said in parables to them, saying,” (CG)

The previous verse finished Chapter 21, noting that when the chief priests and Pharisees wanted to lay hands on Jesus, they feared the multitudes because they took Him for a prophet. Chapter 22 begins with the words, “And answering, the ‘Jesus’, again.”

It appears that what is being introduced is either chronological or at least occurring at the same general time and location. The word “answer,” as has been seen already, does not necessarily mean a question was asked, and this is in response to it. Rather, Jesus has made an observation based on the final words of Chapter 21 –

“And having heard, the chief priests and the Pharisees, His parables, they knew that concerning them, He speaks. ⁴⁶And seeking Him to seize, they feared the crowds, since as ‘prophet’, Him, they held.”

The coming parable is given in response to Jesus’ observation of this situation. In this case, “He said in parables to them, saying…”

The use of the plural, parables, indicates an ongoing set of parables, not that He will speak more than one at this particular time. As for the parable itself, it has some similar points to the parable in Luke 14:15-24. However, they are quite different.

Because of this, scholars ridiculously debate which is the original “correct” one and which is a later amendment. Rather, as has already been seen in Matthew, Jesus uses overlapping information in His teachings, just as pastors do in their sermons. This shows consistency, not irregularity.

Likewise, it appears in Mark 12 that Jesus’ conversation with the leaders ends after the parable of the wicked vinedressers. That does not exclude there being another parable first. It is simply a fact that is stated to conclude Mark’s particular focus on the events.

Life application: Once we have something in our heads about a matter, we will spend our time focusing on ensuring what we believe will prove to be true.

If we are looking for fault in the person we are with, we may find it easily enough by making comparisons or suppositions that may be entirely unfounded. Instead of looking at the positive qualities of that person and the beauty of his or her being, we will look for reasons why he or she is somehow defective in our sight.

People who are told that a certain version of the Bible is the only true version will spend their time trying to justify that fact, even to the point of being unreasonable in their conclusions. Likewise, they will do everything possible to find errors in all other translations they are presented with when they do not align with the version they are sure must be correct.

Those who are looking for an answer to supposed faults in the Bible will look for an answer that accommodates faults. Those who look for an answer to differences in the Bible, while assuming it reflects God, who is perfect, will attempt to find a resolution to those differences that will not accommodate faults in the text.

However, because of this, it could be argued that those who do the latter are doing the same thing that the others are doing, just from a different perspective. Both are trying to meet an agenda that they have already established in their minds. And that may be true. But the premise of the second approach takes the nature of God into consideration. The first does not.

If there is a God, He will be perfect in Himself and in what He does. Therefore, it is more reasonable to look for the perfections in God’s word than any perceived imperfections. Man, of course, has been entrusted with God’s word, and so error may naturally be found in whatever man has done.

But the overall thought is that God is in control of His word in a manner that will allow us to weed out any such incorruption. Therefore, we should be reasonably assured that with diligent study, we can come closer and closer to the perfections of His word, thus eliminating the supposed imperfections that others have presented.

For a multitude of reasons, it is unrealistic to assume a single version of the Bible is the one and only “true” version. However, because God is perfect, it is reasonable to assume we can and should strive to understand His word as a book of perfection when rightly considered and researched. This is what we should strive for.

Lord God, grant us the wisdom to carefully and prayerfully consider Your word as we read it. May we look for the perfection in it that we know exists in You. As Your word is a reflection of You, we can be certain such perfection is there. Help us to have this attitude. Amen.

Sunday, 9 August 2026

A summary of Matthew Chapter 21.

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

To read the CG Translation on YouTube (Click Here), or at Rumble (Click Here).

Daniel also did a link concerning the connection between Matthew 21, the Book of Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah 21. That can be listened by (Clicking Here). His readable notes are (Click Here).

Chapter 17 revealed that there is a future for Israel in God’s redemptive plans. The main message of Chapter 18 was that childlike faith is required to enter into the kingdom. The final parable, that of the wicked servant, dealt with Israel’s rejection of Christ’s fulfillment of the law, showing that they would be delivered up until they entered the New Covenant. Chapter 19 took the reader through various topics to reveal what God prioritizes. The contrasts between law and faith were seen throughout the chapter.

Chapter 20 was a chapter filled with hints of the transition from the dispensation of the law to the dispensation of grace. It dealt with order and propriety concerning each step of the redemptive process to ensure that nothing is dealt with until the previous steps are completed.

It also presented the truth that God has made faith in what He has done the necessary condition. Nothing more can be added to it, and without meeting that one condition, there is no chance of obtaining access.

Chapter 21 continues that thought, but it deals specifically with the object of that faith, Jesus Christ. The chapter began with the details concerning Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. He came to Bethphage, the House of Unspiced Figs.

The fig pictures a spiritual connection to God. These being unspiced picture those who have not yet received their spiritual reconnection to God. Once spiced, the connection is made.

It was said to be at the Mount of Olives. A mountain typologically refers to a large but centralized group of people. The olive is a symbol of religious privilege. The picture anticipates those who will have the spiritual connection and who will become a part of receiving religious privilege through faith in Christ.

At Bethphage, Jesus directed two disciples to find the donkey with her colt tied at her side. As seen, the female donkey signifies permanence. She represents patient endurance. The colt signifies humanity, but being a colt that was unyoked, it signifies innocence concerning the yoke of sin. It is a picture of Christ, unstained by Adam’s sin, despite having come from the line of humanity.

Matthew noted that what occurred was fulfillment of prophecy, demonstrating that Jesus is the anticipated Messiah and that Scripture was being fulfilled in Him. The spreading of the garments was seen to be a recognition by the people of Jesus’ kingly status and authority.

But this kingly authority was acknowledged to be the fulfillment of the messianic promises to David. The people’s proclamation recognized this in the words “Hosanna! The ‘Son, David’.” It is Jesus who came in the name of Yehovah. Whether the people realized it or not, their words are the Bible’s confirmation that He is Yehovah incarnate.

When Jesus entered the temple, He drove out those who defiled it with their selling and exchanging money. After all the time of the law, the corruption of the people was never satisfactorily dealt with. Jesus’ cleansing of the temple proved it was so.

How could a corruptly run temple provide cleansing for the corruption of sin in the people? The answer is that it could not. It was only a shadow of what would be fully accomplished in Christ. That was confirmed in Jesus’ healing of the people in the temple.

The sin of the people could not be dealt with through the temple’s rites and rituals, but Jesus demonstrated that the consequences of sin could be dealt with through Him. And He demonstrated this while right at the temple complex. While He was doing these things, the children cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

When the leaders at the temple heard it, they were indignant. What did Jesus do? He cited Scripture, clearly implying that He is the fulfillment of what is recorded there. He is the purpose and point of the prophetic word. After that, Jesus went out to Bethany.

Various suggestions for the meaning of the name were given. Based on the surrounding context, it seems that House of Figs answers the imagery. Jesus left a place with an unacceptable spiritual connection to God because of its defilement and went to a place with a typological connection to God apart from that place.

That is then seen in the next verses where Jesus cursed the fig tree, saying that it would never bear fruit again. As seen, that was a picture of the temple, where He was heading, which was to lose its place as the point of mediation between God and man.

After that, the disciples were amazed at what took place concerning the fig. From there, Jesus’ words were precise –

“Answering, also, the ‘Jesus’, He said to them, ‘Amen, I say to you, if you should have faith, and not you should waver, not only the ‘the fig tree’ you will do, but and-if the ‘mountain, this’, you should say, ‘You be borne, and you be cast into the sea’, it will become. ²²And all, as much – if you should ask in the prayer, believing, you will receive.’”

As explained in those commentaries, the mountain is the mountain of the law, Horeb, which Paul says is the temple in Jerusalem. The prayer is the prayer of salvation, receiving Jesus, such as is indicated in Romans 10:9, 10 –

“…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

In receiving Jesus, the burden of the mountain of the law is forever removed from that person.

In verses 23-27, there was the question of John’s authority, where it came from. The chief priests and elders would not answer. In turn, Jesus did not respond to their question. The law and the prophets, completed in John, fully testify to Christ Jesus. If someone will not acknowledge the source of authority concerning those things, they will never be able to identify where Jesus’ authority is derived from.

Because of their lack of willingness to proclaim what should be obvious, Jesus gave the parable of the two sons. The leaders of Israel, who are supposedly the obedient by saying they will do the things the Father directs, do not do them at all.

On the other hand, the tax collectors and harlots who supposedly rejected what the Father told them to do, ultimately do them when they come to Christ. This is because Christ is the fulfillment of all the work necessary to be saved. To say you will do God’s will and not accept Jesus means you failed to do God’s will.

Next came the parable of the wicked vinedressers, a parable the speaks for itself. This is so much the case that the chief priests and Pharisees knew Jesus was speaking of them. Despite their desire to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitude and did not do so. This final thought is summed up in Jesus’ own words –

“Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10:17, 18

Jesus’ time had not yet come. Therefore, until He was ready to lay down His life, obstacles to others laying their hands on Him would continue to exist.

Life application: The chapter continues the Bible’s theme of the law versus grace, which comes through faith. It details the means of re-obtaining the spiritual connection to God, which is only through faith in the sinless Christ. In proclaiming Christ, salvation is realized.

Israel would lose its right to be the vineyard of God. It would be taken from them and transferred to the church, a body comprised of people of faith from around the world. All people, including those of Israel, must be willing to come to Christ to be saved.

The law was and is an ineffectual means of obtaining salvation, except as it is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Believe today and be saved!

Lord God, thank You that the pressure and burden of the law is removed from us. Thank You that we have full, final, and forever access to You through the precious shed blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

Matthew 21 (CG)

1 And when they neared unto Jerusalem, and they came unto Bethphage toward the ‘Mount, the Olives’, then Jesus, He sent two disciples, ²Saying to them, “You go into the village, the ‘opposite you,’ and immediately you will find ‘donkey, having been bound’, and ‘colt, with her’. Having loosened, you bring to Me. ³And if anyone, to you, he says anything, you will say that the Lord, these – need, He has. Immediately, also, he will send them.”

⁴This also, all, it having become that it should be fulfilled, the ‘having been spoken through the prophet,’ saying:

⁵“You say to the ‘daughter, Zion’,

‘You behold! The ‘King, yours’, He comes to you,

Benignant and having been upon-stepped upon a donkey,

Even upon ‘colt, son under-yoked’.’”

⁶Having gone, also, the disciples, and having done just as He directed them, the ‘Jesus’, ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and they upon-set atop them the ‘cloaks, theirs’, and He upon-sat atop them. ⁸The ‘also most crowd’, they spread their ‘the cloaks’ in the road, others, also, they chopped branches from the trees, and they strewed in the road. ⁹The ‘also crowds’, those preceding, and those following, they croaked, saying:

“Hosanna! The ‘Son, David’!

Having been blessed, the ‘coming in Name, Lord!’

Hosanna in the uppermosts!”

¹⁰And having entered, He, into Jerusalem, it was shaken, all the city, saying, “Who is this?”

¹¹The ‘also crowds’, they said, “This, He is the Prophet, Jesus, the ‘from Nazareth, the Galilee’.”

¹²And He entered, the ‘Jesus’, into the ‘temple, the God’, and He ejected all those selling and buying in the temple. And the ‘tables, the coin-dealers’ He overturned, and the ‘benches, those selling’ the doves. ¹³And He says to them, “It has been written: ‘The ‘house, Mine’, ‘house, prayer’ it will be called.’ You also, it, you made ‘cave, robbers’.”

¹⁴And they approached Him, blind and lame, in the temple, and He cured them. ¹⁵Having seen, also, the chief priests and the scribes, the ‘wonderfuls’ that He did, and the boys croaking in the temple, and saying, “Hosanna! The ‘Son, David’,” they outraged. ¹⁶And they said to Him, “You hear what these, they say?”

The ‘also Jesus’, He says to them,

“Yes. Never, you read that, ‘From ‘mouth, infants and sucklings’ You prepared praise.’?”

¹⁷And having left them, He proceeded out of the city to Bethany, and He overnighted there.

¹⁸Daybreak, also, returning to the city, He hungered. ¹⁹And having seen ‘fig tree, one’ upon the road, He came upon it, and nothing, He found in it, if not leaves only. And He says to it, “Not more from you fruit it should be, to the age.” And it desiccated straightaway, the fig tree.

²⁰And having seen, the disciples, they wondered, saying, “How, straightaway, it desiccated, the fig tree?”

²¹Answering, also, the ‘Jesus’, He said to them, “Amen, I say to you, if you should have faith, and not you should waver, not only the ‘the fig tree’ you will do, but and-if the ‘mountain, this’, you should say, ‘You be borne, and you be cast into the sea’, it will become. ²²And all, as much – if you should ask in the prayer, believing, you will receive.”

²³And having come, Him, into the temple, they approached Him teaching, the chief priests and the ‘elders, the people’, saying, “In where-such authority these, You do? And who to You, He gave the authority, this?”

²⁴Answering, also, the ‘Jesus’, He said to them, “I will entreat you, I also, word one, which if you should say to Me, I also to you, I will say in where-such authority these I do. ²⁵The ‘immersion, John’, whence it was? From heaven or from men?”

These, also, they deliberated with themselves, saying, “If we should say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Through why, therefore, not you believed him?’ ²⁶If, also, we should say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd, all, for, as a prophet, they have the ‘John’.” ²⁷And answering, the ‘Jesus’, they said, “Not we have known.”

He said to them, also He, “Nor I, I tell you in where-such authority these I do.”

²⁸“What, also you, it seems? A man, he had ‘sons, two’, and having approached the first, he said, ‘Son, you go this day. You work in the ‘vineyard, mine’.’ ²⁹The ‘also answering’, he said, ‘Not, I will.’ Afterward, also, having regretted, he went. ³⁰Having approached, also, the second, he said as thus. The ‘also having answered’, he said, ‘I, lord.’ And not he went. ³¹Which from the two, He did the ‘determination, the father’?”

They say to him, “The first.”

He says to them, the ‘Jesus’, “Amen! I say to you that the taxmen and the prostitutes, they precede you into the ‘kingdom, the God’. ³²He came, namely, John to you in ‘way, righteousness,’ and not you believed him. The ‘also taxmen and the prostitutes’, they believed him. You, also, having seen, not you regretted afterward the ‘believe him’.”

³³Another parable, you hear, “‘Man, certain’, he was ‘housemaster who, he planted –vineyard’, and circuited, it, he encircled, and he dug in it – winepress, and he built – tower, and he leased it to land-workers, and he abroaded*. ³⁴When also it neared, the ‘juncture, the fruits’, he sent the ‘servants, his’ to the agronomists to receive the ‘fruits, his’. ³⁵And having taken, the agronomists, the ‘servants, his’, one, indeed, they scourged. One, also, they killed. One, also, they stoned. ³⁶Again, he sent other servants, ‘greater, the first’, and they did to them as thus. ³⁷Afterward, also, he sent to them the ‘son, his’, saying, ‘They will be in-turned* of the ‘son, mine’.’ ³⁸“The ‘also, agronomists’, having seen the son, they said in themselves, ‘This, he is, the heir. You come, we should kill him, and we should retain the ‘inheritance, his’.’ ³⁹And having taken him, they ejected from the vineyard, and they killed.

⁴⁰When, therefore, he should come, the ‘lord, the vineyard’, what he will do to the agronomists, to those?”

⁴¹They say to Him, “Worthless! Badly, he will destroy them, and the vineyard, he will lease to other farmers who, they will give him the fruits in the ‘junctures, theirs’.”

⁴²He says to them, the ‘Jesus’,

“Never you read in the Scriptures?

‘Stone – which they rejected, those building – this,

It has become to ‘head, corner’.

From ‘Lord’, it was, this,

And it is marvelous in ‘eyes, ours’.’”

⁴³“Through this, I say to you that it will be lifted from you, the ‘kingdom, the God’, and it will be given to ethnicity producing the ‘fruits, it’. ⁴⁴And the ‘having fallen upon the stone, this,’ he will be pulverized. Upon whoever, also, if it should fall, it will winnowize* him.”

⁴⁵And having heard, the chief priests and the Pharisees, His parables, they knew that concerning them, He speaks. ⁴⁶And seeking Him to seize, they feared the crowds, since as ‘prophet’, Him, they held.

*Verse 33 – Greek: apodémeó, to go abroad. Abroaded is a coined word.

*Verse 37 – Greek: entrepó, to invert. In a good sense, to respect, in a bad one, to confound, as in put to shame.

*Verse 44 – Greek: likmaó, from likmos (a basket used for winnowing). Thus, it signifies to powderize something to a state where the winds will winnow it. Winnowize is a coined word (see NAS – “it will scatter him like dust”).

Saturday, 8 August 2026

But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet. Matthew 21:46

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And seeking Him to seize, they feared the crowds, since as ‘prophet’, Him, they held.” (CG)

In the previous verse, it said that having heard Jesus’ parables, the chief priests and Pharisees perceived that He was speaking of them. Next, it says, “And seeking Him to seize, they feared the crowds.”

It is the same trepidation they had in verse 26. Jesus asked them a question about the source of John’s authority. They refused to answer, one reason for which was that they feared the crowds. And it is for that same reason that they again feared the crowds, “since as ‘prophet’, Him, they held.”

Verse 26 said, “If, also, we should say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd, all, for, as a prophet, they have the ‘John’.”

The leaders, demonstrating their unfitness to lead the people, had to work behind the scenes rather than openly. Therefore, they held off, waiting for the time when they could be rid of Him. The stage is being set for the fulfillment of God’s plan. Christ, the true Passover, was being readied to complete His earthly mission.

Life application: In the days of Jeremiah, a weak and ineffective king, Zedekiah, ruled in Jerusalem. Like the leaders of Jesus’ time, he was afraid of the people more than acknowledging the ways of the Lord. In Jeremiah 38, it says –

And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they abuse me.”
²⁰ But Jeremiah said, “They shall not deliver you. Please, obey the voice of the Lord which I speak to you. So it shall be well with you, and your soul shall live. ²¹ But if you refuse to surrender, this is the word that the Lord has shown me: ²² ‘Now behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be surrendered to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say:
“Your close friends have set upon you
And prevailed against you;
Your feet have sunk in the mire,
And they have turned away again.”’
²³ ‘So they shall surrender all your wives and children to the Chaldeans. You shall not escape from their hand, but shall be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. And you shall cause this city to be burned with fire.’” Jeremiah 38:19-23

Instead of listening to the word of the Lord given through the prophet, Zedekiah feared what man could do to him. In the end, it cost him greatly. Those around him were either killed or taken into captivity. His sons were killed before his eyes, and then his eyes were put out. He was taken to Babylon in bronze fetters, and he stayed in prison there for the rest of his life.

We who have called on Jesus have been given the word of the Lord to read and accept. The Lord tells us that no matter what happens to us in this life, we are safe in His hands. And yet, we cling to this life as if it is all we will ever experience.

In health, we try to get every moment of pleasure we can out of it. Vacations, new cars, a better refrigerator, only the best sheets and towels, etc. We become so consumed with this life that we forget to focus our attention on God, His word, and His sure promises that what lies ahead will be so much better than whatever we have here.

In sickness, we fear death, as if it were the great enemy that will prevail over us forever. We shake at the thought of that moment coming. And yet, it is a transitory step to the greatest experience we will ever know.

Tomorrow may never come. Instead of the cancer we have, we may die in a car accident on the way to the next treatment. So why do we become so fearful? We don’t have a single bit of authority over the time of our demise. God knew before the world was created when that day would come.

Let us live our lives with joy in thinking of God’s goodness. Let us bask in the wonder of God’s love. Let us live confidently in the promises He has made, never waffling or fearful of what we cannot control.

Don’t be like the weak-kneed leaders of Israel who constantly failed to be reassured in God’s ways. Be like the heroes of the faith, like David, who trusted in God’s provision with his very life. This is what will be pleasing to the Lord. Stand firm that God has it all taken care of for you, because He does.

Lord God, the Bible is like a mirror, reflecting on our lives as we live in Your presence. Seeing how things occur in the word can then mold us into better people, filled with confidence, as we convert our ways to be in accord with Your will. May it be so for each of us. Amen.

Friday, 7 August 2026

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. Matthew 21:45

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen)

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And having heard, the chief priests and the Pharisees, His parables, they knew that concerning them, He speaks.” (CG)

In the previous verse, Jesus told the leaders He was speaking about the results of falling on the stone or having the stone fall on someone. With that, it next says, “And having heard, the chief priests and the Pharisees, His parables, they knew that concerning them, He speaks.”

The light finally dawned on them. Jesus has been telling them these parables, but their minds were completely dulled to the fact that He was speaking His words about them. Jesus spoke of two sons being asked to go into the vineyard. The first said that he wouldn’t, but later did. The second said he would, but later didn’t.

After that, Jesus explained to them what He was speaking about. The next parable was about the wicked vinedressers who killed the servants sent to them and then killed the son. Once Jesus cited the psalm and then told them that the kingdom would be taken from them and given to another nation, they realized the parable itself was about them. They are the wicked vinedressers.

That would have been a bitter pill for them to swallow, and it would have enraged them. That reaction will be seen in the verse to come.

Life application: How often do we not see what is evident to others? We let our own sense of pride or self-worth shut out our own failings. Instead, we look at the failings of others while overlooking the same type of things in ourselves. James speaks of this –

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well; ⁹ but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. ¹¹ For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. ¹³ For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:8-13

We may not commit the same offenses as others, but our offenses are no less wrong. A single sin eternally separates us from God. Jesus is the answer to this problem. When we come to Christ, all sin is forgiven. As this is true, when someone with his own sinful life comes to Christ, he will receive the same forgiveness.

Extending that thought to others, we can see that no matter how bad someone is, he can be redeemed. Our job is to compassionately tell all people about Jesus. If they reject Him, that is their decision. But we shouldn’t look down on others because of the sin they are stuck in until they have made that decision.

If they reject Jesus, we should pity them. Eternity is a long time, and we are all going to spend it somewhere. Jesus spoke to the leaders of Israel, warning them of what was ahead. They chose to reject Him. But even after crucifying Him, they could have come to Him and been saved.

Let us continue to be positive examples of Jesus for others to see. It isn’t easy when someone is so violently opposed to the message of Christ, but it is right that we try to always uphold our witness before others.

Lord God, help us to remember that others who have not called on You have no hope of eternity with You. May we be willing to extend ourselves to the greatest extent possible to bring a chance of salvation through sharing the gospel. To Your glory, we pray. Amen.

Thursday, 6 August 2026

And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew 21:44

Note: You can listen to today’s commentary courtesy of our friends at the “Bible in Ten” podcast. (Click Here to listen).

You can also read this commentary, scrolling with music, courtesy of our friends at “Discern the Bible” on YouTube. (Click Here to listen), or at Rumble (Click Here to listen).

“And the ‘having fallen upon the stone, this,’ he will be pulverized. Upon whoever, also, if it should fall, it will winnowize him.” (CG).

In the previous verse, Jesus told the leaders He had been talking to that the kingdom of God would be taken from them and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. He next says, “And the ‘having fallen upon the stone, this,’ he will be pulverized.”

A new word, sunthlaó, to dash together, as it shattering or breaking, is seen here. It is seen only here and in the comparable passage in Luke 20:18. Properly, it signifies to “pulverize, crushing parts together into dust” (HELPS Word Studies). This is a reference to Isaiah 8 –

“He will be as a sanctuary,
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense
To both the houses of Israel,
As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
¹⁵ And many among them shall stumble;
They shall fall and be broken,
Be snared and taken.” Isaiah 8:14, 15

Jesus is the chief Cornerstone for the temple that God is building. It is a house formed out of people from any people group. This is alluded to many times by Paul, such as, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Paul is a Jew, and he is writing to the Gentiles in Corinth. His letters are prescriptive for the church age, anywhere and at any time.

This would have been unthinkable to the Jews. They were supposedly what God is doing in the world. For Gentiles to be so prominently included, and at the same level as them, was an intolerable idea. This is what Isaiah is referring to.

Jesus’ words mean that those who fell upon this stone, rejecting the notion that the Messiah would set up such an edifice, would be pulverized in the process. They would be completely aghast at the notion, and in rejecting it, they would find judgment. Jesus next says, “Upon whoever, also, if it should fall, it will winnowize him.”

Another new word is seen here, likmaó. There is no English word that matches the meaning. It is from likmos (a basket used for winnowing). Thus, it signifies to powderize something to a state where the winds will winnow it. Winnowize is a coined word that satisfactorily meets the intent. A suitable paraphrase is seen in the NAS: “it will scatter him like dust.” This word is also only seen here and in Luke 18:20.

Jesus’ words refer to the judgment of those on whom His (Jesus, the Stone) wrath falls. It will be as if they never were. This is what occurred in the judgment on Jerusalem in AD 70. The people were destroyed, and they were scattered even to the furthest parts of the world, as if winnowed.

Jesus’ words are connected to everything He has been saying since He started the parable of the vinedressers. In verse 41, it said, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably.” Jesus confirms the analysis with His citation of the Psalm and the reference to Isaiah.

Life application: The words of Jesus are limited to the immediate context. It is true that Jesus will judge the world and that all who fail to come to Him will be sent to the Lake of Fire. However, the context of His words here is that of judgment upon Israel for rejecting Him.

They failed to accept that He had a plan for the salvation of the whole world, utterly rejecting any notion that they would not be the “thing” God was doing any longer. The judgment that came upon them, as described here, does not belong to those in the world today. As such, this is not a verse that can be used when referring to rejecting Jesus today.

Unfortunately, this is what is commonly the case when this verse is cited. As always, we must maintain the appropriate context to obtain the appropriate meaning of what is being conveyed. Remember this: context is king when evaluating Scripture. If you hold to this, you will save yourself from getting misdirected.

Prayer: Lord God, help us to carefully and responsibly evaluate Your word. May we not stray from staying within the context that is presented. Help us to remember this as we dive into Your wonderful word. Amen.