Matthew 21:44
in Matthew 21He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust.
KJV
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
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This verse in Matthew 21
Commentary
16 notes on this verse(Verse 44.) And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. It is one thing to offend Christ through evil works, another to deny Him. Whoever is a sinner, yet believes in Him, falls indeed on the stone and is broken, but is not utterly crushed; for he is preserved through repentance for salvation.
This site's exposition
The stone which the builders rejected
on Matthew 21:42-44
Jesus answers their own sentence with Psalm 118:22-23, the stone which the builders rejected, the same psalm the crowd sang at his entry a few days before, so the chapter is bracketed by one song of praise and one saying of rejection drawn from the identical psalm. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof carries several honored readings: that the rulers of that generation are judged and stewardship passes to a believing remnant joined by the nations, or that it names the church gathered from Jew and Gentile alike; none of these readings is read here as God's final rejection of Israel as a people, since Paul will later insist God hath not cast away his people. The falling stone of verse 44 draws on Isaiah 8:14 and Daniel 2:34-35's stone that grinds the kingdoms to powder, the same stone chain the Old Testament briefs carried through Daniel, arriving here at the person it was always about.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Quaest. Ev. i. 30.) Or, Those that fall upon Him, are those that despise and afflict Him. These do not perish utterly, but are broken so that they walk not upright. But upon these He shall fall when He shall come from above in judgment with a punishment of destruction, and thence He says, Shall grind them to powder, because the wicked are like the dust which the wind scattereth abroad on the face of the earth. (Ps. 1:4.).
Whoso sinneth, yet believeth on Him, falls indeed upon a stone and is broken, yet is not altogether crushed, but is preserved to salvation through endurance. But on whomsoever it shall fall, that is, whomsoever this stone shall itself assault, and whosoever shall utterly deny Christ, it shall so crush him, that not a bone of him shall be left in which a drop of water could be taken up.
Christ is called A Stone, not only because of His strength, but because He mightily crushes His enemies; whence it follows, And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, and on whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder. It is one thing to be broken, and another to be ground to powder. Of what is broken there remains something; but what is ground to powder is as it were converted into dust. And what falls upon a stone is not broken by any power of the stone, but because it fell heavily, either by reason of its weight, or of its fall from a great height. So a Christian in sinning, perishes, but not to the utmost that Christ can destroy; but only so far as he destroys himself, either by the greatness of his sin, or by his exalted rank. But the unbelievers perish to the utmost that Christ can destroy them.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 68 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Then, that they might know that the penalty is not limited to their being cast out, He added the punishments also, saying, "Every one that falleth on this stone, shall be broken; but upon whomsoever it shall fall, it shall grind him to powder." He speaks here of two ways of destruction, one from stumbling and being offended; for this is, "Whosoever falleth on this stone:" but another from their capture, and calamity, and utter destruction, which also He clearly foretold, saying, "It will grind him to powder." By these words He darkly intimated His own resurrection also. Now the Prophet Isaiah saith, that He blames the vineyard, but here He accuses in particular the rulers of the people. And there indeed He saith, "What ought I to have done to my vineyard, that I did not;" and elsewhere again, "What transgression have your fathers found in me?" And again, "O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I grieved thee?" showing their thankless disposition, and that when in the enjoyment of all things, they requited it by the contraries; but here He expresses it with yet greater force. For He cloth not plead, Himself, saying, "What ought I to have done that I have not done?" but brings in themselves to judge, that nothing hath been wanting, and to condemn themselves. For when they say, "He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out the vineyard to other husbandmen," they say nothing else than this, publishing their sentence with much greater force. With this Stephen also upbraids them, which thing most of all stung them, that having enjoyed always much providential care, they requited their benefactor with the contraries, which very thing itself was a very great sign, that not the punisher, but the punished, were the cause of the vengeance brought upon them.
The Medieval Church1 voice
He presents a twofold punishment: "and whosoever shall fall on this stone, shall be broken." This is explained according to Jerome thus: he falls upon the stone Christ who holds the faith concerning him, i.e., concerning Christ, but falls through the sin which he commits …
9 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Those who stumble against the Rock of Christ and take offence at Him will not only be crushed at the second coming, but already here in this life they have been scattered like powder by Christ. They have been scattered over all the earth, as …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken - Stumblers at Christ shall even then receive much hurt. He is said to fall on this stone, who hears the Gospel and does not believe.
And whosoever shall fall on this stone,....
But in this public appearance, 1. The preparation was sudden and offhand. For his glory in the other world, and ours with him, preparation was made before the foundation of the world, for that was the glory his heart was upon; his glory in this world he was dead to, and therefore, though he had it in prospect, did not forecast for it, but took what came next.
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
The 44th verse should certainly come before Mat 21:43, otherwise the narration is not consecutive. Mat 21:42. The stone which the builders rejected, is become the head of the corner, etc. Mat 21:44. Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, etc. This is an allusion to the punishment of stoning among the Jews.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder--The Kingdom of God is here a Temple, in the erection of which a certain stone, rejected as unsuitable by the spiritual builders, is, by the great Lord of the House, made the keystone of the whole.
The parable contained in these verses was spoken with special reference to the Jews. They are the husbandmen here described: their sins are set before us here as in a picture. Of this there can be no doubt: it is written that “he spake of them.” But we must not flatter ourselves that this parable contains nothing for the Gentiles. There are lessons laid down for us, as well as for the Jew. Let us see what they are. We see in the first place what distinguishing privileges God is pleased to bestow on some nations.
The parable contained in these verses was spoken with special reference to the Jews. They are the husbandmen here described: their sins are set before us here as in a picture. Of this there can be no doubt: it is written that “he spake of them.” But we must not flatter ourselves that this parable contains nothing for the Gentiles. There are lessons laid down for us, as well as for the Jew. Let us see what they are. We see in the first place what distinguishing privileges God is pleased to bestow on some nations. He chose Israel to be a people special to himself. He separated them from the other nations of the earth, and bestowed on them countless blessings; he gave them revelations of himself, while all the rest of the earth was in darkness; he gave them the law, and the covenants, and the oracles of God, while all the world beside was let alone. In short, God dealt with the Jews as a man deals with a piece of land which he fences out and cultivates, while all the country around is left untilled and waste. The vineyard of the Lord was the house of Israel ( Isaiah 5:7 ). And have we no privileges? Beyond doubt we have many. We have the Bible, and liberty for everyone to read it; we have the Gospel, and permission to everyone to hear it; we have spiritual mercies in abundance of which five hundred millions of our fellow-men know nothing at all. How thankful we ought to be! The poorest man in England may say every morning, “There are five hundred millions of immortal souls worse off than I am. Who am I, that I should differ? Bless the Lord, O my soul.” We see in the next place what a bad use nations sometimes make of their privileges. When the Lord separated the Jews from other people, he had a right to expect that they would serve him, and obey his laws. When a man has taken pains with a vineyard, he has a right to expect fruit.
Modern Voices1 voice
These jewels of God, the poor, are still treated as mere stones of the street; but as stones that may sometimes fly. If it please God, you and I may see some of the stones flying again before we see death. But here I only …
The words behind it
15 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | And | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ὁ | ho | the [one] | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πεσὼν | peson | having fallen | G4098 → | 90 times |
| ἐπὶ | epi | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| τὸν | ton | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| λίθον | lithon | stone | G3037 → | 58 times |
| τοῦτον | touton | this | G3778 → | 1381 times |
| συνθλασθήσεται· | sunthlasthesetai | will be broken; | G4917 → | |
| ἐφ᾽ | eph᾽ | on | G1909 → | 883 times |
| ὃν | hon | whomever | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| δ᾽ | d᾽ | but | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἂν | an | maybe | G302 → | 165 times |
| πέσῃ, | pese | it may fall, | G4098 → | 90 times |
| λικμήσει | likmesei | it will grind to powder | G3039 → | |
| αὐτόν.¶ | auton | him. | G846 → | 5565 times |
καὶAnd
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ὁthe [one]
hoG3588 →19766 times
πεσὼνhaving fallen
pesonG4098 →90 times
ἐπὶon
epiG1909 →883 times
τὸν<the>
tonG3588 →19766 times
λίθονstone
lithonG3037 →58 times
τοῦτονthis
toutonG3778 →1381 times
συνθλασθήσεται·will be broken;
sunthlasthesetaiG4917 →
ἐφ᾽on
eph᾽G1909 →883 times
ὃνwhomever
honG3739 →1405 times
δ᾽but
d᾽G1161 →2765 times
ἂνmaybe
anG302 →165 times
πέσῃ,it may fall,
peseG4098 →90 times
λικμήσειit will grind to powder
likmeseiG3039 →
αὐτόν.¶him.
autonG846 →5565 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Romans 9:33as it is written: “See, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 28:16
So this is what the Lord GOD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will never be shaken.
- Isaiah 8:14–15
And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
- Romans 10:11
It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Joel 2:26–27
You will have plenty to eat, until you are satisfied. You will praise the name of the LORD your God, who has worked wonders for you. My people will never again be put to…
- 1 Peter 2:6–8
For it stands in Scripture: “See, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and precious cornerstone; and the one who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Isaiah 28:16
Through
1 Peter 2:8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word—and to this they were appointed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 8:14
And He will be a sanctuary—but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
- 1 Corinthians 1:23
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- 1 Peter 2:7
To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
- Isaiah 8:14
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Matthew
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; GK Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles, XX. The Giant (1909); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 68; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.