Sticks and Stones

And looking at them He said, “What, then, is this which has been written, “The stone that the builders rejected, this one came to be the head of the corner”? Luke 20:17

Stone – “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  That childhood rhyme certainly wasn’t what Jesus had in mind when He provided His commentary on the meaning of the word ‘eben.  Of course, we must start in Greek.  Lithon is in the Greek text.  You will recognize its meaning from words like Paleolithic – “early stone age”.  Jesus isn’t speaking Greek, so we have to read this word in Hebrew.  Once we do, we discover that Jesus is employing a play on words – ‘eben and ben.  ‘eben means stone and ben means son.  The word play comes from an allusion to Psalm 118:22 which His audience certainly recognized.  In that allusion, Jesus suggests that the leadership of Israel is in peril of judgment and anyone who associates with that leadership would be well advised to reconsider his loyalty.  The time has come when the Son will act like a stone and crush those who stand in the way of God’s redemptive plan.  Apparently some words can break your bones.

There is another more subtle word play here that we dare not overlook.  Exodus tells us that the Ark of the Covenant contains the testimony of the Lord.  This refers to the stone tablets that contain the summary of the Torah.  The early Christian church saw this testimonia in relation to Yeshua as the cornerstone.  Yeshua is not merely the Son who is a stumbling block to those who reject God’s way.  He is the physical representation of Torah obedience, a fulfillment of what the stone tablets are all about.  He is the manifestation of the Word of God (as John takes pains to demonstrate).  Therefore, it is not just ben and ‘eben that are in play here.  It is also dabar and torah.  Upon stone (‘eben) God wrote the ten words (dabar) which are ultimately manifested in the Son (ben) through His obedience to the words (torah).  It’s all tied together.

If we learn anything at all from this little word play, we learn that all of Scripture is connected.  We don’t live in a world of two testaments.  Our relationship to God is not part of a second covenant.  There is one message, one mediator, one plan of redemption and one manifestation of His body.  It began with Abraham and it continues to this very day.  Not only are the words all connected, so are we.  We have a share in the Kingdom.  We are sons and daughters of Abraham.  We are citizens of the commonwealth of Israel – and God isn’t through with any of us yet.

Today we can celebrate an adoptive history that reaches back to the time of the patriarchs.  We have been added to those long genealogies in Scripture because we have a place in this nation of priests.  Once more we realize just how important our common history really is – and how blessed we are to be a part of it.  Today is a great day for lifting up the name of the Lord who delivered us from the house of bondage and set us free to serve Him.

Topical Index:  Words