What Jesus Did! 'Stumbling over the Truth' — Matthew 21:42-44

Saturday, October 11, 2025

[After telling the religious leaders the parable about the tenant farmers who killed the landowner's son,] Jesus asked them, "Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures?
'The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's doing,
and it is wonderful to see.'

I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on."

— Matthew 21:42-44 NLT

Key Thought

"If it had been a snake, it would have bit me." This ol' saying that I heard growing up was used when you were looking for something and it was right under your nose the whole time but you just couldn't see it. Usually you couldn't see it because you were careless, in a hurry, or not concentrating on what you were doing.

So, often as spiritual seekers, we get frustrated at missing the leading of God as we try to discern his will in the important decisions of our lives. Yet his truth is right under our noses: "If it had been a snake, it would have bit us." The Jewish leadership rejected God's Son, their "stone" of salvation, because they were not looking for a Messiah who was like Jesus. He didn't fit their idea of a Savior. In their carelessness and hardness of heart, they rejected the very stone on which their salvation should have been built. Unfortunately we can do the same thing when we try to fit God's will for us and Jesus' leading of us into our plan rather than trying to discern his will. Let's not stumble on the stone God provided for our salvation!

Today's Prayer

Holy and precious God, your ways are not my ways but I know that doing your will is the only way I should live since you have saved me. Through your Holy Spirit, please give me insight to know your will and courage to accept it and live it in my daily life, especially when it is not easy or does not fit my idea of the way things should be. I want to be your loyal child and follow you wherever you lead. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • 1 Peter 2:6-8
  • Ephesians 2:19-22
  • Psalm 118:22-24

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Illustration

Illustration of Matthew 21:42-44 NLT — Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.

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About This Devotional

What Jesus Did! is a series of one-year devotional guides through each gospel, using one short scripture passage each day and following the Gospel in sequential order. Each devotional consists of a scripture passage and a reflection and a prayer which open up the day's scripture and show how it challenges you to live for Jesus.

What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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