Luke 20:18

18 "Anyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the stone falls on anyone, it will be a total smashup."

Luke 20:18 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 20:18

Whosoever shall fall on that stone, shall be
broken,
&c.] Not who shall fall upon Christ by faith, and build upon him as the foundation stone, for such shall be saved; but that stumble at him, and are offended with him, and fall by unbelief and hardness of heart; such do themselves much hurt and mischief and expose themselves to danger and ruin; they bid very fair for destruction:

but on whomsoever it shall fall;
as it did with its full weight upon the Jews at their destruction, and as it will upon all Christless sinners at the last day:

it will grind him to powder;
the ruin of such will be unavoidable, and there will be no recovery; (See Gill on Matthew 21:44).

Luke 20:18 In-Context

16 Right. He'll come and clean house. Then he'll assign the care of the vineyard to others." Those who were listening said, "Oh, no! He'd never do that!"
17 But Jesus didn't back down. "Why, then, do you think this was written: That stone the masons threw out - It's now the cornerstone!?
18 "Anyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the stone falls on anyone, it will be a total smashup."
19 The religion scholars and high priests wanted to lynch him on the spot, but they were intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them.
20 Watching for a chance to get him, they sent spies who posed as honest inquirers, hoping to trick him into saying something that would get him in trouble with the law.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.