14. JESUS IS A STUMBLING BLOCK/STONE
It is probably fair to say that Jesus is the most recognizable religious character in the world. Paintings, statues, books, movies, music, and other physical objects make him instantly recognizable in almost any culture — even cultures that are not Christian. Religious images of Jesus are always of a handsome, attractive, gentle, peaceful, loving, Caucasian man. Music always reinforces this image. But none of these images agree with what we see in the bible. They are creations of man where man has created an image of Jesus in their own image.
The clearest, most vivid image of Jesus found in the Bible is as a fierce warrior on horse. Another vivid image is found in the story of Jesus and the money-changers in the temple. These aggressive warrior/fighting images reinforces Jesus’ statement that he did not come to bring peace but with a sword that causes division among people. What we should learn from these verbal pictures is that Jesus was a model of all warriors sent by God to set people free from religion by speaking God’s words to religious people who resisted listening to God’s voice.
Because a savior with a sword that causes division is not an appealing image to use when marketing religion, it does not often appear in churches, books, or homes. But it is, nevertheless, a Biblical image that contains truth in its symbolism. That cannot be said of man-made images and music which always appeal to religious sentimentality. Thus, Christians eagerly stumble over false images instead of embracing the truth about Jesus’ ministry. They do not realize that they are in love with the physical image of Jesus — not a spiritual messenger or a warrior messiah.
Because the Bible tells us nothing about Jesus’ physical appearance — except that there was nothing about his looks that made him attractive and approachable, it must be said that works of art depicting Jesus are nothing more than creations of men’s minds that contradict what the bible says about him. Therefore, these images have nothing to do with faith. They are all about religion. Religion and faith are not the same thing. Religion can be seen, but faith cannot be seen. Thus it can be said that Christians stumble over the images of Jesus.
Although most Christians would deny it, these images are icons that they worship. They may not bow down to them, but the fact that they purchase pictures, crosses and statues, and put them in visible places in their homes and churches, is a clear indication of the high value they put on them. For Christians, Jesus is the human baby in the manger, man holding children in his lap, man holding a sheep, man on the cross, and man coming in the clouds. These created images all divert attention what the bible says about the testimony of Jesus being the spirit of prophecy. Pictures and statues focus on the human image of Jesus while the bible focuses on his words (i.e. testimony.)
Because they do not have God’s words in their hearts, Christians insist on having visible, tangible reminders of Jesus around them. The images of Jesus are more important than the words he spoke. They have stumbled over the images of a physical, human Jesus.
Christians somehow believe that God excuses them from having icons and idols because the subjects represented in their pictures and statues (i.e. Jesus, Mary, Apostles, Prophets, etc.) are found in the Bible. They somehow think that the First Commandment does not apply to them. Jews and Muslims, however, are careful on this point. Even though the Bible clearly says that God does not look at the external man, but only looks at the heart, and even though Christians sincerely desire to please God, they somehow think that it is acceptable for them to create and value images of Jesus.
He has this reputation even though the Bible tells us that he wanted no reputation for himself except as a servant, and that there was nothing attractive about him.
Man’s images of Jesus are creative marketing designed to make people want to become Christians. And the marketing works. He has this reputation even though the Bible tells us that he wanted no reputation for himself except as a servant, and that there was nothing attractive about him. People say that they love Jesus, but, what they love is the image of an attractive, compassionate, handsome man, or cuddly baby.
This soft, sentimental image of Jesus is reinforced in teaching, writing, art and music. He is rarely portrayed as an angry warrior laboring to destroy religious nations, tear down religious structures or rebuking religious leaders.
Jesus has become an icon, or a god, that people love. The Jesus that people love in no way resembles the truth about him that we see in the Bible.
STUDY TIP: See this link for understanding of Jesus true qualities and ministry functions.
In clear violation of the First Commandment, Christians have stumbled over a sentimental image of an attractive human person created by religious leaders for two thousand years. Hard as it may be to believe, Christians have used literal interpretations of the bible to create an image of a physical, human Jesus. We have to assume that God knew this would happen when he warned that his messiahs would become stumbling block to religious people. Here are scriptures that give these warnings:
Matthew 21:42-44 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
COMMENTARY: Understanding of this scripture depends on understanding the symbolism of stones.
Rocks and stones always refer to God’s spoken words. Therefore, this verse says that Israel has rejected God’s spoken word. The same can be said for Christians who base their beliefs on the literal words of the bible which are not the same as God’s spoken words. God’s spoken words are the cornerstone upon which God’s kingdom (i.e. clean, pure hearts) is built.
The kingdom of God is not accessible to people who do not listen to God’s spoken voice. It is only available to New Covenant disciples who speak for God as trees of life.
Verse 44 is difficult to understand without knowledge of the power of God’s spoken word. God’s word is like fire that destroys, and it also the source of salvation. Falling on God’s word (i.e. stone) symbolically means hearing God’s spoken word. This causes humility that breaks (i.e. crushes) religious pride. Humility and crushed pride are necessary precedents to salvation.
Christians stumble over Jesus because they believe he is the source of salvation. The truth is that God’s spoken word is the one and only source of salvation.
1 Peter 2:1-8 NAS 1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,3 if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.
COMMENTARY: Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander are all terms that symbolically represent religion.
The Greek word kakia is translated here as malice. It could also have been translated as evil. God uses evil to symbolically represent the fruit of words spoken by false prophets (i.e. religion.) False prophets speak religious doctrines that come out of the imaginations of their evil minds.
See Hypocrisy.
Katalalia is the Greek word translated as slander. It means to speak evil. Speaking about religion, therefore, is slander because the words spoken by religious leaders (i.e. false prophets) are evil.
Pure milk is God’s spoken word. The written bible is ordinary milk like common manna. Pure milk is like hidden manna. Pure milk and hidden manna are clean, good spiritual food that New Covenant disciples symbolically taste when they hear God’s spoken voice.
4 And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God,
COMMENTARY: This verse has been wrongly translated by bible editors. Learn more about bible translations in Bible Historyhttps://www.thewaywesee.com/religiondetoxnetwork/mystery/gods-written-word-and-gods-spoken-voice/bible-history/5.
This is the original Greek text:
coming living stone rejected men choice precious sight God
Bible translators inserted “Him” and other filler words to make the text understandable and to make it agree with their theology about Jesus. In doing this, they put the emphasis on Jesus and made him the “living stone.” This translation ignore the fact that “living stone” is one of many symbolic terms God uses to identify his spoken voice. Because of this wrong translation, Christians believe that Jesus is the living stong and fail to understand that God’s spoken word is the one and only living stone. Because of this wrong belief, it must be said that Christians have stumbled over Jesus.
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
COMMENTARY: God’s word is the living stone. Jesus and other New Covenant disciples are living stones because they are sent by God to speak God’s words to people who are unable to hear God’s spoken voice.
6 For this is contained in Scripture: “BEHOLD, I LAY IN ZION A CHOICE STONE, A PRECIOUS CORNER stone, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.”
COMMENTARY: The choice stone is God’s spoken word. Belief is in God’s spoken word — not in Jesus.
7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE VERY CORNER stone,” 8 and, “A STONE OF STUMBLING AND A ROCK OF OFFENSE “; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.
COMMENTARY: Christians wrongly believe that Jesus is the stone that is rejected by people who do not believe in him.
The stone which was rejected is God’s spoken word. Religious people who reject God’s spoken word stumble over the literal words of the bible and are therefore disobedient to God’s spoken word.
Christians say they have faith in Jesus, but the faith they have is in the images of a baby in a manger, a handsome man who heals people, holds a lamb in his arms, holds children in his lap and dies on a cross. Affection for these images and the person represented in them is not faith! These are images that can be seen. People who create these images, purchase these images, and cherish these images are idolaters! Faith is the substance of things not seen! Hanging a picture of Jesus or a cross on a wall is religion — not faith! Faith in the imagery of a human, compassionate Jesus is fake faith. Affection, even strong love, for a human person, living or dead, is not faith!
Christians are in love with an idealized image of a man. They are not in love with God or God’s words. They don’t love the real Jesus who was, and is, the spirit of prophecy and cannot be seen. Just as God is known by people who hear his words, Jesus is known by people who hear his words — not by people who love images of him. Just as loving an image of God is idolatry, loving the imagery of a human Jesus is idolatry. What God wants people to love is Jesus’ words which are God’s words.
Christians are not true friends of Jesus because they do not obey his commandments (i.e. his words.) They do the easy religious things (e.g. prayer, communion, baptism, circumcision, sing, etc.), but they do not do the hard thing of obeying his words. They listen to religious leaders who teach them about Jesus but they do not know how to hear God’s voice which is what Jesus’ words tell them to do.
Christians create several problems for themselves when they stumble over Jesus:
- They are in love with a figment of their imagination. They love the idea of Jesus, and they believe that he is their savior, but they do not understand his ministry or what it means to be a follower.
- In violation of the First and Second Commandments, they have made Jesus equal to God, they have made mental an physical images of him, and worship him.
- They focus on a few physical events in his live (e.g. birth, death, resurrection, healing miracles, etc.) instead of listening to God’s words spoken through him.
- They concocted the trinity doctrine that says that Jesus and God are one in the same person.
- They identify with him (e.g. they call themselves Christian; they name churches and religions after him; they wear clothing and jewelry associated with him, etc.) instead of identifying with God’s name (i.e. character.)
- They created a religion that presents Jesus as the person they serve and follow.
- They focus on the person of Jesus while ignoring that the Bible refers to him as a life-giving spirit.
- They listen to teachers who claim to know Jesus instead of learning how to listen to God’s spoken voice.
For all these reasons and more, Christians can be said to have stumbled over Jesus. The same can be said of Jews and Muslims, except that they have stumbled over different religious leaders (e.g. Moses, rabbis, pastors, Mohammad, imams, etc.)
In making Jesus the object of their religion, Christians have made up doctrines and laws about what it means to be a Christian. These laws differ from denomination to denomination, but they are all religious laws because they are made up by men. And the reason that all denominations do not have the exact same religious laws is that different religious leaders (e.g. pastors, theologians, rabbis, imams, etc.) control the development and enforcement of laws within their respective kingdoms. These religious leaders are like Kings, Queens and Princes of their kingdoms.
Because Christian doctrines have been created by men, it is accurate to say that Christianity is a religious law. Each Christian denomination has doctrines and practices (i.e. public prayer; music and singing; preaching by a religious leader; collection of money, etc.) that have the weight of law because they are always present in church services.
Religious leaders are God’s enemies because they control the hearts and minds of their followers regarding religious matters. They give lip service to God, but, in God’s view, they are idols and their followers are idolaters because their followers listen to their voices, read their books, and listen to their music instead of listening to God’s voice.
STUDY TIP: See The Law is a Stumbling Block for more understanding.