Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 21:44

"And he that falleth on this stone shall be broken to pieces: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust." — Matthew 21:44 (ASV)

Whoever shall fall on this stone — There is a clear reference to the “stumbling and falling and being broken” of Isaiah 8:14-15. In the immediate application of the words, those who “fell” were those who were “offended” at the outward lowliness of Him who came as the carpenter’s son and died a criminal’s death. That “fall” brought with it pain and humiliation. High hopes had to be given up and the proud heart bruised and broken. But that fall was not irretrievable; the bruise could be healed, as it was Christ's work to heal it.

However, the saying then transitions to the stone falling on the one who was offended. Here, the imagery shifts rapidly to that of Daniel 2:35, 44. When Christ—or the Church with which He identifies Himself—collides with the powers that oppose Him, the stone will “grind them to powder.”

The primary meaning of the word translated this way is the winnowing of grain by threshing, which separates it from the chaff. Its use was likely suggested by the imagery of Daniel 2:35, where the gold, silver, and lesser materials of Nebuchadnezzar’s visionary statue were broken in pieces together, and became as the chaff of the summer threshing-floor. In its wider meaning, it includes the destruction of all that resists Christ’s kingdom. This represents the positive side of the truth that finds its negative expression in the promise that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18).