Stones, as I’ve said, are all over the place in Luke 19-21. One more indication of this: When the scribes and chief priests debate about how to answer Jesus’ question about John’s baptism, they worry that the people might stone them if they deny John. They “do not know” where John’s baptism came from, just as they “do not know” the time of their visitation. But the stoning they fear from the people is what awaits them precisely because they “do not know” the time of their visitation: They will be broken on the stone of stumbling, or crushed beneath the chief cornerstone of the new temple. Seeking to avoid a stoning, they lay aside the chief stone, and therefore will be stoned after all.
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