Scripture in Action

Aneel Aranha is an author, preacher, and evangelist who has spoken to hundreds of thousands of people around the world. You can find a huge selection of his reflections, articles, sermons, songs and other resources on his app.

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Scripture in Action

Day 167

August 20, 2025 • Aneel Aranha • Season 3 • Episode 167

0:00 | 18:30

Explore how God's messianic promises in Isaiah find fulfillment through Christ's suffering in Matthew 27, discovering hope through Psalm 118's message of steadfast love and the rejected stone.

Day 167 – The Stone They Threw Away

Isaiah 11–13
Psalm 118
Matthew 27

Everyone has a stump somewhere. Something that used to be alive and growing, and now you'd rather not look at it. By the time Isaiah writes chapter 11, David's royal line looks exactly like that. Not a tree anymore. A stump. And that's precisely where God begins. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, and the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him. What grows from it is a kingdom where the wolf lives with the lamb. Isaiah 12 gives us the song for that day. Surely God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid. Chapter 13 warns that even mighty Babylon won't escape the day of the Lord. Psalm 118 sings the same reversal. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Matthew 27 shows us that rejection up close. Judas throws the silver back. Pilate washes his hands. The crowd picks Barabbas. Then the temple curtain tears from top to bottom, and a hardened Roman centurion says what nobody else would say. Surely he was the Son of God. Taken together, these readings point to a God who starts where everyone else stops.

One thread ties all of this together. God does His deepest work with what the rest of us have written off. He built our salvation on the very stone the builders threw away.

What might this look like in your day?

First, name the thing you've quietly declared beyond repair. A relationship, a calling, a habit, a hope you stopped mentioning. Bring it to God today and ask Him for a shoot from that stump.

Second, encourage someone others have overlooked. Skip the general compliment. Be specific about the value you actually see in them, and say it to their face.

Third, take Matthew 27 slowly today. When you reach the moment the curtain tears, stop right there. Thank God out loud for the access that cost Him everything.

Wherever today takes you, hold onto this. What the builders throw away, God builds on. Your stump is not the end of the story. It may be exactly where He's about to start something.

Thank you for joining me today. May God give you patient hope, generous eyes, and fresh wonder at the cross. Until tomorrow, stay rooted in His Word and steady in His love.