The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  No at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:

'The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone'?

"Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

- Luke 20:9-18

Yesterday, we read that it happened on one of those days after Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things?  Or who is he who gave You this authority?"  But He answered an said to them, "I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?"  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.  So they answered that they did not know where it was from.  And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." 

 Then He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  No at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"   My study bible suggests that this parable portrays God the Father as the man, and that the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the leadership that have been entrusted to care for the people.  Each of the servants that are sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call the people back to God.  The beloved son of the owner, of course, refers to Christ Himself.  It says, "When the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, this is understood on two levels:  (1)  that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem; and (2) that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not by those of His own vineyard.  The others who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church."   That the response to the parable is "Certainly not!" indicates a clear reception of Jesus' meaning.

Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.   The quotation Jesus gives is from Psalm 118:22.  My study bible cites the commentary of John Chrysostom in its summary:  "That stone is Christ.  This saying illustrates the two ways of destruction.  Those falling on the stone are people who suffer the effects of their own sins while yet in this life, whereas those on whom the stone falls are unrepentant people who become powder in the final judgment."

We note once again that the leadership (and the people) understand that the parable is told against them; they are those who now are the vinedressers who are in charge of tending the vineyard.  Christ is clearly saying that the leadership work for themselves, and in effect lead the people away from God.  What's important is to understand, first of all, the tie between self-aggrandisement or selfishness in any form, and the misleading of the people, those tender grapes of the vines.  It's an image that gives us a sense of how the purpose of the leadership is really to help the vines to bear fruit; and each grape counts for something.  The Owner is watching and expecting a harvest.  It tells us about the self-centeredness of leadership that poisons all the purposes of the vineyard, the grapes that are a harvest to God, for good purpose.  Instead, Jesus has told them scathingly that they love the best seats, the respect in the marketplaces, the great show of special robes.  One might even say that He has told them that they are already like the powder left from the smashing of the great head stone of the corner, when He said that they are like unmarked graves which people walk over without realizing it.  To these experts in the law, He has already said that it is they who are the descendants of those who killed the prophets, that they continue in the same vein, and that the whole history of such behavior will fall upon them, which they will affirm as they seek to do the same to Him.   We are given the story and teachings of Jesus for His time, His ministry, and the contemporary leadership.  But all of this isn't just about what happened to Jesus and in Israel at this time in history.  If we don't learn from all of these things, then we are not reading the Gospels properly.  Neither will we understand the meaning, form, and force of His Church, because we have failed to learn from His instruction for ourselves.  This parable is a warning to all those who would say they loved God.  It teaches us about what standards we need to have, and how (as we discussed in yesterday's reading) that the over-prizing of the opinion of men more than the opinions of God make for disastrous leadership.  Jesus is not playing the crowd here; it's the leadership that is afraid of the opinions of the crowds.  Jesus cares about the people, His teaching is truth -- not what is pleasing for them to hear.  This isn't a popularity contest:  it's only that in the minds of the leadership because they are like politicians who seek to maintain their places; it is the "place" that they love best.  All of this is to say that Christ is affirming that it is humility before God that is the greatest virtue in His Church; and that leadership is expected to tend all the vines with God in mind, with love for God so that the vines may know God's love and to whom they belong.  We can't substitute anything for humility as the greatest virtue; that is, humility before God which means love for the vines as this is God's most powerful intent, as Jesus has preached over and over again.  God's love for us and our love for God are entwined like the vines, inseparable from one another, and inseparable from love for the followers.  He who would be the greatest among the leadership must put themselves last.  What will they do?  They plot against Jesus all the more.  What will we do?  Can we hear His call?  That love doesn't come through law, and not through ideology which is similar to the law.  It doesn't come through some sort of popular "correctness" (no matter what the "side" or "camp") which is like another sort of law, and another way that can be used to live hypocritically by image alone.  It comes through love, a loving relationship between God and us, and without that our own leadership fails to lead properly.  Let us remember what He calls upon us to do and to be, why He has come into the world, and offered us His spirit and grace.  It's up to us to follow, even if there are times when leadership may fail.