The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes

 Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  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'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a  prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, "This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:

'The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
This was the Lord's doing,
And it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

- Mark 11:27-12:12

Yesterday, we read that when Jesus and the disciples had come out from Bethany, He was hungry.  And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it.  When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.  In response Jesus said to it, "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again."  And His disciples heard it.  So they came to Jerusalem.  Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple.  Then He taught, saying, to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations'?  But you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"  And the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because all the people were astonished at His teaching.  When evening had come, He went out of the city.  Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.  And Peter, remembering, said to Him, "Rabbi, look!  The fig tree which You cursed has withered away."  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.  And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

 Then they came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  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'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a  prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."   Jesus has entered into the Holy City, in His final days of ministry, most of which have been spent outside the city, in the regions away from Jerusalem.  Here He is in the temple, the central place of worship, the place which is to be "a house of prayer for all nations."  Like the heavenly Jerusalem, Jesus has come to the place that, as Messiah, is "home," and found it wanting:  its stewards have not been good stewards.  The cleansing of the temple was His first act, ridding the temple of what He considers unclean elements, those that distract from its purpose as a house of prayer.  But Jesus is not a Levitical priest, and those in charge don't recognize His authority.  They challenge Him, therefore -- how does He have authority to cleanse the temple?  My study bible says that He's careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers.  In this ministry, life is lived through faith and so holy power works via faith.  So instead, He confounds them with a different question, about John the Baptist.  Where did John's authority come from?  Both their question to Him, and His question to them, require the same answer -- this would lead a person to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  My study bible says that by not answering them directly, Christ teaches us not to answer people who come asking about holy things with a malicious intent.

Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, "This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"  And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.   My study bible tells us that in Jesus' parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant who's been sent by the owner stands for a prophet from the Old Testament, who comes to call people back to God and away from the "earthly minded" ways that keep people from this relationship with God.  The beloved son is Christ Himself.  Tradition tells us that when the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed in the parable, it's understood on two levels:  (1)  that Jesus was killed outside Jerusalem; and (2) that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers, not those of His own vineyard.  The others who later receive the vineyard are the Gentiles brought into the Church.  Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23.    According to St. John Chrysostom, the stone in the quotation is Christ.  The saying indicates two ways of destruction -- those falling on the stone are those who suffer the effects of their own sins while yet living, whereas those on whom it falls are the unrepentant who become powder in the final judgment.

It's interesting to understand that the leadership really does know what Jesus is talking about.  They're the experts in the faith, the ones who run and control and administer all religious practices in this central house of God, the place that is to be a house of prayer for all nations.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus scolded that this leadership had made it instead a "den of thieves."   In today's reading, He's inadvertently asked once again to "prove" He's the Messiah, the Son of God.  They have wanted all along a spectacular act, one designed just for them to "convince" everybody who He is.  But this Kingdom doesn't work like that -- God wants from us faith, a voluntary love and trust.  The temple is to be the place of such a relationship between God and His people, but what He's found is this mindset that demands proofs, that is highly material minded, worldly minded -- the practices that set everything at a material value, profit and loss, what is owed.  How is this compatible with a house of prayer, a place of deep forgiveness and grace, the reality of the kingdom of heaven?  Once again, they question Him:  how dare He drive out the money changers, the sellers of animals for sacrifice, and others who'd brought wares for sale to the pilgrims at Passover?  Jesus' holy power has the same source as the authority of John the Baptist, and these men know that as well.  But what we're told is that they fear more the opinion of the people, who all hold John in the highest esteem as a holy man, a prophet of God.  The Gospels always ask us to consider what we hold more highly:  the opinions of others or the opinion of God?  Where does our truth come from?   Jesus is a king -- the Son -- returning to His home, the temple of His Father, wherein His people come for the purity of worship and relationship, but it's defiled by corrupt leadership, "worldly" thinking outside of what we need for that depth of relatedness, an understanding of the God who forgives as we forgive (see yesterday's reading).  The holy power at work in John (considered the last and greatest of the Old Testament prophets) comes from the same source as that of the Son.  These leaders know it but do not wish to recognize it; it's too threatening to their places of authority, their control, and certainly their way of doing things.  Jesus gives them what they know quite well, the quotation from the Psalms, the "stone that the builders rejected" which will become "the chief cornerstone" -- "marvelous in our eyes."  It is what they fear and hate, holding fast to their need for proof and the determination that Jesus be proven blasphemous, a liar.   Their fear is for the opinions of the people, not the authority of Christ; those whom they keep under their authority.  Christ shows us what true freedom is:  faith in the truth of God, and trust in that relationship that demands that we discard anything that gets in the way of its fullness in us.