The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone

 

 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 on the day following the Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday), 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 wold 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."  My study Bible refers us first to Luke 7:29-30, which gives us some important background to this interaction:  "And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.  But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him."   Regarding this dispute and the questioning of the religious rulers, my study Bible comments that since Christ is not a Levitical priest, the chief priests, scribes, and elders challenge His authority to cleanse the temple (see yesterday's reading, above).  It notes that as Christ is careful not to reveal Himself to scoffers, He confounds them with a different question about John.  Both the elders' question and Christ's question require the same answer, and therefore would lead someone to confess that Jesus has come from heaven.  As Jesus does not answer directly, my study Bible says, He 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 explains that in this parable, the man represents God the Father, and the vineyard refers to God's people.  The vinedressers are the leaders of the Jews entrusted to care for the people.  Each servant sent by the owner stands for an Old Testament prophet who comes to call people back to God.  The beloved son refers, of course, to Christ Himself (Mark 9:7).   When the Son is cast out of the vineyard to be killed, this is understood in two ways.  First, that Jesus was killed outside of Jerusalem (Golgotha was outside the city walls); and second, that Jesus was crucified by foreign soldiers and 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.  

Here the great dispute is about authority.  In both the quiz or testing from the religious leaders regarding John the Baptist, and the parable with which Jesus eventually responds, the notion of authority weighs heavily.  All of this is being challenged because of Christ's cleansing of the temple, and the subject is stirred up through Christ's actions which befit the Messiah.  This is why the religious authorities come to question Him all together.  Interestingly Jesus finishes His parable with a quotation from Psalm 118.  This, again, hints at the question of the Messiah and this messianic authority displayed by Christ.  Psalm 118 was important both for the Passover feast and also for the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of the Coming Kingdom.  Now, in the setting for this exchange, is what we call Holy Week; it is the week of the Passover festival.  The Feast of Tabernacles was a celebration of the time of the expected kingdom of the Messiah; it commemorated the time that Israel wandered searching for the Promised Land, and lived in tents (tabernacles).  Jesus' quotation not only directly confronts these authorities with the truth of the New Covenant He will initiate, and of course the truth of their rejection of Him, but also evokes the very authority of the Messiah as it is so associated with expected messianic rule and authority.  Effectively, Jesus uses this occasion as an exposition of this Psalm, virtually declaring it to be prophecy directed against them and their rejection of Him.  Jesus may have very brilliantly answered their question of His authority with another question about John the Baptist.  But here, in quoting these verses from Psalm 118, He has put a very strong point on the end of His parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, leaving no doubt at all what and whom He's talking about.  The chief priests, scribes, and elders will make their own response in turn, but they will do it when they can, and not before these crowds in the temple who've come for the Passover, and delight in listening to Jesus dispute (Mark 12:37).  Jesus has just made it very clear how He understands these verses of this important psalm (and does so for yet another significant psalm in the context of the people's "glad hearing" of Him in Mark 12:37).  It is extremely important that we pay attention to how Jesus Himself uses Scripture, for He teaches us how meanings and values work, and also what prophecy is hidden in these important psalms.  They continue to bear out their meanings, and teach us what our faith is about.  For the stone which the builders rejected, and the fact of its becoming the chief cornerstone, should not be lost on us in this time, just as it was relevant for these leaders.  In Matthew's and Luke's versions of this story, Jesus adds a caveat:  "Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder" (Matthew 21:44; Luke 20:18).  We also bear responsibility for paying attention, and not rejecting Christ's authority in His teachings for us today.  In our heart of hearts, we need to understand what it means that He is the chief cornerstone, and how God's power responds to faith or the lack of it.  Let us keep this in mind as we read through the events at this Passover festival which we commemorate in Holy Week.