JESUS THE REJECTED STONE, THE CORNERSTONE
Luke 20:1-19
Key Verse: 20:17
“Jesus looked directly at them and asked, ‘Then what is the meaning of that which is written: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?’”
Last week, as Jesus entered Jerusalem, a large crowd welcomed him shouting “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord.” He was riding on a donkey’s colt, just as a prophetic verse in Zechariah’s Bible book describes Israel’s king arriving. We learned Jesus came as a victorious, humble, compassionate king to save his people and establish a kingdom that never ends, but not in a realm that most people dream of. Luke says the people were excited and shouting because of all the miraculous things they saw during Jesus’ ministry. They were saying the right thing but for the wrong reason. They expected Jesus to set up some kind of utopian paradise in Israel with no more sickness, sorrow or any kind of trouble. To their surprise, Jesus’ first act as their king was chasing out the religious establishment’s shopkeepers and money changers from the temple courts, telling everyone they turned God’s house of prayer into a den of robbers. This week we see the divisive reality that Jesus had to navigate. Jesus expertly meets the opposition with Bible study and probing questions that help everyone discover more about Jesus and examine their own relationship to the king who came in the name of the lord.
Who gave you this authority?
(SLIDE v1) Verse one says Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel. It’s hard to imagine how this works out because we expected the famous king candidate to be engaged in hours long discussions with the ruling elites, mapping strategies and planning the revolution. But Jesus seems to be on the sideline in the temple court, just interacting with everyday people, something like a street evangelist or a one to one Bible study missionary teaching the people about God’s kingdom. The opposing Jewish leaders were probably working hard to prevent a big rally and they might steer the visitors away from Jesus’ lesson. It was the busiest time of year for them and their temple offering supply shops and money making operations were disrupted so they had a significant economic concern and sudden disruption of cultural norms. When their anxiety boiled over they came to confront Jesus, looking for a reason to get him out of the area. (SLIDE v2) The chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”
Their complaints seem reasonable at first glance. When Jesus was teaching and helping people in the villages and countryside, the same critics tried to learn if Jesus was on their side or not. They were never able to agree with him and he often rebuked their emissaries. But as long as Jesus stayed off their turf he seemed to be doing well for the people by healing many cases and encouraging them to repent. Now he was there in the temple, sharing his message and worst of all, he upended their drive-through worship service system during the most important festival week of the year.
They asked two questions. First, “By what authority are you doing these things?” It means, “How dare you rearrange our furniture and stalls in the temple. Why should people listen to you, a hillbilly from Nazareth? Do you really think you know more than us about how to provide for people who come to the temple worship? We are priests by birthright, scholars who learned from the best educators and stewards of ancient traditions handed down personally while you are a country boy carpenter with no real connection to religious life here in Jerusalem. You are not qualified to do these things, so get out of here.” His reputation based on miraculous events gave him some clout with the people, but the leader’s elitism was challenged when Jesus cleansed the temple. They might be willing to work with him as a king candidate, if he provides sufficient benefits, but disrupting their established temple activities and competing with their Bible teaching went too far. They could not support a king candidate who would not accept their advice, follow their traditions and recognize their spiritual authority over the nation.
They also asked, “Who gave you this authority?” In the big picture, they already know the answer to this question, but they are not willing to accept it. So they ask this only to accuse Jesus of some internal sedition or something like starting an unauthorized cult. (SLIDE John 3) In John’s Gospel however, we see early on in the ministry that Nicodemus came to Jesus at night and told him “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.” Jesus could recall many things he did and tell them plainly, that God his Heavenly Father sent him, but it was too soon for such a simple revelation. So he decided to give them an answer only if they would answer a similar question first.
(SLIDE v3-6) He asked them, “John’s baptism–was it from heaven, or from men?” Jesus’ counter question put the leaders on the spot. They had to admit John’s ministry was from God which would obviously trickle down to admitting all John testified about Jesus was true. That would prove they were clueless about what God was doing and unqualified to be Bible teachers and leaders for God’s people. The alternative was to say John was acting on his own authority, like an activist with good intentions who became a political enemy of the state and suffered an unjust end. But they were scared of the people who recognized John as a prophet. (SLIDE Luke 1:76) By the way, it was not a secret that John was a prophet. His father was a priest who served in the temple so everyone knew of his dumb training, and prophetic proclamation when his voice came back. As recorded in Luke 1:76, Zechariah said of John, “… you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him…” The leaders were ignoring many signs around them about the work of God.
(SLIDE v7-8) Finally, they refused to answer Jesus’ question, so he did not reply to their question either. After this Bible study, the critics had to stand by quietly while he continued sharing in the temple. This lesson also subtly revealed the bigger problem in the leaders’ souls. They were wishy-washy and confused, unwilling to acknowledge the reality that God was with Jesus and that he was doing a new thing in the world. Next, Jesus shared a parable about the tenant farmers to bring the situation out into the open.
I will send my son, whom I love
(SLIDE v9) In verse 9, he went on to tell about a man who planted a vineyard and rented it to some farmers then went away for a long time. The vineyard owner invested a lot of money to purchase land, till the soil and spread some fertilizers, establish some trellises and plant many seedlings. Then the owner had to go on a long journey, so he found some farmers to care for the vineyard and turn a profit in the future. It was very common practice and good business partnerships for the tenant farmers and the vineyard owners. (SLIDE new vineyard) A new wine vineyard like in the picture should grow for at least three years until it is possible to harvest substantial fruit. You can’t just plant and forget about it either. Someone has to go weeding and pruning and continue fertilizing all year long. The farmers went to work but when it was time for harvest, they realized their fruit was very good and they suddenly turned greedy about the crop.
(SLIDE v10-12) In verses 10-12, the owner sent some servants one at a time to collect the owner’s share of the fruit but there were tragic results. They beat the servants, treated them shamefully and sent them away empty handed, even violently threw one out of the vineyard. What happened in the tenant farmers’ minds? Why did they turn into squatters after starting out so blessed to move into a fully prepared vineyard with just basic tasks to earn a living? It seems like their distance and communication with the owner is the problem. They did not hear from the owner or see him much, so they gradually changed their attitude and believed any kind of lie about the owner they could think of. Then the tenants deliberately broke off their relationship with the owner over time. It represents The most tragic situation between God and Jesus’ critics, but it can easily illustrate the whole history of Israel, the human race or any individual. God prepares a good environment for people to respect him, serve him and honor him, but sinful people degrade over time until they treat God’s servants shamefully.
(SLIDE v13) Verse 13 shares the vineyard owner’s most unlikely last chance effort to reach out to the tenant farmers. Let’s read that verse together. “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’” We can’t understand the owner’s patience and earnest desire to stay connected with and keep working with the squatter farmers. The owner looks very naive at best to think there will be any different reaction from the farmers, but his hope is as heroic as the main story is tragic. Sending his son was the way to show the tenants that the owner was sincere and very honestly hoping to share the fruit of the vineyard with the workers.
(SLIDE v14-15) The tenant farmers had the worst possible reaction. Look at verse 14&15. “When the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.” Of course this is the prophetic implication that the leaders will conspire to have the Son of God executed very soon. God patiently endured their people over many centuries, sending prophets to remind them of his calling that they should be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. They thought they were the pinnacle of success considering their circumstances as they implemented their interpretations of the Bible but God was not getting any fruit. There were worship services in the most elaborate temple but still not the fruit god was hoping to collect. (SLIDE Luke 11v39-41) Jesus accused the leaders of hypocrisy on many levels. Perhaps his “clean the inside of the cup” instruction is a good example. He tried to show that they had many good looking activities and policies, but in their secret life they were very far from God while their sin problem remained. They needed to be born again, become a new creation by faith in Christ to save their soul.
(SLIDE v13) All people have basic obligations to God who created us. We should respect, honor and thank God for all we have. And we should love our neighbor as ourselves, which is the most difficult thing to do. Instead we envy and covet some neighbors who seem well off or we despise and look away from other neighbors who are not on our level or in our clique. This core crumminess of human nature always degrades our relationship with God. Eventually, we reject his sovereignty over us and try to take over our individual little vineyards. Yet God says, “I will send my son whom I love, perhaps they will respect him.” What an amazing, patient love that God has for a sinful world sending his son to restore the relationship with his creation. (SLIDE Such Love)
That God should love a sinner such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest till He had planned to bring me nigh,
How wonderful is love like this!
CHORUS:
Such love, such wondrous love,
Such love, such wondrous love,
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this!
(SLIDE v13) Thank God that he is ever-willing and always hoping to work together with us even though our wickedness seems ever only violent and unreasonable. The end result of sending his son was murder in the case of Israel ‘s leaders. What did Jesus say would happen to them?
(SLIDE v16) Let’s read. 16 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!” The people nearby were shocked to consider the story. They probably did not understand it was an illustration about their leaders, their nation and their collective relationship with God but they realized it described criminal injustice beyond anything imaginable. They admitted it was an evil plot saying “May this never be!” In real life, it happened as the parable described. Even the large crowd of Israelis sided with the leaders unanimously for Jesus’ execution some days later. The crooked farmers tried desperately to keep their way of life and traditional religion, but it failed. God surprisingly also used their murder plot to provide salvation for the people who would take over the vineyard, sharing the gospel to the ends of the earth from then until now.
The stone the builders rejected
(SLIDE v17) In verse 17, Jesus brought up a Bible verse from the Old Testament Psalm 118. 17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ” ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone'”? The previous NIV Bible uses a less popular architectural term “capstone” for the important building block mentioned in the Psalm. But the Hebrew-English Bible shows the more popular rendition, and the recent NIV seemed to follow that instead. Jesus shared this Psalm in a prophetic sense, because the people must know by opposing him they are rejecting the most important stone in the building. (SLIDE corner and capstones) In the strictest sense, a cornerstone would be the first block in a foundation, and in a more modern sense it becomes a prominent block in a building, sometimes used as a time capsule for the year a building was constructed. In the capstone style it is a decorative or protective layer of stone that finishes off the structure with prominence. Later in the Bible, Jesus followers wrote about this in the foundational sense, describing Jesus as the most important stone in the new house of God. (SLIDE Ephesians 2:19-22) Look at Ephesians 2. That says, “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (SLIDE 1 Peter 2) Peter quoted another, similar prophetic promise from Isaiah 28 about the same principle. In his first letter he wrote, “5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” These are encouraging verses for the next generation farmers who came to work the vineyard and properly respected the owner. On the other hand however, Jesus shared a warning about the stone the builders rejected, which is similar to another stone prophecy found in Isaiah 8.
(SLIDE v18 accident) In verse 18, Jesus said, “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” He is warning the critics that they should watch their steps because they are in danger of tripping so badly they will not be able to survive God’s judgment based on how they treated his son. Isaiah wrote the Lord would “be a stone that causes men to stumble and rock that makes them fall.” This analogy makes the rejected cornerstone seem like a partially buried archaeological nuisance which pokes out of the ground causing people to trip. The leaders, Israelites and all other people who do not acknowledge Jesus will stumble over him, be broken and cast aside.
(SLIDE v18 statute) Jesus also said the rock they rejected would crush others. It is very severe, but reminiscent of the stone that came out of the mountain in Nebuchadnezzar’s vision of the statue. Daniel said the statue represented Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom and subsequent empires and its feet are thought to represent Rome. Daniel said “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, …” Now that Jesus reigns with all authority in heaven and on earth, his kingdom is established and rising over all. It will continue to grow until all his enemies are brought under his feet. Every realm, government, dominion and every little club that man can imagine will be crushed to dust and blown away forever, but Jesus’ kingdom will never be destroyed.
(SLIDE v19) At the moment, the leaders had no idea about the scope of Jesus’ promise and they were already ignoring his Bible study. Verse 19 says, “The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.”
(SLIDE Key Verse) Let’s read the key verse together. ““Jesus looked directly at them and asked, ‘Then what is the meaning of that which is written: The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone?’” Today Jesus met some opposition to his temple Bible studies. Rather than have a shouting match or disrespectful campaign speech, Jesus very subtly studied the Bible with the Priests and ruling scholars. He revealed himself to them as a rock mentioned several times in scripture with several purposes in God’s plan. People individually stumble and fall over him when they are too greedy to work with God and selfishly try to steal his vineyard for themselves. Nations exalt themselves against Jesus’ kingdom but they will all be crushed in eternity by the rock that God set up in Zion almost 2000 years ago. On the other hand, there are many stones that come alive when they hear the gospel and God is building them into a house, a new temple in all the nations of the world. They share the fruit God is looking for and they work together to rescue the perishing in Jesus’ name and they will share his kingdom forever. Let’s pray for each other to repent of our selfish farmer mentality and offer our bodies as living sacrifices that God can use for his glory.