Matthew 21:42-46 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.
Jesus has no compromising words for the Pharisees and Sadducees; he gives them no slack. He calls them evildoers, snakes, sons of vipers. They are a contaminating element in the Jewish society. Rather than leading people to God, they are baring the door to the Lord’s house. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to. (Matthew 23:13-14) Their sanctimonious lifestyle looked good on the outside, but within them their self-indulgent hearts were far from God. Their godless hypocrisy created a lifestyle of desiring praises from men more than God. Jesus knew their hearts. He approached them with harsh words, judgmental words. He understood well that they desired to kill him and that they would hate his followers too, chasing them from city to city, killing them, persecuting them. He told them they were as their fathers, grandfathers, and so on who persecuted and killed the prophets of old. Jesus knew they would unite with secular power with Pilate to murder him. Jesus understood them well; they were the farmers who wanted to take the land away from the owner of the land. They were the fig tree that failed to bear fruit. They were the second son that said he would follow God, but in his heart had no intention to follow God. The Jewish elders and elite burned with hatred towards Jesus, for they understood Jesus was talking about them. They were the corrupt leaders Jesus was describing. Because of that, they picked up stones many times to kill Jesus. Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me? (John 10:31-32) But Jesus’ life would not be given in stoning, but on the cross, for anyone hanging from a tree in Israel is a curse, totally abandoned by man and God. If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole, you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. Deuteronomy (21:22-23) Jesus would die as the complete and final sacrifice, fulfilling God’s will to sanctify ALL PEOPLE who come to him, believing the curse of sin on them would be lifted because Jesus became a curse for the sins of ALL PEOPLE. The leaders of the Jewish community rejected Jesus and his teaching. They were blind to his miracles; they saw only a man who was a threat to their leadership authority. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? The builders of the Jewish religion, the priests who tithed even down to their herbs, who wore flowing robes and who bore on their arms broad phylacteries, rejected Jesus as being from God. Jesus tells them, Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed. Jesus is not only the cornerstone to God’s plan of rescuing people from sin, He also is the capstone, the final stone at the top of the house that is put into place. He is the beginning and the ending of God’s plan to rescue his people from the grasp of sin. God is building an eternal household, where He will dwell with his people forever. Anything other than trusting in Jesus Christ and his works will be crushed, smashed to smithereens.
Jesus concludes his Sermon on the Mount by saying, Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27) The Jewish leaders’ lifestyle was the antithesis of the teaching of Jesus. They were not poor in spirit, neither were they poor in the world. Their wealth came by taking advantage of people. They accumulated treasure here on earth. The priests were not merciful; they were willing to to exploit the widow, take her house for lengthy prayers. (Mark 12:40) They failed to be earnest peacemakers, gracious, merciful, and the like. They were not good shepherds, servants of the people. They chose to place heavy burdens on their flock, judging their weaknesses, rather than supporting them by guiding them to a better pasture, a better life. Jesus warns them, Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. (Matthew 7:1-2) Jesus knew of their accumulated wealth. He knew they robbed widows of their houses. He knew they asked people to swear on the gold placed on the altar, rather than on the altar itself. For the gold would belong to them, swearing on the altar did not accrue them any wealth. They acted like hirelings who would serve only for money and deference. Jesus understood well their hypocrisy. The Pharisees, Sadducees, teachers of the law and the elders’ lifestyle was far from being perfect. They were supposed to be true shepherds, yet their way of living and their willingness to live self-indulgent lives made them enemies of God. God would deal with them harshly, and the capstone would eventually crush them. The place of God’s dwelling would be removed from them and placed into the hands of the Messiah. He and his followers would become the dwelling place of God. The Jewish community and their elders, priests, and teachers of the law were living lives not acceptable to a holy God. God’s covenant with his people could not be implemented through man’s effort to be like God: holy, perfect. One errant decision or wayward thought contaminates holiness, failure to be as God is: perfect. The law revealed clearly the people’s weaknesses, and it pointed out to people their imperfection. The Adamic man could never please God unless he was changed by God himself. Paul writes, But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.” But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:10-14)
Today as we analyze the above focus and the castigating of the Jewish leadership by Jesus, we must understand their attempt to please God was undermined by their fleshly desires to have control. Even though Jesus was in their midst doing good, they would not accept him because of their wish to maintain their position in the community. They were more intent on keeping power than serving God. If the latter would have been true, they would have gladly received Jesus as their Master. But their lives were blinded by their will to maintain their position in the Jewish society. Jesus knew the minds of the priests and the leadership. He knew their innate wickedness, their willingness to serve themselves rather than God. They had a form of religion—they served laws and regulations, but in a perfunctory way, not with a heartfelt desire to know God. If they had desired to know God, they would have been full of mercy and grace. For God represents these attributes and so much more. In our world today, Christians are to serve God with their whole heart, mind, soul and strength. If we do so, we will love people as we love ourselves. Christians are not to seek power or position over serving God in roles as servants and slaves. The world should see us as instruments reflecting God, full of mercy and grace for ALL PEOPLE. Our society is best described by Paul when instructing Timothy. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Sadly, many of these adverse characteristics are applicable to the leaders of the Jewish community and the priests in Jesus’ time. Worldliness had crept into their lives and institutions. We should be careful that worldliness does not creep into our lives and the church. With the Holy Spirit’s leading, we should evaluate our lives clearly. Are we trying to win the world, but lose our souls? Let us not deny the power of God. He has sent the Holy Spirit to energize us toward doing good, being peaceful, caring, and loving. Let the love of God champion our souls or we will find the discipline of Christ when we stumble over the cornerstone of life. May we read the scriptures and produce fruit for the Lord.
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