“The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone,” Jesus quoting Psalm 118 in Matthew 21:42
Jesus condemns the cold heart, the soul so overgrown with self and selfishness that it would blaspheme the source of hope, the heart so evil that it would see the Prince of Peace and call him the Lord of Flies. (Max Lucado, The Angels Were Silent, p. 78)
Israel’s cumulative unfaithfulness over the generations had left them in a position before God where there was ‘no healing’ [see 2 Chronicles 36:16]. (M.J. Selman, New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, p. 194)
In between parables illustrating Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord, Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23. But He begins with the phrase, “Did you never read in the Scriptures…?” (v.42) This is a direct slam on the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were the experts of their day on the Scriptures; they knew the Old Testament inside and out and believed God owed them salvation for that reason. To ask this question to the Pharisees would be like asking Phillies pitcher Roy Halladay, “Have you ever thrown a baseball before?” Except that the Pharisees had hearts not in line with what their heads knew. Jesus points out that the builders who rejected the corner stone (v. 42) are the Pharisees.
The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone (v.42). A corner stone is the first stone put into place when a building is constructed; the entire structure is built based on the precise placement of the corner stone. This imagery of Jesus being the corner stone of the new covenant between God and His people is used throughout the New Testament, including Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:19-22 and 1 Peter 2:4-10 (notice the temple metaphors Peter uses).
This passage and the surrounding parables here in Matthew 21-22 teach that the kingdom of God will be (was) taken away from the Jews and be given to a people producing the fruit of it (v.43). Let’s take a look again at the truths Paul gives us in Romans 9 and 11 how Israel has fallen out of favor from her privileged place in the covenant with God.
As Gentiles (non-Jews), we have obtained righteousness by faith (Romans 9:30) while Israel pursued a works righteousness (9:32) and thus stumbled over the stumbling stone. Some of Israel’s dead “branches were broken off” (11:17). Gentiles are branches of a wild olive tree and have been grafted into the cultivated olive tree (11:17).
Some have used these truths as an excuse for anti-Semitic behavior and have done great evil. However, Paul warns that we should “not be arrogant toward the branches” (9:18); rather we should “not be conceited but fear” (9:20). “For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare” us, as grafted-in branches from the wild olive tree (9:21).
“A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in” (11:25); “salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make [the Jews] jealous” (11:11). I believe Jesus was referring to this jealousy when He rebuked the priests for not even feeling “remorse” that the tax-gatherers and harlots believed and they did not (Matthew 21:32). God is not finished yet with Israel for the day is coming when all of Israel will believe (Isaiah 45:25; Ezekiel 20:40).
Until that day, the Corner Stone will be a stumbling block and he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust (v.44). At about this point in Matthew’s narrative, the eyes of the Pharisees open. Just a few verses earlier they had indicted themselves without realizing it (21:41), but now they know He was speaking about them (v.45). The Pharisees sought to seize Him (v.46) but back down…for now. Instead of fearing the chief corner stone, they feared the multitudes (v.46).
The multitudes merely held Him to be a prophet (v. 46). May we, however, recognize Him as God’s Son, the Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. May we know that the Lord has thrown open the gates of salvation for all who would call upon His name! May we rejoice in this and declare that it is marvelous in our eyes (v.42)!
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