11.14.11
by Justin Poteete
He went on to tell the people this parable; “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Luke 20:9-10

The owner of the vineyard kept sending his servants to the farmers to see how things were going. Every time the servants went to collect some fruit they were beaten. In the Old Testament we see that God sent prophets to Israel, and they were absolutely rejected. Many of them were stoned and killed. Finally the Father sent his Son.

Jesus Christ was the Son and he was telling the religious leaders and rulers exactly what was in their hearts in minds to do with him. They were going to beat him, and even worse, crucify him.

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’?
Luke 20:17

Jesus was telling them they could kill him but it would not hinder the purpose God had; to make a way for his people to come into a right relationship with himself. The Stone that they reject will become the head of the corner. When Jesus quotes here form Psalms 118 he shows the religious leaders that even their rejection of the Messiah was prophesied about in Hebrew scripture. This is a clear prediction of humanity rejecting Jesus as the only way made by God to come into right standing with him.

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.
Luke 20:18

Today you and I can fall on that Stone, who is Jesus Christ, and be saved. To be more specific we need to come to him as a sinner broken in spirit, and broken in heart. When we do it like that we are on a foundation that no man can lay upon. 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us that no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. Daniel warns of the Stone which will fall in judgment someday and crush the nations that reject him (Daniel 2). What Jesus is saying in this parable was not at all misunderstood by any of the religious leaders. We read in the following verse that immediately after he spoke many of them tried to find a way to have Jesus arrested, because they knew the parable was spoken against them.

So many times we as American Christians get an idea in our head of what a ‘Christian’ is and how they are to act. Has our American culture popularized Christianity to the extent that it is the cool trend? So many celebrities ‘thank God’ at award presentations, and our praised and applauded, but how many of them have truly been thanking God by living a life that is devoted to the true Cornerstone! Has your faith been shaped by modern Christianity or truly built on Christ, and his Word, as the cornerstone of your foundation?