42 Jesus *said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the [ s ] chief cornerstone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?43 Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a [ t ] people producing its fruit. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them. 46 And although they sought to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, since they considered Him to be a prophet.
Matthew 21:42-46 (NASB)
Next cut
We’ve described Jesus’ interaction with the religious leaders who’ve challenged Him about His authority as being like a boxing match with 1-2 punches. He has responded quite sternly to them – maybe in the hope that would turn from their false religion, repent and believe. Also, so that they would stop leading the general population of Israel astray. They knew He was talking about them. And this is not His last interaction with them by far. Next he’ll tell a parable of a wedding banquet and uninvited guests. Much of the rest of Matthew’s dialogue continues this discourse.
Do you know your Bible?
His last cut is pretty deep: “Have you read the scriptures?” Of course they have. They are the keepers and teachers of the law. They knew it so well they had errantly added their own rules on top to cover the areas they pridefully thought God had “missed”. “How could this street preacher, self-proclaimed Messiah, disrespect us, the leaders of the Jewish nation!”, they may have thought.
But did they really know it? Or did they miss the forest for the trees? Yes, they focused on the letter of the law and missed the spirit of the law.
OT prophecy
As we noted yesterday, Jesus often demonstrated His command of the OT by often quoting it in His sermons and dialogues. Of course, since He is the Word of God! Here He quotes from Ps 118:22–23. Naturally, Jesus identifies Himself as the fulfillment; He is the Cornerstone of our Christian faith. And it is a marvelous thing! Then He adds that the stone will break or crush. “Jesus, as the stone, either saves or crushes.” (gospelcoalition.org)
RЯeflection
- Do you know your Bible? That question could be posed to any of us as well. Not that we are unrepentant and holding to a phony religion like these religious leaders. But really. How well do we know the Word? I doubt there is any among us who wouldn’t say, “I need to know it more.” More than that, that we need to have it conform us more to the image of our Savior and Lord, Jesus.
