Cornerstone or Crushing Stone?
Devotions for Growing Christians
Cornerstone or Crushing Stone?
Matthew 21:33-45 – “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.
Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. But when the tenants saw the son they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do with those tenants?” They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will pay him at the proper seasons.”
Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone; this came about from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it. And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” And when the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables, they understood that He was speaking about them.”
The parable of the landowner and the wicked tenants teaches us a lot about God’s program with the nation of Israel, and it has plenty of application for individuals as well. In fact, the parable teaches us that every individual must confront the claims of Christ. Jesus Christ is either received as Savior and becomes the cornerstone of one’s life, or He becomes the crushing stone at the end of life. Let’s consider the background and the interpretation of this parable.
The Parable Interpreted
The parables of Jesus were stories from everyday experiences. Jesus used parables or stories to teach and illustrate moral and spiritual truth. In the 1st century, when landowners would sometimes travel abroad for extended lengths of time, they would leave their property in the hands of tenants who would oversee and care for the landowner’s orchards and vineyards. Periodically the owner would send his personal servants back home to collect the profits or part of the produce. For the tenants to disrespect the landowner’s servants and refuse to carry out his wishes would be bad enough - but to beat and kill the servants, and then to kill the owner’s son would be unforgivable!
It’s not difficult to interpret the essential features of this parable. The landowner obviously represents God, and the son and heir represents the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The vineyard is the nation of Israel that God placed and planted in the Land. The servants are the many Old Testament prophets whom God sent to His chosen people down through the years, both to warn them of their spiritually dead condition, and to encourage them to bear spiritual fruit.
The wicked tenants of the parable are the professional theologians of the day: the priests, the Levites and the scribes. These men were supposed to be the spiritual leaders of the nation. They were responsible for guiding the people in the Lord’s ways, and for preparing the nation for the coming of Messiah. But these leaders had failed. These leaders, the chief priests and scribes, were the very people the Lord was addressing with this parable (v23) - and there is no doubt that these leaders knew that the Lord was specifically directing this parable towards them (v45).
The Main Point
God did everything possible to care for and protect His vineyard, Israel (v33). As the ancient landowners built watchtowers in the fields to guard against thieves stealing the harvest, so God watched over His people. The protective wall or hedge in the parable may represent the Old Testament Law, given by God to separate and preserve Israel from the surrounding pagan nations. The Law was God’s means of protecting and disciplining his people, and preparing them for the coming of the Messiah (Galatians 3:23 24.) The fact that the owner prepared a winepress for processing the grapes at vintage time shows that God expected fruit from His vineyard. A similar parable in Isaiah 5:1-7 emphasizes the fact that Israel produced only “worthless grapes.” The main point of this parable, however, is that the tenants failed to receive and obey the owner’s servants - and they especially rejected his son. And Israel rejected her Messiah, the Son of God.
Israel’s disrespect and mistreatment of God’s Old Testament servants, the prophets, is well documented in Scripture. Jeremiah, for example, was beaten, put in stocks, thrown into a pit, and barely escaped with his life (Jeremiah 20 and 37-38). The prophet Amos was told to shut up and go back home (Amos 7). Tradition says that Isaiah was forced into a hollow log and sawed in half. Hebrews 11:37-38 describes the mistreatment of God’s Old Testament prophets.
Christ’s First Coming
The ultimate gesture of God’s grace to the nation of Israel was the coming of Jesus Christ (v37). In spite of what the leaders of Israel had done to the prophets, in His grace God sent His only begotten Son into the vineyard of Israel. Notice that the tenants did not assume that the son and heir was just another servant - they recognized him! They knew he was the son, and yet they plotted to kill him (v38).
Israel didn’t reject the Lord because no one knew His identity. No! The Jewish leaders clearly understood His claims to be the Son of God and the promised Messiah, but they would not acknowledge His claims. They would not submit to His teachings, His righteous standards, or His authority. Instead, they plotted how to do away with Him (John 11:53). They threw Him out of the vineyard, and crucified Him “outside the camp” . “The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His own blood” (Hebrews 13:11-12). Jesus was rejected and disowned by Judaism, and crucified as a common criminal outside the city walls of Jerusalem.
The Lord asked the religious leaders, “What should the owner of the vineyard do to the wicked tenants?’ (v40). The leaders condemned themselves with their answer: “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crops at harvest time” (v41). Their prophetic words came true less than 40 years later. In 70AD, the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem, killed many citizens, destroyed the Temple, and scattered the Jewish people. God’s special blessing on the nation of Israel was temporarily set aside, and the Gentiles were brought into the place of God’s favor. The newly-formed Church began to produce spiritual fruit for God, as the gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed to all the world.
In verse 42 the Jesus said that these coming events would be the fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 118:22, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.” The New Testament bears out the fact that Jesus Christ, who was rejected by Israel, has become the cornerstone of the Church (Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:6-7).
Jesus Christ’s Second Coming
Continuing His predictions, the Lord announced that the kingdom of God would be taken away from the nation of Israel and given to a nation or people who would produce fruit (v42). Who is this fruit-producing nation? Is this “nation” the Church, or is it the nation of Israel in the future? While a good case can be made for either view, the Lord’s use of the phrase “kingdom of God” is a strong point in favor of the “Israel of the future” interpretation of this verse. Throughout the New Testament, the Church is described as “the body of Christ” and “the bride of Christ” - but there is no reference to the Church as the “kingdom of God.” While all true believers are in the kingdom of God, with Christ as our King, Scripture never refers to the Lord Jesus as the “King of the Church.” And the phrase “the kingdom of God” is never used synonymously or inter-changeably with “the Church.”
Furthermore, biblical prophecies tell us that there will be a future spiritual awakening in the nation of Israel. Jeremiah 31:31-34 predicts that the hardened heart of Israel will be softened, and become spiritual. Ezekiel 37 indicates that the dry bones of the “house of Israel” will come together again, and spiritual life will be given to Israel. Romans 11:25-26 indicates that the “partial hardening” of Israel will be removed and “all Israel will be saved.”
These passages do not describe the Church. They refer to a time in the future - and to the spiritually revived “remnant” of Israel in the last days. This group of Jewish people will be the “servants of God…144,000 from every tribe of the sons of Israel” (Revelation 7:3-4). It seems clear that the kingdom of God will be given to this group (“the nation” or “people” of Matthew 21:43). This is “the nation” that will prepare for, and receive, the Messiah who was once rejected by their forefathers. This is “the nation” that will form the basis of our Lord’s 1000-year kingdom here on earth (Revelation 20:6).
Practical Application
The Lord included personal application along with His eschatological teaching in this passage: “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed” (v44). The eschatology (doctrine of future things) of this verse includes both advents of the Lord Jesus.
At His first coming, the nation of Israel was broken because it rejected Him, and the rejected Stone became the Cornerstone of the Church. At His second coming, the Lord will return as the “Crushing Stone.” Take a few moments to read Daniel 2. In the last days of Gentile power (represented by the image), the Lord will return as a stone from the air, and crush all powers that have rejected and resisted His authority. The nations will be crushed to powder and blown away, and they will be replaced with the “great mountain” - the kingdom of our Lord.
Notice that while “he who falls on this stone” and “he on whom it falls” applies to nations, it also applies to every individual who is confronted with the claims of Christ. When a person believes and accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ becomes the Cornerstone of that person’s life. Then life takes on a whole new meaning and structure!
Is Jesus Christ the cornerstone of your life? If you’re a believer, the Lord Jesus Christ has become the Cornerstone of your life, the Foundation upon whom your salvation and your life rests. And nothing can remove Him as your Cornerstone! (See John 10:27 30.) But does your lifestyle reflect this truth? Is your life structured around the Cornerstone? Is your life being built with care, using materials that are valuable and enduring? Or is your life structured around your own earthly goals and desires? Is it being lived selfishly and carelessly? Is it possible that your Cornerstone is obscured and covered up by worthless building materials? (See 1 Corinthians 3:10-17.)
Is it even possible that you only think or say you’re a Christian? If you have never recognized your need of Jesus as your personal Savior from sin and from the judgment of God, Jesus Christ is not the Cornerstone of your life. Without Christ as the Foundation and Cornerstone, a person’s life cannot be constructed properly. It remains unstructured, unstable, broken and lost. While that life may appear to be productive when judged by this world’s values and standards, from God’s point of view it is unproductive and broken. And in the end it will be judged by the Lord Himself as the Crushing Stone.
For every person who hears the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lord becomes either the Cornerstone now, or the Crushing Stone later.
- Dave Reid