Matthew 21:42
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”
Jesus told a story that the original audience understood to be speaking of how they were rejecting the Son of God. In response to the story, Jesus refers to builders who had rejected the “chief cornerstone.” In many ancient buildings, the foundation was supported by a cornerstone, without it, the foundation would not be able to support that which was built upon it. Jewish lore tells the story of the building of Solomon’s Temple, a project that took many years. The massive stones for the Temple were quarried some distance away from the Temple site and delivered to the builders. As they were laying the foundation, a very oddly shaped stone,that did not seem to fit, arrived. The contractor, thinking the quarry had made a mistake, had the stone thrown away. It was pushed down a hill into the city trash dump. Sometime later, the contractor sent to the quarry asking for the chief cornerstone. The quarry sent back a message saying it had already been delivered. When the contractor argued that he had never received the stone, someone reminded him of the oddly shaped stone, the one that did not seem to fit his plans, that he had thrown in the trash. Sure enough, that was the stone that would support the whole building. With great effort, they raised the stone out of the rubbish heap, and continued erecting what would become a building which would bring glory to God and salvation to man.
It is not difficult to understand what Jesus is getting at. In the parable, the Son was rejected because the vine dressers saw no value in having Him rule over them. They thought their lives would be better, more profitable, and more successful without the Son. But they were, in fact, rejecting the most important aspect of life; relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Have you made Jesus the chief cornerstone of your life? Is the rest of your life built upon the solid foundation of relationship with Jesus? Take some time right now to surrender all to Jesus and to reflect upon how you can let Him reign in every area of your life.
Pastor Jim
Old Testament:
Genesis 41- Prepare For The Future
Genesis 42- For Me Or Against Me
This verse is the conclusion of a parable Jesus spoke regarding God’s reward system. All those who responded to the offer of the vineyard owner received the same wage, whether they worked for a few hours or for the entire day. What a beautiful picture of God’s grace. Heaven is the great reward of all who respond to the call of God. Young Timothy and the thief hanging next to Jesus were both recipients of God’s manifold grace, both will forever live under the banner of King Jesus, walk the streets of gold, and experience the glories of living in glory.
Matthew 19:4-6
Matthew 18:21
Matthew 17:1
This verse has always fascinated me. Jesus is promising He is the one who will build the church. Since the church is not a building, but people, He is saying, He will add the living stones to the church of God. Jesus is also telling us, the devil and his forces seek to prevail against the church. The Bible gives us just enough insight into the realm of the spirit to know there are spiritual battles that take place. The battle is between the forces of God and the forces of Satan, and they are fighting over the souls of men. Jesus said He came to give us abundant life, while the devil is trying to steal, kill, and destroy us. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church. You can have great confidence this morning that the forces of Heaven are far superior to the forces of hell.
Matthew 15:36
As Peter’s eyes left Jesus and began to focus on his surroundings, his great faith failed and he began to sink. In desperation he cried out, “Lord, save me” to which Jesus replied, first with a stretched out hand, then with gentle rebuke.
While explaining the Parable of the Tares, Jesus spoke of the harvest at the end of the age, when all humanity will be gathered together. In Revelation 19, we see this event unfolding. We see all of humanity standing before the throne of God, and the books opened. The first book we might call the ‘book of works’. It contains every sin committed, every idle word spoken, every vile thought we’ve had. The second is the Book of Life. When we receive Christ, not only is our name written in the Book of Life, but all that was in the ‘book of works’ is erased. Paul spoke of “the handwriting of ordinances that was against us has been erased, having been nailed to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Those, whose names are found in the Book of Life, will be escorted into heaven, where they will forever be with the Lord.
Matthew 12:31-32
Jim Gallagher 