Tag Archives: Cornerstone

May 20 2014

The Cornerstone – Luke 20

Concerning the parable of the Wicked Tenants in verses 9-18, we commented extensively in this previous post. To summarize, the owner of the vineyard equates to God. The tenants are God’s people. The servants that He sends are His prophets. After the servants have been treated violently, the owner sends His son, with whom they should be respectful. This of course is Jesus. The tenants killed the Son. Jesus asks them what they think the owner will do. He says that he will destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.

A vineyard with bird-netting.

A vineyard with bird-netting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Note that those hearing this parable did not have any trouble understanding what it meant because verse 16 says “When they heard this, they said, ‘Surely not!'” But Jesus answers quoting from Psalm 118:22: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” This also was not lost on His listeners. The builders were the religious leaders of the day, and Jesus was the cornerstone. Then He added “Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Here, Jesus has turned up the rhetoric, knowing that His time is coming soon; and the scribes and Pharisees were already plotting against Him.  But His goal is not simply to anger them. The Lord is giving them fair warning and every chance in the world to see what should already have been obvious – this is the Messiah, the Son of God, in their midst.

(This year’s reading plan for Luke, Acts, and 1 and 2 Chronicles averages just 15 verses per day – 5 days per week!)
Schedule for this week
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from Luke here
Read or listen to audio of today’s selection from 2 Chronicles here

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  

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Sep 20 2013

Psalm 118 – His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

Mount Zion was the center of Christian worship from the earliest days of the Church. According to tradition, the events of Pentecost took place on this hill. Later it became the headquarters of the apostles and site of the Church of the Dormition, that dominates the hill.

Mount Zion was the center of Christian worship from the earliest days of the Church. According to tradition, the events of Pentecost took place on this hill. Later it became the headquarters of the apostles and site of the Church of the Dormition, that dominates the hill.

This psalm has so many aspects that it was difficult to choose a title for this particular blog. But in the end, repetition won out, at least to some degree (the words are repeated several times, including in the last verse). And God’s enduring steadfast love certainly does apply to all aspects of the song. It is a song indeed, and some of our hymns have been taken from words within Psalm 118, one of which is the simple, but beautiful “This is the day that The Lord hath made” taken from verse 24.

It is a song almost certainly written by David, and many scholars believe it was written on the occasion of the defeat of Saul, when David had been established as king. That certainly fits well, but there is nothing in the superscription or elsewhere to substantiate that.

One of the most important verses of the psalm is arguably verse 22, which is quoted many places in the New Testament, including Mark 12:10-11 and Luke 20:17: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.“ This refers, of course, to Jesus, and how he was rejected, but has become the cornerstone of His church and the kingdom.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.