Jesus the Cornerstone – Luke 20:1-18

Our text today says Jesus was preaching the gospel in the temple, but what was that gospel message?  It was that God’s kingdom was near to coming and that there was acceptance in this kingdom for those who repented of following their own ways and submitted to God’s rule through His king, Messiah.  Of course, Messiah had to die as a sacrifice to atone for this disobedience and be resurrected to accomplish our rescue.  That has become a part of our gospel message as well.

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”  (Luke 20:1-18 ESV)

Because the chief priests, scribes and elders are practiced at debating and wickedly sly, they hope to trap Jesus in their question about his authority.  If he says his authority is from God they will ask for proof and question why they, the recognized authorities in Israel, have not sanctioned him.  But when he turns the question on them by asking about John’s authority, their sly response exposes their motivation and their inability to assess Jesus’ ministry fairly.

Jesus does not leave it at that, however.  His parable puts these leaders in a terrible light and indirectly testifies that he is no mere prophet but the favored Son of God, the predicted cornerstone upon which Yahweh is building His kingdom temple and upon which God’s enemies will perish.  How we respond to Jesus is the ultimate “religious” question.  Failure to acknowledge he has come from God and to submit to his authority is rebellion to the ultimate degree.