Mark 12:1-12 - Jesus is no Pebble; He is the Rock!

Then He began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.

 

Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.

 

And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

 

Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

 

And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.

 

Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

 

But those vinedressers said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

 

So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

 

Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.

  

Have you not even read this Scripture: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

 

This was the LORD’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

  

And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away

Jesus is the Chief Stone!
photo by  Dave Levy, used under the creative commons license.
check out more photos at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davelevy/

The Stone spoken of in this passage is Jesus.  People, thinking they knew best when it came to building God's Kingdom on earth, totally bypassed this Stone but opted for more "logical choices." They rejected it because, in their eyes, that was not how the Kingdom of God was to be on this earth.  In their eyes, the kingdom would be built up by military conquest, political power (with themselves as head) and in all the ways the kingdoms of this earth are built up. But the Son of God came to establish the Kingdom in people's hearts, taking away the death inside of them and giving them New Life.

Yes, the Stone was rejected by men but it turned out to be the most important aspect in the Kingdom of God. Jesus is the Cornerstone and if I want to be in God's Kingdom, I must realize His preeminence.  The psalm Jesus quoted when He mentioned Himself as the Stone, says this in the verse immediately before - "I will give you thanks for you answered me; You have become my salvation." (Psalm 118: 21) Surely, Jesus is my salvation. This Stone rejected by the world is accepted by myself (and many others) for we know that this Stone is the most important in the Kingdom of God.

May I put Jesus first in what I try to build today. For if He is Cornerstone, then I will see His salvation in all that transpires today.  Others may reject Him, but I will not. For God, in His humility, clothed Himself in flesh  to bring us into His Kingdom.  The incarnation reveals God to us. The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes! Amen.