Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22 at the end of the parable of the vineyard owner: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." In a few days, the religious leaders arrest Jesus and murder him. They look victorious, and he looks defeated, but this verse lets everyone know he will be victorious, and they will be defeated. Even though they rejected Jesus, God the Father chose to exalt him.

https://youtu.be/BxNl1tYVTUo

"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" (Psalm 118:22) This is about Jesus' victory even though he was crucified.

Table of contentsGod Stopped Focusing on Israel and Focused on GentilesGod Gave His Vineyard to Tenants Who Produce FruitActs Shows the Transition from Jews to GentilesJews Were Losing an Inheritance Versus Gaining OneThe Stone Represents the Son, and the Builders Represent the TenantsNot Just Any Stone or Rock, but the CornerstonePsalm 118:22 Is About Jesus' Victory and the Religious Leaders' DefeatFall on Christ’s Mercy, or He Falls on You in JudgmentJesus' Warning Is Loving

Not long after Katie and I moved to Washington, my parents followed us. They found what seemed like the perfect house. It was beautiful, and the price was low. I wondered how this house could have stayed on the market for so long. I came to find out there was a crack in the foundation. The house was so unstable no bank would back a loan. On one hand, I thought It was sad that such a beautiful house seemed to lose everything because of a poor foundation! On the other hand, I thought, How valuable is a house with a poor foundation?

Buildings are not the only things that need strong foundations: marriages, families, and nations do, too. When the nation of Israel rejected Jesus as their foundation or cornerstone, they also lost their value. Let’s briefly review what we have covered so far:

Luke 20:9 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.

From Isaiah 5, we know the vineyard owner represents God, and the vineyard represents Israel.

Luke 20:10 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. 11 And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.

The servants the vineyard owner sent represent the Old Testament prophets, whom Israel repeatedly rejected and mistreated. Much of the parable would seem absurd to Jesus’ listeners.

It was hard to believe the tenants would respond this way. The worst tenants would do is refuse to provide the expected fruit, not beat the servants, and send them back empty-handed.

It was hard to believe the owner would respond this way. No owner would keep sending mistreated servants without getting upset at the tenants. It reveals God’s long-suffering nature.

Luke 20:13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’

With this verse, the owner reaches the height of absurdity. No reasonable father would send his son to check on tenants who severely beat the servants sent to them. Sending a son would be the LAST thing a father would do.

How do the tenants respond to this incredible demonstration of love, patience, and compassion? Would they go so far as to beat the vineyard owner’s son, too? They do even worse than that:

Luke 20:14 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.’ 15 And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

The tenants’ wickedness reached an all-time high with this decision. They didn’t even talk about murdering the servants, but they murdered the beloved son. They represent the religious leaders who want to murder Jesus.

Luke 20:16a He will come and destroy those tenants

I want to break up this verse into three parts. We covered this part last week. God is longsuffering, but his longsuffering ends when his Son is rejected.

God Stopped Focusing on Israel and Focused on Gentiles

Luke 20:16b and give the vineyard to others.”

Because the vineyard represents Israel, how do we interpret the vineyard being given to others? Although God did give the nation of Israel over to other nations to punish them, such as when Assyria conquered the northern kingdom and Babylon conquered the southern kingdom, that’s not what’s in view in this verse. Instead, it is better to understand God takes his attention off Israel and puts it on the Gentiles.

Turn one chapter to the right and look at Luke 21:21-24. Your Bibles probably have a title for this section, such as “The Destruction of Jerusalem” or “Jesus Foretells the Destruction of Jerusalem.” We know this is referring to 70 AD when Rome conquered Jerusalem to punish the Jews for rejecting Christ. We have talked about this a few times in recent sermons.

Luke 21:24a They (the Jews) will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations

This is the diaspora, or dispersion of the Jews throughout the world, which we see even up to today.

Luke 21:24b and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles

This refers to the Romans and all other nations that have occupied Jerusalem throughout the last two millenniums. Think of the Palestinians today.

Luke 21:24b until the TIMES OF THE GENTILES are fulfilled.

This is the time when God’s focus is on the Gentiles instead of the Jews, and it is more commonly called the Church Age. The Church Age and the times of the Gentiles are synonymous because even though there are some Christian Jews, the church is primarily Gentiles.

God Gave His Vineyard to Tenants Who Produce Fruit

God isn’t going to destroy his vineyard just because of bad tenants. Instead, he gives the vineyard to tenants who will produce fruit. And Gentiles do! Missionaries are mostly Gentiles. The gospel is spread mostly by Gentiles. The parallel account:

Matthew 21:41 “[The owner] will put [the tenants] to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants (referring to Gentiles) WHO WILL GIVE HIM THE FRUITS in their seasons.”…43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you (Jews) and GIVEN TO A PEOPLE PRODUCING ITS FRUITS (again, Gentiles).

Jesus makes this same point in the parable of the wedding feast. Here’s the context. A king throws a celebration for his Son:

Matthew 22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.

You can already see the parallels between this parable and the parable of the vineyard owner. Both parables have servants who are sent. In both parables, the servants represent the Old Testament prophets.

Matthew 22:4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,

I have shared with you a few times that Jesus said outrageous or unbelievable things to make his points, such as a father giving his rebellious son his inheritance that he knows he will squander, or a vineyard owner sending his son to tenants who beat up the three servants. And this parable contains something else absurd: the idea that anyone in Jesus’ day would reject a king’s invitation to attend his son’s wedding.

The people in Jesus’s day typically worked six long, 12-hour days, followed by one day off, and then it began again. Life was short, difficult, and, compared to our lives, largely uneventful. Everyone wanted to attend weddings. They were large parties and one of the only times people could relax and be fed by someone else. For most, a wedding would be the highlight of the year. And if it was the king’s son’s wedding, it was a once-in-a-lifetime event. In other words, nobody would “pay no attention and [go] off to [their] farm [or] business.”

So, what was the point of Jesus saying something so absurd? It is absurd that people would reject the king’s invitation to his son’s wedding, but it is even more absurd that people would reject the King of Kings’ invitation to join his kingdom. If Jesus’ listeners said, “Nobody would reject an invitation to the king’s wedding,” Jesus could say, “It makes even less sense that anyone would reject eternal life.”

Matthew 22:6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them.

Here’s another parallel with the parable of the vineyard owner: the servants, representing the Old Testament prophets, are mistreated.

Matthew 22:7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

Another parallel: the people who mistreated the servants are destroyed.

Matthew 22:8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.

This refers to the Jews. Keep in mind it says they “were not worthy.”

Matthew 22:9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

This invitation is the gospel being given to Gentiles because the Jews rejected it. And here is another parallel: the vineyard owner would not destroy the vineyard because of bad tenants. Similarly,