Capstone



Matthew 21:33-46
33“Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country.
34When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit.
35And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
36Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them.
37Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
38But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’
39And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
41They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
44And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them.
46And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

“I Love to Tell the Story” is an old hymn written by A. Katherine Hankey in 1866. The lyrics are beautiful and speak of the joy of telling the story of Jesus in such a way as to win another soul to Christ. It’s another one of those songs we used to sing in the car on long trips. It sparks in my imagination today because I stand amazed yet again by Jesus’ brilliant use of story to make His point. He was the Master storyteller.

In the Old Testament, there are also times when story is used to make a point, the most famous probably being Nathan’s parable told to David to illicit some repentance after his sin with Bathsheba. In our reading for today, Jesus uses story to make his point to the Pharisees about what they represent and what their future holds. And again they don’t get it. This illustration is fairly straight forward. The “Master” is God the Father, the tenants are the Jews, the servants are the prophets and the son is Jesus. The Father gave His people place and purpose but that was abused and the Father was forgotten. When the prophets came to bring the people back to God they were rejected, abused, and some even killed. Finally, God’s Son comes Himself and He too will be rejected and killed. The result will be that God’s people lose their place in His Kingdom and others will be given their place.

The story ends with the illustration of the capstone or cornerstone. This was the final piece of an archway upon which the entire thing rests. Should that be removed, the rest of the arch will crash to the ground. Jesus is that capstone and rejection of Him will cause damage and even death. While the warning to the Pharisees couldn’t be any clearer they choose to seek the death of Jesus rather than turning to Him in faith. While He fulfills all of their Old Testament prophecies they choose instead to remain blind; the death of the Savior is all they can think about by this point in Jesus’ story.

Jesus is the centerpiece of the life of ever believer. When we start to jiggle that stone or try to place it somewhere else, disaster will follow. It only fits in one place – the center. I realize that is easier said than done. There are many times when I realize I am trying to “rearrange” my life and put Jesus in a place that isn’t quite the center. It is a dangerous choice. But because God is gracious, that Stone isn’t easy to move and God continues to protect me from myself.

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