1 And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. – Mark 12:1-12 ESV
The chief priests, scribes, and elders of Israel had just confronted Jesus in the temple courtyard, demanding to know by what authority He had ransacked the place the day before. In an explosion of righteous indignation, Jesus had single-handedly destroyed their little money-making venture of selling sacrificial animals and currency exchange. The greed and graft of these religious leaders and their total disregard for the holiness of His Father’s house had been more than Jesus could stand. The fact that they had set up the entire operation in the Courtyard of the Gentiles infuriated Jesus even more.
Jesus's actions proved costly for these men in more ways than one. The temporary shutdown of their sales operations hit their bottom line. But their egos suffered the greater loss. Jesus had directly challenged their authority and, in doing so, diminished their standing among the people. That’s what prompted them to confront Jesus about His arrogant display the day before. But Jesus refused to answer their question, instead reminding them that they had refused to accept John the Baptist’s authority as well. These self-righteous and self-appointed leaders of Israel had a habit of rejecting anyone who spoke on behalf of God. In their minds, Jesus had no authority to do what He did. They saw Him as nothing more than a rural Rabbi from the backwater town of Nazareth, with no education or credentials. He was not from a wealthy family and had no standing in their community.
But while Jesus refused to answer their question, He did take time to tell them a parable. In fact, according to Matthew’s gospel, Jesus told them several different parables, each meant to address their question about authority. But more importantly, these parables were designed to expose the religious leaders as rebels against God. Their refusal to accept Jesus was nothing less than a rejection of God Himself.
Jesus told this parable in the middle of the crowded temple courtyard, surrounded by foreign pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. But His primary audience was the religious leaders who had arrogantly questioned His authority. Jesus began His parable by describing a man who planted a vineyard, complete with a winepress, protective fence, and watchtower. Once the vineyard was complete, the man rented it out to tenant farmers who were expected to cultivate and care for it. Since the landowner had paid for the vineyard, he expected to receive a share of the production and profits. But when he sent his servant to collect his portion of the first year’s harvest, the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. So, the landowner sent a second servant, who was treated just as violently and shamefully. Unwilling to turn over any of the fruit of their labor, the rebellious tenants murdered the third servant the landowner sent. According to Jesus, this behavior went on for some time.
“Others he sent were either beaten or killed, until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly.” – Mark 12:5 NLT
By this time, Jesus had the crowd hooked; they were enthralled by His story and anxious to know the outcome. In their minds, they were debating what the landowner should do to the murderous tenants, and the thought of the man risking the life of his son would have been appalling to them. But, according to Jesus’ story, that’s exactly what the landowner did.
“The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’” – Mark 12:6 NLT
The people in the crowd likely gasped at the father’s blatant display of naivete. After all the evil tenants had done to his servants, how could this man be so blind as to think they would show his son any respect? Jesus’ audience knew exactly what was going to happen and probably wanted to scream at the landowner, “Don’t do it!” But as Jesus completed the story, their worst fears were realized.
“But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.” – Mark 12:7-8 NLT
Knowing His audience was shocked by the dark ending to His story, Jesus asked them, “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” (Mark 12:9 NLT). Their minds had already gone there. Each of them would have considered what they would do as the landowner, and their thoughts included nothing about forgiveness or clemency. They focused on revenge and retribution, hoping the wicked tenants got exactly what they deserved. And, much to their relief, Jesus ends the story the way they hoped.
“I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” – Mark 12:9 NLT
The bad guys lost, and justice prevailed. The story was sad, but it had a happy ending. Everything turned out okay, but the crowd failed to realize the story had a far deeper meaning. Jesus revealed the message's deeper spiritual dimension by quoting Psalm 118:22-23.
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord‘s doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.”
This rather abrupt shift in topic was intentional. Jesus quoted from the same Psalm that the crowds had quoted from during His triumphal entry.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! – Psalm 118:26 ESV
That Psalm declares that the Messiah will come in the name of the Lord, but it also states that He will be rejected. Yet, it is all “the Lord’s doing.” It is all part of God’s plan. This rejected stone will become the cornerstone of a great house that will bring glory and honor to God. And not long after Jesus was rejected and crucified, Peter and John stood before the high priests, scribes, and elders of Israel, declaring, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone” (Acts 4:11 ESV).
The same men who stood before Jesus in the Courtyard of the Gentiles would later hear two of His disciples say, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 ESV). Peter picks up this cornerstone theme in one of his later letters.
For it stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
and
“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.” – 1 Peter 2:6-8 ESV
Jesus would be rejected by the religious leaders of Israel. Like the rebellious tenants in Jesus’ story, they would refuse to accept the Son the Father sent. They would treat the Son with disrespect, reject His authority, and claim His inheritance as their own. In the parable, the vineyard represents Israel, and the tenant farmers represent the leaders to whom God had assigned care of the land. Israel, represented by the land, was always intended as the Son's inheritance; it did not belong to the leaders. They were merely its caretakers. But in their greed, they had treated Israel as their own, growing powerful and wealthy at the expense of God’s people.
The servants in the story represent the prophets God sent throughout the centuries, calling His people to repentance. But the leaders of Israel killed the prophets, refusing to relinquish their authority over the inheritance. Finally, God sent His Son. But they ended up rejecting Him as well, putting Him to death in an effort to steal His rightful inheritance.
But their efforts failed. They could kill the Son, but would never take what rightfully belonged to Him. The rejected stone became the most valued cornerstone of a grand temple made up of those who place their faith in Him. The apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus' rejection has resulted in an incredible “building” made up of people from all walks of life and from every tribe, nation, and tongue.
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ESV
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. – Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV
The high priests, scribes, and elders could reject Jesus' authority, but they could not stop God's redemptive plan. As the psalmist stated, “This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see” (Psalm 118:23 NLT).
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