The Conerstone
Mark 12:1-12

12:1 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. 12:2 "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. 12:3 "And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 12:4 "Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. 12:5 "And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. 12:6 "Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' 12:7 "But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 12:8 "So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. 12:9 "Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. 12:10 "Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 12:11 This was the Lord's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?" 12:12 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.

We were learning various passages of the Bible these two months. From this month we returned to a study of Mark.

We see very vicious words like "beat up," "threw stones," "wounded in the head," and "killed and cast out." In this parable, the vineyard is Israel or Jerusalem; the owner is God; the servants are Old Testament prophets; and beloved is Jesus Christ. Since God loved His people, he invited them to the repentance and faith by sending His prophets. However the vinedressers, that are the leaders of Israel persecuted and killed the prophets. Finally God sent His beloved Son, Jesus Christ to Israel. How did the leaders of Israel treat the Son? They took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. This showed the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus was brought to the hill of Golgotha outside of Jerusalem and died there."What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others." This showed that the Jerusalem would be destroyed by Romans.

Jesus told that He would be rejected by the leaders of Israel through the parable, and confirmed it by quoting verses from Psalm 117:22-23. "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes.""The builders" means the professional architects. The leaders of Israel; chief priests, scribes, and elders pretended themselves as the professionals of religion, laws, and politics, but they could not recognize that Jesus was the cornerstone and rejected him. Jesus came to become their cornerstone, but he became a rejected stone.

However, Jesus did not lie down as a rejected stone. God made him the cornerstone; the most important chief cornerstone of His building. God built His church on the cornerstone. This verse was a prophecy of His church; the new God's people. Paul declared that Christ is the foundation of church. "For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."(1Cor 3:11) Peter also wrote this statement in his first letter, chapter 2, verse 4-6. "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Church is the spiritual building and new temple that was built on Christ; the foundation.

We cerebrated Pentecost Sunday last 22nd. From the day of Pentecost the church started and the temple of Jerusalem was the place the church started. The temple was destroyed completely. Every stone was moved and fragmented. But church, the new spiritual temple, is build up on the unremovable cornerstone. Jesus Christi is the cornerstone.

Jesus told this parable not only to point out sins of the leaders, but also to show himself as the Christ who the Bible have prophesized. He invited them to see the new things that God was doing among them through Jesus. However the leaders' hearts were too hard not to accept his invitation to repentance. Verse 12 says, "So they left Him and went away." They might leave Jesus and go away for re-making their plan to kill Jesus. They went away from Guesses, their Savior.

Do you also leave Jesus and go away from him? How do you respond the invitation of the Savior? The Bible invites us saying, "Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." Have you felt that you were like one of the stones on a way? Have you experienced betrayal or self-doubt? You might feel that you are alone and abandoned, but try Jesus. Try him again. Men rejected him, and he knows your experiences, your loneliness, your wounds, and whatever in your mind. Jesus picked you up and set you in God's spiritual temple. You will become a precious stone in His temple. This is the promise that the Bible assures to us. "Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." Build your life on Christ, our cornerstone, and you never be put to shame.