Jesus & the Prophets – rejecting the Cornerstone … (10/28/18)
Another dynamic reference to “the prophets” made by Jesus is his mention of “the stone that the builders rejected” (see Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, & Luke 20:17) – the stone mentioned in Psalm 118:22-231 – the stone that “has become the cornerstone”2 – the stone, rejected by the “builders” of the Law, upon which the new covenant of his ministry was founded (see Jeremiah 31:31-33, Matthew 24:12-14, John 1:17, & John 15:8-17 – also Hebrews 8:8-13 & 1 Peter 2:5) – the stone of selfless service & self-sacrificial kindness that cannot be washed away by even the greatest storm or most painful tragedy (a la Matthew 7:24-25 & Luke 6:46-48) – the stone that “crushes [the life of] anyone upon whom it falls” and yet merely “breaks to pieces” the ego of anyone who willingly chooses to fall upon it (see Matthew 21:43-44 & Luke 20:18).3
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on stone. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew & beat fiercely on that house, and yet it did not fall, because it had been built on stone.” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:24-25)
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1 “The right hand of the Lord does valiantly; and the right hand of the Lord is exalted … Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord … I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. For the stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous to our eyes.” ~ Psalm 118:15-23 … NOTE here that it is “the right hand of the LORD” that is exalted; the hand of humble generosity that becomes “the chief cornerstone” and thereby “becomes [our] salvation.”
2 Whereas the Hebrew of Psalm 118:22 refers to the “chief cornerstone” (pinnah leros – Strong’s #6438 & #7218), the Greek texts of Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, & Luke 20:17 all make mention of the “primary corner” (kephalon gonias – Strong’s #2776 & #1137). As such, seeing as how the latter three passages were all inspired by the former one – and seeing as how Jesus is referring to the culmination of a building process and not the initiation thereof, a more proper translation of this term would be “keystone”; the final singular stone installed in the construction of any wall or portal (not one of the 2-4 “cornerstones” that frame the foundation at the beginning thereof).
3 NOTE first and foremost that this cryptic statement employs two very different Greek words for “broken” (synthlasthesetai – Strong’s #4917) and “crushed” (likmesei – Strong’s #3039), with the former meaning merely “to break into various pieces” and the latter meaning “to pulverize” or “to grind into dust” or “to obliterate” … NOTE as well that this same phrasing directly recalls (and metaphorically amends) the words of “the prophets” found in Isaiah 8:14, Zechariah 12:3, & Daniel 2:34-44 … Finally, NOTE that this particular passage summons up the following words of Jesus, uttered while he was trudging his way to Golgotha at the very end of his ministry: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but rather weep for yourselves and your children. For the days are surely coming when … they will cry to the mountains, ‘Fall upon us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us over.’” (see Luke 23:28-31)
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