The Cornerstone (Psalm 118: 22)

After being questioned by the Pharisees, Priests, and Scribes, Jesus begins telling Parables. In Matthew (21:33-44), Mark (12:1-11), and Luke (20:9-18) he tells the Parable of the Vine-growers, where the vine-growers rebel against the Master by beating his servants, and finally by killing his son. Jesus ends by stating, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The Lord has done this and it is marvelous in our eyes.” This is a quote from Psalm 118:22-23 (Luke doesn’t have the second sentence, in his account he only quotes Psalm 118:22).

This seems to be one of those verses that people know is important, but aren’t sure why it is important. This verse is repeated numerous times in the New Testament, but to truly understand it you have to look back into the Old.

God has been compared to a rock or a stone many times the Old Testament as a way to emphasize His strength, power, weight, immovability, and protection. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon dreams a dream in which a large stone strikes a statue made of many precious metals and utterly destroys it. Then the stone grows and fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35). The stone is God’s kingdom which will never be moved, replaced, or conquered because God himself—the King—cannot be moved, replaced, or conquered. Isaiah 8:13-14 picks up on this idea by stating, “It is the Lord of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, and He shall be your dread. Then He shall become a sanctuary; but to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.” God is the rock that will test us. If we are faithful, He will be a safe sanctuary, but if we are not, He will be a stumbling block to trip us up and break us. Obedience, as always, is key.

Now the cornerstone idea. Back in the day, before reinforced steel, re-bar, and cement construction, buildings—especially the ones meant to last—were built out of stone. Think of it as building with Legos, except on a much larger scale. The cornerstone would be laid in the corner as an anchor point for the other stones being built on top of it. The cornerstone was horizontally and vertically level, and perfectly shaped to serve as a guide for the rest of the construction.

So that’s the physical answer as to what a cornerstone was. There is a symbolic idea of a cornerstone that is based on this though. Let’s look at Isaiah 19:13, “The princes of Zoan have acted foolishly, the princes of Memphis are deluded; Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes have led Egypt astray.” The cornerstone idea is applied to the princes of Zoan and Memphis, that is, the leaders of Egypt. The leaders provided strength for the community because they upheld the law and order, and gave the people a source of wisdom and leadership during both good times and bad. Zechariah 10:4 also has this idea of the leaders of a tribe or community being a cornerstone: “From them will come the cornerstone, from them the tent peg, from them to bow of battle, from them every ruler, all of them together.” Even with today’s modern tents, if they aren’t pegged into the ground, the tent is not secure: it can be moved, blown over, or taken away.

So we see that the cornerstone is a leader who will bring strength to the people. This is a leader to hope for because then justice will be restored and the people will once again live in obedience. If the leader, like the cornerstone, is imperfect and flawed, then the rest of the building or whatever depends upon it will also be imperfect and the flaws will be accentuated. People often reject God’s plan for what seems to be a quicker, better, prettier, or more lucrative way, and in rejecting God’s plan, they reject God. However God’s plans will not be thwarted. What men reject, God still uses, and makes the most important part of the building process – the cornerstone.

Now consider Jesus. “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” What do we look for in a leader? Good leadership skills, good moral inclinations and behavior, and good looking. Yes it’s true. The leader represents the company, product, nation, or people group, and we all want to be represented well. Why do you think leaders of billion dollar companies spend so much on their clothing and appearance? Because they represent. Jesus didn’t look the part. Isaiah 53:2-3 says, “…He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised and we did not esteem Him.” Jesus did not fit the leadership ideals of mankind filled with worldly wisdom. The Pharisees knew who he was claiming to be and they rejected him for their own reasons, not for God’s reasons.

Therefore, the stone that was rejected for ungodly reasons is actually the cornerstone from which the Kingdom is going to be built. It is perfectly shaped, and level and will give rise to a perfect kingdom. That is why, as Matthew (21:44) and Luke (20:18) state, “…anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls, will be crushed.” This stone is powerful, immovable, and secure. You cannot fight against it because there is nothing to fight, either you submit, or are eventually broken and crushed. The imagery is such that you can imagine someone tripping over it and breaking a leg, or being crushed and flattened underneath its great weight. Rejecting it, denying its existence, saying it is something else, or that it is evil, doesn’t change the fact that it is there and will call you to account.

When Jesus died on the cross, he became the perfect cornerstone upon which to build the Kingdom of God. As in Daniel, that stone and that kingdom is growing, and will soon fill the entire earth. Will we partake? Or will we be over run and crushed by it?

Praise be to Christ our cornerstone!