Matthew 21:42

“Jesus said to them, ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?'”  Prior to saying this Jesus told a story or a parable to reveal a truth of God. It had to do with the rights of a landowner. 

The landowner left the business in the hands of tenants.  It is understood that the tenants will give to the landowner the portion of the profit that is right and just at harvest time. So, at that time the landowner sent one servant after another to receive the just amount. Instead of giving them what was right they mistreated and killed these servants one after the other.

At this point in telling the story Jesus stopped and asked his hearers what the owner should to with these tenants. With one voice they said, “He will bring these wretches to a wretched end.”  Ouch!  They just condemned themselves because this is exactly the way they treated Jesus, God’s Son, the very person who was telling the story!

What, in a few days, will they do with Jesus?  Jesus continues his story, “So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”  v 39  In this story Jesus announced his death on the cross outside Jerusalem. His condemners are there before him.

They did not believe for a moment that Jesus is God’s Son.  Jesus saw this clearly and so proceeded to tell another story. This one had to do with constructing an arch that was ready for the capstone to tie it all together.  The builders had thrown aside a rather unique shaped stone, considered unfit.  To their amazement they found that the stone they discarded was actually the one stone so-shaped that it fit perfectly as the cap or corner stone!

At this point Jesus said, “The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.” v 43

The chief priests and Pharisees knew one thing, Jesus was describing them!  They felt compelled to kill him as was the fate of the only son in Jesus’ story.