Don't reject the Rock
Matthew 21:33-46
33 “Now listen to another parable. There was a farmer who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower; then he rented it to tenants and left. 34 When harvest-time came, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the tenants seized his servants — this one they beat up, that one they killed, another they stoned. 36 So he sent some other servants, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent them his son, saying, ‘My son they will respect.’ 38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’ 39 So they grabbed him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 41 They answered him, “He will viciously destroy those vicious men and rent out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his share of the crop when it’s due.” 42 Yeshua said to them, “Haven’t you ever read in the Tanakh (what we know as the Old Testament),
‘The very rock which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone! This has come from Adonai, and in our eyes it is amazing’?
43 Therefore, I tell you that the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to the kind of people that will produce its fruit!” 44
45 As the head cohanim (priests) and the P’rushim (Pharisees) listened to his stories, they saw that he was speaking about them. 46 But when they set about to arrest him, they were afraid of the crowds; because the crowds considered him a prophet.
Another parable... Jesus loved to teach with stories. He also used words and teachings from the Tanakh:
Psalm 118:22-23
The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.
Yes, verse 44 is another verse that is "missing" from the Complete Jewish Bible. They simply choose not to include it if it was not in the earliest transcripts that have been discovered. It is not a reason to think that someone is "leaving out a part of the Bible."
So, this parable really forced the religious leaders of the day to stop and think. They KNEW it was about them and then they tried to arrest Jesus because He made them "look bad."
God is the Father. He has left this world to us. He has sent His "servants" along the way to bring in the fruit. But, the world is rejecting them. He even sent His son, Jesus, and the world rejected Him.
The world would consider anyone who follows Jesus "religious." In my thought process, this means we need to consider ourselves as the Pharisees and Sadducees. We need to examine our hearts and ask ourselves if we are truly following what God intended as "keepers of the vineyard." Or, are we turning away His servants and His son and rejecting His workers?
There is so much division among the "people of God" that the outside looking in wonders if we are truly a "body." They hear us say we work together, but we are not.
This parable should make us ask ourselves, "How are we rejecting Him?" We should be asking ourselves, "Do we see Him coming and do we recognize Him?"
We can't point fingers at others. We can't say they are to blame. It is time for everyone to take responsibility for their actions in rejecting those God has sent. It is time for us all to be introspective and look inside so we can take action that will bear fruit.
Jesus as the Rock is a great understanding. If you have visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem (Kotel) and participated in the underground tour, you can see the huge cornerstones that hold this together in the foundation.
Jesus is our amazing Rock. He is the one Who should be holding us together. He should be our foundation.
Don't reject the Rock. Have eyes to see and ears to hear.
Love and blessings,
Rose
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