Mark 12:10-12 - The Rejected Cornerstone

Mark 12:10-12
10 Have you not even read this Scripture:
‘The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the chief corner stone;
11 This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
12 And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.

Message: The Rejected Cornerstone

Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.

What the Lord is Saying:

Preface - Jesus has presented a parable of the tenants to the disciples and all who would listen. It provides a story of a landowner (God) who builds a vineyard and then sets up how it will be ruled, with tenant farmers (priests, scribes, the Church) and provides it with a wall. But the tenant farmers do not manage it in the way He intended and start instead to think of it as belonging to themselves or even as an opportunity to acquire it.

Through all of this, one might wonder if God was still in control, in this process, or did he just wind it up and let it run as the parable seems to present.

Jesus quotes from Psalm 118:22-23, a Psalm of thanksgiving that reminds us that God is there and present through all of life's circumstances:
22 

The stone which the builders rejectedHas become the chief corner stone.This is the Lord’s doing;It is marvelous in our eyes.

I've always been curious about advertisers that label product new and improved. It is curious. What happened that made it 'new and improved.' In a way, this is what Jesus does with his kingdom. He starts it out as a stone and then it becomes a corner stone. It starts out with some limitations, but then it has no limitations. It is new and improved. Having the stone be rejected was necessary. Sometimes we don't see something until it goes through a trial. Yet, we struggle with this because we often see that there is never any good in any pain. 

There will be victory in Jesus. But this means at some times there will be a feeling that in Jesus there is defeat. The quoted Psalm states, "This is the Lord's doing." I can trust the Lord despite however it appears to me. 

And they (the chief priests, scribes, elders) were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people (the multitudes), for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away. It was clear in this moment that this parable was about them. They were the rejected ones. They felt assaulted and wanted to then seize him, but for now they did not because of the people that were surrounding Jesus at this time. 

Summary - By presenting this parable, Jesus reminds the people that He is in fact still in control. People will reject Him, but He will do something greater. We can always trust the Lord for His plans are perfect. 

Promise: Every up and down of history is under God's control. I can be confident for the future because I know that nothing happens outside of the Lord's sovereign plan for the all things. 

Prayer: Lord, thank you for reminding me that you are in control. Thank you for reminding me that you are about the best and even what seems good now will be improved upon later. You are the God that makes all things new. Keep my eyes turned to You so that I look full on You and the things of earth grow dim. You are marvelous and I trust in You.