He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

What is interesting to me about this passage is the connection between the parable and the quote. Jesus is making a connection between the tenants and those who are crushed by the rock. What is the connection? It is willful disobedience to God. In the parable, the tenants who were renting and working the land for the owner were supposed to be keeping his best interests in mind. They had a rental agreement. Typically, these agreements are a crop-share type of agreement. Today, we see this in certain businesses as a revenue-sharing agreement.

But the tenants were evil and wanted to keep all of the revenue for themselves. These are the types of tenants that move in and never move out. They try to operate with fear and take control over people and things they did not earn.

Strangely, the owner was beyond gracious with them. If he had the power to drive them out, he could have been justified doing this the first time they mistreated or killed one of his servants. But the owner, God, was patient with them, hoping they would eventually become good. Time after time they showed their wickedness. Somehow this owner had a great love in his heart for them because he finally, at great cost to him, sent his own Son. And they killed him too.

And now the connection to the quote: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” We all get a choice as to how we are going to build in our lives. What foundation will you use to build your life’s value, legacy or worth?

Jesus is the stone that was rejected, killed, yet rose again. He was perfect in life and stands as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.

We have a choice: will we stubbornly reject Jesus and choose to live life by our own rules? We can do this … however we will find that our life’s legacy, value and worth will in the end amount to nothing — it will be crushed. Or we can fall on our knees and repent to the Savior. Yes, everyone will see that we are broken and need help. This is initially shameful, but over time freeing! We are freed up to build on Jesus Christ. When we do this, our worth, legacy, and value exponentially expands and we live larger than ourselves. We live because the life of Jesus lives in and through us!

Lord, thank you for being so patient with me. You sent your Son to save me from the deep and decrepit depths of sin I was entrapped in. And he rescued me, he healed me, and I am set free to live fully with Jesus in my heart! Praise your name! What an incredible honor to build on the work you have been working throughout all of time!