Matthew 21:42 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord 's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

NIV: Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: " ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’ ?

NASB: Jesus *said to them, 'Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘A STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS HAS BECOME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE Lord, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?

CSB: Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is what the Lord has done and it is wonderful in our eyes?

NLT: Then Jesus asked them, 'Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.’

KJV: Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes

NKJV: Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Jesus once more asks a group of Israel's powerful and well-educated religious leaders if they have ever read a particular passage from the Scriptures. He knows they have, but He asks the rhetorical question to show that they have missed the point of what they have read and studied.

The passage Jesus quotes comes from Psalm 118, one of the psalms used in the Passover season. Jesus is referencing verses 22–23, which are found just before the words used to praise Him as He entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Psalm 118:25–26; Matthew 21:9). The translation used by Jesus matches that of modern English Bibles. These are words these religious leaders were angry to hear from the crowd, and from the children who later repeated them (Matthew 21:15).

Jesus applies these Old Testament words to Himself. He is the stone the builders rejected. The builders are Israel's leaders, including the chief priests and Pharisees standing near Him. Though rejected by them, the stone, Jesus, has become the cornerstone or "head of the corner," the most important stone in the structure. Prior to modern building techniques, it was extremely difficult to make the ground under a building perfectly level. Instead, whichever corner was lowest would be the location of the strongest, most important stone—which effectively held up the entire structure.

Alternatively, scholars suggest the phrase refers to the final keystone at the top of an arch. The Greek phrase is kephalēn gōnias, literally meaning "head of the corner." In either case, it is the stone on which the entire structure ultimately relies on to remain upright.

He adds that this is the Lord's doing, meaning that the rejection by merely human leaders could never have stopped it. More than that, it is "marvelous in our eyes." Jesus taking His place as the Messiah is ultimately a beautiful and pleasing work of God and not something engineered by any group of human beings.

Matthew 21:33–46 begins with another vineyard-related parable from Jesus. This one involves tenants who refused to pay the owner His agreed upon share of the crops. Instead, they mistreated and killed the servants he sent and then killed the owner's son. Jesus compares Israel's religious leaders to these tenants, saying the kingdom of God will be taken from them. Jesus identifies Himself in a psalm about a stone rejected by the builders but chosen by the Lord to be the cornerstone. All who reject Him will fall on the cornerstone or have it fall on and crush them.

Jesus fulfills a prophecy from Zechariah about the coming of the king to Jerusalem by riding in on a donkey. The people celebrate and praise Him as the Messiah. Jesus drives the marketers and moneychangers out of the temple and heals some people. He curses a fig tree and tells the disciples nothing will be impossible for them with faith. Jesus forces cowardly and hypocritical religious leaders to back down with a question about John the Baptist. He then exposes their fraudulent spirituality with two parables about vineyards. Jesus applies to Himself a psalm about a rejected stone being made the cornerstone by the Lord.

Matthew 21 finds Jesus arriving near Jerusalem after leaving Jericho in the previous chapter. His triumphal entry is accomplished riding a donkey, and to raucous praise, fulfilling a prophecy about the Messiah. Jesus cleanses the marketplace from the temple, heals, and presents lessons about faith and Israel's failed leadership. This leads into further conversations which Matthew compiles from Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.