In Matthew 21, Jesus tells us a parable about how the Pharisees (and the people of Israel) had walked away and turned their backs on God. Take a look.
Parable of the Evil Farmers
33 “Now
listen to another story. A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a
wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a
lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved
to another country. 34 At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop. 35 But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. 36 So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.
37 “Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
42 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.’[i]
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’[i]
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit. 44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.[j]”
45 When
the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he
was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet.And in Ephesians 2, Paul tells us that Jesus is our Cornerstone.
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.
So what's all this about a Cornerstone? As defined by the folks who edit Wikipedia...
The cornerstone (or foundation stone) concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.
Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or replica, set in a prominent location on the outside of a building, with an inscription on the stone indicating the construction dates of the building and the names of architect, builder and other significant individuals. The rite of laying a cornerstone is an important cultural component of eastern architecture and metaphorically in sacred architecture generally.
The origins of this tradition are vague but its presence in Judeo-Christian countries can be associated with one quotation from the Old Testament (Psalm 118:22) cited six times in the New Testament (Matthew 21:42,Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11,Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Peter 2:7)and Isaiah 28:16quoted by the writer of the Book of 1st Peter 1 Peter. The writer of the Book of Ephesians makes clear that Jesus is the cornerstone, of a faith rather than a building, referred to in the New TestamentEphesians 2:20 .
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