'The Stone which the Builders Refused:' Part One: the Stone of Stumbling: the Path of the Holy Grail...

                THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REFUSED

                              

                               (Psalm 118: 22 / Matthew 21: 42 / Mark 12: 10 / Luke 20: 17)                                       

  [Isaiah 28: 16 / 1 Peter 2: 6 / Romans 9: 33 / Ephesians 2: 20 / Revelation 2: 17;  21: 11]                              

     There are two parables which paint a vivid picture of the truth of the stone which the builders refused. One is a parable of Jesus, ‘the parable of the householder;’ (Matthew 21: 42 / Mark 12: 10 / Luke 20: 17); the other is ‘the parable of the rejected stone,’ an old rabbinic tale written to explain a scripture in the Hallel Ps.113-118  (Psalm 118:22.) This rabbinic legend was well known to the chief priests and the elders of the people, to whom Jesus addresses his parable as he was teaching inside the temple. It is written here to help us, also, to understand inside us, in spirit, the saving truth of the stone which we builders reject.

     ‘The Parable of the Rejected Stone:’ the Building of Solomon’s Temple.

“THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REFUSED IS BECOME THE HEAD STONE OF THE CORNER: THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING; IT IS MARVELLOUS IN OUR EYES.” (Psalm 118: 22 / Matt. 21: 42 / Mark 12: 10 / Luke 20: 17 / Acts 4: 11)  “The house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.” (1 Kings 6: 7)  So the huge twenty ton stones, destined for the building of the house, were quarried and fashioned some distance away; and then, when they were finished, transported thither.

     Legend has it that the first stone to be delivered was the head stone of corner, the capstone. The builders could not comprehend it. To them it was nothing they needed to begin the construction of a house. And as it did not fit in with their plans, the builders found no use for it. And so they rejected it; they cast it aside.

     The years passed, and the capstone lay buried beneath the grass that grew up over it. For the grass grows, and our heart waxes gross: covered by the flesh grown up over it. All flesh is grass that obscures the truth. But in the fullness of time, as the house was near finished, the builders sent for the last stone, saying, “Send us now the capstone, the head of the corner.”  “But we already have!” came the word from the fashioning place. And the builders were confounded: because they had not believed that he had already come.

     Then spake one from the least among them, and told them what they done with chief cornerstone. How that they had rejected it. And in joy not their own, it was taken from its despised and rejected place, where they had put it, where it had become covered over by neglect; hidden by flesh, weeds and grass; and raised up and put in place it was found to fit perfectly. It was indeed the capstone. This peculiar stone, set at nought by the builders, was the corner stone of the whole temple. And the day of its restoration from obscurity to glory, the day which the LORD had made: for this surely was the LORD’s own doing. And his building plan, which had confounded them, was now marvelous in their eyes.

     The last stone, “the head stone of the corner,” it had been sent first. And it was not a mistake. The ‘head’ stone had to come first, because in the spiritual house, which Solomon’s Temple represented, we must initially comprehend something in our head before we can stand on it as a foundation. We must perceive something in our mind, before we can walk in it. We must understand the truth, before we can possibly live in it.  First I must learn to recognize, and accept the offence I refuse, ‘the rejected stone,’ by the renewing of my mind, before I can walk in the light of it and become complete; and be a complete house. Else, I am left in the dark. Left forever seeking my own delusion, in my own unconscious rejection of the capstone of the truth and the offence in my head: Jesus, when I am backed into a corner. And I am found to be hating him whom I profess to love: rejecting the offence (the stone) I am rejecting…Jesus. 

     ‘The Parable of the Householder: the Vineyard Owner:’  “Hear another parable: there was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and he will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

     '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?'  Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”  

     Just as the builders felt the capstone did not fit with their idea of how things ought to be, in beginning the construction of a house, and rejected it because they felt they did not need it,  so also, the husbandmen of the vineyard did not recognize the good purpose of the son and heir, nor that of his servants sent before him, but instead, beat them, and sent them away empty-handed, treating them shamefully, killing some and wounding others; so they also, cast out ‘the stone:’ killing, the owner’s son.

     For these seemed like thieves to the husbandmen. These did not fit with their plans for the vineyard. Why, the owner’s servants were wanting to take from them! Wanting to take what the husbandmen felt was legally theirs: their own righteousness, by their own works in the law. Why these servants were stealing! Wanting to steal from them their harvest of iniquity. And so, they slew them. Not realizing that these servants had been sent to relieve them by taking from them; they had been sent to bless them, by ‘stealing’ from them. For all righteousness, and all the harvest of righteousness, belongs to the owner of the vineyard. But this was an offence to the husbandmen. So they did not see the good purpose of the owner in it: their wellbeing: their eternal life; in the giving up and surrendering of their righteousness for his: for their joy: for their eternal good. But this was just an offence to them! Because they didn’t want to give up anything! And the glorious purpose of the owner, they “set at nought.” Therefore, they did not perceive that to their minds he would seem just like a thief. They had no idea that to them he would come “as a thief in the night.” So they rejected, and killed, the Thief: the owner’s Son.

     And so the vineyard is taken from these husbandmen, and given to others, “which shall render him their fruits in their seasons:” those who understand the offence of the truth, and embrace it, instead of rejecting it. Those who willingly and joyfully surrender ‘their’ life, to find his: who “love not their lives unto the death.” And just as the “fig tree” that would yield no fruit to Jesus was cursed, so the vineyard: the kingdom of God is taken from those who steal his fruit and given to people who do not say they own it: a nation which is no nation.  The kingdom shall be given to the ‘Gentiles.’ To the ‘heathen.’ To those people whom we call ‘non-Christians;’ those who have not so much ‘righteousness’ to lose as we do! For they have no (‘Christian’) culture to draw it from. They have no (‘Christian’) system to hide in. They have nothing to clothe themselves in. They have nothing at all except the indwelling Spirit of God: the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

     So, the kingdom is taken from us! …from us who call ourselves “the Church.” And it is given to a people which have not the law, but who by nature do the things contained in the law; which show the work of the law written in their hearts, (their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another ;) in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.

     For we who followed after the law of ‘Do this!’ to be right with God: the law of righteousness, have not attained to the law of righteousness, because we sought it not by faith, but by our works. And he will provoke us to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation he will anger us. For he was found of them that sought him not.  He was made manifest unto them that asked not after him. It is to a nation that is not called by his name, that he says, “Behold me! Behold me!”   

     In Jesus’ own restoring of the offence we refused, (for this can only be the LORD’s doing.) I need to understand that I am set to reject the piercing truth, and those who preach it, lest I lose what I think is mine: my life. We builders of our self would rather dress ourselves up, and preserve our filthy rags, than have them taken from us, and be bereft of them! I’d far rather disallow, and even get rid of, anybody, or anything, that might expose me to myself, than allow it and face the piercing truth sent to free me! Sent to free me of my harvest of iniquity in the vineyard of God! But, no, we’d rather kill the rightful heir and seize on his inheritance, that the inheritance may be ours; ours, for us, and for our own pleasure, than surrender our righteousness, for his, for his pleasure! I’d rather cast out the truth than surrender any part of my hoard of ‘righteousness’ for it. Truly, “the spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy;” for envy we crucified the LORD of glory. 

   Even so, when Jesus comes to us the first time, we do not recognize him. We reject him. We cast him aside. Naturally we cast aside the capstone of the gospel; in our not comprehending it. For it makes no sense to us! It is just foolishness! Because it’s opposite to our way of thinking. Opposite to what we think we need to begin the construction of a building. From the top down? Why, that’s crazy! So we have no use for it. And to the husbandmen’s way of thinking, the householder’s purpose was equally just as nonsensical. Taking the whole harvest from them till they had nothing left for, themselves; they were to think this, good?! The owner taking everything from them, the best thing for them?! But that’s foolish! What would they live on?! Why the owner is insane! His ways are just crazy! …But God’s foolishness is wiser than men.

     For “the head stone of the corner:” the owner’s son…is the stone which bruises our head; and he is good in that he bruises our head. For he is the most wonderful stone, that single stone, that slays the ‘Goliath’ of ‘self’ in us, to set us free. So he is most precious though he be the stone which fells us! The precious offence, backing us into a corner: pressing us unto the obedience of the truth; truth we’d rather not see: the winepress of the LORD. No wonder we builders of ourselves reject him; for his way of saving us, hurts! And we don’t like that! So in our building of our ‘house,’ after our own ways, we have not perceived that the truth slays to bring life. The truth steals to give. The truth cuts to circumcise. The truth tears down to restore. The truth offends to bless. Truly, the stone we reject is the offence of the truth: a stone 'disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God: and precious.' And until we learn the paradox of the truth, we will continually reject it: and reject him.

     We are afraid of losing what we have. But if we could only see his goodness in it, we would run to lose whatever it was he touched. Finding in its former lodging place in our hearts, a gift more rare and costly that far excelled it! Our rubbish for his treasure?! …Yes! Our loss for his gain! And we’d see it as such a good exchange, we’d rejoice in its loss, and wonder why we ever clung to it in the first place!

     So, I need to see that the piercing sting of the offence of the truth that rises up in me, seeming to steal from me, actually is a gift, the LORD’s gift: …that my buried darkness might be brought to light in me, exposed to me, so that I might be saved from it: changed on the inside.

    And this is the truth and the stone which we builders continually refuse:                      

THAT SELF IN ME IS

ABSOLUTELY CORRUPT:

THEREFORE I AM

UTTERLY  UNABLE

TO SAVE MYSELF.

This is the truth which we naturally reject: because, of ourselves, we can’t and won’t, believe it.  

Continued /