Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’?”
Matthew 21:42
I’ve recently discovered the joys of being an eBay seller. I know I’ve come to the party a little late, but in the past it has always seemed like so much hassle. Aware of the inordinately large amount of junk I have cluttering up my house, however, and an impending wedding, I thought that it would be a good time to have a bit of a clear out. What has amazed me is just how much value people place on the stuff that I consider tat. The stuff I throw out goes on to become another person’s pride and joy. I recently got a message from someone I sold an ancient satnav unit to, telling how her father was absolutely delighted to receive it for Christmas. Having replaced it with satnav on my phone, it was surplus to my requirements, however, and was just sitting in the bottom of my wardrobe.
In today’s verse, Jesus speaks rather cryptically about a stone that builders rejected that went on to become a marvelous capstone, the crowning glory of a building. What had seemed worthless to them, actually had a great deal of value. Of course, Jesus is talking about himself. The rejection that he speaks of is his own rejection, when he was betrayed by a close companion, disowned by one of his closest friends, and rejected in favour of a common criminal by the crowd. Jesus was, as a consequence, executed. This was not the end, however, because he rose from the dead, and subsequently ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. He who was rejected was highly valued by God, and given the authority to judge all human beings.
One of my favourite songs has the line, “ashamed, I hear my mocking voice, call out among the scoffers.” The first few times I sang this song, I thought that this simply could not be true – I would not have been in the crowd baying for Jesus’ blood. A while later, I realised that actually, I probably would have been. Subsequently, I have realised that actually I am in that crowd rejecting Jesus every day. Every day I do things that dishonour Jesus, who died for me. Every day, I neglect to serve Christ as I ought. I might have said that I accept Jesus as my personal saviour, and said that I want to live my life for him, but so often, I fail in that.
I’m sure that I’m not alone in that. The good news is that we have a loving God who forgives if we truly repent – if we say that we will try our hardest to do better in the future. Let’s all reflect on the things that we do that dishonour Jesus, and repent of our sins today.