The 'Cornerstone' of Our Lives

Ever read the Bible? I know I have, and it can be very sobering in that it can leave us really thinking about what it really means.

When Jesus walked the earth here, and just five days before he was so mercilessly killed, he told a pretty cold and calculating parable or story to the masses, and also pretty much aimed at the Pharisees, who were so ready to get him out of the way so that they could continue to lead their 'very important" lives 

The Pharisees really did think that they were more important than any of the mob surrounding them, and when Jesus had the guts to stand up to them, well! What could they do? They had to show him who was boss.

In just five days from this amazing story that Jesus told, aimed directly at the Pharisees and actually anyone, including you and me, he was horribly tortured and killed.

Jesus was actually standing up to everyone there, including you and me here and now, and told us all about his own death at the hands of the Pharisees and all the other 'religious' leaders around that time, and also all of us here today. We really should sit up and take notice,

Jesus' death actually made way for the total and utter forgiveness of all of our sins and any wrongdoings we may have, BUT we first have to come to him and ask him into our lives to lead us.

There will be total and utter reckoning when we pass over, IF we don't come to Christ now and ask Him to forgive us for all of our sins. If we reject Jesus as Lord, just like the Pharisees did in the following story that Jesus told, then we WILL pay the price at the Judgement.

Following, I have included that parable/story that Jesus told the masses, including the Pharisees, who were out to get him. You can read the story Jesus told in Luke 20:9-18. It went like this:-

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 will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others."

It was quite the story that Jesus told, and when you think about it, the meaning is very in-depth and right to the point.

Jesus also quoted a scripture to the crowd - you can read it for yourself in Psalm 118, and verse 22: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." 

In other words, Jesus can be and is so ready to be the cornerstone of our lives. He was rejected and killed and thrown away, BUT he rose again and is now the ruler of Heaven, of which we can be sure of being there with him IF we give our lives over to him and ask him to lead us in every situation in which we find ourselves.

In this parable/story, Jesus was actually telling the people about his own death, which was imminent and at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders. 

That is pretty obvious. The parable, above, that Jesus told is teaching us about God as the landowner, and Jesus as his son. The chief priests and the Pharisees are like the original tenants of the vineyard. 

Jesus' death actually paved the way for all of us, no matter who we are or what we have done, to come to him and ask for his forgiveness. If we are disobedient and refuse to know Him at all, then there will definitely be a reckoning that will have to be paid. 

The chief priests and the Pharisees at that time really understood what Jesus was saying and that it was aimed at everyone and really did include them, but of course, we know what happened; they didn't respond to him at all. They really wanted Jesus tortured and dead.

The Pharisees knew that Jesus was aiming at them in his story. They were pretty timid when they saw how the crowds responded to him because the people held him up as a prophet. They certainly weren't concerned about Jesus or God; all they were concerned about was how the crowd would respond if they were to hand Jesus over to Pilate. You can read that in Mathew 21:45-46. They really squirmed, scribbled around, and looked for a way to arrest him.

When I looked at this amazing parable that Jesus told, and how the Pharisees reacted and what Jesus was aiming at, I asked myself the same question that Paul asked the Galatians in chapter 1 and verse 10 " Am I trying to win the approval of humans or of God? That's a great question. God really has to be number one in our lives, not coming after all the other people. A great lesson for me.

Let's not take any of this parable that Jesus told for granted. Our very salvation, i.e., the fact that we can come to Christ right at this very moment and ask him into our lives, and the fact that our life is a gift of the amazing grace of God.

When we come to Christ, and we ask him to lead our lives, we will be like new tenants of the vineyard, doing what the owner asks of us and pleased to do it. Of course, we will still be tempted all the time to do what we want to do and even brag to others. That would be like keeping all the fruits of the vineyard to ourselves and never sharing anything with others.

Having Jesus to lead us is amazing and glorious. Of course, we will make mistakes, but having Jesus as number one in our lives can be a victory over sin, and that victory could come slowly, but it will come, and God will bring about change in our lives. God is so good, and he is faithful and true to his promises.

God bless you, and we hope to see you next time.