Albert Barnes Commentary Matthew 21:42
Albert Barnes Commentary
Matthew 21:42
Albert Barnes Commentary
Matthew 21:42
SCRIPTURE
"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; This was from the Lord, And it is marvelous in our eyes?" — Matthew 21:42 (ASV)
Jesus says, etc. Jesus, having led them to admit the justice of the great principle on which God was about to act towards them, proceeds to apply it by a text of Scripture, declaring that this very thing which they admitted in the case of the husbandmen had been predicted concerning themselves. This passage is found in Psalm 118:22-23. It was first applicable to David, but no less to Jesus.
The stone. The figure is taken from building a house. The principal stone for size and beauty is that commonly laid as the cornerstone.
Which the builders rejected. On account of its lack of beauty or size, it was laid aside or deemed unfit to be a cornerstone. This represents the Lord Jesus, proposed to the Jews as the foundation or cornerstone on which to build the church: rejected by them—the builders—on account of His lack of comeliness or beauty, that is, of what they esteemed to be comely or desirable (Isaiah 53:2–3).
The same is become, etc. Though rejected by them, yet God chose Him and made Him the foundation of the church. Christ is often compared to a stone, a cornerstone, a tried, that is, a sure, firm foundation—all in allusion to the custom of building (Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7).
Lord's doing. The appointment of Jesus of Nazareth to be the foundation of the church is by miracle and prophecy proved to be the work of God.
Marvellous in our eyes. This is wonderful in the sight of His people, an object of gratitude and admiration. That God should select His only Son; that Christ should stoop so low, be despised, rejected, and put to death; that God should raise Him up and build a church on this foundation, embracing the Gentile as well as the Jew and spreading through all the world, is a subject of wonder and praise to all the redeemed.