Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 12:10

"Have ye not read even this scripture: The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner;" — Mark 12:10 (ASV)

The quotation is from Ps 118:22–23, the same psalm from which the joyful Hosanna cry came (cf. 11:9). In the OT context the reference to “the stone” is probably to the construction of Solomon’s temple. One of the stones was rejected but became the “capstone,” the key stone in the entire building (but see NIV note).

In the original context the rejected stone symbolized the Davidic king or perhaps Israel, despised by the pagan nations but, after her return from Exile, exalted to the status of nationhood. Jesus applied the psalm to himself. His “stoneship” was a familiar theme in early Christianity (1 Peter 2:7). There is probably a veiled reference here to the death and resurrection of Christ.