What Does Luke 20:18 Mean?

The Israelites had been God's chosen people, and He took away this privilege, giving that blessing to a special people—the church—who would bear the fruits of righteousness (Acts 28:28). Jesus alludes to Himself as the Stone and describes the escalating consequences of opposing Him (Isaiah 8:14-15; Matthew 8:12). Those who oppose Him out of ignorance or weakness will suffer harm, but if they willfully reject Christ, the Stone will crush them into dust and scatter them in the wind (Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45; Matthew 3:12). This warning was not lost on the chief priests, scribes, and elders, intensifying their enmity toward Jesus and confirming His accurate portrayal of them in the parable. It reveals the authority of Christ as the Son, Heir, and Judge, as well as the unenviable fate of those who reject Him.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Jesus' Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19). Not long before, the scribes, chief priests, and elders had accused Him of taking too much authority upon Himself, but in this parable, they find themselves indicted for high crimes. Having discounted Jesus Christ as the Son of God with all authority, in this story they—and the people (see Luke 20:9)—learn His identity, who sent Him, and the death He would die at their hands. In earlier parables, He had exposed the religious leaders of His day as spiritually empty impostors, and now, in this more condemnatory parable, He reveals them to be persecutors and murderers as well.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

Jesus purposes to show the religious leaders the justice of taking away their national privileges and punishing them by destroying their city and nation. Had He stated this at first they would have ignored him, but by using a parable, He forces them to condemn themselves with the truth. However, they still do not grasp the significance of their admission. Jesus expresses the principle by quoting Psalm 118:22-23, making them see that God would do to them what the landowner did to the vinedressers. The cornerstone—Jesus Christ—is the foundation of God's Temple, the church, but the builders rejected it because Jesus did not "fit" their preconceived idea of the Messiah (Romans 9:33; I Peter 2:7). Even though the Jews rejected Jesus, God overruled them and made Him "the chief cornerstone" (Ephesians 2:20), an act proven to be God's doing by the resurrection and the subsequent miraculous founding of the church (Acts 4:11).

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Luke 20:18:

Matthew 21:33-46
Mark 12:1-12
Luke 20:9-19

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