Mark 12, 1 to 12, part 3, verses 8 to 12, the cornerstone

 

Mark 12:8 And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. 9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others.

The mystery of the Church Age was that the spiritual kingdom of God was to be turned over to the Church for a time.

Ephesians 3:9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: 10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, 11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord: 12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:

Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.

Jesus is the cornerstone of the building and you can’t build a physical, literal kingdom of heaven on earth without His bodily presence unless you plan on working against Him. This is the insanity of all political-state combinations in Christianity, the idea of the Christian Commonwealth. These people think that there can be Christ’s work done on earth by government fiat and by force without a terrible injustice being done to Christ and His message.

The civil magistrate has no say in enforcing any church’s doctrine or any Biblical interpretation. The United States is not the Promised Land and it is not the Kingdom of Heaven. It is held to the same standards as all countries and has the same spiritual entity controlling it as all other countries (2 Corinthians 4:4; Luke 4:5, 6.) A thing is not necessarily good because the American government wills it, all flag-waving and jingoism aside. Our civil government, if it does not stay religion neutral will do great harm to the cause of Christ to draw, not drag, all men to Him. Our government, whether Republican or Democrat, conservative leaning or liberal, tends to pander to any religion that it thinks will give it some benefit, Evangelical Christians for Southern votes, Muslims for oil or political advantage in a Middle Eastern country, or the Roman Catholic Church for Northern votes. If it feels a need to it will pander to atheism to maintain a hold on educational institutions or neo-paganism for Hollywood celebrity endorsements. The American government is a prostitute, as are many democracies.

Christ is the cornerstone of the building of His church and placing civil government in the place of God is a Satanic practice. Until Christ physically returns to take over the kingdoms of the world (Revelation 11:15) His kingdom is invisible and within the hearts of believers (Luke 17:20, 21; John 18:36.)

11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

Psalm 118:23 This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.

Jesus turns the statement in Psalms into a question.

12 And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.

Some preachers, by this verse’s statement, claim that the Jews knew Jesus was the Messiah, the very Son of God, which is God in the flesh, born in human form. However, they knew He claimed to be equal with God but were they still not ignorant of the truth of His claims? How then, could Jesus plea on their behalf from the Cross and Peter’s statement in Acts have any meaning?

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Acts 3:17 And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.

I think that clearly they did not believe Him but saw Him as a threat to their position under the Roman occupation because their hearts were hardened and they loved the power they held over the people, in love with their own self-righteousness in the same way that many American Christians have more faith in their faith than they do in Christ. At some point, a person’s religion can wind up being their own personal self-worship. This is how the Jew’s could know what the Scriptures claimed about their Messiah but not believe it in their heart, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and replacing it with their own.