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The Desire of Ages
and He wished them to see that they had brought ruin on themselves.
He designed to show them the justice of God in the withdrawal of their
national privileges, which had already begun, and which would end,
not only in the destruction of their temple and their city, but in the
dispersion of the nation.
The hearers recognized the warning. But notwithstanding the
sentence they themselves had pronounced, the priests and rulers were
ready to fill out the picture by saying, “This is the heir; come, let us
kill him.” “But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the
multitude,” for the public sentiment was in Christ’s favor.
In quoting the prophecy of the rejected stone, Christ referred to an
actual occurrence in the history of Israel. The incident was connected
with the building of the first temple. While it had a special application
at the time of Christ’s first advent, and should have appealed with
special force to the Jews, it has also a lesson for us. When the tem-
ple of Solomon was erected, the immense stones for the walls and
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the foundation were entirely prepared at the quarry; after they were
brought to the place of building, not an instrument was to be used
upon them; the workmen had only to place them in position. For use
in the foundation, one stone of unusual size and peculiar shape had
been brought; but the workmen could find no place for it, and would
not accept it. It was an annoyance to them as it lay unused in their
way. Long it remained a rejected stone. But when the builders came
to the laying of the corner, they searched for a long time to find a
stone of sufficient size and strength, and of the proper shape, to take
that particular place, and bear the great weight which would rest upon
it. Should they make an unwise choice for this important place, the
safety of the entire building would be endangered. They must find
a stone capable of resisting the influence of the sun, of frost, and of
tempest. Several stones had at different times been chosen, but under
the pressure of immense weights they had crumbled to pieces. Others
could not bear the test of the sudden atmospheric changes. But at last
attention was called to the stone so long rejected. It had been exposed
to the air, to sun and storm, without revealing the slightest crack. The
builders examined this stone. It had borne every test but one. If it
could bear the test of severe pressure, they decided to accept it for the
cornerstone. The trial was made. The stone was accepted, brought to