Matthew 21:42

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. ¹  This is from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? ² 

Ps 118:22,23; Isa 28:16; Hab 1:5; Zec 3:8,9; Mt 21:16; Mr 12:10,11; Lu 20:17,18; Ac 4:11; Ac 13:40,41; Ro 9:33; Eph 2:20; Eph 3:3-9; 1Pe 2:4-8

¹ tn Or “capstone,” “keystone.” Although these meanings are lexically possible, the imagery in Eph 2:20-22 and 1 Cor 3:11 indicates that the term κεφαλὴ γωνίας (kefalh gwnia") refers to a cornerstone, not a capstone.

sn The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The use of Ps 118:22-23 and the “stone imagery” as a reference to Christ and his suffering and exaltation is common in the NT (see also Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17; Acts 4:11; 1 Pet 2:6-8; cf. also Eph 2:20). The irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 here is that in the OT, Israel was the one rejected (or perhaps her king) by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.

² sn A quotation from Ps 118:22-23.