Confronting the Squatters

Matthew 21: 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.

This last paragraph sums up well what had taken place in the chapter. Jesus had entered triumphantly into Jerusalem to the praise of the crowds, and the religious leaders rebuked Him. He cleared the temple of those who took advantage, and they became indignant. He healed people in the temple, and they scolded Him.  He taught the people truth, and they questioned his authority to do so. He then told two parables - of the two sons and the tenants, both of which pointed out that these same leaders had hijacked what belonged to God for their own benefit; they had been poor sons and poor stewards of what God had entrusted them. They had become squatters who needed to go. He was the rightful Son and appointed Servant of God, but they wanted to keep Him out.