Jesus’ words in Luke 20:17 stand at the center of a confrontation, yet they are spoken not to conquer His opponents but to call them back to the mercy of God:
“The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”
This declaration is not an isolated statement. It rests upon the rich foundation of Psalm 118—a psalm framed on both ends with the same call:
“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy endures forever.”
The psalm Jesus quotes contains both warning and invitation. Its opening line reveals the posture that makes repentance possible: a recognition of God’s goodness. Paul affirms that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance. And repentance itself is worship. True praise cannot arise unless the heart is willing to see its own condition in contrast to God’s righteousness, holiness, goodness, and enduring mercy. This is the first tenet of the Gospel.
Jesus brings forward Psalm 118:22—not as a poetic flourish, but as the interpretive key to His parable of the vinedressers. The psalm’s surrounding verses speak of chastening, deliverance, righteousness, salvation, and ultimately the exaltation of the rejected stone. These are profoundly prophetic words that point directly to what Jesus is about to endure in Jerusalem. His rejection is the divine means by which He becomes the cornerstone of God’s redeeming work.
By invoking this psalm, Jesus also calls to mind the pattern seen in David’s life—a pattern repeated repeatedly throughout Scripture: God chooses what is rejected, overlooked, weak, or despised to reveal His glory. This pattern is visible when Abram is called out from the shadow of a mighty kingdom, when an enslaved people are raised into a nation through God’s miraculous leading, and when Paul explains that God uses the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the wise and strong.
The religious leaders in Luke 20 stand confronted by this truth. Yet their refusal to yield reveals a deeper issue: the heart’s resistance to repentance. The question naturally turns toward all who read this account:
Is there any place in the heart where the chief cornerstone is being rejected?
Not in open rebellion, but in quiet resistance to the convicting work of Christ?
This is not condemnation. It is the ongoing sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. Though salvation is certain and secure—“we are His, He is in us, and we are in Him”—Scripture also teaches that salvation is to be worked out “with fear and trembling.” The destination is fixed, but the development of Christ’s character within the believer continues throughout life. There is no arrival point on this side of heaven. The work is continual.
Legacy Stewardship Through the Lens of the Chief Cornerstone
Legacy begins in the heart’s posture toward the cornerstone.
The stewardship of legacy is not first the management of possessions, plans, or outcomes. It is the continual willingness to align the inner life with the goodness of God that calls to repentance. Legacy is formed when the heart refuses to imitate the religious leaders—clinging to what is familiar or secure—and instead yields to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit.
Because the psalm begins and ends with the proclamation that the Lord is good and His mercy endures forever, legacy stewardship must also begin and end there. Every decision, every responsibility, every act of planning must stand upon the cornerstone Christ has become. Legacy cannot rest on anything rejected by God, nor can it be built on self-assuredness or the belief that one has already arrived. Its foundation is the chief cornerstone and the recognition that His work in the heart continues.
The pattern repeated throughout Scripture—God choosing what the world overlooks—guides legacy stewardship as well. Legacy is not measured by strength, prominence, or the appearance of wisdom, but by alignment with the divine pattern: yielding to the One whom the builders rejected and allowing every part of life to be shaped by His righteousness.
To steward legacy well is to:
– Respond to the goodness of God with repentance.
– Allow the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work to remain active and unhindered.
– Examine the heart regularly for any corner where Christ is not fully received.
– Recognize that the cornerstone defines the structure, direction, and integrity of the entire life built upon it.
Legacy stewardship emerges from this continual posture. It is the life shaped by the chief cornerstone, strengthened by the mercy that endures forever, and aligned with the divine pattern of God’s choosing.
Such a legacy does not merely endure—it stands, because its foundation cannot be moved.
By Christopher L. Walker at myfathersestate.com
