This is the day

“The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:22-24
Here are some verses that are probably very familiar to us, however, we might never realise from reading the New Testament alone that they occur together in Psalm 118.
The second part (“this is the day the Lord has made”) was widely acknowledged to be concerning that special day when Messiah would come. It was probably sung by the people at the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem – certainly the following verses (“O Lord, save us” – which is the meaning of the word ‘Hosanna’ – “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”, Ps. 118:25-26) are quoted in Matt. 21:9, Mark 11:9, Luke 19:38, and John 12:13.
The first part (“the stone the builders rejected”) is quoted by Jesus in Matt. 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, and by Peter in Acts 4:11 and 1 Pet. 2:7. Jesus quoted it to the Pharisees as a rebuke that they had failed to recognise that He was the promised Messiah. They were criticising the crowd and accusing them of blasphemy, for singing this Messianic psalm about Jesus. The phrase comes from an incident that happened when Solomon’s temple was being built. All of the stones were cut to their perfect size and shape in the quarry, and then transported to the temple mount, so that no tools were heard at the site. The capstone – the last stone to be put in place – was sent to the building site ahead of schedule. The builders constructing the temple couldn’t figure out where it fitted, so they discarded it. Later, when they were ready to put the capstone in place, they were informed that the stone had already been sent. It was only then that they realised that this was the very stone they had rejected.
There is a yet future fulfilment of this Messianic psalm. The stone (Messiah) was rejected, but He will yet become the capstone – when He returns again. That is the day that creation is longing for (Rom. 8:19-22) – that special day that the Lord has made, the climax of all history.