Psalm 118:22-23 (rejected cornerstone) is quoted by the crowd entering Jerusalem AND by Jesus to the Sanhedrin — the "builders" (scribes/scholars in rabbinic literature) reject the stone, but God establishes it anyway. The "others" who receive the vineyard are the leaders of the Christian church.

Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22-23 to the very people it predicts will reject him — the builders. RT France notes that in rabbinic literature, scribes and scholars were called "builders," making the relevance unmistakable. The vineyard is given to "others" — the leaders of the Christian church. This does NOT create a papacy; if anything, it argues against it because the papacy claims higher authority than anything that existed in Israel's leadership, which is exactly the kind of over-claim Jesus rebukes. The principle applies to ALL church leaders: you can be replaced. James 3:1 — teachers will be judged more strictly. The sobering reality for leaders: the Sanhedrin thought they were great leaders but were blind to their rebellion. Any leader can fall into the same trap of building kingdoms, confusing flesh and spirit, overemphasizing power and underemphasizing accountability.