October 13
“Coming to Him as to a living Stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, ‘Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.’ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, ‘The Stone which the builders rejected has become the Chief Cornerstone,’ and, ‘A Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense.’ They stumble, being disobedient to the Word, to which they also were appointed,” 1 Peter 2:4-8.
In the verses quoted above, the apostle Peter presents a picture of the Church as a spiritual house which is built upon the Chief Cornerstone, which is Jesus Christ. It is a picture of the Church as was foretold and portrayed in the Old Testament Scripture.
As Christians, we come to faith in Christ, “A living Stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.” For the sake of the salvation of all sinners, God in His grace and mercy chose to send His only begotten Son to redeem all people. However, the manifestation of God’s love was “rejected indeed by men.”
The prophet Isaiah vividly portrays the rejected but redeeming Jesus as the silent, suffering Savior. Isaiah wrote, “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth,” Isaiah 53:3-7.
When Jesus was on trial before the Roman ruler, Pontius Pilate, who asked repeatedly why Jesus should be crucified, the Jews responded, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God,” John 19:9. Jesus did not make Himself the Son of God. He was and is and ever shall be the Son of God, who was chosen by God the Father to be the Redeemer of all people. Those who believe in Him as their Savior will never regret it, as it is stated in both the Old and New Testament: “Behold, I lay in Zion a Chief Cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
By faith in Jesus, we are members of the spiritual house – the holy Christian Church – built upon the Chief Cornerstone, and our lives are a spiritual sacrifice in the service of God.
The “disobedient to the Word” are the unbelievers who harden their hearts to the calling of the Holy Spirit through the Word of the Gospel. To the unbelievers, Jesus the Savior is, “A Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense.” They are disobedient to the Gospel call, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved,” Acts 16:31.
“Christ, Thou art the sure Foundation,
Thou the Head and Cornerstone;
Chosen of the Lord and precious,
Binding all the Church in one;
Thou Thy Zion’s Help forever,
And her Confidence alone.
Here vouchsafe to all Thy servants
What they ask of Thee to gain;
What they gain from Thee forever
With the blessed to retain,
And hereafter in Thy glory,
Evermore with Thee to reign.” Amen.