The
Cornerstone!
"The
stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone"
Psalm 118:22.
"The
cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in
the construction of a masonry foundation. It is important
since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone,
thus determining the position of the entire structure"
(Wikipedia encyclopedia). The cornerstone is often referred
to as a foundation stone.
The origins
of this tradition are vague, however, there are at least three
references to a cornerstone in the Old Testament and six references
in the New Testament, and all the references to a cornerstone
are relate to the Lord.
The first
reference in Scripture is to the Lord answering Job out of
a whirlwind and He said, "Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man;
I will question you, and you shall answer Me. Where were you
when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you
have understanding, Who determined its measurements? Surely
you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were
its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone when
the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted
for joy?" Job 38:2-7.
The Lord
of heaven and earth is here telling Job, "Where were
you when I laid the foundations of the earth?" And He
is asking Job, you and me, "If you have understanding…
who laid its cornerstone?"
Another
cornerstone message comes to us from David, King of Israel,
when he wrote, "The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes" Psalm 118:22, 23. The context
of this statement is in the midst of praising God, however,
it does not explain the meaning of the statement. We must
wait until the Lord Himself explains the meaning in the New
Testament.
There
is another similar statement in Isaiah where it is written,
"Therefore thus says the Lord God; 'Behold, I lay in
Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone,
a sure foundation'" Isa. 28:16. Again the meaning is
not explained, however, the message is direct from the Lord
God.
We pick
up on these references in the life of Jesus. One day Jesus
was teaching in the temple and the chief priests and elders
of the people confronted Him, "By what authority are
You doing these things?" they asked, "And who gave
You this authority." Jesus responded to them with a question
of His own; and the priests and elders evaded giving a direct
answer to His question. Jesus then shared a story with them
about a man who had two sons. He went to the first son and
asked him to work for him that day in the vineyard. The son
answered and said, "I will not." But later he regretted
his answer and went to work for his father in the vineyard.
The father went to a second son and asked him also to work
in the vineyard. The second son said that he would go, but
he did not go. Jesus then asked the priests and elders which
of the two did the will of the father. They answered, "The
first son did the will of the father."
Jesus
shared another story about a landowner who planted a vineyard
and leased it to "vinedressers" then he went to
a country far away. At harvest time the owner would send his
servants to receive the fruit of the vineyard. The vinedressers
did not receive them kindly. They beat one servant, killed
another and stoned another. The owner sent other servants,
and they were ill treated also. Finally, the owner "sent
his son, saying, 'they will respect my son.' But when the
vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves. 'This
is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.'
So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed
him."
Then
Jesus asked the question, "When the owner of the vineyard
comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?"
The priests
and elders responded, "He will destroy those wicked men
miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who
will render to him the fruits in their seasons."
Jesus
said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
'The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief
cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous
in our eyes' Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will
be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits
of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but
on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."
"Now
when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they
perceived that He was speaking of them" Matthew 21:23-45.
The stories
Jesus shared with the chief priests and elders applied to
them, the leaders of God's people. They claimed to be God's
representatives to His people, but they were like the son
who professed to do the Father's will, but did not; and like
the vinedressers they sacrificed the Heir of the vineyard
Owner.
And Jesus
said to them, "The stone which the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone." This same story is
repeated in Mark 12:1-12 and Luke 20:1-20.
Peter
refers to the "stone which the builders rejected"
when "filled with the Holy Spirit said to them, 'Rulers
of the people and elders of Israel; If we this day are judged
for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has
been make well, let it be known to you all, and to all the
people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him
this man stands here before you whole. This is the "stone
which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief
cornerstone." Nor is there salvation in any other, for
there is no other name under heaven given among men by which
we must be saved'" Acts 4:8-12.
In Paul's
letter to the Ephesians, he reports, "Now, therefore,
you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens
with the saints and members of the household of God, having
been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom
the whole building being fitted together, grows into a holy
temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit" Ephesians
2:19-22.
The foundation
that God has made for us are His instructions to us through
His apostles and prophets, Jesus Himself being the chief cornerstone,
in whom all of God's children are being fitted together, growing
into a holy temple in the Lord. God Himself dwells in the
hearts of His people. "Do you not know that your body
is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have
from God, and you are not your own, for you were bought at
a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit,
which are God's" 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.
Peter,
who some claim to be the stone on whom Christ built His church,
helps to set the record strait; "Therefore, laying aside
all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,
as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you
may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord
is gracious. 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" 1 Peter 2:1-5.
May God
wonderfully bless you as we grow together in an understanding
of His Word!
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