Today’s reading is 1 Peter 2.
Both Paul and Peter liken Christ’s church to the temple. Paul does so in Ephesians 2:19-22. Peter in our current reading. Both call Jesus the cornerstone of the whole building. Paul in Ephesians 2:20. Peter here in 1 Peter 2:6-7.
Jesus is, according to 1 Peter 2:4, a chosen and precious stone. Both words translate terms lifted from the Septuagint version of Isaiah 28:16, quoted in 1 Peter 2:6. He is chosen or elect, just as the recipients of this letter were according to 1 Peter 1:1. He is precious, costly. That is, Jesus is valuable. However, He is valuable to God. Men rejected Him. They didn’t see His value.
Peter pulls together three passages from Isaiah and Psalms to make his point. In Isaiah 28:16, God will build a foundation in Zion with a chosen and precious cornerstone. In Isaiah 28:14-22, God rebuked the Judeans for claiming a covenant with death and Sheol to protect them from the passing storm. By contrast, God built a foundation. That is, a sure place to shelter in contrast with the flimsy covenant with death. Whoever puts their faith in the foundation built on God’s cornerstone will not be put to shame or disgraced. Those who trust in lies will be overcome by the storm of judgment. In other words, Jesus is the shelter against death and judgment for those who believe and obey.
In Psalm 118, the psalmist recounts his distress at the hands of the nations. They surrounded him and pressed in on him. But the Lord cut them off. The psalmist took refuge in the Lord, not in princes. In vs. 22, he describes himself as the stone rejected by the builders which the Lord has used as His cornerstone. In vs. 18, the psalmist said, “The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death” (ESV). That’s Jesus. Yes, He died. But He was not given over to it. On the third day, God demonstrated His election of this precious cornerstone by raising Him from the dead.
In Isaiah 8, God had Isaiah foretell the coming of Assyria against Israel because they would not drink from the waters God provided but rejoiced in foreign waters. That is, in foreign gods and kings. In the wake of this promise, God told Isaiah not to fear what the people feared. Instead, he was to fear God. If he did, God would become a sanctuary of protection for Isaiah, but would become a stone of offense and rock of stumbling for both Israel and Judah. They would stumble on Him. Those who will not believe on and trust in the stone that is God, will stumble, fall, and be broken.
Each of these passages and Peter’s point overall is quite simple. For those who believe and obey, Jesus is a stone of refuge, protection, and shelter. for those who do not believe, but reject and disobey, He is a stone which will trip them up and cause them to stumble.
Peter says they were destined to this. His point is not that they were destined to disbelieve and disobey. Rather, those who disbelieve, reject, and disobey are destined to stumble. Interestingly, this is a play on words. The word translated “destined” in 1 Peter 2:8 (ESV) is the same word translated “laying” in 1 Peter 2:6 (ESV). Jesus was laid, established, appointed, destined to be this important stone. In like manner, those who disbelieve, reject, and disobey the stone are not built into the temple but are laid, established, appointed, destined to stumble over the cornerstone.
The choice is ours. Will we take refuge in Jesus the cornerstone or will we stumble over Him?
Tomorrow’s reading is 1 Peter 2.
PODCAST!!!
PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family
How does 1 Peter 2 admonish you?
Read the Bible 