Advent Season
(Anticipating the Birth of Jesus)
28 Names of Jesus | December 22, 2020
Name #20: “Cornerstone” — Isaiah 28:16; Psalm 118:18 – 24
Isaiah 28:16 “So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, A tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.”
Psalm 118:18 – 24 “The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.”
“Cornerstone” definition — the basic part of something on which its existence, success, or truth, depends.
These Old Testament passages state that some time in the future, the “cornerstone” of the faith will arrive on Earth. This “cornerstone” will be tried, precious, and will be the sure foundation of our faith.
Since ancient times, builders have used cornerstones in their construction projects. A cornerstone is the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of an edifice, to guide the workers in their course. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, most-solid, and most carefully constructed of any stone in the edifice. The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that His church would be built upon (Ephesians 2:19 – 22). As the cornerstone of the building of the church, Jesus is our standard of measure and alignment.
In the New Testament, the apostle Paul desires for the Ephesian Christians to know Christ better: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:19 – 21). Furthermore, in 1 Peter 2:6, what Isaiah said centuries before is affirmed in exactly the same words.
Peter says that Jesus, as our cornerstone, is “chosen by God and precious to him” (1 Peter 2:4). This Cornerstone is also reliable, and “the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame” (Verse 6).
Unfortunately, not everyone aligns with the cornerstone. Some accept Christ; some reject Him. Jesus is the “stone the builders rejected” (Mark 12:10; cf. Psalm 118:22). When news of the Messiah’s arrival came to the magi in the East, they determined to bring Him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But when that same news came to King Herod in Jerusalem, his response was to attempt to kill Him. From the very beginning, Jesus was “a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (1 Peter 2:8).
How can people reject God’s chosen, precious cornerstone? Simply put, they want to build something different from what God is building. Just as the people building the tower of Babel rebelled against God and pursued their own project, those who reject Christ disregard God’s plan in favor of their own. Judgment is promised to all those who reject Christ: “Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matthew 21:44).
A HYMN THAT WE OFTEN SING IN CHURCH: The Solid Rock
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.
His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.
When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
In Him, my righteousness, alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
Blessings from Carlton Ringer