Jesus is the Cornerstone

We’ve been working through a series in Psalms that I call Finding Jesus in the Psalms. We’ve looked at Jesus as the Messiah and the newly crowned, “already/not yet” king of heaven and earth. This morning we’ll be studying Psalm 118 together and looking at how Jesus is the Cornerstone, and what that means to us who believe and call upon the name of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

Psalm 118 (606) - Salmo 118 (379) - Bible app - on the screen

Psalm 118 is a psalm that has traditionally been sung during Passover, which coincides with our Christian remembrance of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. The interesting part of this connection with Easter is that this Passover psalm points to the passion experience of Christ, the Messiah. At least a section of it does. I want to focus on verses 19-24 today...

Psalm 118:19–24 CSB

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me; I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the Lord’s gate; the righteous will enter through it. 21 I will give thanks to you because you have answered me and have become my salvation. 22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This came from the Lord; it is wondrous in our sight. 24 This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it.

[pray]

Welcome to church. Whether you’re here in person or joining us online, we’re glad you’re here this morning as we are looking for Jesus in the Psalms.

This psalm is a prophetic psalm in the Egyptian Hallel style. Psalms 113-118 sing the praises of Yahweh. We get our word “hallelujah” from these psalms. The word “hallel” means “praise” and “yah” segment points to “Yahweh” so that we can say that Jehovah God is the object of our praise. He is the reason for our worship. These hallel psalms were likely liturgical works used for the purpose of giving thanks, and are often reflective of the work that God did in bringing the hebrews out of bondage in Egypt. This particular psalm is sung during the Passover seder.

I. The Stone Rejected

When we look at this psalm there is one standout verse that truly resonates with those of us who call Jesus our savior...

Psalm 118:22 CSB

22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

It didn’t take long for the early church to make the connection that Jesus is the cornerstone...

As Peter and John stood before the Jewish council, very much like Jesus did before he was crucified, Peter began to speak to them the words that he was given by the Holy Spirit...

Acts 4:8–12 CSB

8 Then Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit and said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders: 9 If we are being examined today about a good deed done to a disabled man, by what means he was healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing here before you healthy. 11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

Peter wasn’t shy about speaking the truth of the matter to the Sanhedrin council. He even called them out directly for the action that they took against Jesus.

When he said...

Acts 4:11 CSB

11 This Jesus is the stone rejected by you builders, which has become the cornerstone.

The religious elite knew exactly what he was saying. This was a verse that they knew and sang in their public worship. This would be like me coming to you and saying something like this, “It was YOU that put Jesus Christ on that Old Rugged Cross, not only by your sin, but by your direct actions of rebelling against him as the newly crowned King of Heaven!”

Peter was invoking a prophecy about the Messiah and laying the blame for the rejection and death of the Messiah at the feet of these religious leaders. He’s referring back to a prophecy found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah...

Isaiah 28:16–17 CSB

16 Therefore the Lord God said: “Look, I have laid a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; the one who believes will be unshakable. 17 And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the mason’s level.” Hail will sweep away the false refuge, and water will flood your hiding place.

What Peter was saying was offensive to them. But he also pointed out to them that their rejection could not stop Jesus from becoming the cornerstone of the kingdom. He was the foundation and the solid rock, upon which the newly forming Christian church was built. But beyond the church as we know it, Jesus was building something much more grand and long-lasting than his church.

II. Jesus is the Cornerstone

Jesus told a parable before he was crucified and referred to this rejected stone...

Luke 20:9–18 CSB

9 Now he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent yet another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out. 13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 “But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those farmers and give the vineyard to others.” But when they heard this they said, “That must never happen!” 17 But he looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture: The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”

In this parable the vineyard owner is a reference to God and the wicked tenants have taken over the vineyard, which is Israel, the people of God.

The servants sent by the vineyard owner is a reference to the prophets, God’s messengers sent to Israel to bring them God’s message and point Israel toward the path of righteousness (which I remind you again means right standing before God).

The leaders of Israel rejected the prophets and in some cases killed them. Israel spent more of its time out of God’s grace than within his embrace and under his protection.

The vineyard owner’s son is the Messiah. Christ is talking about the same thing that Peter spoke about before the Sanhedrin council. Jesus is predicting his own death at the hands of the religious leaders of Israel.

III. Jesus was Despised and Rejected

Don’t miss the fact that the religious elite knew exactly what Jesus was saying with this parable...

Luke 20:19 CSB

19 Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

They did not delay in looking for a way to take Jesus down. The only thing that slowed them down was the love that the people had for Jesus and their fear that they might turn their own people against them.

IV. The Gate of Righteousness

Let’s look back at Psalm 118. The opening section of the psalm brings the psalmist to the temple gates.

Psalm 118:19–20 CSB

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me; I will enter through them and give thanks to the Lord. 20 This is the Lord’s gate; the righteous will enter through it.

These gates only allow the righteous to pass through them. We’ve talked about this righteousness in the past few weeks. Righteousness means having the right condition in the eyes of God. That is a condition of holiness, having been reconciled before the Lord.

I told you last week how we get to that condition of holiness, by confessing Jesus Christ and his work completed on the cross, we can enter into his salvation and find a state of peace with God. This is not something that we can accomplish on our own, but through the cross, we can find this peace.

The psalmist is approaching these gates and seeking entrance so that he might be able to publicly thank God.

Jesus spoke about this narrow gate and how it leads to life...

Matthew 7:13–14 CSB

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who go through it. 14 How narrow is the gate and difficult the road that leads to life, and few find it.

The Gate of Righteousness is narrow, because only a few may enter it. It also requires you to leave your bags behind. The Gates of Righteousness lead to life, but the journey is not necessarily going to be easy...

Psalm 15 CSB

A psalm of David. 1 Lord, who can dwell in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain? 2 The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness, and acknowledges the truth in his heart— 3 who does not slander with his tongue, who does not harm his friend or discredit his neighbor, 4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord but honors those who fear the Lord, who keeps his word whatever the cost, 5 who does not lend his silver at interest or take a bribe against the innocent— the one who does these things will never be shaken.

The one who...

lives a blameless life - we are living in an age where people seem to be celebrating their sinfulness rather than living a life that could be considered blameless.

practices living right before God - right living is like the shifting sands of South Padre Island. Each person does what is right in his own eyes without considering what is right before God.

acknowledges truth in his heart - our culture has rejected absolute truth and replaced it with an individualistic truth that is based on feelings and presumption rather than facts or upon scripture

does not slander others with his tongue - our world seems to celebrate divisiveness and gives each person license to speak out publicly against each other in a public forum

does not harm his friend - friendship is a thin veneer in a culture where one can count someone a friend without knowing anything about them other than what they post on social media.

does not discredit his neighbor - in our world, our neighbor is just another adversary that we must endure or slander at each opportunity.

despises the one rejected by the Lord - we are living in an increasingly post-Christian culture. As much as we wish that were not the case will not change it. Our culture in many ways celebrates the one who has rejected God.

honors those who fear the Lord - our culture does not honor those who fear the Lord and in many ways despises the godly man or woman.

keeps his word whatever the cost - the Promise Keeper is a thing of the past for our culture. When they meet someone with integrity, they treat them as something that is alien to their experience.

does not lend his silver at interest - I don’t know many who would make a loan without expecting interest. I have met a few, but they are far between.

take a bribe against the innocent

That’s a hard list to live up to isn’t it?

These are examples of the righteousness of the Lord that have been wholly rejected by our culture.

V. We are Living Stones

Peter wrote to the churches in the northern provinces of Asia Minor saying something similar...

1 Peter 2:1–10 CSB

1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation, 3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—5 you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. 7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this one has become the cornerstone, 8 and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Peter says something amazing here that applies not only to those believers who received his letter, but extends to us today. He says that WE are living stones!

We are the body of Christ and we are living stones built on the foundational cornerstone, Christ the Messiah! As we take on Christ and become one with him, we will also be rejected by those in this world who have rejected the cornerstone. When we allow Christ to be planted fully within us and allow his ways to become our ways, we will become a stone that will trouble the world and cause them to stumble and trip. Peter said, “They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.”

Peter encourages his readers to stay the course, even when they experience rejection and persecution...

1 Peter 2:11–12 CSB

11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

It’s easy for us to rage against those that don’t agree the way we do, but the Word encourages us to a different response. Let our response to rejection be like Christ’s response to his rejection.

What Peter and the other apostles were doing here was teaching the church that they make up a much larger structure that is joined together in purpose.

God is building something much greater here than we can imagine. He laid Christ as the chief cornerstone and he has laid those of us who believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior as living stones to make up the spiritual house or temple that he is putting together.

The idea here is that together we make up the church and together we are corporately a holy priesthood that serves to point people toward a godly way of living. That is, living in a way that honors God and accomplishes his work in this world. Together we work to bring spiritual sacrifices before God as the Holy Spirit works through us.

The more united that we can be and the better we are at doing the work that God has put before us, the more impact we will have on the community around us and the more we will bring before Father God and please him.

Conclusion

As we come to a close today, I want to open up the altar here at the front. Each of you may need to respond to this message in a different way.

There might be something that you want to pray for—or as you see others praying here you may want to come and pray for them.

Some of you may need to respond to the invitation that I have extended in recent weeks. You might want to respond to the call of God to salvation. You might feel like it is time for you to be baptized or you might feel led to join this church as a member.

I will be here at front and I invite you to respond as you feel led during this time of open response.