Jesus, The Chosen One
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Introduction
Introduction
[Illus] Imagine that you have a nativity scene set up in your house, probably not as large as the one in front of this pulpit, but one that people admire when they come by to visit you. One day, a family member of yours that doesn’t believe in Jesus comes by to visit. He’s admiring your nativity scene, when he says, “You know, I don’t believe all that stuff the Bible says about Jesus, but I like Christmas. I like the angels, the wise men, even baby Jesus in the manger. It’s all so festive.”
How shocked do you think your unbelieving family member would be if you said, “Well, I’m glad you like Christmas, but just so you know, that Jesus in the manger is going to crush you one day unless you believe all that stuff the Bible says about Him.”
At Christmas, we like to relegate Jesus to the manger. He’s a cute baby. Harmless. Or so we think. The truth is, the Jesus born to Joseph and Mary, wrapped in swaddling cloths, and laid in a manger is the very same Jesus who one day return and crush us if we do not believe all that the Bible says concerning Him.
We don’t like to think about that at Christmas. It doesn’t make for a very heartwarming HallMark Channel movie. But it is true.
That’s why this month we are focusing on the Names and Titles of Jesus. I hope that by the end of the month we have a greater understanding of just who was born to us when Jesus—that child in the manger—was born unto us.
This morning we turn our attention to 1 Peter.
[Context] In 1 Peter, Peter wrote to fellow Christians who were being persecuted. He gave them hope by reminding them that they were elect (1:1), God had caused them to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1:3). Peter also reminded them of their inheritance, which was presently being kept for them in heaven (1:4), and the fullness of their salvation, which would be revealed at the return of Christ (1:5). These are glorious realities that the prophets of old spoke about (1:10); glorious realities that had been preached to Peter’s recipients (1:12a); glorious realities into which angels long to look (1:12b); glorious realities that could not (and cannot) be touched by persecution!
He encouraged them with hope from their past
There’s power in choosing.
On the surface of things, it seemed He was from no one and nowhere.
Therefore, in the face of persecution, they were to set their minds on the return of Christ (1:13), pursue holiness (1:14-21), and love one another (1:22-2:3).
This is how those who have come to Jesus Christ keep coming to Him even when this wicked world tells them to stop or they will be killed.
He wasn’t wealthy or internationally known
But as we come to Him, it will give us hope in knowing that Jesus was also rejected. He was rejected by men, but in the sight of God He was chosen and precious (2:4).
[Reading: ]
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
[Prayer]
are lifeless, but Jesus isn’t. He is a living stone by way of His resurrection from the dead.
[Peter said that Jesus was a living stone (2:4). Stones were (and still are) used in the construction of houses and other structures. Stones don’t breathe, don’t speak, don’t think—they are lifeless, but Jesus isn’t like that. He is a living stone by way of His resurrection from the dead.
As Peter references in 2:5, stones were (and still are) used in the construction of houses and other structures.
Peter said that Jesus was a living stone (2:4). Stones were (and still are) used in the construction of houses and other structures. Stones don’t breathe, don’t speak, don’t think—they are lifeless, but Jesus isn’t like that. He is a living stone by way of His resurrection from the dead.
Peter said that Jesus was a living stone (2:4). Stones were (and still are) used in the construction of houses and other structures. Stones don’t breathe, don’t speak, don’t think—they are lifeless, but Jesus isn’t like that. He is a living stone by way of His resurrection from the dead.
The world, however, looked at Jesus and decided that He wasn’t worth building upon. They would not build their lives upon Him, their happiness upon Him, their future upon Him, their salvation upon Him—they would build nothing upon Him. He was rejected by men (2:4). But in the sight of God He was chosen and precious (2:4).
Major Ideas
Major Ideas
#1: Jesus is The Chosen One ().
#1: Jesus is The Chosen One ().
For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
[Exp] These words are quoted from . When God first delivered those words through His prophet, Isaiah, Israel—the northern kingdom of His people—was in danger of being overtaken by Assyria. Israel had rebelled against God by refusing to believe in Him, by despising His Law, by worshipping idols, and by not turning back to Him and trusting Him to deliver them from the Assyrian threat. Instead of trusting God, they turned to Egypt for help. In the nation that once held God’s people as slaves, Israel thought they had found a savior. Instead, they were carried off by the Assyrians in 722 B.C.
God, however, would still save some. He said in , “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame.” Some in Israel would wait on the salvation from God and believe that it—that He—was coming. That promised salvation, that chosen and precious cornerstone came in Jesus Christ!
The cornerstone served as the foundation stone for a building under construction in the ancient world. By being perfectly square itself, it also ensured that the rest of the building would be square as well. It the cornerstone was not “chosen and precious”—i.e., if it was not perfect, the rest of the building would be misshapen and unstable. But Jesus was perfect! He was chosen and precious! And the temple of God—the church—would be built on Him! Listen to what says...
[Exp]
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
Ephesians 2:19-22
[Illus] I’m sure that you’ve heard of the leaning tower of Pisa in Tuscany, Italy. It’s been around for hundreds of years and has been leaning for almost the entirety of its existence, which makes sense when you realize that “pisa” means “marshy land”. It began to lean so severely in the 1990s, that officials closed it to the public so a team of experts could try to save the tower from collapsing.
They removed soil from underneath the tower to allow it to settle more evenly.
They weighted and anchored the tower to try to pull the tower closer to straight.
And it worked! The tower’s lean was reduced by 19 inches!
It may fall one day, but the tower is expected to be stable for another 200 years unless there’s an earthquake or some other disaster.
[App] Think about The Leaning Tower of Pisa in comparison to The Church—The Temple of God.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa’s foundation was off from the beginning.
But the foundation—the cornerstone—of the church is Jesus Christ and He couldn’t be more perfect!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa’s foundation had to be corrected.
But the foundation—the cornerstone—of the church is Jesus Christ and He has never and will never need correcting!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa’s foundation is stabilized for the foreseeable future.
But the foundation—the cornerstone—of the church is Jesus Christ and He is sure forever!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa’s foundation will eventually give way to time and decay, an earthquake, or some other destructive force.
But the foundation—the cornerstone—of the church is Jesus Christ and He will never give way!
[TS] Jesus is The Chosen One—the precious cornerstone—and there is no other! He is the sure foundation of our salvation as members of the household of God!
That’s why we must believe that Jesus is The Chosen One!
#2: You must believe that Jesus is The Chosen One ().
#2: You must believe that Jesus is The Chosen One ().
For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
[Exp] Peter reminds his readers that it is not enough to mentally agree with the fact that Jesus is the chosen and precious cornerstone. They must believe on Jesus as that chosen and precious cornerstone—as that only perfectly sure and stable means of salvation.
Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame, which means that whoever does not believe in Him will be put to shame.
The honor of belonging to the Church—the Household of God—the Temple of God is for those who believe.
[Exp]
Those who don’t believe, however, will stumble over Jesus.
Peter quotes from when he writes, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” is a praise to God for the salvation He has brought to His people. Jesus is the salvation that God has brought to His people!
This is why is recited by the crowds when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest! (; ; )
This is why is what Jesus seems to say we will cry out at His return. In , Jesus said, “For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!’”
This is why , in keeping with Jewish tradition, would’ve been the last psalm Jesus and his disciples sang at the Last Supper before Jesus went to the cross to save us from our sins ().
And this is why Peter quotes from here in , because Jesus is the Cornerstone—the salvation chosen by God but rejected by men.
Peter says, to those that reject Jesus, He becomes “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” ().
What do you do with a stone of stumbling? You kick it out of the way.
What do you do with a rock of offense? You cast it aside.
Peter pulls “stone of stumbling” and “rock of offense” from . In , God warns Isaiah to not get caught up in all the surface-level crises that Israel’s leadership was caught up in. They worried about pleasing Egypt and offending Assyria but they cared very little about pleasing God and fearing Him. But Isaiah was to honor the Lord of hosts as holy and fear Him.
Israel’s leadership in Isaiah’s day would see honoring and fearing God alone as getting in the way of the real work that had to be done—work like making an pact with Egypt and escaping Assyria’s grasp. In fact, they grew tired of hearing prophets like Isaiah call for single-minded devotion to God. They even persecuted and killed some.
They were stumbling over the salvation that God was offering to them in Himself.
They were even offended by it.
Peter says that all people who rejected Jesus do the same thing.
In Peter will use the language of to say that Jesus is the Lord of Hosts—the One that we must honor as holy and fear!
He is a sanctuary for those who fear and believe in Him!
But He is also a stone of stumbling—rock of offense—a snare or a trap to those who refuse to fear and believe in Him!
They may reject Jesus but they will still answer to Him.
[Illus] In Jesus tells the parable of the tenants. A master planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, built a tower, and leased it to some tenants. The master—the owner of the vineyard—went off to another country but sent his servants back at harvest time to collect some fruit from his vineyard. But the tenants he had leased the vineyard to beat and killed his servants. The master sent more servants to the tenants but they did the same to them. Finally, the master sent his son. The tenants killed him too.
Then Jesus asked the religious leaders, “When the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They answer, “The owner will put those tenants to death and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him fruit.”
It couldn’t be clearer. The murderous tenants are the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. Their fathers murdered the prophets of God and they will murder the Son of God. What will God do to them? Jesus tells them in ...
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
[App] You may reject Jesus. You may kick Him out of the way or turn your nose up at Him, but you will still answer to Him!
Stumble over Him—be offended by Him—fall on Him, and you will be broken to pieces!
And when He comes, He will fall on you to crush you!
In Adam’s sin, the first sin of the first man in the Garden of Eden, we all sinned, we all made our choice—we chose to reject God! We chose to stumble over Him and be offended by Him by disobeying His word (). Now, because of our sin in Adam, every person is born into sin. Every person is destined to stumble because every person has and will disobey the commands of God, which are meant for our good.
Unless God graciously intervenes we will continue to stumble our way right into hell.
Unless God graciously intervenes we will not believe that Jesus is the Chosen One.
[TS] Thank God, He has graciously intervened!
Look at back at for a moment...
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
You notice those words “he has caused”—that’s the grace of God! We didn’t cause ourselves to be born again! He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead!
We didn’t cause ourselves to be born again! He caused us to be born again!
You see, we were stumbling over Jesus, offended by Him, and would’ve been crushed by Him just like everyone else but God was great in mercy!
He wrote our names in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world!
He opened our blind eyes that we might see the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ!
He removed the heart of stone and gave us hearts of flesh—hearts that beat for Him!
He wrote His Law on our hearts!
He filled us with His Holy Spirit!
He caused us to be born again!
If you believe in Jesus this morning, give God the glory!
If you believe in Jesus this morning, give God the praise!
He should get all the glory, honor, and praise, because we only believe because of Him!
And if we believe in Jesus we must live for Him...
#3: We must live that Jesus is The Chosen One (, )!
#3: We must live that Jesus is The Chosen One (, )!
#4: How should you live if you do believe?
you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
[Exp]
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
[Exp] The prophet Hosea was told by called to take for himself an unfaithful wife. Gomer, the unfaithful wife, gave birth to a few children two of whom were named, “Not my people” and “No mercy” ().
God was making a statement to His people. He had been faithful to them like Hosea was faithful to his wife. But Israel had been unfaithful to him like Gomer had been unfaithful to Hosea. The result of Israel’s unfaithfulness would be God’s declaration that they were no longer his people and that he would show them no mercy.
However, God also promised a day of reconciliation when “not my people” became “my people” and “no mercy” became “mercy.” That day didn’t arrive in Hosea’s day. It arrived in Jesus Christ!
By believing in Jesus those who were not the people of God are shown to be the people of God!
By believing in Jesus those who had not received God’s mercy show themselves to the be the recipients of it!
[App] Peter says to those us who believe, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession! … Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people! Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy!”
We are the true Israel of God—the chosen remnant—the temple built upon Jesus!
And that mercy changes the way we live!
Notice that both and describe how we are to live now that we are believer in Jesus.
We are to “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,” ().
We are to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light,” ().
We do that by refusing sin.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
We do that by being honorable.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
We do that by submitting to authority.
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
1 Peter 2:13
We do that by showing honor to everyone.
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
2:17
And on it goes throughout the rest of 1 Peter and the rest of the Bible! It is full of commands that show us how to “offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” and “proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light!”
[Illus]
[App]
Conclusion
[TS]
And the question is not, “Will we do these things?” Rather, the question is, “Do we believe?”
Because if we believe that Jesus is The Chosen One—the precious cornerstone—then we have received mercy and we are the people of God and we will live like it!
Do you believe? Have you received the mercy that He offers to you in Jesus Christ?
Notes
Notes
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
That baby born and laid in a manger died on the cross for your sins. He rose on the third day so that you could be made right with God if you’ll trust in Him. Will you trust in Him?
And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
He ascended to the Father’s right hand where He remains until the time of His return.
One day He will come to bless those who believe and crush those who refuse.
For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones,
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He is The Chosen One.
even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love
Do you believe?
Colossians 3:12
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you,
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.
They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
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Chosen as the cornerstone (founder, foundation)
Chosen as the capstone (head, in Him all things hold together)
Chosen and precious