Holy Saturday: The Cornerstone

“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.’” – I Peter 2:7-8 (ESV)

This Lesson is seven of eight compiled for Holy Week 2019. Eight individual stories where God used inanimate rocks or stones to further His Kingdom for His Glory. Inanimate Objects. Rocks, water, bread. All things which are dead or at least NOT living. All things that without action upon it by something living remain sedentary, unchanged, lifeless. Enter Jesus.

Jesus was crucified on a stony mountain called Golgotha. He was raised up on a cross for a public spectacle and humiliation. Hammered above Him were the mocking albeit ironically true words, “King of the Jews.” Christ, though King of the entire universe, willingly stepped into this infamous death for us.

As the text in I Peter says, “the honor is for you who believe.” Christ, though perfect, was dishonored so that we could receive every honor. He was rejected by humanity and by His Father so that you and I could be accepted by God. He was publicly ridiculed and shamed so that we could receive dignity. Jesus was ultimately crushed so that we could be made whole.

The text also affirms that Christ is “the cornerstone.” A cornerstone is a chief stone in the construction of a house or a building. From this stone the other stones derive their purpose, place, and power. Jesus provides us with these three things in our own personal lives.

As we consider what Christ accomplished for us on the Cross, we must also prayerfully follow His example for the flourishing of others. Paul exhorts us, “Let each of you look not only to His own interests, but also the interests of others. Have this mind in among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:4-8, ESV).

There is a joyful calling to each of us to enter into suffering, rejection, hardship, and the pursuit of justice so that others may grow and live. Because Christ and His Spirit live in us, we are empowered and emboldened to enter into this broken world with the words and deeds of the Gospel message. From our connection with the Cornerstone we are able to spread, grow, and fortify the Kingdom of God on earth.