Technological difficulties prevented posting Thursday then I was away from the computer for two days. Last week we considered yard work. If your yard is like a few I’ve worked in, there are a lot of rocks! Peter wrote about a specific Stone who gives us hope. There’s so much packed into these paragraphs in the first part of chapter 2 we’ll spend a couple of weeks here.
Many pebbles keep us from focusing on what God has for us. Michael Card wrote a song1 that asked what keeps us from Jesus.
*What keeps you from coming to Jesus as often as you might like?
Jesus described different trails we take in life (Luke 8:1-15). Those who walk along the path allow the devil to take the Word away from their hearts and lives (Luke 8:12). They choose to walk in disbelief and reject Jesus. According to Peter, those people stumble over Jesus. This is in contrast to believers who seek to grow in their faith as they place their hope and trust in Jesus.
*How can we prevent the devil from snatching God’s Word from our hearts?
*What does it mean to hold on to the Word in our daily lives?
“As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him—” (1 Peter 2:4) 
- Peter encouraged believers to draw near to Christ in prayer, sacrifice, and devotion of heart and life.2
- Jesus was chosen to accomplish the work of redemption for sinful man.3
- Jesus was chosen through thoughtful and deliberate consideration.3
- It cost God dearly to send His Son to the cross.
Once we come to Jesus, we become part of His household, and therefore, like living stones ourselves.
“you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).
Jon Bryon’s musical interpretation hints at the interactive nature of this verse.4
Peter emphasized the importance of Jesus as the chief cornerstone, quoting Isaiah 28:16.
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame” (1 Peter 2:6).
“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” (Isaiah 28:16).
- This cornerstone, Jesus, is our foundation.5
- Christ sustains the church and unites Jews and Gentiles.5
“He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:17-20).
“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall” (1 Peter 2:8).
- Those who reject Jesus (the stone) will stumble and fall.
- Christ will cause the Jews to fall since they rejected their spiritual deliverer.6
- Their foot will slam against the Stone.7
- Life apart from God can be painful.
But those who trust in Him will “never be put to shame.”
- They will not “panic.”
- They will not be frustrated.8
- They will not be disappointed in hope.8
When might we stumble against the Stone?
How does trusting in Jesus give us hope?
How will you lean against the chief Cornerstone to draw closer to Him in His spiritual house?
- Michael Card. “What Will It Take (To Keep You from Jesus).” Scandalon, 1985.
- Spiros Zodhiates Th.D., The Complete Word Study Dictionary New Testament (Chattanooga, Tennessee: AMG Publishers, 1992), 1229
- Ibid., 545
- Jon Byron. “Living Stone.” Portrait of Love, 1979 vinyl.
- Zodhiates, 389
- Ibid., 920
- Ibid., 1233
- Ibid., 830