Jesus is the Rock

The Certain Word of God and the Precious Cornerstone

Verse 6 says, For this is contained in Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in me will not be disappointed. So your sacrifice, although it might hurt now, will not be disappointed in eternity.

And here again, Peter tells them that he's quoting Scripture. He cites Isaiah, Romans, and Ephesians to establish his point. He's being careful and making sure that the hearers know that this is something that was previously prophesied and scriptural.

These are the words of God. And if they're the words of God, what are they?

Certain.

Any word from God is certain. Isaiah prophesies 800 years before the time of Christ. So once again, we see like we did in verse 20, where Jesus was foreknown by God that this was the certain plan of God unfolding right before their eyes and ours.

They, the hearers of this epistle, and us, are part of the spiritual priesthood that the old covenant sacrificial system was pointing to, that angels long to look into. We are a part of that. So in verse four, they're coming to Jesus.

In verse five, they're living and dying in Jesus, and like Jesus. And now in verse six, we'll learn what they're standing on, the stone in Zion, the choice and precious cornerstone. Earlier, I told you that Daniel spoke about the stone that Daniel spoke about and would break into pieces the empires and became the biggest mountain, knowing that stone was Jesus.

Here, Peter repeats what Isaiah said and will now tell us that this stone would be a precious cornerstone. But what's a cornerstone? Strong's Concordance says it's a stone placed at an extreme corner, the corner foundation that connects the walls together.

Launida says it's a cornerstone or capstone of a building essential to its construction. Kittel says it's the final stone in the building probably set over a gate. So all those stones that you would stack up, that one in the middle would keep everything together.

One tells us it's part of the foundation, another tells us it's essential, and the last one says it's the final stone in an archway. Either way, this stone is essential to the integrity and the structure of the building and points us to Jesus as that stone.

Christ Jesus the Cornerstone of the Church

Paul makes it real clear in Ephesians 2, you are a fellow citizen with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus being himself the cornerstone in whom the whole structure, the whole house is being joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

He's pivotal, he's the foundation. He is the one that unites us all together, the stone upon which we come to and stand on for our salvation and growth. And he is the one that unites the old covenant and the new covenant.

He is the cornerstone. Now, given all that information, there are still some religious traditions that don't believe this. They say that the church, the house of God, the temple is built on Peter. He's the rock, you know.

That's what his name means, Peter, Petra, he's the rock. And they'll use Matthew 16, 18 to make their case. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

So in their minds, the church is built on Peter as the leader, the head. However, what they don't realize is a few chapters earlier, Jesus would also tell them in Matthew 7, everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on the rock. No mention of Peter, just the words of Christ. That word rock here means bedrock, foundation.

It's the same word that's used in Matthew 16, 18. The church will be built on the foundation of Jesus and his words, the rock of the Old Testament and not on any one single man, right? So first, we're coming to Jesus.

Second, we're living like Jesus, sacrificing like him. And now we're being built up, standing on Jesus. So, so far I've quoted Daniel and Isaiah about Jesus being the rock, the stone. But you might say, are there any other references to the rock in the Old Testament that might point us to Jesus that would help us in this argument?

And I'm glad you asked. And the reason I know how you asked because I wrote it down, I said, glad you asked. This picture of Jesus as the stone actually stretches as far back as Genesis. Genesis 49, 24, his arms were made agile by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob.

From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel. Jesus is the shepherd, right? Deuteronomy 32, four, the rock, his work is perfect. For all his ways are justice, a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

The rock, his work is perfect. That eliminates any man. Deuteronomy 32, but Jeshurun grew fat and kicked. Then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the rock of his salvation. Salvation is found on the rock.

There is no other name by which we must be saved. Deuteronomy 32, how could one have chased a thousand and two have put 10 ,000 to fight unless their rock had sold them and the Lord had given them up?

For their rock is not as our rock. Our enemies are by themselves. Our rock protects us. Isaiah 26, trust in the Lord forever for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah says, the rock is God. Isaiah 8, we read this before and he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and many shall stumble on him, right?

The Jews stumbled over Jesus as the Messiah and that was prophesied. Psalm 62, for God alone my soul waits in silence. From him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress. He only is my rock and my salvation.

I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory, my rock, my refuge is God. According to Psalm 62, the rock is divine. Psalm 18, the Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation.

Getting the picture? Psalm 18, for who is God but the Lord and who is a rock except our God? Now that eliminates any human being, that eliminates me, that eliminates you, that eliminates Peter. Who is a rock except our God?

Psalm 95, oh come, let us sing to the Lord. Let us make joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. This rock receives worship. 2 Samuel 22, the Lord lives and blessed be my rock and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation.

Finally, Psalm 89, and there's so many more. He shall cry to me, you are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. My goodness, not only does this point to the rock being Jesus, because it's the certain word of God, this points us to his divinity.

The fact that God is here with us, Jesus is God in the flesh, it's what we celebrate during this Christmas season. And over and over we hear our faith, our salvation, our trust is being built on the rock, God himself.

We stand on Christ alone, God in the flesh, not Peter, not you, not me, not any man. And that's just the Old Testament. In the New Testament, remember Paul says, you are members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone.

Paul also says, for no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now the apostles and prophets are foundational, but the foundation, the bedrock upon which they stand, upon which they are building is Jesus.

And listen, the apostles and prophets are foundational. It's the prophets and the apostles, plural, not any one person, we. Finally, we read about heavenly Jerusalem in Revelation, the bride, Christ coming down out of heaven.

John tells us in Revelation 21, and the wall of the city had 12 foundations and on them were the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. Not once out of all the scriptures I read do any one of them point to Peter as the rock upon whom the entire church is built and not once do they single out or highlight any one individual except Jesus.

So if you're part of the church of Jesus Christ, you are standing upon and being built up by God himself. He's the foundation for everything. He's the foundation for everything that Christian life entails.

And the scripture says, you will not be disappointed. You are being put together by the original master model builder, God.