Jesus Foretold:: The Precious Cornerstone (MP 73)

To Israel God the measured capstone sent, But, to them, a stumbling stone, rejected; Then God, turning away, to Gentiles went, A people from whom fruit He expected! Christ, the Kingdom’s cornerstone, did become— A sure foundation for people who trust; A stumbling block for people who turn from; Those He falls upon, He will surely crush! Still, Israel’s remnant shall accept the Stone, When Christ returns as the King of kings; They will reign with Him from the land they own, And share with Gentiles the heaven He brings! A precious cornerstone in Zion* God laid, And any who trust will not be dismayed! *Zion = Jerusalem Scripture Quoted (NIV) [Brackets added] Prophecy Made: Psalm 118:22-23—“The stone [Jesus/God] the builders {Israel] rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Written in the 10th century B.C.) Prophecy Made: Isaiah 28:16—“So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘See, I lay a stone [Jesus] in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, for a sure foundation; the one [a believer] who trusts will never be dismayed.’ “ (Written in the 7th century B.C.) Prophecy Fulfilled: Matthew 21:42-44—“Jesus said to them [Jews in the temple at Jerusalem/Zion], ‘Have you never read in the Scriptures [which they had read]: The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people [the Gentiles] who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone [non-believer] will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls [Israel] will be crushed.’ “ (Written in the 1st century A.D.) Commentary On: “Jesus Foretold: The Precious Cornerstone” The poem above describes God’s Plan for Israel, from His call to Abram in Genesis 12:1 in about the year 2000 B.C. through the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, ? B.C. to 32 A.D., up to this year of 2011, and on to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Included is a Biblical prophecy concerning whether Israel, or at least a remnant that is alive at the Second Coming, will accept Jesus, who was rejected by Israel at His First Coming. The prophecy that reveals Israel’s acceptance of Jesus as Christ and Lord is found in Zechariah 12:10-14. Until the Second Coming, whose date is not known, descendants of Israel are in the same position regarding salvation that Gentiles are—as individuals, they are eligible to be saved by believing in Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, which is identical to the position of all people. In the scripture from Matthew quoted above, Jesus reveals that by rejecting Him as Lord, the nation of Israel will be “crushed”, which is a mild description of how Jews have been dealt with since their rejection of Jesus. Each of us should be interested in how he or she stands in regard to receiving eternal life in heaven or spending it in hell. It is given in spiritual language by Jesus to the Pharisees, the highest religious leaders in Israel at the time Jesus lived; He explains to them that He is the “precious cornerstone” sent by God to Jerusalem to furnish them a “sure foundation” to stand upon, and thus be saved. He warns them that if they persist in not believing He is the promised One sent from God, going forward with their plot to kill Him, Israel will be crushed. Individuals who believed that Jesus was sent from God would be saved, and are resting on a “sure” foundation; men or women who do not believe that He is from God will be “broken to bits”—another way of saying they will be sent to hell when they die. This is exactly true today, for individual Jews or anyone else. The use of “cornerstone” to represent Jesus is one way of describing Him spiritually. The cornerstone of a building is the most important stone in it; if it is not measured precisely, the building itself is unsure. A traditional story (meaning not in the Bible) may be a precursor of the idea of a “cornerstone” as representative of Jesus. In Solomon’s time as king of Israel, the great temple of God was built in the 9th and 10th centuries B.C. Israel was at its height in power, wealth, and glory. The marble stones and cedar paneling that went into the temple came from Lebanon, a friendly country to the north. The stones were chiseled smooth and measured at the site they were found and sent down to Jerusalem precut and ready for use. The site of the temple was on Mount Zion, about 500 feet high. While the Jewish builders were laying the foundation, a certain stone arrived; its measurements were somewhat different from the others. After puzzling over the problem, they decided it must be meant for later use; they pushed it over the side and down the mountain. They rejected it. Later, they came to the place the cornerstone was to be laid but couldn’t find a stone with correct measurements. The Lebanese workers said they had sent it long ago. Sure enough, the rejected stone was the cornerstone. Exactly parallel to what happened with Jesus, and Isaiah may have known the story of the rejected stone in 700 B.C., but David could not have known the story when he wrote Psalm 118, for he died before the temple was begun. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not die, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)