Scriptures: Daniel 2, Psalm 118:21-24, Isaiah 28:16-17, 33:5-6, Matthew 7
In Daniel 2, Daniel interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue dream and tells him that the rock he saw is a kingdom God will set up when he sends the rock that was not cut by human hands. This rock will destroy and replace all the nations represented in the statue that have ruled the earth since the time God sent Judah into captivity until now. “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44). This vision has not been fulfilled because the nations have not yet been crushed by Jesus. Both the Old and New Testaments point to Jesus, the Rock, destroying the nations that have set themselves up against God. For those who try to build an empire to glorify themselves, the Rock brings destruction, but for those who seek to obey him, the Rock is our salvation and foundation.
Psalm 118:21-24 says, “I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. 22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 23 the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” Jesus is the stone that the religion builders rejected who has become the cornerstone on which God’s kingdom is being built. This psalm is the last psalm in the Hallel, a selection of psalms of praise that were sung at the end of the Passover meal. Matthew 26:30 tells us that after the Passover meal, “Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives,” where Jesus was betrayed. Just hours before Jesus would be rejected his disciples sang about him becoming the cornerstone “this very day.” Jesus was no doubt comforted as he sang, “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done” (Psalm 118:17).
A cornerstone is the first stone set in construction and all other stones are set in reference to this stone. Isaiah 28 describes the cornerstone. “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. 17 I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie, and water will overflow your hiding place’” (Isaiah 28:16-17). Jesus, the cornerstone, has been tested in every way that we have been tested. He is a sure foundation, and all who believe in his name will be saved. The one who relies on him will never be stricken with panic because he promised to never leave or forsake us. His Spirit is always with us to guide and comfort us.
The kingdom of God is being built with Jesus as the cornerstone, ensuring that God’s justice is the measuring line and his righteousness the plumb line. What does that mean? In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught us how God measures justice. “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Matthew 7:1-2). “If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:14-15). “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
God’s measures are just and fair in his kingdom. We receive what we’re willing to give. God’s measuring line and plumb line ensure that nothing is crooked, and everything is straight. A plumb line is a vertical line with a weight at the bottom that is held up next to a wall to make sure it’s straight. Jesus’ teachings came from above, carried weight, and established the plumb line of his kingdom. Everything we believe and do must be in alignment with the plumb line of scripture if we want our lives to be unshakeable when trials come.
Isaiah 33:5-6 says, “The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness. 6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Jesus is the sure foundation for our lives, our salvation. His teachings provide wisdom and knowledge…to those who practice them. How is the fear of the Lord is key to this treasure? If we fear the Lord, we will obey him, which is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:24-27).
Jesus is the cornerstone of the house of God and the foundation upon which God’s kingdom is built. He was a stumbling block for those who did not understand how the scriptures pointed to him, causing many to reject him. But to those who believed, he became the foundation of God’s kingdom which is being spread by those who follow his teachings, who are being made into the image of the Rock. In Matthew 18:16 Jesus renames Simon Peter, which means rock, and says he will build his church on the rock. Peter declares that we also are living stones. “You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. 5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple” (1 Peter 2:4-5).
You and I are not individual temples but living stones that God is fitting together to build his temple. Paul describes this temple in Ephesians 2. “You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:19-22).
We partner with God to build his kingdom with the tools he provides – the gifts of the Spirit – on the foundation he has supplied which is salvation through Jesus, using the plumb line of righteousness taught by Jesus. If we build on any other foundation than salvation through the blood of Jesus, it is not the right foundation. We are not saved by our works or our religious affiliation, but by Jesus’ sacrifice. However, if we preach a gospel that does not encourage obedience to Jesus’ teachings, the walls will be crooked and fall down. We need both the right blueprints and the right building tools, which God provides. God allowed the temple in Jerusalem to be destroyed because Jesus must now be the foundation of our worship.
When I visited Jerusalem, our guide said that most of the stones from the destroyed temple had been taken by people to build their houses all over the city. What a beautiful illustration of God’s temple being spread out through people! Just as the temple stones were used to make homes, God now makes his home in us, his living stones. We are scattered around the world to prepare the world for the Rock who is coming. For as God revealed to Daniel, “The rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). The statue represents kingdoms built on the pride of man. When Jesus returns, everything that is built on pride instead of the foundation of love for God and others will fall. Paul tells us our works will pass through fire to determine whether they last or are burned up when Jesus returns to tear down faulty structures and replace them with lasting ones.
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). Gold, silver, and costly stones are not burned up in fire, but they also must be mined by going deep and cost us something. When we go deep with the Lord, mining the scriptures for truth and obeying the Spirit even when it costs us, the works we do will remain when Jesus comes to evaluate what we have built.
I have not been sharing personal words from the Lord in this series, but I want to end today’s lesson with a personal connection the Lord made to the above passage. I was asking the Lord about a particular project I was working on that had been costly. I had risked rejection from people to obey the Lord and share what he had shown me. I asked him how he saw that project and he said, “A gold brick.” At first, that made no sense, so I asked him for more and received the mental picture of the new Jerusalem that Revelation says is the bride of Christ that will have streets paved with gold. All of a sudden, Paul’s words above had a new context. When we obey the Lord in ways that are costly, those works appear in heaven as gold bricks that will pave God’s eternal kingdom which comes down at the end of this age. What we build matters, and though it is costly to take up our cross and follow Jesus, what we build on the Rock with him will remain forever.
Response:
Jesus, you are my Rock and Redeemer. You are a sure foundation. Your words are a lamp to my feet and light to my path so that I will not stumble or be shaken. I bless your name. Abide in me and make me a rock like you, a stone that is being built up into your temple that will fill the earth.
(The picture above is of fallen stones from the second temple as viewed from the ramp up to the Temple Mount. To get a context for the size, there is a person standing in front of them.)
