Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The Cornerstone of Life


Mark 12:10 Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes?”

Pastor JJ picked up where he left off in his Sunday Sermon series of going through the gospel of Mark. In the Parable of the Tenants of Mark 12:1-12, the Lord Jesus told a short allegorical story designed to illustrate and teach a truth, a religious principle, and moral lesson. The man who planted the vineyard was God, The vineyard was the nation Israel, the tenants were the Sanhedrin (the governing body of the Israelites, the servants were the Prophets sent by God, and the Son was Christ – the Cornerstone. Verse 12 tells us that after hearing this story, then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away.

We sure don’t hear about cornerstones in structures much these days. The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. It is a "foundation-stone", and is symbolic of Christ, whom the Apostle Paul referred to as the "head of the corner" and is the "Chief Cornerstone of the Church". Cornerstone is cited six times in the New Testament (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20, and 1 Peter 2:7). But if we think about the Lord Jesus Christ as the head of the church body, as the cornerstone of the church, then “all other stones (the body of Believers) will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure (the church)” the symbolism makes sense. But, Jesus is “the stone the builders rejected”. The people of Israel were entrusting to the care of these leaders, but instead of aligning with God’s Word, Will and Ways, they persecuted them. They missed the point in order to keep everything for themselves. They thought that they were building God’s structure of live, but not resting upon the “right” thing … the cornerstone was rejected.

Mark 12:9 “What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

God’s holy Word defines life and Jesus is the only cornerstone to build our life upon.

In Christ, Brian


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