One Stone Chip Can Mean Replacing A Whole Windshield!
You may remember a stupid saying offered to children when they got upset about being called a nasty name. “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
Of course, every child and adult knows a nasty name hurts, or there wouldn’t be any name-calling. A small stone might not break a bone, but a tiny stone thrown up on a highway by high-speed traffic can chip a windshield. The stone by itself isn’t powerful. However, once a tire picks up the stone and tosses it; it becomes extremely powerful.
Isaiah wrote, “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 trusts will never be dismayed.” (Isa 28:16)
Christians understand Jesus as the capstone and cornerstone of their faith and life. A capstone or cornerstone in the Bible was an important stone in a building. For example, a capstone was used over a door, a large stone was used as a lintel or even the last central stone of an arch, and a cornerstone was used to anchor and align the corner of two walls. Both of these stones were significant. Jesus is the capstone and cornerstone rejected by religious and secular authority but the most significant and influential person in God’s world.
Mt 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (or cornerstone); 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 who will produce its fruit” (v.43 Jesus adds, “He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” (v.44)
In God’s power and authority, Jesus may cause people to stumble and be shattered to pieces or become crushed when He lands on them. Both outcomes are adverse – you can stumble over Jesus as a cornerstone, or Jesus as a capstone stone can land on you and crush you. Stumbling, falling, and being broken to pieces over Jesus or crushed by Jesus are both severe warnings. You can batter your head against the will of God, or you can defy Him, and His judgment will fall on you.
1 Pet 2:6-8 conveys the same idea. Do you want to resist God? Be prepared for a painful result. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word.”
Let us gladly turn to Jesus as our stone. (Psalm 116:8) “Jesus has rescued my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.” Jesus is a Christian’s cornerstone or solid foundation. Jesus is the top or head of the church those who believe in Him.
