They stumble because they ignore the law, as was their fate.
However, if you are a disciple of Jesus, exile is something you should anticipate. Rejection will happen when we strive to fulfill everything God says we are capable of becoming in Christ Jesus.
Oh, that’s wonderful (please note my sarcasm). So why would we want to endure pain and endure rejection? Because we are aware of Jesus’ value. We have already sampled the spiritual milk. We are aware of both our past selves and our new selves in Christ.
Let’s step back and ask ourselves why rejection is a given. since Jesus did it first.
Jesus is described as the Living Stone in verses 4 and 5, who was rejected by people yet esteemed and valued by God.
The idea of God’s authority and reign is present in the stone. It’s crucial to remember that he’s alive because he’s the Living Stone. not deceased Although it seems too simple to mention, it is significant since it shows that the stone is alive and functional.
This Living Stone was also disregarded. Jesus, the son of God, was charged with fraud, betrayal, and criminal activity. In the worst manner possible, he was crucified.
However, the One who was spurned was in fact precious and chosen. His apparent rejection in the end was actually a part of God’s original plan all along. His rejection was intended to keep you and I safe.
Furthermore, as we begin to rely on the Living Stone (Jesus), we are developing into Living Stones (Jesus). We are also constructed into a spiritual home, also known as a temple, also known as where God dwells by His spirit, as living stones.
Are we actually constructing a temple? No. We are the spiritual home, nevertheless. the chapel. When you place your trust in THE Living Stone (Jesus), each person is a living stone. Together, in all of our individuality, we are constructed into a new spiritual home, a home of the Spirit where God resides among us. When you consider it, that is rather bizarre. Like, give it some serious thought. These implications include:
- Significance
- This is not a community event or another social gathering; it is usGrace Community Church. There is a supernatural event taking place right now. Our shared existence, in all of its diversity and oneness, serves a lofty, eternal purpose.
- Our interactions are therefore essential, not elective. Whether we get along or not, we are creating a spiritual home together.
- Agony & Rejection
- Because our Living Stone, the one in whom we have faith, suffered and was rejected, following Jesus entails suffering and rejection.
- It is not a matter of your resolve or willpower to follow Jesus. It depends on how valuable and precious Jesus is to follow him. Because if you follow Jesus, the world will reject you as well.
- Is it worthwhile to be scorned for Jesus? (yes.)
The good news is that sorrow and rejection are not the ultimate results. The promise in verses 6 and 7 is as follows: “Whoever trusts in him will not be ashamed; the honor belongs to you who trust…
But the choice of how one responds to Jesus is up to each individual. When it comes to Jesus, neutrality is not an option. Either he is the world’s savior or you need saving. Or, He is not, thus you are not in need of salvation.
Jesus is either the cornerstone upon which everything is constructed or your living stone. He may also be the stone that trips you up and stuns your toe.
I’ll thus leave you with this query. To you, who is Jesus? Do you desire that He become your Living Stone but are unsure of what that entails? Inform us. We would adore speaking with you.
What is the meaning of stone in the Bible?
A stone is compared to strength and resiliency in a person’s character in certain passages of scripture. Before Christ’s death, Jesus tells Peter that his new name will mean the same as a stone after Christ’s death. This is done to show the firmness and resolve that Peter will have. His faith was unsure prior to Christ’s death, but after seeing Christ after Christ’s death, it is rock-solid.
by Steve Lawrence
I recently had a conversation with a woman whose husband had recently received word that he would no longer be needed at his Catholic high school as the Religious Education Coordinator for the upcoming academic year. Naturally, he was very disturbed about it, especially because the school had given ambiguous explanations for their choice. I felt qualified to openly encourage her, “I’m sure good things will come from it, even if they are not visible at the moment. I’ve experienced being pushed aside a few times myself over the years, and then subsequently saw how God had been preparing something greater.
My parents had a really terrible period of dispute while I was a child growing up in Brisbane, Australia, in the 1980s, which lasted six years from the time I was twelve until they separated right as I graduated high school, before relocating to Melbourne. After seeing the issues in their marriage, which caused my brothers and I a lot of trouble and left us hurt and somewhat traumatized, I was understandably a little hesitant to get married. I did, however, get married, and through Annie’s unfailing gentle love, my friends’ prayers and support, as well as regular access to the Eucharist and the Sacraments of Confession, I have experienced a great deal of healing. Over time, we have discovered that we are capable of supporting other married couples and leading a very successful ministry to engaged, married, and family couples. The miracle that is our union!
The principal of the high school where I worked as the director of faith and mission had a proverb that he would pronounce as a warning: “Wounded people wound people, or “Damaged people damage people.” While it is undoubtedly true that people prefer to dwell on their challenging situations if they are not resolved, I believe this to be a constrained and somewhat gloomy truth. My personal favorite to add is that “healed people heal people. This is unquestionably my experience, and it is in line with the gospel’s witness. According to the many versions of the Resurrection, when Jesus returned from the dead, he made a considerable effort to let the disciples to view and touch the crucifixion-related wounds on his body. As vital as it is to demonstrate that he was truly raised from the dead, the purpose of this was to emphasize that being raised and healed does not include being “patched up as if what caused the wounds didn’t happen.” No, the scars continue to exist and, even after healing, they are revered. As we learn via a vision of heaven that Jesus is “the Lamb looking as though he had been slaughtered” (Rev 5:6), and similarly for us, our glorified wounds will be with Him for all of eternity! When our wounds are healed, they don’t go away; rather, they open up new and magnificent doors for God to work in our lives. They furthermore turn into resources of grace for others. We can offer others our missionary credentials and our healed scars. God gives us treasures that we would not otherwise possess through the hardships we must experience.
I can therefore say with absolute certainty that God permitted the catastrophe of my parents’ divorce, not because it was a good thing in and of itself (it was terrible and God’s heart broke as a result of it! ), but because He knew He would bring a greater thing from it. My own marriage to Annie, now 27 years old, our six children, and the tremendous fruitfulness of our life and mission within the Emmanuel Community in Australia, as well as my work with Catholic leaders. In the middle of those difficult times, I experienced the birth of my faith, the development of my prayer life, and the development of my desire to put my confidence in God. I learnt to seek God’s grace since I was aware that human strength alone could not bring about marriage. No matter what storm is raging around, there is only security in total surrender to God.
Therefore, when we read in today’s Gospel that “the stone that the builder’s rejected has become the cornerstone” and that “Jesus Himself was rejected and set aside and thus gave us the grace of the death and resurrection,” we can also understand that God is doing something brand-new and something truly amazing in the trials and mysteries of our lives.
Matthew 21:33-43
Steve Lawrence, a married father of six, works as a consultant for Catholic leaders at Altum Leadership Group. He spent twelve years in Melbourne as a professional Australian football player, served as Sydney World Youth Day’s 2008 director of evangelization and catechesis, and served as the director of Rome’s Emmanuel School of Mission. Raising Fathers Fathering from the Frontline: 12 Men’s Stories and Make Your Mark: Five Hidden Keys to Great Leadership (both Wilkinson, 2019) are his most recent books (Connor Court, 2020).
What is the God-stone?
Legend has it that the Demiurge, who created the universe, produced the famous stone known as Dei Lapis. The stone has the power of ultimate creation, and for many generations, people have sought it out in an effort to harness its power—some for good, some for evil. The mythical stone’s location is finally discovered, but the outcomes of the search are unexpected.
What is the Bible’s teaching on God serving as our rock?
Psalm 18 for the musical director of David, the LORD’s servant. When the LORD saved him from Saul’s and all of his enemies’ hands, he sang the lyrics of this song to the LORD. He stated:
My God is my rock, and he is my fortress and my deliverer; I will take refuge in him. He is my fortress, my armor, and the horn of my deliverance.
In my anguish, I cried out to the LORD and begged my God for assistance. My wail reached his ears from before him, coming from his temple.
He was so furious that it caused the earth to quake, the mountain foundations to shake, and the world itself to tremble.
His mouth was spewing blazing coals and consuming fire, and smoke was rising from his nostrils.
He turned the sky’s black rain clouds into his sheltering and protective canopy.
Clouds carrying hailstones and lightning bolts advanced out of the light of his presence.
He launched his arrows, dispersing the adversaries, and then dispatched them with powerful lightning strikes.
At your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils, the valleys of the sea were unveiled, and the foundations of the earth were uncovered.
He pulled me out of deep seas by extending his arm from up high.
He saved me because he loved me; he brought me out into a roomy area.
The LORD has repaid me in accordance with my righteousness and according to the cleanliness of my hands.
Because I have walked in the ways of the LORD, I haven’t done wrong by disobeying him.
In accordance with my righteousness and the apparent cleanliness of my hands in his eyes, the LORD has repaid me.
You demonstrate your faithfulness to the obedient, and your blamelessness to the blameless.
To the righteous, you demonstrate your purity; to the dishonest, your cunning.
What do the 12 stones in Revelation represent?
The foundation stones of the Heavenly City are described as twelve diamonds in Revelation 21:19–20 of the Bible. These Biblical gems were linked to astrological signs and calendar months over the years, much like the stones of Aaron’s breastplate. The foundation stones and birthstones have a lot in common, despite different lists and translations.
What did Jesus mean when he declared, “I will build my church upon this rock”?
Jesus questioned His disciples who the people thought He was as He arrived at the edge of Caesarea Philippi. He then inquired after their response to this, “But who do you claim I am? Simon Peter gave the response “The Son of the Living God, you are the Christ (Matt. 16:13-16). That brief conversation contains a valuable lesson in that it demonstrates that our opinions of Christ are far more important than those of others. Others’ beliefs and behaviors won’t either save or destroy our souls. Every individual is solely accountable to themselves. However, Jesus’ reply to Peter’s remark contains a number of profound facts concerning the Lord’s church that we should take into consideration and that are the focus of this piece. Jesus gave Peter a benediction and declared that Peter’s response was the result of heavenly inspiration. He said, “Additionally, I tell you that you are Peter and that I will construct my church on this rock such that it will be impregnable by the gates of hell (Matt. 16:18).
We need to make clear a point that has been misunderstood and abused by some throughout the years before diving into the profound truths we have in mind. The Lord did not say that Peter would be the cornerstone upon which He would build His church. Although the word “Peter” shares the same origin as “rock,” both grammatically and semantically, Peter is not the rock. The Lord’s church, and by extension all of Christianity, rests on the validity of the grand confession that Peter had just made, “Christianity as a whole is predicated on the idea that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
First, take note of what Jesus said: “I’ll construct my church. He used the first person singular, “I. He would be the one who constructed His temple. And He did built it! In reality, the final clause of that sentence—in which He promised to construct His church—indicates something very different from what most people would assume. He stated: “and Hell’s gates won’t be able to stop it. Most interpret this as proof that Satan can never bring down the church. Although Dan. 2:44 states that the Lord’s kingdom will never fall, this passage refers to a different topic. Jesus is asserting that even if He were to be despised by the populace, taken into custody, tried, declared innocent, and then crucified, he would still go on and establish His church. Although the Jews did reject and crucify Christ, He did rise from the dead and found His church. Also contributing to this “Since Jesus founded His church, no church founded by anybody else can be the church that Jesus promised to found. Therefore, I will create my church.
Second, take note of what Jesus said: “will construct my church. Jesus was instructing His followers on the Caesarea Philippi shore at the time in the future tense. We have demonstrated in earlier courses how the church and the kingdom are the same organization. When describing where the keys could be found, Jesus used the word “kingdom” rather than “church” in the passage after our current verse of interest (Matt. 16:19). Even though it was in the near future, Jesus’ language was still in the future tense “I assure you that some of those present will not experience death until they have witnessed the powerful coming of God’s kingdom (Mark 9:1). The Bible’s church was founded at the first Pentecost after the crucifixion, as described in the second chapter of the book of Acts, according to a study of God’s word. Prior to this, any mention of the church or kingdom is always in the future tense; however, following that Pentecostal event, any mention of either is always in the present tense.
Thirdly, Jesus declared, “I will construct “in my church. The blood of Jesus Christ was used to purchase and pay for the church (Acts 20:28). Jesus owns the temple he constructed. His church is this. Because of this, both we and the authors of the Bible utilize the description, “Christ’s church is a term used to describe the church. When we refer to the church as such, we are referring to the institution that Jesus founded, over which He presides (Eph. 1:22-23) and for which He is the Savior (Eph. 5:23).
Jesus’ statement, “I will construct my church,” serves as our lesson’s concluding argument “church. The word is single since neither Jesus nor He ever founded more than one church. There is only one church that can be found in the pages of the Bible, despite the fact that there are many congregations inside that one church. According to Ephesians 1:22, Jesus is both the body’s rescuer and its head (Eph. 5:23). When someone complies with the requirements of God necessary for salvation, God joins that person to the church, His one church (Acts 2:47). No entity bigger than a local congregation but smaller than the one global church has any support in the Bible. Paul stated that the body is the church (Eph. 1:22-23) before adding that there is only one body (Eph. 4:4, I Cor. 12:20).
How much truth Jesus could convey in just a few sentences is simply astonishing “I’ll erect my temple, and He did.