The Stone Rejected by the Builders

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Short Summary
The discourse explores the cornerstone prophecy from Psalm 118 and Isaiah 28, highlighting its fulfillment in Jesus Christ as the rejected stone that became the chief cornerstone of God’s spiritual temple—the church. It emphasizes how Jesus and the apostles illuminated Old Testament prophecies, showing Jesus as the foundation of faith, the stone of stumbling for Israel’s leaders, and the unifying head of the church, with believers as living stones being built into a spiritual house. The message concludes with the anticipation of the church’s completion under Christ’s headship and the outpouring of divine grace for both the faithful and the world.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on the Prophecy of the Cornerstone from Psalm 118 and Related Scriptures

Theme and Title
– The discourse is centered on Psalm 118:22: “The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner” (KJV and RVIC translation).
– This cornerstone prophecy is a key Old Testament foundation for Christian faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

Jesus and the Fulfillment of the Prophecy
– After His resurrection, Jesus explained to two disciples on the road to Emmaus how the Old Testament Scriptures predicted His death and resurrection (Luke 24:27, 32).
– The anticipation of the Messiah was widespread in Israel, evidenced by Herod’s decree to kill infants (Matthew 2:4-6) and the chief priests’ knowledge that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

Early Church and the Cornerstone Prophecy
– Peter and John, after healing a lame man, were imprisoned and brought before the Sanhedrin. Peter boldly quoted the cornerstone prophecy, identifying Jesus as the rejected stone now made the chief cornerstone (Acts 4:10-12).
– This event set a pattern for early Christian boldness and reliance on Scriptures for faith and witness.

Old Testament Foundations of the Cornerstone Prophecy
Isaiah 28:16: “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.”
– The Hebrew word for “corner” (pinna) means an angle or chief, used in various contexts including leaders of tribes (Judges 20:2).
– The cornerstone serves as the first foundation stone, setting the angles and measurements for the entire building.
– Zion is both a literal place (mountain in Jerusalem) and a symbol of God’s dwelling and kingdom (Zechariah 8:3, Jeremiah 8:19).
Psalm 118: A psalm of praise and prophecy with key verses including:
– Verse 1: “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His mercy endures forever.” (Repeated in verse 29 and echoed in 1 Chronicles 16:34, 2 Chronicles 5 and 7, Ezra 3:10-11)
– Verses 15-16: Reference to the right hand of the Lord as a place of power and salvation (cf. Psalm 110; Acts 2)
– Verses 22-23: The cornerstone prophecy quoted by Jesus (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17).

Jesus’ Use of the Prophecy in His Ministry
– Jesus applied Psalm 118:22-23 in the Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21:33-46), revealing that He was the rejected stone, the son in the parable, and the kingdom would be taken from the unfaithful religious leaders and given to a “nation” bearing fruit.
– The religious leaders were “builders” who rejected Jesus, the cornerstone, fulfilling the prophecy.

Related Prophecies: Stone of Stumbling and Rock of Offense
– Isaiah 8:14 describes the stone as “a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both houses of Israel.”
– Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7 prophesy the virgin birth and the government resting on the Messiah’s shoulders, titles including Wonderful Counselor and Prince of Peace.
– Jesus was a rock of offense to Israel’s rulers (John 1:11), rejected and crucified.
– Paul references this in Romans 9:32-33: Israel stumbled over the stone, but believers would not be disappointed.

New Testament Confirmation and Application
– 1 Peter 2:4-8 identifies Jesus as the living stone, rejected by men but chosen and precious to God, referencing Isaiah 28:16 and Psalm 118.
– Believers are described as “living stones” being built into a spiritual house and holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices through Jesus (1 Peter 2:5).
– The “builders” who rejected Jesus failed to recognize the time of their visitation (Luke 19:44) and clung to works rather than faith.

Further Old Testament Insight: Zechariah 4
– Zechariah 4:7 mentions Zerubbabel bringing forth the “topstone” with shouts of “Grace, grace.”
– The topstone (capstone) is the final stone placed, signifying completion and perfection, analogous to the chief cornerstone.
– Zerubbabel, governor after Babylonian captivity, laid the first stone of the temple’s rebuilding, symbolizing God’s Spirit-led work.
– The spiritual temple (church) is likened to a pyramid with Jesus as the chief cornerstone and capstone, and believers as living stones fitted together perfectly.

Grace and the Spiritual Temple
– The shouts of “Grace, grace” symbolize God’s blessings and the completion of His spiritual temple (Zechariah 4:7).
– Paul’s letters (e.g., Romans 5:20) contrast sin abounding with grace abounding even more, highlighting God’s provision through Jesus.
– The church is built without human tools, stones prepared by God and joined together in love (Ephesians 4:11-15).

Summary and Encouragement
– The cornerstone prophecy reveals Jesus as the foundation of faith, rejected by religious leaders but exalted by God.
– Believers are included as living stones in the spiritual house, growing into maturity and unity under Christ, the head of the body.
– The failure of the builders to accept Jesus emphasizes the importance of faith over tradition and works.
– The final hope is the future recognition and blessing of Christ as the chief cornerstone, with all creation praising God’s everlasting mercy (Psalm 118).

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Key Bible Verses Mentioned:

– Psalm 118:22-23 – “The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”
– Isaiah 28:16 – “Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.”
– Matthew 21:42-43 – Jesus quotes Psalm 118 about the rejected stone becoming the head of the corner and kingdom transfer.
– Isaiah 8:14 – “He shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense…”
– Isaiah 7:14 – “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son…”
– Isaiah 9:6-7 – Prophecy of the Messiah’s titles and eternal kingdom.
– John 1:11 – “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
– Romans 9:32-33 – Israel stumbled over the stone of stumbling.
– 1 Peter 2:4-8 – Jesus as the living stone, believers as living stones, and cornerstone prophecy fulfillment.
– Zechariah 4:7 – Zerubbabel brings forth the topstone with shouts of grace.
– Ephesians 4:11-15 – The church growing up into Christ, the head.

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This detailed summary captures the major points, scriptural foundations, and theological implications of the discourse on the prophecy of the cornerstone as fulfilled in Jesus Christ and extended to the spiritual temple of the church.

Transcript

So the title for our discussion today comes from the 118th Psalm and that says let’s click in the window. The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. Our subject today is the prophecy of the cornerstone that or the head of the corner as here translated in the rvic and in the King James Version. Old Testament prophecies like this provide us with the basis for our faith and our belief in Jesus Christ. Of course, no one knew this better than Jesus himself.

Likely on the morning, or, excuse me, the afternoon of his resurrection as a spirit. Spirit being after appearing to Mary Magdalene, the women coming from the sepulcher, and to Peter alone, Jesus walked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Luke explains this for us then, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he that’s Jesus explained to them the things concerning himself in the Scriptures. The walk to Emmaus had such a tremendous impact on those two disciples that they later commented these familiar and precious did not our hearts burn within us while he talked with us, by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? Can you imagine how the disciples felt on that walk, how encouraged they must have been to understand the death of our Lord just a few days earlier and his subsequent resurrection that very morning were fully predicted and confirmed by the Scriptures.

The Scriptures were at that time, practically speaking, of course, just the Old Testament. It was apparent that the prophecies of the Old Testament had readied those in Israel for the Messiah as recorded for us in Luke 3:15 and in the first chapter of John. The coming of Messiah was so anticipated that Herod ordered the execution of all the children under in the land under the age of two. Upon learning of Jesus’s birth, even the chief priests and scribes had accurately identified from these prophecies where the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. From Matthew 2:4 5.

Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he Herod inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, in Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet. We won’t read verse six, but of course you’re familiar with this passage and the one that comes from Micah 5. 2.

Isn’t it incredible that Israel’s civil and religious powers in the day of Jesus generally knew when and where he was going to be born?

Jesus was practically right there, with the exception of his trip to Egypt, of course, under their noses, so to speak, even as they were looking for Messiah foretold by these Old Testament prophecies.

If we fast forward 33 years from Jesus’s birth to the first test and persecution of the church after Pentecost, we find the story of Peter and John, who healed the lame man outside the temple. They were imprisoned for healing this lame man, and then they were brought before the Sanhedrin, the council of the religious rulers in Israel. Peter at this point chose to quote the cornerstone prophecy. Let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead by this name, this man stands here before you in good health and speaking of Jesus, he is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the chief cornerstone.

And there is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.

The text records a powerful event in the history of the early Church. The authority with which Peter eloquently and convincingly charged the religious rulers set the pattern for the future. Peter and John were influential role models for their brethren, but they were not vindictive or mean spirited in their words. They were factual and confident of the full Gospel and of the resurrection of the rejected Messiah, the Savior of the world. The amazed council, the Sanhedrin noted them as having been with Jesus.

While Christians find it faith strengthening that Jesus and his apostles have illuminated the beautiful meanings of the Old Testament cornerstone prophecies. As a result of their inspired understanding of God’s word and their application of it in circumstances such as we have seen, they provided us with better insight into the plans of God and specifically how better to understand the Christ head and body.

Well, I’d like to outline our approach to this study for you this afternoon. We’re going to first consider the passages of Scripture that contain these cornerstone prophecies, as well as some other scriptures that are related. The prophecy itself is found Both in Isaiah 28 and Psalm 118. Isaiah 28 is a chapter full of imagery and symbols that we’re very familiar with, and the cornerstone here is mentioned in verse 14 as part of a much larger prophetic passage.

Psalm 118, like many other psalms, is largely a psalm of praise with a few but obvious prophetic verses. Like many, the principles of the cornerstone prophecy itself are supported by related prophecies, and these are found in Isaiah chapters seven through nine. In the New Testament, the apostle Peter summarizes these Old Testament prophecies and others into the picture of the temple of the living stones. A beautiful summary and practical application of prophecy for the Church. Another related Old Testament prophecy is found in Zechariah 4, and we get a special blessing from from its consideration throughout his writings.

Of course, the Apostle Paul also makes many references, both direct and indirect, to these prophecies, and these will bring home the importance of Jehovah’s forethought and his special provision for those that are brought into covenant relationship to him by following his Son. Let’s first consider Isaiah 28. In this chapter, the Lord speaks of deceitful rulers of Jerusalem who will deal in lies and have made a covenant with death, and Isaiah 28:16 reads, Therefore, thus says the Lord. Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation.

He that believeth shall, shall not make haste. Well, the Hebrew word for Corner is Strong’s 6438 Pinna, and it means angle, and it’s used elsewhere in the Scripture to define the right angle of a corner, something like a 90 degree, such as the four corners of the Brazen altar in the Tabernacle. Pinna is also translated as chief in the King James when describing the leaders of the tribes of Israel. So those that were from each of the tribes that were selected to be the chiefs, if you will, representing each of those tribes, they were also identified by the word pinna.

That’s from Judges 20, verse 2. Now, in the context of the traditional building process that would have been in place in days of old, especially building with stone, there’s usually first a foundation stone that is set, and that first foundation stone is shown in this picture. This lays the angles or the corners and the template for the rest of the building. It’s kind of the basis for all of the measures. This is also commonly known along when you use the Strong’s word for stone, which is even along with pinna as cornerstone.

Well, this prophecy in Isaiah correlates the cornerstone with Zion, as you recall from us reading that Scripture, and, and this is a highly prophetic message to both natural Israel and to spiritual Israel, and further examination is required to understand this meaning. So the new test. Excuse me, let me, let me go back just a minute.

In correlating it with Zion, Zechariah 8:3 says, Thus saith the Lord, I am returned unto Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth and the mountain of the Lord, of the hosts of hosts, the holy mountain, Jerusalem, the symbolic seat of God’s dwelling with natural Israel and the seat of the future kingdom. Government is built, of course, as we know, upon Mount Zion. Zion is also the symbolic dwelling place of God in the Old Testament in scriptures such as Jeremiah 8, 19, and it’s also a picture of spiritual Israel.

Now while this cornerstone passage is highly prophetic to both natural and spiritual Israel, as I mentioned before, it does require a little more depth to understand the applications, and the New Testament is a very big help to us in understanding what these things mean, and so I’ll just give you a couple of quick examples of this for this particular passage. It’s partly quoted in Romans 9 by the apostle Paul and it is fully quoted in 1st Peter 2 by the apostle Peter, and we’re going to read both of these scriptures a little bit later.

And the sense of the apostles interpretation of this portion of the Scripture shall not make haste is an important one. It means in the New Testament we really know this through the New Testament translations. It means not to be ashamed or not be disappointed, and thus this cornerstone, tried and tested, would provide for us a sure foundation for our faith in truthful contrast to the lies of the deceitful rulers identified in Isaiah 28.

Let’s move on to Psalm 118. Well, as you probably all know, the 118th Psalm has been a very important one to the nation of Israel throughout their history and to Christians as well. It is mostly a psalm of praise, but it is also part proverb. It is also, it is part, excuse me, part prophecy as we mentioned, and it’s got some very famous scriptures that we often use and just say in, in our Christian language.

One of them is from verse 24. This is the day with the Lord which the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Or if we look at verse 14, the Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

Well, the predominant theme of this beautiful psalm is the mercy or loving kindness of the Lord, which is the English translation of the precious word cassette in the Hebrew strongs 26:17.

Now if you take a look at the whole Psalm, Psalm 118, really starting at the first verse, you’ll, you’ll note that there are some other references that represent things that could apply to the future and, and to the kingdom as well as to our Lord in specifically to Our Lord. Verses 15 and excuse me, I skipped ahead one more time. Let me go back. Well, no, let’s look at the first verse. The first verse of the psalm says give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his loving kindness is everlasting.

Well, this is a wonderful scripture, and it is a scripture that is a very common opening to many of the songs that were sung in both the Psalms and even going back in other places in Scripture. This particular scripture, this particular verse 1 is repeated in verse 29, which is the last verse of this same psalm. The phrase is also found in David’s prayer of Thanksgiving from 1st Chronicles 16:34, when David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and placed it in a tent, and King Solomon honored Jehovah with very similar words at the placement of the ark inside the newly built temple, and then later again at the temple’s dedication, Second Chronicles 5, and then also Chapter 7.

Now, appropriately, these same words were sung by Israel at the placement of the very first stone at the rebuilding of the temple after the Babylon captivity, and that’s recorded for us in Ezra, chapter 3, verses 10 and 11.

As I, as I mentioned before, as I was running ahead, the careful Bible student will recognize references to the Messiah in this Psalm and verse 15 and 16 correlate to the right hand of the Lord and to exaltation. We won’t read them, but you can see them on the screen, and as you know, throughout Scripture, Jehovah’s right hand is a symbol of preference and of his majestic power. It is a place of safety and salvation for those who seek him, and there are many, many scriptures that we could quote that support this in Genesis, Exodus, Psalms, etc in the New Testament, as well as the words of David in Psalm 110.

1. The right hand of Jehovah is the place where Jesus Christ was exalted after his ascension into heaven, and we find that recorded for us in Acts chapter 2. Now, Jesus himself quotes from this prophecy of Psalm 118 during the last week of his human life. In all three synoptic gospels, Matthew 21, Mark 12 and Luke 20, Jesus has.

Let’s set the stage. Jesus has just ridden into Jerusalem. He’s cleansed the temple and he’s healed the blind and the lame. The religious rulers have become impatient and they’ve just found him preaching the Gospel in the temple. They question his authority to preach and to heal.

And Jesus uses this opportunity to. To give one of his last parables, this time not necessarily for his disciples, but for these men who were challenging his authority, and this is of course, the parable of the tenants or the wicked husband, husbandmen, and in this parable, if you recall, the landowner’s servants and then his son are killed by the tenants that are responsible for, for this master’s or this master’s field, and so Jesus poses to these religious rulers a question.

He says, what are they going to do to what is the landowner going to do to these tenants that are taking care of of his field? And they answer that the landowner will miserably destroy those wicked men and let out his vineyard to other tenants that will provide him with fruits in their seasons. At this point in his earthly ministry, Jesus would find it expedient to partially interpret this parable for the spiritually hard of hearing for the built by quoting this Psalm 118, verses 22 and 23. He says, did you never read in the Scriptures the stone which the builders rejected? The same has become the head of the corner.

This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof, and again, this is Matthew 21, verses 42 and 43. Jesus as the preacher of the kingdom of God was the stone. He was rejected by the builders who were the religious rulers of the day, the very same men who were questioning his authority to heal and to preach the kingdom.

It is clear from the Gospel accounts that the religious rulers knew that Jesus was speaking of them, and these builders were the supposed caretakers of the kingdom of God pictured by the vineyard. The vineyard would then be given to a new set of tenants or caretakers, as Jesus describes them, a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. The builders. These religious rulers of Israel did not accept Jesus, the son of God, pictured by the son of the landowner in the parable, and although not explained in this Scripture, the servants were the prophets.

From Luke 11:47 and 48 we know this, and the landowner himself could have been none other than Jehovah God.

Well, let’s turn to some other Old Testament prophecies that help illuminate this cornerstone prophecy that we’ve considered from Isaiah 28 and Psalm 118. In the Matthew and Luke accounts of the parable of the wicked tenants, Jesus also correlates this chief cornerstone with the stone of stumbling and rock of offense of Isaiah 8:14. In Matthew 21:44, Jesus says, Whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken. Well, what does it mean to fall on a rock? It most likely means to trip or to stumble.

And this is reminiscent of another Old Testament prophecy, that of the stone of stumbling and rock of offense. As we stated, we Read from Isaiah 8:14 and he shall be for a sanctuary, but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel. The setting of these scriptures for all of these within Isaiah 7 through 9 was the ongoing Assyrian persecution of both Israel and Judah, which was a direct result of both both kingdoms. Their failure to heed the word of the Lord as preached by the prophets and a clue to understanding this prophet as a prophecy as it’s given in Isaiah 8:14 comes from a sign that was given by God to Ahaz, who was the king of Judah in the previous chapter. This is Isaiah 7.

We’ll read from verse 14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and and shall call his name Emmanuel. While there was a partial literal fulfillment of this scripture recorded in earlier verses of Isaiah chapter 8, this prophecy continues with a beautiful picture of the Messiah in the next chapter, Isaiah 9, verses 6 and 7, and we all know this one well.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, and the government will rest on his shoulders, and his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. Doesn’t this cause us to reflect back on the words of Isaiah 8:14 with a similar view that indeed the stone of stumbling and rock of offense truly applies in a prophetic sense to none other but Jesus Christ. The apostle John describes how Jesus was not accepted as the fulfillment of this Isaiah 9 prophecy when he came in the flesh, and John says in verse chapter one, verse 11, he came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him.

Jesus was definitely a rock of offense to the rulers of his day. They didn’t recognize him as the Son of God. They didn’t recognize him as the Messiah that was long promised. They rejected him by ensuring his death on the cross. He was a stumbling block though to both houses of Israel.

As the Scripture said, the natural house of Israel, the Jews, stumbled at the name of Jesus and missed their opportunity to receive the chief blessings of the Abrahamic promise because they misunderstood that the teachings of the law and of Jesus were of faith, not works. Romans 9, 32 and 33 talking about what was happening for Israel at the time of the early church and then ultimately the opportunity that was opened up for the Gentiles. Paul says, talking of Israel, they stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written, behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and rock of offense, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed, and thus this opportunity, then the spiritual opportunity, was given to the Gentiles, the nations bringing forth fruit, the fruit of faith in Jesus Christ in the other prophetic house of Israel, the spiritual house. As we learned from 1st Peter 2:15 or 25.

Many nominal Christians too have also stumbled at Jesus misunderstanding the very basic yet essential doctrine of the ransom in the blood of Christ.

Well, if we reflect back on Psalm 118:22 and our Lord’s own reference to it in Matthew 21:42, we see that the stone was made the head of the corner, and the Hebrew word for head is strong 7218 Rosh, which in Psalm 18:118 is translated correctly according to its definition in the sense of being the most important stone. Other translations appropriately use the word chief that we referred to as well, and the concept then of head of the corner is thus appropriately represented as chief cornerstone in other translations. In other words, the first stone of the building, the chief cornerstone, is the one that the builders rejected, and that’s implying that there could be more than one cornerstone, and as we know, in many buildings there is more than one, but the first one is the most important.

Well, let’s go to the New Testament in the time that we have remaining, and let’s look at First Peter chapter two, and this is where Peter confirms that the Old Testament prophecies, prophecies about the cornerstone are directly related to Jesus. His words help us to understand why such a stone would be such an appropriate picture of our Lord Jesus Christ and how it would relate to the church. In 1st Peter 2, 4, the apostle describes Jesus as a living stone rejected by men. This last phrase reminds us not only of the stone’s rejection by the builders, but of the prophetic description of our Lord as a man seen from the nation of Israel’s perspective.

If you recall from Isaiah 53, that beautiful chapter, the words from verse three say, he is despised and rejected of men he was despised, and we esteemed him not. But note how in this case, in the same verse that Jesus, or excuse me, Peter, describes the heavenly perspective of the living stone as chosen of God and precious, and this verse reminds us of the words from God to of God from Isaiah 28:16, a tried stone and a precious corner. We go on to verse 5 of this prophet of 1st Peter 2. Peter then makes a statement that helps complete this picture of what the builders were supposed to be building.

He relates this picture of our Lord Jesus as the cornerstone to us as members of the church.

He says, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

The builders, these religious rulers of Israel, who knew not the time of their visitation from Luke 19:44, should have recognized the Son of God, and they should have built their faith upon him and not upon their works. Well, finally, Peter puts all of this together for us in 1st Peter 2, verses 6 to 8. For this is contained in Scripture. Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. This precious value then is for you who believe.

But for those who disbelieve the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. For they stumble because they are disobedient to the Word, and to this doom they were also appointed. Peter shows how key Old Testament promises made to Israel were really intended for this spiritual house of living stones, with Israel having the first opportunity to be able to recognize the all the lessons taught in the law and the prophets that pointed to the true Messiah. Quoting partly from Exodus 19:5 and from Deuteronomy 6, he says, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. We appreciated the reference to the scripture that Brother Tim made earlier today.

How blessed we are to be included in these promises, to be able to participate and to be included as stones in the temple of Christ. Well, the fourth chapter of. Fourth chapter of the Book of Zechariah records the prophet’s vision of a golden lampstand, which seems to be a beautiful prophetic view of the building of the church during the Gospel age, and several aspects of this prophecy relate to our subject. The first is found in verse 7, Zechariah 4.

Well, and this is where Zerubbabel will bring forth the top stone with shouts of grace, grace. Well, a top stone, as we might guess, is the finishing last stone of a building marking its completion. The top stone of a pyramid, also known as a capstone, is not only the last stone placed on a building, but it is the reference or proportionate model for the entire building. The exact pattern after which the pyramid is designed in terms of a comparison to a cornerstone, which is typically the first stone laid for a building’s foundation. The capstone provides the exact location, angles and dimensions for the foundation cornerstones and for the rest of the entire pyramid.

It is in effect, the chief cornerstone of the pyramid, the first stone made and the last one placed, and its crowning achievement and glory. Well, the next notable aspect of this prophecy from Zechariah 4 is found in verse 9, which notes that the first stone was laid by Zerubbabel, and the word of the Lord confirms that Zerubbabel will finish it or complete the house. What we know from the books of Ezra and from Nehemiah that Zerubbabel was a governor, and from, I think from Kings as well, was a governor of Judah who returned back from the Babylonian captivity. He and his fellow leaders literally laid the first stone in the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem.

And this prophecy here is a confirmation that the rebuilding of that temple was an act of the Spirit of Jehovah. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:23.

If we read the prophecy as a whole, it is not hard to see this Zerubbabel in an antitypical sense representing Jesus Christ and this house that’s being built as the spiritual temple of God and the shape of that temple as a pyramid, with Jesus as the top stone, the chief cornerstone. When we combine this imagery with the confirming scriptures that we just read from Peter and the ones that we’ll shortly consider from Paul, this temple’s foundation is the apostles themselves, built on the sure foundation of Christ the saints. The individual living stones cut and polished in the quarry of the Gospel age experience and fitted quietly and perfectly together without tools, are growing into a holy temple of the Lord for their place underneath the pattern of the chief cornerstone. I’m sure that you recognize this image well, you’ll note the careful choice of small complete pyramids throughout the chart, and you’ll see that they represent perfection. The first two in green on first two in green and blue on the left represent of course, perfect man Adam, and then representatively Noah and the patriarchs.

But then all the rest of them are related to Jesus, and you’ll see that there’s one him is a perfect man on plain end, and then you go through the various processes of his spirit begetto, ultimately his resurrection as a spirit being, and then his elevation to the divine nature, and then when we see it going across, he’s finally joined with the church at the end of the harvest of this Gospel age. It’s a beautiful picture and at that point will be the glorified Christ, head and body, and finally the head of all things.

And you’ll note that the other pyramids representing peoples are incomplete until the end in the millennial age. It’s a beautiful picture, and we appreciate the chart very much for that. Well, the final blessing that we’re going to consider from Zechariah 4 comes from this simple shouting of grace. Grace that we read from verse seven, and these are the thoughts that just appeal to us based on the context and on the subject of this prophecy.

Can you imagine the shouts that will be heard when the finishing top stone is placed on the completed church? I think that’s scriptural. In Revelation, we hear lots of joy in heaven, and then in this passage, the shouts of grace indicate a double gift of blessing and point to Jehovah, the author of the plan of salvation, as the true source of the completion of the building of this house, and it will signify the fulfillment of grace given not only to each member of the church, the realization of their high calling, their redemption, but it will also usher in a new stage for grace, the grace made available to the whole world through Christ, the head and body, the great deliverer.

And Paul’s letter to the Romans helps us understand this a little bit better. We won’t read it all, but you note that grace is mentioned here first. First, in the contrast of a sinful world. Sins abounds, but grace abounds. That’s for us sa foreign the household of God.

And Jesus is the cornerstone, the pound, the pattern for the founding father fathers of that temple, the church, and if you recall from the building of the first temple, the one that Solomon built, the Lord’s house, the stones came together without a sound. Each stone was cut and finished at the quarry. Well, when the spiritual temple is complete, each stone will have been honed, shaped and polished together to come together perfectly built up under that top stone of Jesus, and of course we know that Jesus provided that pattern for the church in the New Testament.

He is our pattern, our foundation, our cornerstone, our head, the top crowning capstone, and we grow together upon him as our rock, and let’s read just a few from Ephesians 4, verses 11 to 15, and he gave some as apostles and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all as attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. To a mature man to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, speaking the truth in love.

May we grow up in all things into him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for building up of itself in love. Well, the living stones, here pictured as a pyramid modeled completely together after that top stone and growing up into the head, are being built up in love. We praise God, brethren, that we’ve been enlightened and included in this precious temple of God and that we are prepared by the Lord, the truth of the Word of God and by our brethren to be a perfect fit. It’s no wonder that the so called builders of the cornerstone prophecy worried about maintaining the positions, their positions of influence more than preparing their hearts. It’s no wonder they didn’t recognize Jesus, that express image of their heavenly Father.

And they preferred darkness instead of light by refusing to acknowledge the one that would become the chief’s cornerstone of the temple, the Son of God, and they failed to see that salvation promised in Scripture is not found under any other name under heaven, and but for us, we’re blessed to be able to see this pattern through the Old Testament prophecies because of the word of our Lord and the instruction of the apostles, and we hear grace, grace, grace for us, grace for the world, and we look forward to Jesus Christ being recognized and being blessed by all.

And perhaps, just perhaps, we’ll hear the blessed song of 118 Psalm 118 at the coming dedication of the spiritual temple, giving thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for his lovingkindness is everlasting. Hallelujah.

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