Jesus Rejected Series

Jesus Rejected

Jeffery Anselmi / General

Core 52 / Jesus Was a Rejected Cornerstone / Psalm 118:22

Jesus was rejected by man and exalted by God.

INTRODUCTION

- Today, in our thirteenth week of Core 52, I would like us to consider what we are building our lives around and what is holding them together.

- The nation of Israel believed it was building its lives on God's foundation and that God was holding it together; however, its religious leaders were leading the people astray.

- The nation would build itself on the foundation of religion instead of a relationship with God.

- When Jesus arrived on the scene, the religious leaders, who were "protecting their turf," led the people to reject the one they were waiting for.

- This morning, we will look at an instance where Jesus nails the religious leaders to the wall with this passage to illustrate how this verse was playing out right before their eyes.

- Psalm 118:22 is a passage that speaks to that rejection.

- Psalm 118 is a hymn of thanksgiving to God for giving victory in battle.

- That Ps 118 is Messianic, which is attested by the citation of the verse seven times in the New Testament.

- Psalm 118 was also a processional song.

- The Israelites sang processional songs as they traveled in a processional on their way to worship.

- This song, in particular, was sung as they went to the temple to celebrate the Passover and remember how God delivered their people from captivity in Egypt.

- They worshipped to prepare for worship.

- As we examine our passage together, I hope our time together leads us all to consider the stone the builders rejected as the stone upon which we build our lives.

Psalm 118:22 (NET 2nd ed.)

- 22 The stone which the builders discarded has become the Cornerstone.

SERMON

I. The stone people rejected; God exalted.

- In ancient times, when a builder was to construct a structure, great care was taken in selecting the stones that would be used.

- Each stone was examined for its strength, integrity, and suitability.

- During this selection process, some stones were rejected and cast aside, deemed unfit for use.

- The Psalmist draws the metaphor for the verse we are contemplating today from this practice.

- When you look at the history of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament, it is rife with rejection.

- The Jewish people were God's chosen people, but the world rejected them.

- This passage goes much deeper than the nation of Israel.

- Beyond this immediate historical reference, the Psalmist, inspired by the Holy Spirit, speaks prophetically of the coming Messiah.

- This 'stone' that was to be rejected is Jesus Christ.

John 1:11 (NET 2nd ed.)

11 He came to what was his own, but his own people did not receive him.

- The religious builders of the day, the Pharisees and teachers of the Law, failed to recognize Him as God's chosen and anointed One, rejecting Him as the Cornerstone of faith and salvation.

- The simple sentence we see in Psalm 118:22 created quite a splash when Jesus quoted it during his final debate in the temple in Matthew 21:33-46 when He told the Parable of Tenants.

- Peter quoted it in his first defense before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4:11) and later used it in his first letter (1 Peter 2:7).

- Paul referenced it in Ephesians 2:20, describing the foundation of the Church.

- That's quite a superstructure built on this cornerstone passage.

- In Matthew 21:33-46 and Mark 12:1-12 In the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus tells the story of a person who planted a vineyard.

- Follow along with me.

Matthew 21:33–46 (NET 2nd ed.)

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and went on a journey.

34 When the harvest time was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his portion of the crop.

35 But the tenants seized his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.

36 Again he sent other slaves, more than the first, and they treated them the same way.

37 Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’

38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and get his inheritance!’

39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.

40 Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 They said to him, “He will utterly destroy those evil men! Then he will lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him his portion at the harvest.”