The Stone the Builders Rejected, Acts 4:5-12
Introduction
It is related that Michelangelo, the famous Italian sculptor, painter, and poet, once stood before a great block of marble that had been rejected by builders and cast aside. As he stood there with eyes staring straight at the marble, a friend approached and asked what he was looking at. “An angel,” came the reply. He saw what the mallet, the chisel, and patient skill could do with that rejected stone. He set to work and produced one of his masterpieces. Likewise, God the Father has saved us and redeemed us according to the stone which the builders rejected. Christ has become the chief cornerstone, though he was the stone which the builders rejected. What the world often casts aside, God redeems for His glory. What the world rejects as foolishness, God intends to use to show that He will do what He will do, not according to our opinions, judgments, or preconceived notions of how it ought to be done.
If the Pharisees had their way, surely salvation would have come into the world according to their good deeds, good works, and keeping of the commandments of the Law. But praise God almighty! Salvation has come unto us through that which the builders of religious ideas and idolatries of self righteousness rejected; Christ! The King of Kings and Lord of Lord’s!
Transition
Ephesians 2:19-22 says, “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (NIV)
The cornerstone unites two walls at the corner of a building and holds the building together. Peter said that the Jews rejected Christ, but now Christ had become the cornerstone of the church with the foundation of the Church being the teachings of the Apostles and the Prophets of the Old Testament.
This morning we will discuss the stone which the builders rejected who has become the chief cornerstone, or the capstone of the Church; that is, of God’s covenant people. As we go to our text, we will examine what it reveals with regard to the power of Christ’s name, and the pardon which has come to humanity according to Christ.
Exposition
Power: In our text a question is raised by the religious authorities bring Peter and John before the current High Priest Caiaphas and his father in law, the former High Priest, after being seized by the teachers of the Law, the Sadducees, to be interrogated about their evangelistic efforts, the healings they were performing, and, perhaps most of all, for their rhetoric with regard to the resurrection of the dead; most notably their speaking of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
In this section of the passage a question is raised, “by what power are you performing these miracles? In whose name do you preach?” This is the same question that is raised to the Church today. In whose name do you perform your ministry? In whose name do you proclaim a message of hope?
If we perform our ministry to the community and to the world in only our own name then it lacks power. We see this played out in the lives of many churches that have rejected the pure message of proclaiming Christ, Him crucified, and Him resurrected, as did John and Peter in this passage. Far too many in our day have replaced the power of the name of Jesus with the vanity of their own name, their own agenda, and their own social goals.
For John and Peter, the name of Jesus alone was that which they proclaimed. It was in Jesus name alone that they performed miracles.
Illustration
Since my three year old son Sebastian was an infant we have prayed at meal times. If we ever appear as though we are about to eat without praying first, Sebastian will tell, “Uh Oh, daddy, you almost forgot to pray.” Our one year old son, Ephram, is getting in on the pray now too, although when we go to hold hands around the table, Ephram always is a little skeptical because he seems to think that somebody is about to take his food! Of late, Sebastian has enjoyed being the one to say the prayer. While the prayer varies, Sebastian has picked up on the main theme and when he prays he will say, “Lord, thank you for the gift of this day, thank you for your constant provision, bless this food in this Jesus name. Amen.” A few moments later, he will usually add, “Oh, and bless Sebastian too!”
Praying in Jesus name, living in Jesus name, really is a simple thing. It is about making Him, His glory, and His name, the theme of our prayer and the theme of our life. In Acts 4, they asked Peter and John the same question which we need to answer today. In whose name do you do these things? In the precious name of Jesus, the name which is above all other names!
Pardon: The prophecy which foretold His coming said that He would suffer and be rejected, but not without purpose. Jesus allowed these things to happen to Him in order that He might purchase salvation for us, at the cost of His own blood. Jesus satisfied the holiness of God in that while we were yet sinners, alienated from God according to sin and its consequences, Jesus died for us.
In the shedding of His pure, spotless, blameless blood, He provided a means of atonement to satisfy the wrath of God. In making such an offer He expressed the purest and most beautiful example of the abundant grace of God. God is both merciful and just, righteous and full of grace.
In order to have access to the throne of grace, God covered our sins and transgressions in the pure blood of His own Son. In the power of the Holy Spirit, Peter proclaims, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12 NIV)
If we trust in the biblical message and if the biblical message is that like sheep, we have all gone astray, why is it then we find ourselves often taking the place of God in the throne of judgment? If God Himself does not condemn us and has seen fit to forgive us in Christ so that we are no longer alienated from Him, why do we routinely judge one another and live in alienation to each other?
Just as the Jewish religious authorities rejected Christ, the beauty of God revealed in human flesh; the treasure of most immense weight and value embodied in humanity. Just as they rejected Jesus according to their own sense of righteous judgment, how often do we like them, stand in the place of judgment, placing ourselves of the throne of God, the throne of our own perceived righteousness as we judge the value of another person, as we condemn those for whom Christ died?
Let us repent and be ever mindful of committing the sin of the Pharisee. The Pharisee were not evil or wicked people inherently; they were very good people; too good in fact. It was their strict perfection, their excellence in keeping in the Law, their own perceived holiness which was the greatest stumbling block in their lives. It was pride and self righteousness which caused them to stumble.
Their greatest sin was in believing themselves to be free from sin. The treasure of forgiveness is found in Christ alone. Ought not Christ forgiveness to be found in me? Jesus said when you pray say, “Father forgive our sins, even as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” Let’s take it a step further, “Father forgive us for taking the place of judge, even though you have shown mercy.”
You’ll recall the story of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector recounted in Luke 18:9-14, where Jesus says, “To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (NIV)
We are found alive in Christ because of the power of His name, His work, His love, not because of anything that we have done. Surely it is right to make wise and sound judgments with regard to our own life and even in the lives of others where it is appropriate. The point here is not that we rightly live in a fairytale land where everything is relative and anything goes.
The Bible says that we are to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves. There are times when we must confront the sin of others in our lives, take a stand against sin and destruction in our culture; to be sure a solid biblical case can be made for this.
The point here is the difference in the spirit of the Pharisee on the roof and the tax collector. While the Pharisee exalted in his own ability to keep the law, the tax collector threw himself upon the mercy of God! While the Pharisee was good and law keeping, and knew it, the tax collector was in need of grace and knew it!
O, for a people of God who would cast themselves upon the mercy of God rather than exalting in their own righteousness! What power might be displayed in our lives upon setting aside self exaltation and embracing the radical grace of the Cross in our lives! Imagine the reconciliation that could take place in marriages across this land if only we would stop judging one another and look unto Christ; the author and finisher of our faith.
Imagine the reconciliation in families that could take place if only we would rid our hearts of judgment and condemnation, shame and guilt, and rather than making judgments of one another, could come alongside one another gently, lovingly pushing each other to greater heights, carrying one another’s burdens. Imagine the power of Christ’s holy Church if we learned to be consumed with Grace rather than with judgment and self righteousness.
We, like Peter and John in today’s passage, are right when we proclaim the power of Jesus name alone. Not my will be done, but His. Not my strength, but His. Not judgment and condemnation, but grace and mercy; love and hope.
Conclusion
An American missionary who was walking down the streets of a Chinese city was greatly interested in the children, many of whom were carrying smaller children upon their backs and managing at the same time to play their games. “It is too bad,” the American sympathetically said to one little fellow, “that you have to carry such a heavy burden!” “He is no burden,” came the quick reply; “He is my brother.” “Well, you are chivalrous to say so!” said the man, and he gave the boy some money. When the missionary returned home he said to his family, “A little Chinese boy has taught me the fullest meaning of the words, ‘Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.’ ” He recounted his interview and added, “If a little Chinese boy can carry and care for his brother and refuse to consider him a burden, surely we ought not to think it a burden to carry our brother, the weak and the needy ones, who look to us for help. Let us rejoice as we carry one, and say, by our actions, ‘He is no burden; he is my brother.’ ”
The builders, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, those who lived righteously and were all too keenly aware of it, rejected the stone, the sure foundation of Christ in favor of self-exaltation and legalism. Peter and John proclaimed in Acts 4 that the very one they rejected has become the chief cornerstone of our faith.
Today, let us be encouraged to proclaim, as did they, that Christ is Lord, not only in words, but in deeds; as we show grace and mercy to a hurting world and as we bear one another’s burdens in humility, knowing that the power is in Jesus name alone and that the pardon has come not by my works, but by His. Amen.
