The description of the Lord Jesus Christ is often a description of contrast. On one hand He is The Rock, depicting His stability, His faithfulness, and His value beyond description. On the other hand, He is the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense. As Christians find great delight in Him, so it was and ever will be the ones who are not followers that find Him quite unpleasant. That’s not new.
1 Peter 2:6–8 (ESV) — 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, as they were destined to do.
We must begin with what makes the difference in the receptivity of the truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. As Jesus pointed out various regions of Isreal that failed to believe in Him as He ministered in those areas, He made it known that because of their hardness of heart and unbelief they did not repent and this was most evident. But the bottom line is the truth had not been revealed to them.
Matthew 11:25–27 (ESV) — 25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
What does that mean to us? If we have received the truth and the truth has set us free as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ, then God has been merciful in opening our eyes, ears, minds, and hearts to receive the truth. Notice that as Jesus finished His statement on revealed truth, He follows that with a compassionate invitation, knowing those who respond are those who have been blessed by God.
Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV) — 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
John 1:11–13 (ESV) — 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
It’s important to recognize the place of revealed truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ because if you believe He is precious, It has been revealed to you. It’s every bit as much to you as it was to Peter.
Matthew 16:13–18 (ESV) — 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
The revealed truth that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the Son of the Living God, and is the Rock upon which the church is built. Consider the call to respond to revealed truth by the apostle Paul:
Romans 10:8–10 (ESV) — 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
As Peter expressed revealed truth, so that truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ is foundational in the building of the church, even as Jesus said to Peter.
Ephesians 2:19–22 (ESV) — 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Isn’t interesting that the people to whom much was revealed in having the Old Testament scriptures, turned a deaf ear to the fulfillment of those scriptures in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 21:42–46 (ESV) — 42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46 And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.
What a call to come to the Rock, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker, Pastor
Christ Community Presbyterian Church
Clearwater, FL
Check out out podcast, The PowerBreak Podcast, wherever you download podcasts or from our website: www.bobbrubaker.com.
