1 Peter 2:4-5
Peter is writing this letter to those who have been dispersed after the martyrdom of Stephen. He makes a distinct connection with them here in referring to Jesus as a living stone, rejected by men (verse 4). These people too have been rejected, and the reference to a stone would have been vivid in the physical stones that lay all around them in the wilderness. This reference to a “stone” also connects this teaching to the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 22:2-3 when King David sang a song of praise to God for delivering him from his enemies. David sang,
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress
And my deliverer;
The God of my strength, in whom I will
Trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation,
My stronghold and my refuge;
My Savior, You save me from violence.”
But this stone (Jesus) is a precious stone chosen by God (verse 4), and Peter indicates that the people are also stones that are being built up in a “spiritual house” (verse 5) and a “holy priesthood.” This “spiritual house” is the Church being built up in Christ Jesus where sacrifices are/will be offered spiritually. Jesus stated in John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” These spiritual sacrifices are in obedience to the New Testament teachings of Jesus in putting the needs of others before ourselves. This is sacrificing our own will to the will of God – spiritual sacrifice that is only acceptable if done through salvation in Christ Jesus (verse 5).
This is an example of our solid foundation found in Christ Jesus.
This is an example that we are made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We all are rejected by men, even those who have the most riches and earthly possessions have been recorded as speaking of the loneliness that has overtaken their lives in all their riches. But God chooses us out of this world to be built up as a solid rock in Christ Jesus and included in His holy priesthood as we are all called by Him to share the gospel and our testimony of how He is working in our lives. When we sacrifice our old life in the sinful nature of this world to Him in putting on a new life in Christ Jesus, we are made acceptable to God once again – we become redeemed through the blood of Jesus that He shed for our sins on the cross.
Dear LORD,
We are all lost and rejected in this lonely world, and we feel as stones left alone in the desert. But Jesus is the solid rock in which we find purpose in this lonely world. Jesus is the solid foundation in which we are redeemed back to a right standing with You LORD. Please speak to our hearts that we would open them to You and receive a renewed life in Jesus, whom You sent to save us all from sin. In Jesus name I pray, amen.