In the ancient world, stones were used for building altars, homes, palaces, and temples. When “cornerstone” is mentioned in the Bible, it refers to a particularly important stone that held two rows of stones together in a corner, one that stabilized the structure at the foundation, or one that formed the keystone over an arch or at the top of a roof parapet. In order to hold the structure together, the cornerstone had to be perfectly fitted for the task, both strong and well shaped. A flawed or poorly cut stone would compromise the building’s integrity. The Hebrew words for cornerstone are rosh pinnah (ROSHE pi-NAH).
In Luke 20:17, Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22. By referring to the “the stone that the builders rejected,” he was pointing to his own rejection by many in the Jewish nation and by its leaders. But despite this rejection, God’s purposes could not be thwarted. In fact, the master builder would make Jesus, through his death and resurrection, the cornerstone on which his kingdom would be built. The Hebrew word for stone is Eben (eh-BEN).
The New Testament portrays the whole community of believers as a holy temple, a spiritual house in which God can dwell. Jesus is the Cornerstone to which we are joined as living stones. As the foundation stone, Jesus is strong enough to hold everything together. He is also the fitting conclusion to all God’s work. But to those who reject Jesus and his saving message, he will be not a cornerstone but a stone of stumbling, because rejection of God’s chosen one inevitably brings judgment.
As an interesting side note, the royal name was often inscribed on the cornerstone, and among the ancient Canaanites before the time of Joshua, the laying of the foundation stone was sometimes accompanied by human sacrifice. Tragically, a number of skeletons, especially those of small babies in earthen jars, have been found at various sites.
Praying to Jesus, Our Cornerstone
“Haiti’s Agony,” “Haiti in Shambles,” “Fierce Earthquake Rocks Haiti”—these are just a few of the tragic headlines highlighting the worst disaster to hit this disaster-prone nation in history. In addition to the presidential palace, the Roman Catholic cathedral and all the major churches and seminaries in Port-au-Prince were leveled by the magnitude 7 earthquake that destroyed the city in January of 2010. The damage in Haiti is extensive because the nation has no building codes. Even if it did, how could anyone afford to build structures that can withstand earthquakes in a country in which people only make two dollars a day on average?
Contrast the vulnerability of the cathedral in Port-au-Prince to one of the world’s greatest cathedrals, also located in an earthquake-prone area. Though now a mosque, Hagia Sophia, in Istanbul, was once a Byzantine cathedral. It has endured for 15 centuries even though it has sometimes been damaged by seismic activity. To solve the mystery of why it has stood when so many other structures around it have collapsed, engineers analyzed its building materials and discovered that it’s made out of earth-quake resistant cement, thereby minimizing its vulnerability and enabling it to withstand a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. Clearly, the way you build anything makes a difference in how long it will endure.
That’s true in the spiritual world as well. Jesus says that everyone who hears his words and puts them into practice is like a wise person who builds his house on a rock. Conversely, anyone who hears his words and fails to put them into practice is like a person who builds his house on sand. It will only be a matter of time until his house comes crashing down.
Wherever we live, we will encounter pressures that will shake us, sometimes to the core. But if our lives are connected to Christ, we will not be destroyed. Jesus is the Cornerstone, the strong foundation on which we can base our lives. Anything else won’t last.
