Author: Gary Witcher
Company: none

Jesus: Rock

     "For I proclaim the name of the Lord," we read in verses three and four of the song of Moses recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 32; "ascribe greatness to our God!
     "The Rock!  His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He."
     Obviously, it is appropriate to think of God as being symbolically "The Rock" of His people.  So it does not surprise us to find the same idea applied to His Son Jesus.
     "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone," God promises in Isaiah 28:16, "a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.  He who believes in it will not be disturbed."
     "Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone," 1 Peter 2:6 quotes in reference to Christ, "a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed."
     Obviously, it is appropriate to think of Jesus as being symbolically "The Rock" to His people.  And notice the characteristics which are attributed to this rock.  First of all, He is spoken of as a tested stone.  There is nothing uncertain about Him.  God also refers to Him as a costly stone.  In fact, His value is beyond measure.  It is also stated that He is a cornerstone.  Everything is to be built on Him.  And He is identified as a stone which is firmly placed.  Only He provides a firm foundation.
     In Psalm 118:22 the writer makes mention of the future corner stone.  In fact, this verse is combined with the one from Isaiah in some of the New Testament references.
     "The stone which the builders rejected," this Scripture prophesies, "has become the chief cornerstone."
     "He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders," Peter tells the council in Acts 4:11, "but which became the very corner stone."
     "And there is salvation in no one else," the apostle adds in the next verse; "for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved."
     Jesus is the corner stone.  Not only this, but He is the ONLY corner stone.  Any belief not based squarely on Him is worthless.
     "In whom," Paul writes of Jesus in Ephesians 2:21-22, "the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."
     In this world of moral confusion and religious division, we would do well to remember some fundamental truths.  Creeds can only divide.  Forms of ecclesiastical government can only keep men apart.  The church can be united only in Christ.
     In addition to being a foundation, a rock is also used in the Bible to represent a source of refreshment.  Remember how the Israelites received water from a rock on two occasions.
     "And all drank the same spiritual drink," 1 Corinthians 10:5 says in reference to the Israelites in the wilderness, "for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ."
     Just as a rock furnished water for the thirsty Hebrews, Jesus is the source of spiritual refreshing for those who come to Him.
     There is a third way in which the figure of a rock is applied to Christ.  He is referred to as a stumbling block.
     "Then He shall become a sanctuary," Isaiah 8:14 says of the Messiah; "but to both the houses of Israel, a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over, and a snare and a trap for the inhabitants of Jerusalem."
     "This child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel," Simeon tells Mary as he blesses the infant Jesus in Luke 2:34.
     "But we preach Christ crucified," Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 1:23, "to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness."
     Why do people stumble?  It could be, as 1 John 2:10 notes, because they are walking in the darkness.  Maybe they are holding their heads too high and are not looking where they are going.  Or perhaps they are looking in the wrong place.
     How do you react when you find that something you have been taught does not agree with the Bible?  Do you stumble because you are not willing to build only on the one cornerstone?
     "And coming to Him as to a living stone," we read of Jesus in 1 Peter 2:4-8, "rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
     "For this is contained in Scripture: 'Behold I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, and he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed.'
     "This precious value, then, is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve, 'The stone which the builders rejected, this became the very corner stone,' and, 'A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense'; for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word..."
     When is Jesus a stumbling stone?  He is a stumbling stone when we do not obey the word.

     God is our Rock.  Jesus is our rock.  And, as we have seen in the passage from 1 Peter, those who are built up as a spiritual house on Christ are also referred to as living stones.
     King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream which is interpreted by Daniel in Daniel 2:31-45.  In this dream the ruler sees a great statue, representing his kingdom and those that would follow.  There is also a small stone which strikes the statue at its feet and causes it to crumble.  This stone then grows until it becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth.
     "And in the days of those kings," Daniel explains in verse 44 regarding the last kingdom, the Roman Empire, "the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever."
     The kingdom, the church, is represented by a rock.  So what we have in the Bible is the picture of a solid building constructed upon a solid foundation.  This is exactly what we find in part of the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 7:24-27.
     "Therefore every one who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them," Jesus explains in this passage, "may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall; for it had been founded upon the rock.
     "And every one who hears these words of mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
     "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
     With clear information such as this, we can't help but wonder why anyone would build his or her spiritual house on the sand instead of upon the rock.  But, according to the words of Jesus Himself in verses 13-23 of this same chapter, this is exactly what most people choose to do.
     Why do people build on the sand?  Some do it, no doubt, because of pride and ego.  "I know better!" they claim.  "No one is going to tell me what to do!" they boast.
     "For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness," Paul notes in 1 Corinthians 1:18, "but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
     "The foolishness of God is wiser than men," he adds in verse 25, "and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
     "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart," Hebrews 4:7 warns.
     Some do not build on the rock because of a lack of information.  But this excuse will not keep the house from falling.  And how embarrassing that will be.  As we know from 2 Timothy 2:15, the only thing which will protect us from this shame is a knowledge of the word of God.
     Others build on the sand because they are acting on incorrect information.  Some have heard that it won't really happen the way the Bible says.  Scriptures such as 2 peter 3:3-13 warn that it will.
     Or perhaps they have been told that they are building on the rock when, in fact, they are building on the sand.  Verses such as James 3:1 and 2 Timothy 4:3 strongly condemn those who spread this false information.
     "It happens to everyone else," still others think, "but it will never happen to me."
     "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall," 1 Corinthians 10:12 stresses.
     According to 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 we will all stand before the judgment seat.
     Some build on the sand because of peer pressure.  They want to build where all the others are building.  Luke 16:9 cautions against this attitude.
     And then there are those who build on the sand in order to save time and money.  They don't want to put out the effort to dig down to the bedrock.
     It's sad, isn't it?  The large majority of people spend a lifetime building on foundations made of sand.  Their houses cannot do anything but fall.
     Only houses built on the rock will endure to the end.  Only the truth will set us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)