Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:3-4, " . . . if you have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a Living Stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious," Several science fiction stories are based on the plot of a rock being a living being. I can recall when I was growing up watching an episode of one of my favorite TV shows, the original Star Trek series. In this particular show the crew was on a mining planet where what the people thought was a dead rock was actually a living being which, of course, attacked them to protect its offspring, which the people on th emining planet thought were rocks of ore. The main reason this plot works so well is that we do not expect a rock to be alive. Stones and rocks are non-living objects based on all our experiences. Yet, in our text today Jesus is identified as a "Living Stone." We are, too, because we are His, and we are called living stones: " . . . you also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5) Stones are quite naturally understood as dead. We even use the expressions "dead as a stone," and "cold as a stone." Since they are without life, they have no way to generate warmth. William Shakespeare wrote of this facet of stones when he penned his play King Henry the Fifth. A dead body was discovered and this is how it was described in this play: "I put my hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as cold as any stone; then I felt to his knees, and they were as cold as any stone, and so upward and upward, and all was as cold as any stone." A stone is something that is cold and dead, and without life.
Our situation without the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ can also be described as being like a stone, and without true life. Our future, should we choose to remain in sin, is equally as bleak as that of a dead stone. A stone is dead, and it is not going to make itself alive. So we, too, are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are dead, and unable to make ourselves alive. We are stuck in our sins and unable to break free. We are as dead as a stone.
Our God is a merciful God, however. He came to rescue us dead stones. Unable to save ourselves, we are fully dependent upon Him to do the job. He did it by coming to take on human form, to live a perfect life and to die on the cross. Then He was buried, and left as dead as a stone with another dead stone rolled in front of the tomb to hold Him in the grave. It is unfortunate that some people think of Christ as dead today. They dwell on the fact that He died on the cross and they get stuck there. Children need to be instructed so that they know that Christ is not dead. Yes, He was dead. He was cold and dead as a stone. Yet, on that glorious Sunday morning some two thousand years ago He triumphantly arose again. He came back to life. Now, this One Who shared many qualities of a stone while dead gained a new adjective. Christ is not a stone, but a "Living" Stone. One Who was dead as a stone, but is now alive. Peter thus calls Christ the Living Stone in our text. This Living Stone is the One Who frees us from our dead state of sins and trespasses. The Living Stone gives us life and salvation. He frees us from death's hold. May He free you today!
Our situation without the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ can also be described as being like a stone, and without true life. Our future, should we choose to remain in sin, is equally as bleak as that of a dead stone. A stone is dead, and it is not going to make itself alive. So we, too, are dead in our trespasses and sins. We are dead, and unable to make ourselves alive. We are stuck in our sins and unable to break free. We are as dead as a stone.
Our God is a merciful God, however. He came to rescue us dead stones. Unable to save ourselves, we are fully dependent upon Him to do the job. He did it by coming to take on human form, to live a perfect life and to die on the cross. Then He was buried, and left as dead as a stone with another dead stone rolled in front of the tomb to hold Him in the grave. It is unfortunate that some people think of Christ as dead today. They dwell on the fact that He died on the cross and they get stuck there. Children need to be instructed so that they know that Christ is not dead. Yes, He was dead. He was cold and dead as a stone. Yet, on that glorious Sunday morning some two thousand years ago He triumphantly arose again. He came back to life. Now, this One Who shared many qualities of a stone while dead gained a new adjective. Christ is not a stone, but a "Living" Stone. One Who was dead as a stone, but is now alive. Peter thus calls Christ the Living Stone in our text. This Living Stone is the One Who frees us from our dead state of sins and trespasses. The Living Stone gives us life and salvation. He frees us from death's hold. May He free you today!
2 comments:
Very good article, David!
Thank you! Your feedback is appreciated.
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