[Read Psalm 118:22-26]
When most people hear the word “Christmas” they get all warm and fuzzy on the inside. They immediately have images of hot chocolate and gently falling snow and the joy of children opening gifts from under the tree. Or we immediately have images of singing songs together celebrating the birth of Jesus, circled around our sanctuary holding candles in the darkness. These are good things. It’s good that these memories and emotions are connected to the birth of Christ. It’s good that we are filled with joy and warmth as we worship our savior.
And although there was a lot of singing and celebrating and gift-giving at Jesus’ birth, dark things were also at work. Not everyone was excited about Jesus’ birth. That’s why we hold candles in the darkness…because both light and darkness were present at Jesus’ birth. Listen to this familiar story about Jesus’ birth, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea…” (Matthew 2:1–5, ESV). We typically focus on the wisemen in this passage and their desire to worship king Jesus through their gifts, but we cannot overlook Herod’s response. He was troubled…and ALL Jerusalem along with him. They weren’t excited. They didn’t rejoice. They didn’t bring gifts or sing songs. They were troubled.
Herod was troubled to the point that he did something terrible: “Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.” (Matthew 2:16, ESV). This is also part of the Christmas story. This is the darkness into which Jesus was born. King Herod—the King of Judea—rejected the messiah that was born. He knew full well that this baby was the Messiah and he still rejected him so strongly that he slaughtered a bunch of babies and toddlers. Jesus has been rejected from his birth.
And this shouldn’t surprise us because it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament. We see it in our passage this morning, “The stone that the builders rejected…” (Psalm 118:22, ESV). Jesus quoted this passage and said it spoke about him. We also see this really clearly in Isaiah 53: “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3, ESV). And these prophecies came true. Jesus was rejected at his birth, throughout his life, in his death, and he will continue to be rejected at his second coming: “The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.” (Revelation 9:20–21, ESV). So, Jesus was rejected at his birth, rejected throughout his life, and will still be rejected when he returns in all his glory.
This means we shouldn’t be surprised when people reject Jesus today. We look around the US today and watch people rejecting Jesus at an alarming rate. This past week I read an article that said 63% of the population in the United States attended church in 1960 (which is when this church was planted). Now, sixty years later, a local pastor told me the number is down to 20% (and that’s just talking about church in general, not even faithful churches). That’s a massive shift in a period of sixty years. In ways this is shocking, yet, in other ways, we shouldn’t be surprised. Jesus has always been rejected by many and will continue to be rejected.
Along with this comes another difficult truth. Jesus told us this himself, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.” (Matthew 10:24–25, ESV). If they rejected Jesus, they will also reject his people. We will also be rejected for following Jesus and we need to start getting used to that reality. It was much easier to be a Christian when the majority of our country saw Christianity as a good thing. That’s no longer the case. Now, we’re a small minority in America and people are calling us hateful, self-righteous bigots.
We are going to be increasingly rejected by society. And we need to learn to be okay with that and continue standing firm in the truth of God’s Word. We will be tempted to waffle on difficult issues or water things down in order to be liked by those around us. We like to be liked. Other Christians may even tell us that we need to water things down or ignore certain topics in order to win the approval of those who are rejecting Jesus. Yet, we can’t do it. As followers of Jesus we must keep following Jesus. Jesus didn’t water down his teaching or ignore hot topics in order to win approval. He faithfully did and said everything the Father told him to do and say and he was rejected for it. That’s why we’ll be rejected as well. We’ll be rejected for faithfully doing and saying what the Father tells us to say. Yet, I’d rather have the approval of my Heavenly Father than the approval of those who are rejecting him.
And here’s the beauty of this passage: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalm 118:22–23, ESV). The stone that everyone rejected and continues to reject is the cornerstone, the strong foundation of God’s salvation in the world. And it was the Lord who did this marvelous, amazing thing. The Lord works in mysterious ways, yet his ways are always marvelous. Jesus Christ, the one rejected since his birth, rejected by the chief priests and pharisees, rejected by the world, and rejected at his second coming is the cornerstone of our salvation—the only hope for the world. That’s incredible.
This also reminds us that the vast opinions of the world don’t always get things right. Just because a bunch of people believe something, doesn’t make it true. Herod looked at Jesus and rejected him—he was wrong. The chief priests and pharisees looked at Jesus and rejected him—they were wrong. The world continues to look at Jesus and reject him—they are wrong.
The world also continues to look at God’s people and reject us—they are wrong. The world continues to make false accusations against the church—they are wrong. The world continues to claim that the church isn’t good for our culture—they are wrong. The stone that our culture is rejecting is the true cornerstone. Jesus Christ is the only foundation strong enough to bring you salvation and to build your life upon. Jesus Christ is the only foundation strong enough to build a society and culture upon as well. I don’t care how many people continually reject the true cornerstone. I know the truth and will talk about it wherever I go.
Not only am I going to talk about it wherever I go, but I’m going to rejoice in it. The Psalmist says, “This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24, ESV). This is a very popular verse. It’s regularly used to remind us that every day is a day that the Lord has made, so we need to rejoice in every day. This is true—and an okay use of this passage—but it’s not the immediate context. The day that the Lord has made is the day that the rejected stone has become the cornerstone. That’s the day the Lord has made. That’s what we need to rejoice in and be glad. We rejoice that God has made the rejected Savior the cornerstone of our salvation and our life. It brings joy and gladness to every part of our life. This is why we have glad songs of salvation on our lips and in our homes.
Don’t miss the difficulty of what is being said in this passage. The day that the Lord has made is the day that the rejected stone becomes the cornerstone. Yet, the stone is still rejected even though it is the cornerstone. We are called to rejoice and be glad in the midst of rejection. Jesus said the same thing: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11–12, ESV). Because we know that God has made the rejected Jesus the cornerstone, we can rejoice and be glad when we’re rejected and slandered and persecuted.
Of course, that’s not easy but it’s something we need to learn. There are a couple different ways you can respond when people revile you and slander you. On the one hand, you can become like them, get angry, frustrated, and begin slandering and reviling them back. But, let’s be honest. That doesn’t truly accomplish anything, it doesn’t really help you feel any better, and—most importantly—it isn’t honoring to God. On the other hand, you can respond to reviling and slander with joy and gladness. You can look at their false accusation with a smile on your face, joy in your heart, and maybe a little giggle. That does accomplish something; it makes them wonder why you’re smiling when being falsely accused; it actually makes you feel better; and it brings honor to God.
We don’t naturally respond this way because part of us longs for the approval of other people. And since we want other people to approve of us, we get really worked up when people don’t approve of us—when they reject us or revile us or persecute us. Yet, Jesus gives us an important reminder. He tells us to rejoice and be glad because our reward is great in heaven. Another way of saying that is our approval is in heaven. We are approved by God because of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection. And since we have God’s approval through Jesus Christ, we shouldn’t be worried about the approval of anyone else. Let them call you names and falsely accuse you. You can still rejoice and be glad because your Heavenly Father approves you. We can still rejoice and be glad and find joy when the entire world is rejecting us and our Savior, because God has made him the cornerstone.
And here’s what we continue to cry out as the world rejects Jesus and his people: “Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD.” (Psalm 118:25–26, ESV). Do you recognize that passage? What if I told you that “Save us” is “Hosanna” in Hebrew? This is what people cried out on Palm Sunday, as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And as they said these things with loud shouts the chief priests and pharisees continued to reject him.
But listen to how the disciples spoke to the chief priests and pharisees after Jesus’ death. In the same way that the builders rejected Jesus, they rejected the disciples. The chief priests and pharisees slandered them, reviled them, and persecuted them. They locked them in prison. Yet, how did the disciples respond? They said, “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11–12, ESV). They boldly and joyfully preached the gospel to those who continued to reject the gospel. They boldly and joyfully preached the gospel to those who were slandering them, reviling them, and persecuting them. They continued to tell these people that the Jesus they rejected is the ONLY hope they have in this world. There is salvation in no one else. Only Jesus. As long as they keep on rejecting Jesus they will find no salvation. But, if they repent, turn from their sins, and look to Jesus in faith, they can be saved.
This is how we’re called to live in a world that rejects us and rejects our Savior. We’re called to expect rejection and slander and persecution. Expect it. Don’t be surprised by it. Then, we’re called to rejoice and be glad in the midst of that rejection and slander and persecution. Why? Because we know that our God builds beautiful temples out of rejected stones. So, we continue to rejoice and be glad in God’s marvelous works and we stand firmly in his truth, even when everyone around us is rejecting him.
Yet, God also calls us to have a joyful boldness as we live in the world. We are called to continually bring the gospel into the world that rejects the gospel. We’re called to repeatedly tell people that the Jesus they are rejecting is their only hope in the world. He’s the cornerstone—the foundation of all hope and reality. He’s the only place they can truly find salvation.