The Cornerstone — TDW Kids

The Stone the Builders Rejected

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Peter told the council that Jesus is the “stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone” (Acts 4:11). To understand what he meant, we need to know about cornerstones.

What is a cornerstone? In Bible times, builders laid one large, carefully cut stone first, at the corner of the foundation. Every other stone was lined up with it, so the walls stood straight and strong.

Choosing the stone. Builders checked every stone carefully. A stone that looked wrong to them was pushed aside and left behind.

A song of thanks. Psalm 118 is a song that thanks God for saving His people. “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14).

The surprise. “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone” (Psalm 118:22). The very stone the builders threw away turned out to be the most important one.

Rejected by people. Isaiah wrote about God's Servant: “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3).

His own people. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). The leaders who should have welcomed Jesus handed Him over to be crucified.

Jesus knew. Not long before the cross, Jesus told a story about farmers who killed the owner's son. Then He quoted this same psalm about Himself (Matthew 21:42).

Who the builders were. Peter said, “rejected by you builders.” The leaders of Israel were supposed to build up God's people, but they threw away the Stone God had chosen.

God's choice. Peter said Jesus is the One “whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead” (Acts 4:10). By raising Jesus, God showed that the rejected stone was His chosen cornerstone.

Isaiah too. God promised through Isaiah to lay a tested, precious cornerstone in Zion. Whoever believes in it will never be put to shame (Isaiah 28:16).

Peter remembered. Years later Peter wrote about this again in a letter. He called Jesus a living stone, chosen by God and precious (1 Peter 2:4-7).

What we learn. People may reject Jesus, but God has made Him the center of everything. What people throw away, God can make the most important of all.

What to do. If you ever feel left out or pushed aside, remember Jesus. He was rejected too, and He understands. Tell Him how you feel.

Peter's quotation in Acts 4:11 comes from Psalm 118:22, one of the Old Testament verses quoted most often in the New Testament. It appears in the Gospels, in Acts and in 1 Peter.

Head of the corner. The Greek phrase in Acts 4:11 is kephalen gonias (say: keh-fah-LANE go-NEE-ahs), head of the corner. It can mean the foundation stone that sets every line of the building, or the top stone that locks an arch. Both pictures say the same thing: this stone holds everything together.

Psalm 118. The psalm celebrates God's rescue: “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation” (118:14). Pilgrims sang it at the great feasts, and the crowds used its words when Jesus rode into Jerusalem (Psalm 118:26; Matthew 21:9).

The builders' mistake. In the psalm, the builders look over a stone and reject it. Jesus applied this to the leaders in the story of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-42): they rejected the Son the owner sent.

“By you builders” (4:11). Peter adds the words “by you” to the psalm. The council members were the builders, responsible for God's house, and they had rejected its cornerstone.

Isaiah 53:3. “He is despised and rejected by men.” The Servant's rejection was foretold. It was not an accident.

Isaiah 28:16. God promised to lay in Zion a tested, precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, and whoever believes will not be put to shame. Peter later quotes this beside Psalm 118:22 (1 Peter 2:6-7).

God's verdict. Acts 4:10 puts two actions side by side: “whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.” People rejected Him; God reversed it. The resurrection is God publicly choosing the stone the builders threw away.

A stone of stumbling. Peter also warns that, for those who refuse to believe, the same stone becomes a stone that makes people stumble (1 Peter 2:8). No one can stay neutral about Jesus.

John 1:11-12. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.”

Application. The world still sets Jesus aside, and following Him may mean being set aside with Him. But the Stone the builders rejected is the One God honors, and everyone who trusts Him will not be put to shame.

Built on Jesus

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A cornerstone is laid so that a building can rise on it. The Bible says Jesus is the cornerstone, and His people are the building.

God's household. “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).

The foundation. God's people are “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The apostles and prophets gave us God's Word, and Jesus is the stone everything rests on.

A holy temple. “In whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Ephesians 2:21). The church is not a building made of bricks. It is people who belong to Jesus.

Where God lives. “In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22). The Holy Spirit lives in God's people.

Living stones. Peter wrote that believers are like living stones, built up into a spiritual house around Jesus (1 Peter 2:5).

Only one cornerstone. A building cannot have two cornerstones pointing different ways. “Nor is there salvation in any other” (Acts 4:12). Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Built on the rock. Jesus said, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).

Ready for storms. “And the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (Matthew 7:25).

A strong place. “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer” (Psalm 18:2).

Hearing and doing. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). Building on Jesus means trusting Him and doing what He says.

Lined up with Jesus. Every stone lines up with the cornerstone. In the same way, our choices, words and friendships can line up with Jesus. “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:6).

What we learn. Jesus is the cornerstone, and everyone who trusts Him becomes part of God's house. We belong to Him and to each other.

What to do. This week, pick one thing Jesus said in Matthew 5–7 and do it. Then thank God for the people in your church family.

In Ephesians 2 Paul takes the cornerstone of Psalm 118 and Acts 4 and builds a whole picture of the church around it.

Strangers made family (2:19). Gentiles who were once “strangers and foreigners” are now “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” The cornerstone joins Jew and Gentile into one house.

Foundation (2:20). The apostles and prophets are the foundation because they spoke and wrote God's Word about Christ. Christ Himself is the akrogoniaios (say: ak-roh-go-nee-EYE-os), the chief cornerstone, the stone that sets the line for everything else.

A growing temple (2:21). The building “grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” The verb is in the present tense: the church is still being built as people come to Christ.

God's dwelling (2:22). In the Old Testament, God's presence filled the tabernacle and then the temple. Now God lives among His people by the Holy Spirit. The stone temple the council guarded pointed ahead to this living temple.

1 Peter 2:4-8. Peter, who first preached Psalm 118:22 to the council, later joins it with Isaiah 28:16 and Isaiah 8:14. Believers are living stones in a spiritual house and a holy priesthood. To those who will not believe, the same stone becomes a stone of stumbling.

1 Corinthians 3:11. Paul says no one can lay any foundation other than Jesus Christ. A life built on anything else, even good things, will not stand.

Matthew 7:24-27. Jesus ends the Sermon on the Mount with two builders. Both heard His words; only one did them. The wise builder's house “did not fall, for it was founded on the rock” (7:25). Building on Jesus means hearing and obeying.

The Rock in the Old Testament. God is often called a rock (Psalm 18:2; 62:7). Paul says of Israel in the wilderness, “and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). God has always been His people's sure foundation.

One cornerstone, open to all. There is one cornerstone (Acts 4:12; John 14:6), yet the house is open to everyone: strangers become family. Jesus is the only way, and He is the way for all who believe.

Application. Ask what your life is really lined up with: grades, popularity, sports, or Christ? Line up one area with Him this week, and thank God for the believers He is building together with you.

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