Psalm 118:22
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Psalm 118 and 1 Peter 2:4-10
Continuing in Psalm 118 today, recall that this psalm is a worship song usually sung as the final hymn during the Passover meal. For centuries, the Jewish people would sing this hymn and connect it with the Exodus from Egypt when God saved them from slavery. However, this psalm would be perfectly fulfilled by Jesus as his Resurrection would be the eternal victory spoken about in this psalm. “Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous” (vs 15) because of the Resurrection.
When read in the first-person as if Jesus is the psalmist, he says, “I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done” (vs 17). This was perfectly fulfilled in Jesus. Yes it’s true that the Israelites didn’t die at the hands of the Egyptian army as they were fleeing that first Passover night. But they would all eventually die in the desert. Jesus defeated death and then “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb 1:3). This psalm is about Jesus.
There’s a dialogue taking place in verses 19 through 24. The psalmist now stands at the Temple gate requesting permission to enter and make his offering to the Lord: “Open for me the gates of the righteous; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord” (vs. 19). The priestly gatekeepers then respond to his request, “This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter” (vs 20).
Jesus may enter through the gate because he is righteous. In fact, John tells us that Jesus is “the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1). Jesus is worthy to enter through the gate. Once inside the gate, he address God the Father directly, “I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation” (vs 21).
Now the psalmist is joined by a chorus of worshippers proclaiming what the Lord has done through the resurrection of Jesus:
“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad” (vs 22-24).
God has done a marvelous thing! Jesus was rejected by mankind and crucified. But God has raised him up and made him the foundation of God’s grace. In fact, Jesus claimed himself to be this cornerstone.
Jesus tells a parable that is recorded in three of the gospels. He tells of an owner of a vineyard who rents his vineyard to tenants and leaves town. During harvest time, the owner sends his servants to collect his fruit. The tenants beat, kill and stone these servants. The owner then sends his son to collect but they throw him out of the vineyard and kill him. Jesus then claims to be that son by quoting Psalm 118:22-23 (Matt 21:42, Mark 12:10 and Luke 20:17).
Peter recalls this and then writes about it in his first letter. He writes that Jesus is “the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (1 Pet 2:4). He then goes on to explain that Jesus is a stumbling block to those that don’t believer but to those that do believe in Jesus, “this stone is precious” (1 Pet 2:7). We are now “God’s special possession” and we are chosen by Him so that we may “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Pet 2:9).
And this is exactly how Psalm 118 ends – in a chorus of praise for what the Lord has done!
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever” (vs 26-29).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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