Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.”
rejected indeed by men
The Greek term for “rejected” is a combination of two words. The first word means “respected on the basis of proven worth.” That is, to scrutinize or put a person to the test to decide whether or not to approve of or accept that person. The second word means “from.” That is, the person failed the test. “Rejected,” therefore, means to reject as the result of disapproval.
This test is carried to the point where there is no need for further testing. As a result, one comes to a settled conclusion that the person tested does not meet the requirements of the test. Therefore, one disapproves of and repudiates the person. People reject Jesus after they give him a trial run based on their own standards.
Men reject Christ after a thorough examination. They disapprove of his credentials. They declare Him useless after careful scrutiny. He does not qualify as worthy in their estimation. He is unfit for their lives. They judge Him as not worthy or genuine and thus reject Him.
Most men reject Christ. They oppose fellowship with Him (
Isaiah 53:3 ). In their judgment Jesus does not meet their test. Now the Stone remains in this condition (perfect tense), that is, in a state of being tested and rejected.
Principle:
Man uses himself as the test or standard to determine the validity of Jesus Christ.
Application:
Man sets up his little tests to prove whether Jesus meets his requirements. However, the issue should be: is the test right or not? It is deadly to use the wrong test. Israel did this. She thought that the Messiah would be born in a noble family, that he would have wealth and become world-famous. That was her test but she used the wrong method for finding truth.
Are you using your opinion to determine how a person should get to heaven? “Well, I have my opinion how about a person should become a Christian.” Why should you use your opinion rather than the Word of God?
The right test for determining how a person goes to heaven is the Word of God.
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