“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious.”
rejected indeed by men
“Rejected” means to reject as the result of disapproval. The Greek word is a combination of words. The first word means respect based on proven worth. The other word means “from.” So this word means putting someone to the test, placing one’s approval on them to receive acceptance.
They carry this test to the point where no further testing is needed. As a result, this person reaches a firm conclusion that the item tested does not meet the test requirements. Therefore, they disapprove and repudiate the person. People reject Jesus after they give him a trial run based on their own standards.
Men rejected Christ after a thorough examination. They disapproved of his credentials. They declared him useless after scrutiny. He did not qualify as worthy in their estimation. He is unfit for their lives. They judged him to be either unworthy or genuine and thus rejected him.
Most men reject Christ. They oppose fellowship with him (Isa. 53:3). In their judgment, Jesus fails 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 their requirements. However, the issue should be whether the test itself is proper. It is deadly to use the wrong test. Israel did this. She thought that the Messiah would be born into a noble family, be wealthy, and become world-famous. That was her test, but she used the wrong method for finding the truth.
Are you using your opinion to determine how a person should get to heaven? “Well, I have my opinion on how a person should become a Christian.” Why should you rely on your own opinion rather than the Word of God?
The right test for determining how a person goes to heaven is the Word of God.
