All right, first of all, we read
that passage in Psalms 118. There are two verses here. They
are verse 22 and verse 23. The stone the builders rejected
or refused is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's
doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Now, in Acts chapter 4, 1 through
12, and as they spake unto the people, that is, Peter and John,
the priest and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees
came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people and
preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid
hands on them. and put them in hold unto the
next day, for it was now eventide. Howbeit, many of them which heard
the word believed, and the number of the men was about five thousand. It came to pass on the morrow
that the rulers, and the elders, and the scribes, and Annas the
high priest, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and as many
as were of the kindred of the high priests, were gathered together
at Jerusalem. All of the muckety-mucks were
there. When they had set them in the
midst," that is, Peter and John, they ask, by what power or by
what name have you done this? Peter filled with the Holy Spirit
said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all,
and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus of
Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him does this man stand here before you whole. Verse 11, "'This is the stone
which was set at naught of you builders, which has become the
head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved.'" Now please look at verse
11 again. This is the stone which the builders
set, but which is set of naught of you, builders, which is become
the head of the corner." In working our way to this grand text, please
bear with me as we consider the background of this incident and
of this text, in order that we might lay a proper foundation
deep and wide for this study. There is a background to this
that cannot be ignored or taken out of play when we consider
the text. We cannot separate chapter 3
and chapter 4 of the book of Acts for the same incident is
that that impacts both chapters. So that it started in the third
chapter of Acts. Now, the incident that I speak
about, the one that drives the matter, is that miracle work
back in chapter 3 and verse 7 and verse 8. When Peter and John
went to the temple at the hour of prayer, there they encountered
a crippled man who had been set by the gate by someone in order
that he might ask alms of those going and coming out of the temple. And through the ministry of Peter
and John, this man received not an offering per se, but he received
healing through their ministry. Now we're given some facts about
that man, such as chapter 3 and verse 2. The man was lame from
the day of his birth. He had always been a cripple. Chapter 3 and verse 7, we learn
that that weakness or infirmity was in his feet and in his ankle
bones. and let the time of his healing."
He was more than forty years old at the time of the healing,
Acts 4 and verse 22. Someone had brought this man
daily that they might station him at the gate, that he might
ask alms and offering of the people. which meant that he was
known by sight. He was a familiar sight to those
that went regularly and frequently unto the temple. He was visible
to those that passed by. He was known by sight, and also
his condition was recognized and known by those that passed
by. Now, his healing was a real and
evident unto those that saw him, and that knew him. Even the old
apostate leaders of Judaism conceded in Acts 4 and verse 16 that a
notable miracle has been done which we cannot deny. A notable
miracle has occurred. Now, it caused quite a stir in
Jerusalem, and it began to snowball. On one hand, people began praising
God, Acts 3 and verse 9. And Peter and John ascribe the
miracle directly to the risen Christ whom Israel had crucified. And they reasonably and repeatedly
charge Israel with being the murderers of the Prince of Life. And that Jesus of Nazareth, whom
they kill, was a prophet of God mighty in word and deed. And all that refused him, said
Moses, will be destroyed. The people and the prophets spoke
of these things in the Scripture. Peter holds before them this
great message. You kill the prince of life. You delivered him into the hands
of the Roman. You put him upon a cross, but
God has raised him up. Now, one more point before we
launch our vessels out into chapter 4. A week ago we studied from
Acts the second chapter where the Christ of God is set forth
as the one the Jews crucified, but God raised him up and made
him both Lord and Christ. In other words, God overruled
their devious treatment and devices. to raise his son up and set him
on the holy hill of Zion. In chapter 4, we have essentially
the same thing, but we have it under a figure, the figure of
a stone, a stone rejected and cast aside by the builders, but
then at a later time given and put in the most prominent place
in the building. A reprobate stone, as far as
the Jews were concerned, considered unfit to fit into the building. But then God, who made Jesus
both Lord and Christ, also made him the head of the corner. Now, in defending their preaching
of Christ, The apostle Peter refers in their hearing to an
ancient prophecy found in Psalms 118 and verse 22. By the way, this is at least
the sixth prophecy that Peter has made reference to so far
in the book of Acts, and this was a very wise way to deal with
the Jews, showing them how Christ fit the pattern of the prophecy,
showing how Christ was the fulfilling of the prophecy of the prophets,
and how He perfectly answered the prophecies that were made
concerning Him centuries ago. Written in the Scripture, they
were fulfilled in the Lord and the Christ. One after another,
Scripture was fulfilled in the Lord. All are met together in
Him. Now, concerning Psalms 118 and
verse 22, There are those who see here
a secondary application. Some see a reference unto David
himself, that though he had many enemies who sought his life and
his kingdom, yet God set him upon the throne and caused him
to rule. Others think that it can be applied
under the Jewish nation, little in number, overrun by many others,
but then established as the covenant people of God. However, There
are several New Testament references that apply this good text to
none other than the Christ Himself, that He is the stone, said it
not, of the builders, and then not by them brought again, but
by God brought and made the head of the corner. In fact, the Lord
Himself made a reference to this passage of Scripture and applied
it unto Himself. A prophecy you'll find in Matthew
chapter 21 and verse 42. You'll find it in Mark 2 and
verse 10. And Luke 20 and 17 also records
our Lord's reference to that great prophecy. And what could
be plainer? than the way that Peter uses
the text in Acts 4 and verse 11, applying it to the Jews'
treatment and rejection of their Messiah and the Prince of God. Then, too, there are those texts
that speak of our Lord under the symbol or the figure of a
stone or of a rock or of a foundation. Here are some texts. 1 Peter
2 and 4, he is called a living stone, the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 6, there is a quotation
from Isaiah 28 and verse 16, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone."
Then there are the words of the Apostle Paul in the second chapter
of Ephesians in verse 20 when he said, Jesus Christ himself
being the chief cornerstone. Thus the figure of a stone or
a rock is a familiar one in the Scripture, especially as it is
applied to our God and our Savior. And it's one that comes into
Peter's mind in his contention here with the leaders of the
Jews in the fourth chapter of the book of Acts. Let's notice
something in verse 11. Something very important, pertinent,
how he applies this. In verse eleven, notice that
he addresses his words to whom? He says, you builders. Looking back Verse 1 and 2, who
were they? They were the priests, the captains
of the temple, the Sadducees that took them into custody. And in verse 5 and 6, the next
day, they quizzed the apostles about the healing of the lame
man at the temple. Present at that occasion in verse
5, rulers, elders, scribes. John, Alexander, perhaps some
well-known priest in Israel at that time. And in verse 8 we
read that there were elders and rulers of Israel that were present
in that council quizzing John and Peter. Now, the question
in verse 7 gives us an opening. They said, By what mysterious
power By what in the world have you attained power? Or in what
name have you done this thing and worked this miracle before
us?" And Peter tells them, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
does this man stand here before you whole today? He further identifies
the one responsible for the great miracle. And if you look in verse
10, the one you crucified, God has raised up from the dead. Now, we want to pursue that a
bit. Why does Peter refer to them as you builders? Who does he have in mind? What
is the implication? We notice in the original text
back in Psalms 118 and verse 22, that the stone which the
builders refuse. While in Acts 4 and 11, Peter
speaking to them says, you builders, speaking to a room full of leaders,
those in authority and power in Judaism, as defined in verse
5 and verse 6. In other words, these were not
the common people. This was not what we would call
the laity. The ones that the apostle intends
here and is addressing are those that a man named Thomas Fenton
called, the great men and rulers of the people." Those who ruled
in Judaism. Those who had the oversight.
Those who taught in the temple. Those who were the scribe. Those
who guided the worship of Judaism. Those who handled the scripture. James A. Alexander in his commentary
on the book of Acts called them, the regularly constituted builders,
unquote. You builders. The words are expressed
this way in my Marshall's interlinear. By you the ones building, unquote. That is literally you the builders. You who claim to be building
the kingdom and the work of God. What have you done? The apostle
says unto them, you have set aside the choice stone as being
absolutely unworthy of having a prominent place in the building. Yet you claim to be God's builders
and God's servants, and you claim to be doing the work of God upon
the earth. Pardon a little digression here,
but let's view this building, if we might, from another standpoint,
using a passage from Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. And it has to do with the gospel
ministry. He speaks at length about the
gospel ministry. And in this chapter, Paul uses
two figures to describe the work of the ministry. and also to
designate the church or the people of God. If you look at 1 Corinthians
3 and verse 9, he says to them, you are God's husbandry, you
are God's building. There's the two figures. Husbandry
has the idea of tillage. of a field or of a farm or cultivation,
you are God's husbandry. And then secondly, verse six
through eight, and as a husbandry, the ministers do some plow up
the fallow ground, some plant the seed, some sow, and then
some water. But God gives the increase. that under the figure. But we're
more interested in the second figure that Paul uses, that of
a building, since it more closely parallels what we're studying
in Acts chapter 4. As if Paul says, you are God's
building. We, the ministers of the gospel,
are the builders. You are the building, we are
the builder. You are the husbandry, we are
they that sow and that plow and that do such things as that.
Now, a building must have a proper foundation. This is the first
thing in a building. You don't start at the top, you
start at the bottom with a foundation. No building, not one, is any
stronger than the foundation that bears it up and that it
sits on. So hear what Paul says in 1 Corinthians
chapter 10, not boasting, but making a statement. I, he says,
as a wise master builder, some render it architect, I as a wise
master builder or architect have laid the foundation. Paul's not
boasting, as I said, for he acted under the influence of the calling
and the grace of God. Now the point is this, the foundation
which Paul laid was Christ. It was not sand. The foundation
was Christ. It was the person and the work
of Christ is the foundation that Paul laid. for the work of the
gospel and the ministry, the person and the work, the doctrine
of him, the teaching, the word of Christ, the person and the
work. Paul only built upon Christ,
nothing else. He was not interested in any
other foundation, not even Judaism. He only built upon Christ, saying
this, other foundation can no man lay than that which is already
laid, and that is Christ." Now, Scripture likens the calling
of the elect and the gathering of them in to the building of
a house. upon the foundation of Christ."
They stand, 1 Peter chapter 2 and verse 5, you are built up a spiritual
house. Ephesians 2.22, you are built
together, and that by the Spirit of God. Let's return now to the
Jewish builders and the charge laid against them which fulfilled
the prophecy in the psalm. Robert Bellarmine wrote these
words, and I quote, God sent a living, precious, chosen stone
on earth, but the Jews, who at that time had the building of
the church, rejected that stone, unquote. And this is what we
have in our text. And the setting aside of that
stone, the rejecting of it by the builders, The refusing to
admit it into the building, casting it away as unfit, in what did
that consist? What act was this? What is implied
in it? What's involved that they rejected
and refused the stone? And what I mean to ask is this. Was it a civil and a polite declining
of Christ as a stone of the building? Was it a thanks but no thanks? Did they just simply, without
malice, set the stone at some distance from their building
as if it did not fit or qualify? to go in the building of the
house as having no place in the building, and so it's not needed,
and so they set it aside. This is not it at all. Their rejection of the stone
involved the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. They did not
simply set him aside, go on and be satisfied. Their setting him
aside is crucifixion. And in verse 10, whom you crucified,
whom God raised up. When you put verse 10 and verse
11 of Acts chapter 4 together, whom you crucified, whom God
raised up, this is the stone which the builders rejected,
which is set at naught of your builders. And we ought to get
the full impact of the text, and that is that this stone was
both refused and then set aside, and that these were acts not
of unauthorized workmen, not of unskilled workmen. These are
those that Lancelot Andrews called, quote, the professed builders,
unquote, and we might add some of whom held divinely sanctioned
offices from God himself, such as the high priest and the priest. These were the expounders and
the teachers of the things of God, for the people ought to
learn the law at the mouth of the priest. Malachi has said,
these are the ones thought to be scholars, looked upon as scholars,
expert teachers, such as ought to be the most knowledgeable
in all of the things of God. You builders, Peter addresses
them. You builders have set aside the
stone that God has sent. And just to refine the point,
With the help again of Lancelot Andrews, their actions were not
the result of mere dislike that the large stone was not worthy
of some imminent place. It was not that they brought
the stone again and again and again, seeking a proper place
that it might be put in the building. Rather, they acted in unmixed
hatred against the Christ of God, they totally reprobated
the choice stone as unworthy of any place in the house of
the building. Their crucifixion of Him expressed
the finality and the fullness of their rejection of the Lord
Jesus. It was not that they were seeking
just the right proper place in order to set this stone, but
that they were determined that it have no place at all in their
building. In spite of this, the stone rejected,
set aside, crucified is become the most important and prominent
in the temple. in the stone of the building. And it is a work of God and is
marvelous in our eyes. Before we consider that, let's
switch our focus for a bit to a parable from the Lord in Matthew
chapter 21 and verse 33 through 44. And I'm not going to read
it all, but just to scan it. and refer to it. This, you may
remember, is the parable concerning the vineyard as told by the Lord. And it is so amazing how closely
it parallels the treatment of the Jews against Christ in our
text. Instead, except for a temple,
it is a building in Acts chapter 4. It is a vineyard, however,
in Matthew chapter 21. And instead of builders who are
setting stones in a building, we have husbandmen who cultivate
the crops. And the householder in the parable
built and well furnished a vineyard. He enclosed it in that it might
be private. He put a winepress and he put
a tower in it, and see the words of verse 33, and let it out to
husbandmen. He built this great vineyard,
this wonderful, this first class vineyard, and then it said he
let it out to husbandmen. About the closest way that we
can render these words is, he let it to husbandmen, his vineyard. And this word let is some four
times in the New Testament. All of them found in the Gospel. All of them in relation to this
particular parable of the Lord. It means, let means to give out. It means to let it forth, as
Luke 20 and verse 9 had it. He let it forth unto husbandmen. He led his vineyard to some husbandmen
to care for it and dress it and keep it and such like, to guard
it, to prune the vines, when needed at the proper time, to
chase off any varmints that might come and seek to spoil the vine,
guard it against thieves who might enter in, and have it ready
for the representative of the landowner in the time of the
harvest. Spurgeon described the scene
in the parable this way, and I quote, the great Lord God of
Israel left the nation under the care of the priests and the
kings who should have cultivated this heritage of Jehovah for
him and yielded up to him the fruits of his choice, vineyard."
That's a very good and succinct picture of that parable. Especially
is this applicable to the chief priest in verse 45. to the rulers,
the scribes, and the Pharisees, those that sit in Moses' seat,
as it is said in Matthew 23 and verse 2. Now, these husbandmen,
a choice vineyard, a wall about it to separate it, a winepress,
a tower to rise and to watch and to be on guard. and how did
they conduct themselves? What sort of stewards were these
men of the Lord's Vineyard? Well, first of all, when the
vineyard owner sent his servants Some they beat, and some they
stoned and killed." That's in verse 34 and 35 of Matthew 21. Again in the 36th verse, they
did the same to other servants who were sent to receive the
fruit. Then in verse 37 to verse 39, the householder sent his
very own son. not a servant, but his very own
son, saying, They will reverence my son. And what did they do? Him they would kill for the inheritance. And they cast him out of the
vineyard, and they slew the son of the owner of the vineyard. And then the Lord puts to them,
His hearers, in Matthew 21, the question in verse 40, When the
Lord of the vineyard comes, the owner, the proprietor, how will
he deal with these men? As the people, the Jews, were
guilty of the blood and the death of our Lord and Savior, and a
long line of prophets before that. Now they were ready to
vent their rage against the Son of God Himself. The Son of God
has come into the world. What will He do with these men? They answer in verse 41, "...he
will destroy those miserable men, and he will put his vineyard
into the hands of new husbandmen who will be better and faithful
stewards." Kind of like David, they pass sentence against themselves,
unlike David. They knew that the parable was
spoken about them. And then, look what the Lord
does at the end of that parable, Matthew 21. The Lord refers to
our text. He refers to the words of David
in Psalms 118 and verse 22, asking them this, Did you never read Now, it is safe to say the Lord
applies the prophecy to himself. The stone set aside by the builder
is become the chief stone of the corner. This is the work
of God. It is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the Lord has
made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. But in Matthew 21, 43, and 44,
the Lord applies the parable in the light of the prophecy of David and
the self-fulfilling prophecy of the Jews themselves. of the kingdom of God. They had
been wicked stewards. They had stoned and they had
killed the prophet. Now they had cast aside the stone
that God had sent into the world, and they were to be stripped
of the kingdom, which we come to see to pass in the book of
Acts. Matthew 21, 44. Some would fall
on the stone. the stone that the Lord had sent
into the world, and they would be broken, those who fall on
it. would be hurt and would be injured. They stumbled at Christ. Others, however, the stone would
fall upon them and would utterly grind them to powder. They would
be crushed and destroyed by the stone that they rejected. Now, let's go back to the second
half of the prophecy. The stone set aside by the builders
is made the head of the corner. They killed him, God raised him
up. Not only raised him up, but exalted
him very highly to the highest glory. And the Apostle Paul writes
something in the first chapter of Ephesians that I'm going to
turn and read, verse 20 through verse 23, Ephesians chapter 1. which he wrought in Christ when
he raised him from the dead, set him at his own right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and
might and dominion. and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which to come. And hath
put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over
all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of
him that filleth all in all." Especially notice the 22nd verse,
"...has put all under his feet, and given him to be head over
all and to the church. Please note the extensiveness
of the headship of Christ Jesus. Not just of the church is he
a head, but of all things. All are put under His feet. Hebrews
chapter 2 and verse 8, there is a contrast from verse 5. He
has not put in subjection to angels the world that is to come. But in verse 8, unto Jesus all
things are in subjection under His feet. So back in verse 7,
and set Him over the works of God's hand. Now we have two things. Number one, the dominion. He is given dominion which he
exercises over the creation. And the expression here, under
his feet, is to quote Owen, a dominion in every way, unlimited and absolute. His reign is absolute. He has
it from God Almighty. He formally entered upon that. When God raised him from the
dead and set him at his own right hand, he was made Lord and Christ. He was exalted to the right hand
of God. He is made higher than the heavens,
the Scripture tells us. Secondly, we notice the extent
of his dominion. How extensive is the dominion
of our Lord? Is it limited to heaven or is
it limited only to the church? Does His dominion extend only
as a rule in the hearts and the soul of His people? Is it just
to the holy creatures and the children of grace who willingly
submit to the authority of our Christ? Nay, the extent of His
dominion is broad, the works of God's hand. And listen, He
left nothing that is not put under Him. Scriptures definitely
amplify this. All things without exception
are put under the feet of our sovereign, resurrected, exalted
Lord. His name is above every name
that is named. Christ is not there as a usurper,
but God set Him at His own right hand far above, Paul said, all
principality and power and might and dominion and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. He has dominion over the devil
and the devils. He has dominion over the reprobate. He has dominion over the sinner. He has dominion over the unbeliever. What did the psalmist say about
this? Is this fearful and scary and
terrible and awful? Well, the psalmist said, this
is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes. Thomas Goodwin wrote that God's
raising Christ from the grave makes it the highest pattern
of power that God ever put forth when He raised up Christ. He
then exalted Him to the right hand of glory when our mighty,
mighty Samson tore away the door and the bar of death off of its
hinge, brought down the kingdom of darkness and went yonder to
dwell upon Mount Zion. It is marvelous that the one
who lay in a tomb is alive forevermore and has the keys of death and
of the grave. Yes, it's the Lord's doing that
the stone which the builders considered unfit and unworthy
is made the glorious head, the most prominent part, the chief
corner, the foundation and the head of the church of the Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, they cast Him aside. They
killed Him. God raised up a stone, made Him
the head of the corner. Marvelous is this in our eyes. It is the work of Almighty God. Thank God for that great truth.