“In God’s eyes he was like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. But in our eyes there was no attractiveness at all, nothing to make us want him.” – Isaiah 53:2 (TLB)
When I read this verse, I wondered how a
stranger on the shores of a great lake was able to compel others to drop what
they were doing to follow him. The disciples literally gave up their careers to
follow a man who, even if they’d heard about him, they did not know. So, I
figure that this stranger on the beach must have had some form of beauty.
Clearly this verse must not be speaking to
Jesus’ physical appearance but must be, symbolically, referring to something
else, something spiritual because there is no way that He, as sinless and
divine as He was, could not have been anything other than perfect in
appearance.
Sadly though, it was and still is, that
many cannot see the beauty in Jesus and the spiritual journey He has called each
of us to walk. They see “no attractiveness at
all, nothing to make [them] want Him” – the One who made atonement, once and for all,
for sin. For them, Jesus is the Rejected Stone.
“The stone which
the builders rejected as worthless turned out to be the most important of all.” – Psalm 118:22 (GNT)
Many people build their lives without even
considering Jesus. He does not fit into their plans nor the material goals they
have made. He does not conform to their lifestyle. He isn’t even gathered
amongst their building blocks. What a pity.
Even for some raised in Christian homes by
Christian mothers and fathers, there’s no appeal and no desire for Jesus, and
indeed no care for the spiritual journey. Instead, just like the guards who
mocked and beat Jesus, those who have chosen to reject the Stone, mock Him and
the people who have chosen to walk with Him.
To the ones who have chosen the Stone,
Jesus gives His own glory and they become “partakers
of the divine nature” (see 2 Peter 1:4) – not the very nature of God
but one which is divine in origin and character, that same nature intended in
the beginning when God said, “Let us make man in
our image, after our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26). What a privilege and
an honour and oh so humbling an experience.
“As you come to
him, the living Stone--rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to
him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to
be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ.” – 1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)
And, as you progress along the spiritual
path, you too become as a living stone, aligned with the Living Stone which was
laid before any other at the bottom, supporting the weight of the stones. Jesus
is your sure foundation, but even believers can be stone rejecters.
When God places challenges before you and you
refuse to take it up, you have deliberately rejected a stone, since these
God-given challenges are stepping stones to higher levels in life. Rejecting
these stones is to willfully reject the next level of your journey, it is to
reject your own progress and your own blessings.
Beloved, if you are one who is rejecting
Jesus as your Chief Cornerstone, He will become a Stone of Judgment in your
life (see Matthew 21:44); continuing to build your house without Him as The Cornerstone
will eventually lead to ruin (see Luke 6:47-49).
Today I implore you, as you gather the
blocks to build your life here on earth, take a good look at this Stone, for
this is the stone that will turn out to be the most important of all. Amen?
Amen†
Shelley Johnson “The Rejected Stone” © 2017 revisited August 3, 2025
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