Thursday, July 7, 2016

So Jesus Is Intended to Mess With The Unbelievers...


1 Peter 2: 7-8a

7To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’, and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’

So Peter opened with a call to understand Jesus as the cornerstone, that Jesus is precious in the sight of God.  Now Jesus connects that to those who believe, and then makes the case for what happens with those do not believe.

7To you then who believe, he is precious;-- Peter here echoes the sentiment just expressed.

but for those who do not believe, ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner’,-- Reference #1 for the unbeliever is offered here, what has happened to that which they have rejected.

and ‘A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.’—Reference #2 for the unbeliever now leads to what happens to them in the process of Jesus.

There is a deliberate arc to this story, believer to unbeliever.  The ultimate object for Peter is not to stump the unbeliever.  Rather, he is seeking to impart his wisdom of understanding their plight and place, with an eye to what can be done to seek their conversion.

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