Western Stone

One of the largest single-carved stones, a monolithic ashlar, is in the foundation of the temple wall in Jerusalem. It’s called the Western Stone. It is nearly 13.55 meters long (45 feet) and 3.3 meters high (11 feet); its width is unknown. Scholars estimate its weight at around 300–400 tons (600,000 – 800,000 lbs or 272,155–362,874 kgs). The temple and its wall had several such large stones in the foundations to hold that colossal monument.

The Hebrews Peter addressed lived in Asia Minor, far from Jerusalem. Yet, they would have seen that temple on one of their pilgrimages or heard about it through friends and relatives. They knew that for that temple to stand, it must have a strong foundation with a massive cornerstone, like the Western Stone.

After saying that they were a spiritual house (v. 5), Peter talked about a prophecy:

“Behold, I [God] will lay in Zion a chosen and honorable cornerstone, and anyone who believes in him will not be ashamed.” (1 Pet 1:6)

This prophetic word from Isaiah 28 referred to a time when God would return to Israel and rebuild his temple. Peter said that that prophecy had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the cornerstone. Anyone who believed in that cornerstone wasn’t ashamed, meaning they believed in vain, and God himself would establish them.

This would have been an alarming message for the diaspora Hebrews, who were away from their homeland and whose temple would soon fall into the hands of the Romans and be destroyed. Hasn’t God’s word failed? That temple in Zion (i.e., Jerusalem) that God promised wouldn’t be shaken would be torn down. How could they be a part of the spiritual house (v. 5) as God promised?

That question troubled many Hebrews, and they didn’t believe God had started to build a new temple, a spiritual house, not on the Western Wall but on Jesus Christ, the true cornerstone that God himself laid in Jerusalem (v. 7). As a result, the same stone that was many believers’ cornerstone became a stumbling stone to others. They didn’t understand who Jesus Christ was and tripped on him and fell, as anticipated (v. 8).

When the Hebrew people believed in Jesus Christ, however,

they became “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a treasured possession to proclaim the excellence of him who called you to his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9)

Each of these titles – “a chosen race” (Isa 43:20), “a royal priesthood” (Exod 19:6), “a holy nation” (Exod 19:6), and “a treasured possession” (Exod 19:5) – were Israel people’s titles from the Old Testament. They wouldn’t have felt like any of those titles were accurate in their scattered life away from home. With Gentiles coming to Christ in multitudes, they wouldn’t have thought they were that chosen race. Without a temple in Jerusalem, they wouldn’t have felt like a royal priesthood. Their nation wouldn’t have been a holy nation when Romans ruled it! And many of them would have felt like God had abandoned them; they were no longer his treasured possession. Peter wanted them to know none of that was true. They were still his chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and his treasured possession.

Scholars debate whether these titles apply to the Gentiles or belong to the Hebrew believers alone. Regardless, this verse should renew a love for the Hebrews (or Jews) and pray for them to believe in the cornerstone, Jesus, their Messiah.