This evening we want to continue the last few titles that Jesus has given, descriptive titles, in dealing with him as the true God and the Redeemer of our souls. Ezekiel in his letter uses many of these terms and we looked at some of them last week and we will be looking at the last few this afternoon.
I want to start out with the term, the stone the builders rejected. This term is used throughout scripture in speaking of Jesus, Peter uses it, it’s used by the prophets in the Old Testament. Isaiah speaks of the fact that there is going to come a stone that would be rejected by the builders. It would be rejected by the builders, the builders are making reference to the religious leaders within the nation of Israel who should have known who the stone was.
They should have known that Jesus was the chief cornerstone. In Peter’s letter to the church he refers to Jesus as the chief cornerstone. When you put up a building, the purpose of the chief cornerstone is to make sure the building goes up straight and true.
It is the most significant and important stone that is laid. If you have the cornerstone laid wrong, the building can be put in not square and out of plumb. I have shared before that I have been involved in projects where that has happened and it makes the rest of the building really not function the way it should.
Jesus is the chief cornerstone and he is laid true and sure. He is the foundation on which our lives are laid and by which we can be transformed by the gift of salvation that is found in him.
Isaiah 8:14
And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
They do not acknowledge him as Messiah. I did share this morning how things are happening in Israel. There is great encouragement that is coming in reports that we are hearing from ministries that are over there, sharing the gospel that Jesus is the Messiah of the scriptures and that he is the one in whom we put our trust.
Many, especially younger Jews in Israel, are giving their hearts to the Lord Jesus. One of the reports that I got is that Menno Kalischer’s son, Daniel, they get called up. He is in the reserves and the reserves are being called up to help in the current situations that are going on.
He wrote back to his dad and he said, Dad, can you please get me as many complete Bibles, that is both Old and New Testaments, as you can? The soldiers that I am spending time with have got a lot of questions and want to get Bibles. This is really encouraging. So this one who was a stumbling block and a rock of offense, people in Israel today are beginning to have their eyes open to the truth.
Isaiah 28:16
Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
He is the one that is unmoving and his promises are true. He is the creator of all things. He is the redeemer of those who trust in him and he shall be the judge of all men.
Psalm 118:21-26
21 I will praise thee: for thou hast heard me, and art become my salvation.
22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
24 This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
25 Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord: O Lord, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.
We have blessed you out of the house of the Lord. This passage is part of what the Jewish people call the Halal, which is the praise of the Lord God of Israel. The words of Psalm 113-118 are called the Psalms of Praise.
And these words in the Psalms 113-118 are usually sung at every Passover celebration. And remember, it’s interesting that they’d sing these words dealing with the salvation that is found in the Lord and be looking back to the deliverance from Egypt, but they really needed to be looking forward to the deliverance that was found in Jesus and how he would deliver us out from the bondage to this world just as he had their ancestors from the bondage to the Egyptian slave masters. Satan truly is a slave master of this world system and he is the one that enslaves people to it.
And Jesus has come to set us free. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 9-33, As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion, a stumbling stone and a rock of offense, and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. In Peter, which I made reference to earlier, chapter 2, verses 6-8, we read, Wherefore also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious. But unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient whereunto also they were appointed. And we see that when you disobey the word of God and reject the stumbling stone, then you truly stumble at the word of God and there is no salvation.
The word stone is used 191 times and the word rock 119 times in the Scriptures. The eighth thing that I want us to look at as far as references to Jesus and his character in the prophecies of Ezekiel is the fact that he is referred to as the servant of the Lord. The servant of the Lord.
Isaiah 42:1-4
Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
3 A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.
That means the far places. And truly we see that the world waited for the gospel message to be brought and is still waiting today. Missionaries are still bringing the gospel to people that have not heard it and have longed to hear that message.
Isaiah chapter 49, verses 1-7, Listen, O isles, unto me, and hearken, ye people from far. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother, hath he made mention of my name, and he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft.
In his quiver hath he hid me, and said unto me, Thou art my servant. O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain, yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him. Though Israel is not yet gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing, is it a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, to restore the preserved of Israel.
I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers kings shall see and arise. Princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
And in these verses written by Isaiah, we see a couple of things. First of all, that God is going to come to all nations. He is going to reveal Himself through Jesus to the world.
We also see that He is going to be the Redeemer that will call Israel back to God the Father, and that they will come to Him who is their Redeemer and acknowledge Him. And we see that that is revealed to us in the book of Revelation, as well as through various prophecies that speak of the fact that in the last phase, Israel will once again return to the Lord as they realize that they have been deceived by the evil one and His servants, the Antichrist.
Isaiah 52:13
Behold, My servant shall deal prudently.
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. The servant of the Lord, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, shall be exalted and He shall rule and reign in the Millennial Kingdom, as we looked at earlier in our previous studies.
Isaiah 153:11
He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied by His knowledge.Shall My righteous servant justify many? For He shall bear their iniquities.
And again, Isaiah is speaking of Jesus when He shall bear our iniquity and He shall become the one who is our Redeemer, as He did at Mount Calvary when He paid the penalty for our sin on the cross.
Matthew 12:17-21
That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Behold My servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul is well based, I will put My Spirit upon him and he shall show judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall not break and a smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory and his name shall the Gentiles trust.
The Lord is coming to be the ultimate judge and nothing can stop Him.
He will not be stopped until His judgment is complete and the Gentile nations who did not know His name shall call upon His name.
Philippians 12:5-11
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven and things in earth, and all things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And so we see that the servant of God shall be exalted and He shall be glorified in the mouths of all mankind and all who have lived, as well as even the demons of hell shall have to proclaim Jesus is Lord.
The ninth thing I want to look at is something that Jesus Himself declared about Himself and that is that He is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus gave the example of the fact that He came as the Good Shepherd. Throughout the Scriptures, God often used shepherds to speak to the nation of Israel, to bring messages to Israel, and to guide and direct Israel. David, the beloved king of Israel, was a shepherd first.
Amos was a shepherd. And we see that others that were used of God were shepherds. Why? Because Jesus understood the significance between a shepherd and sheep and often compared people to the fact that we are like sheep.
Sheep are an animal that will get in trouble unless it is guided. It is very vulnerable to those that would attack it with the attempt to destroy it, and the shepherd is there not only to protect it, but to direct it and to guide its path and to direct its ways. The shepherd is there to feed it.
The shepherd is there to take care of it and to touch it and heal its wounds.
Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
Ezekiel 34:23-31
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them. Even my servant David, he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd, and I, the Lord, will be their God. And my shepherd David, a prince among them, I, the Lord, have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land, and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will take them and the places round about my hill a blessing, and I will cause the shower to come down in his season, and there shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord. Then I have broken the bonds of their yoke and delivered them out of the hand of those that serve themselves of them, and they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beasts of the land devour them, but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the name of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
It’s interesting in that particular verse which we read, that is taken from Ezekiel. Ezekiel, the Lord makes a lot of promises dealing with the nation of Israel. And he talks about the fact that he’s going to raise up Israel, he hasn’t forgotten them.
Unlike the church, which in many cases wants to forget Israel, or claims that it is Israel, God has not forgotten the land of Israel, nor has he forgotten promises he has made to them. He will raise them up, he will cause them no longer to be influenced by the world or directed by those that are evil around them, but rather he will protect them from the evil one, and shall give them direction and hope and peace and a place of prosperity. John 10 verses 9-11 I am the door, by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pastures.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Jesus was giving the example of what a shepherd would do. And those I’ve shared with you before, what a sheepfold is, if you go to the Middle East they still have sheepfolds. They are a structure that’s built and they have one entrance.
The one entrance is the way the sheep come in and out of the fold. At night after the sheep are called into the fold, the shepherd lays down across the entrance and nothing can enter in or go out without his notice or allowance. And we see that Jesus himself gives the example of being the good shepherd to the sheep, allowing them to come in and out to meet their needs and to protect them from the evil one.
He said any that would attempt to come in any other way than the way that the good shepherd had laid out are thieves and robbers and their intent is to kill and destroy. And that’s exactly what people would do that would come and try to change the gospel and change the message that God has given and change the means of salvation. They are thieves and robbers that come with the intent to kill and destroy.
They are motivated by Satan and they desire to destroy that which God holds most precious, his sheep. And so we see that the Lord has said we are the sheep of his pasture and that he is the door. John, it is a beautiful and comforting and teaching that the Lord is our good shepherd and we are the people of his pasture, his sheep.
Psalm 95, 6-7 says, O come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his land. We are the ones that are to seek to follow him. And Jesus, like I said, throughout the gospels used the illustration of the good shepherd and what a shepherd was and what a good shepherd was and what a thief and a robber were and their intents.
The tenth thing that is referred to in Ezekiel is the fact that the Lord is our Savior. Isaiah 43, 3a, For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
Isaiah 43:11
I even I, am the Lord, and besides me there is no Savior.
Isaiah 45:21
Tell ye and bring them near, yea, let them take counsel together who hath declared this from the ancient time, who hath told it from that time. Have not I the Lord? There is no God else besides me, a just God and a Savior. There is none beside me. Look unto me and be ye saved. All the calls of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.
There is no other way to come to the Lord except the way that He has demeaned, that He has established, and that is to come through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Savior of mankind and the One who can give us eternal life.
The eleventh thing is, He is the Son of Righteousness. Malachi 4, 2a, But unto you that fear my name shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings. And Jesus shall come and be established, and truly He shall have healing upon Him.
Not only shall He heal the nations and shall He heal the world, but He shall heal men’s souls, enabling them to live eternally and come into fellowship once again with Him. And the twelfth thing that we’re going to look at last is that He truly is sovereign, the sovereign whose kingdom will endure forever. This is not a temporary kingdom.
The millennial kingdom will rule for a thousand years and then come the new heavens and the new earth which shall be eternal. Luke 1, 31-33, And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Highest.
The Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of His Father David, and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. Jesus said, I am the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He shall not change. He is immutable, unchanging.
He is the Eternal One. He is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and Omega. So we see that the ten things that we look at as far as the commitment to the Messiah of Israel and who He is.
He is the promised seed. He is the Shiloh who will come. He is the star who comes from Jacob.
He is the seer or prophet who will be like Moses. He is the Son of David. He is the sprout of the Lord or the branch of the Lord.
He is the stone the builders rejected. He is the servant of the Lord. He is the Good Shepherd and the Savior of the world.
Let’s just go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, I pray that You just speak to us through Your Word. Help us to understand these tremendous characteristics that are Yours.
And help us to understand that You truly are the One in whom we can put our faith and trust. And Lord, may we look to You as our Lord and Savior. This we ask in Jesus’ name.
Amen