LIVING WATERS
For the proclamation of the Gospel and the edification of the Body of Christ
The Wounded Stone
The Lord Jesus is the stone that the builders rejected, which God made the chief cornerstone of their building (Matt. 21:42). A cornerstone is the stone that supports a building, the one that gives it consistency and firmness.
When Israel was walking in the desert, and was thirsty, God gave them drink from a rock. Contrary to all logic, the supply of the vital liquid did not come from a source in an oasis, but from a rock, from a rock that followed them (1 Cor. 10:4). This rock was smitten by Moses with the rod, thus signifying that the Son of God would also be smitten (Ex. 17:6). God was thus announcing that he would give the world a drink through his Son, wounded by him on the cross.
But not only there. The Lord Jesus was wounded from the first day that he inhabited the world, because the world did not receive him.
Early on, Herod wanted to destroy it; and so throughout his life he was harassed, until finally, on the cross of Calvary, his body was wounded in many parts, so that the blessed water of life flowed from it. Moses' act of striking the rock was thus a perfectly fulfilled prophecy in Christ.
However, not only is the cornerstone of God's building a wounded stone; so are the men and women who are placed on it. "Whoever falls on it will be broken...", said the Lord (Matt. 21:44). As Christ is, so also are those who are Christ's. God's building is made up of a wounded stone at its base, and many wounded stones at its superstructure.
These are the living stones that the Apostle Peter speaks of. If we are alive to God, if we are to be counted for God's edification, we must receive the same treatment that our Lord received – although to an infinitely lesser degree than he did. Broken men and women, like that "man of sorrows, experienced in brokenness" (Is. 53:3). Men and women similar to that precious Man in whom God is perfectly pleased.
A wounded stone What a wonderful contrast! What a precious paradox! The firmness of a rock and the fragility of the wound. The solidity of a cornerstone turned into a source of water of life. That amazing mix has amazed the world, and not just them – also those who these days are broken to be like him.