It depends upon what the definition of "this" is... (Repost)

First posted here.
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Ps 118:21-26
21 I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone.
23 This was the LORD's doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the LORD has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save now, I pray, O LORD;
O LORD, I pray, send now prosperity.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

"This" is the day the Lord has made. What is the day the Lord has made? What's being referred to as "this?" Sunday? Each new day?

I've heard many well-meaning people rip this line right out of context. In fact, I've heard some great theological-types, who take great care with the exegesis of the Bible, stand there and proclaim that "today" (whatever new day it may be) is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in "today."

I have NO PROBLEM celebrating today! But is that what this particular scripture is really talking about?

Look at what it says...

"The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone."

"This was the Lord's doing."

"This is the day the Lord has made."

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

This prophetic Psalm isn't talking about just any other ordinary day. It's pointing to one day in particular. What was the Psalmist thinking? "Hmm, right in the middle of this prophecy, I think I'll just thrown in quick props to God for "today." Not. :)

Remember what the people were shouting when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, a week before His crucifixion?

Matt 21:9
"Hosanna to the Son of David!
'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'
Hosanna in the highest!"

This was in preparation for that great day that the Lord had planned from the beginning.

"This was the Lord's doing." Right in line with another prophecy, this statement tells us that "this day" and its events were planned and executed by God Himself. Isaiah 53 says quite a lot about this great day. Isaiah prophesies of Jesus, "The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6). Isaiah goes on to say, "It pleased the Lord to bruise Him. He has put Him to grief." (Isaiah 53:10). This was all the Lord's doing. We didn't put Jesus on the cross. God did.

"The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone." Matthew, Mark, Luke and Peter all reference this prophecy. (Matt 21:42, Mark 12:10, Luke 20:17, Acts 4:11, 1 Peter 2:6). The "stone," of course, is Jesus. I've preached a handful of "sermons" in my life (perhaps one for each finger on one hand), and one of them was around Christmastime, eight or nine years ago. I taught a little bit on the "chief cornerstone" and the "rock of offense." I'll see if I can dig up my notes from that.

What it all boils down to is this. This is the day the Lord has made: The day the stone the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone. The day God became our salvation. The day the sacrifice was bound with cords to the horns of the altar. (Psalm 118:27).

If we're to give praise to God and rejoice and be glad in a certain day... let it be that day! Let it be a continuous celebration of that day!

The message of the cross of Christ is foolishness

Excerpts from 1 Cor 1:18-2:2
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God... Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?... it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men...

But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.

...And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Along with what I said in my Goody Two Shoes post last week, I think that when the church today preaches the "foolishness" of the cross, they wrongfully make it mean that a Christian who is living a godly lifestyle appears "foolish" to ungodly people. But that's nowhere close to what the message of the foolishness of the cross really means!

The foolish message of the cross has nothing to do with how righteously a person is living. That's why it was a stumbling block for the Jews, who sought righteousness by their own works and not by the gift of God (Romans 9:32-33). The message of the cross is also not "look at how logical all of this is." The message of the cross is not about anything that man can think of, devise, work toward, strive for, plan, solve, etc, etc. The message of the cross vs. logic or science is not a debate you can win! It's not meant to be debatable --- because the message is foolishness to the wise!!! It can't be "proven." A person either believes in the "foolishness" and "weakness" of God or he doesn't.

Part of Paul's message to the Corinthians was that even as a Christian, filled with the Holy Spirit and with the great power and life of Jesus in Him, his speech was still lacking in persuasiveness and wisdom. He knew he could never prove his words or his message to anyone. But, you see, it's not Paul that Paul was interested in showing them. Rather, he said, "I determined to not know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." There you have, in a nutshell, the foolish message of the gospel of Jesus Christ!