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Peter’s first letter was written to Messianic Jews living outside of the land of Israel in Asia Minor – modern‑day Turkey – who were facing hostility, trials, and opposition because of their faith. Gentiles around them mocked their devotion to the God of Israel, while fellow Jews who had not yet embraced Yeshua as the promised Messiah viewed them as traitors. They may have been experiencing rejection and divisions in their families, loss of honor and reputation, economic hardship, and persecution by local authorities.
In chapter 1, Peter reminds them of God’s great mercy in giving new birth and a living hope through Messiah’s resurrection. They have an eternal inheritance that can’t fade. Trials test and strengthen their faith like gold that is refined. He urges them to live holy and obedient lives, and love one another sincerely. Their lives will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
In chapter 2, Peter shows them what their new life looks like. He begins with a call to righteous living. So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
We must get rid of all evil behaviors that dishonor God, contradict our new identity, stunt our spiritual growth, and damage the life of Messiah’s community. Peter specifically mentions four of them:
Deceit: dishonesty or manipulation that undermines trust.
Hypocrisy: pretending to be righteous while hiding corruption.
Jealousy: resentment toward another’s blessing or success.
Unkind speech: words that insult, harm, tear down.
We need to identify and remove any evil behaviors. How? We pray and ask God to reveal them and remove them. Psalm 19: Lord, how can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Psalm 139: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
And since it’s often easier for others to see our problems than we see them ourselves, we listen to others when they tell us we have a problem. They’re usually right.
How else do we get rid of these sins? Lots of interaction with the Word of God. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
When we are born again; when we receive our new nature and new life, we are spiritual babies. We’ve heard the message of salvation, which is simple and easy to understand. But there is so much more to learn about God and His Word. We need to grow into a full experience of salvation. Taking in the Word of God helps us do this.
God’s Word nourishes us, strengthens us, matures us. Just as an infant can’t grow without milk, we can’t grow to spiritual maturity without the Word of God. If we understand that, we will want it, long for it, cry out for it, crave it – like babies crave milk.
Experiencing the Lord’s kindness also motivates us to desire the Word of God. Cry out for this nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
When we understand the message of salvation – that God the Father loved us so much He sent His Son into the world, that Yeshua suffered and died a horrible death for us – we are born again, and receive God’s Spirit who takes up residence within us. We have a close, personal relationship with the living God. We talk to Him. He speaks to us through His still, small voice. When we are forgiven, cleansed, and are close to God; when we have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness – we want to know more about our great and wonderful God and King: what He has done in the past, how He created the universe, how He responded when humanity joined the rebellion of the fallen angels. We want to understand why He destroyed the first civilization with the Great Flood, and how He spared Noah and his family.
We want to know about the rebellion at Babel, God’s choosing of Abraham, and the covenant He made with him and his descendants. We want to learn about the chosen people, their slavery in Egypt for 400 years, and their exodus. We want to know about Israel’s experiences in the wilderness, the building of the mishkan, the tabernacle, the meaning of the sacrifices and the role of the priesthood.
We want to learn from Israel’s failures in the wilderness and see how God responded with judgment and mercy. We want to understand His dealings with the Jewish people in the times of the judges and kings, and what He said through the prophets. Above all, we long to know everything about the coming of the Son of God – everything He taught, everything He said, and everything He did.
Have you ever eaten anything so delicious that you want more – and more – and more? Having experienced God’s reality and kindness by believing the message of salvation, and being born again, we will naturally want more of God’s Word.
And as we take in the Word of God, we grow into a full experience of salvation. Our knowledge, our wisdom, our discernment increase. We’re able to see the schemes of the adversary, discern good from evil, learn how to resist temptation, learn how to love and serve God.
Let’s prioritize reading the Word of God. Let’s think about it throughout the day, throughout the week. Let’s hear it taught on Shabbat. Let’s share it with others.
Peter now shifts the imagery from growth to building, from the nursery to the construction site. You are coming to Messiah, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Yeshua the Messiah, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
The cornerstone is laid at the corner of the foundation of a building being built. All other stones are set in reference to it, so the building’s alignment and stability depend on it. It sets the angles and orientation for the rest of the structure. Often it is one of the largest, heaviest stones, carefully chosen and cut, because it bears much of the weight of the structure. If the cornerstone is true, the rest of the building is straight and secure.
Yeshua the Messiah is the cornerstone of God’s spiritual house that is in the process of being built. He is the most important, the strongest, the one who bears the weight of others, the one who aligns all others. We need to live in alignment with Yeshua. Our lives, our values, our priorities – need to be in sync with who He is.
He is the foundation of our lives – not material things, not even human relationships, not success or achievement, not wealth or possessions, not power or influence, not pleasure or comfort, not knowledge or intellect. Only Messiah provides the right foundation, one that’s unshakable and eternal.
You are coming to Messiah, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. Yeshua is not some lifeless stone in some temple on Earth. He is the living cornerstone of God’s living and spiritual temple – full of life and wisdom and grace and strength and love.
We need to come to Him. You are coming to Messiah, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. Coming to Messiah means getting close to Yeshua in an ongoing way. We first come to Messiah through faith, trusting Him as our ord and Savior; and we must continue coming to Him through prayer, meeting Him in conversation each day, throughout the day.
We come to Him through Scripture, encountering Him as the focus, the heart and soul of the Word of God. We come to Him through obedience, aligning our lives with His teachings. We come to Him when we are in community with other believers, since He is living in them. Coming to Messiah is not a one‑time action but a continual, relational pursuit.
This cornerstone was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. Yeshua was rejected by people, especially by the religious leaders of Israel, yet chosen for great honor by the Supreme Person – God. So what if we’re rejected by people, if like Yeshua, we are chosen by God for honor? For these Messianic Jews experiencing rejection from their society, this truth was very encouraging, very comforting.
And you are living stones that God is building into His spiritual temple. Messiah is the living cornerstone and we are living stones – Spirit-indwelt people in the great spiritual community that God is building.
You are living stones – plural. We are not individual stones standing alone. God designed us to be built together with our fellow believers in a community. It’s essential to be an active, involved participant in the life of the community of God’s people. Those who refuse to do that are rebels who will never grow to spiritual maturity.
Be actively involved, in person, in the Shema community. Help in some way. Serve in some way. Invite people to your home. Go out to lunch with others. Host a Shabbat meal. Call someone during the week and encourage them, pray with them. Mentor a younger believer.
We go from temple to those who serve in the temple, and the sacrifices they offer. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Yeshua the Messiah, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.
We are God’s holy priests. Not priests that come from Aaron, but priests from a better priesthood – the priesthood of Melchizedek. Yeshua is the High Priest of that spiritual priesthood and we are priests that serve under Him.
The job of a priest is to bring people closer to God and bring God closer to people. That means that we need to prioritize bringing people closer to God and bringing God closer to people. How do we do that? By praying for people, by sharing the truth about Messiah with people, by living like Messiah so they see Messiah and are attracted to God.
And the job of a priest is to offer sacrifices. Our sacrifices? Not bulls, goats, lambs, rams and pigeons, but spiritual sacrifices: the broken heart of Psalm 51, the surrendered will of Romans 12:1, the sacrificial love of 1 John 3: We know what real love is because Yeshua gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Knowing that our lives are connected to the living cornerstone, and that we are living stones and holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices, transforms ordinary life into spiritual ministry. Our daily interactions with people are priestly opportunities to bring them closer to God. Our gathering with God’s people on Shabbat is spiritual worship.
Peter reinforces what he is teaching about Messiah’s foundational role with three quotes from the Word of God. As the Scriptures say, “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced” – Isaiah 28. Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone” – Psalm 118. And, “He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall” – Isaiah 8. They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
These prophecies given centuries earlier through Isaiah and the Psalms reveal God’s love for Messiah and His plan to use and honor Messiah despite human opposition. Messiah is greatly loved and honored by God. Those who trust Messiah and honor Messiah will never be disgraced. In fact, they will share in His honor. Those who reject Him and dishonor Him will stumble and fall and be disgraced.
Those who reject Messiah stumble because they refuse to obey God’s Word. Disobedience to the Word of God is not simply breaking rules. It’s rejecting God’s authority and refusing His command to believe the truth about His Son – that His Son is the Messiah and the one and only Savior of humanity. To not obey God’s word about His Son is rebellious and wicked – very wicked.
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. From the beginning, God planned that obedience leads to blessing and eternal life and disobedience leads to judgment and death. Just as gravity makes falling certain when someone trips, disobeying God’s word makes stumbling and judgment certain.
There is one cornerstone but two paths: life and honor for those who obey the truth, and stumbling, dishonor and death for those who disobey. The same cornerstone which saves the obedient destroys the disobedient.
But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.
These things were originally said to the Jewish people. We are a chosen people, chosen by God to bring to the rest of the world the knowledge of God and salvation through the Messiah.
Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests. Everyone was to know God and bring God to others.
Israel was intended to be a holy nation, set apart for God’s special purposes.
Israel was meant to be God’s special possession among all the other nations of the world.
But the nation of Israel repeatedly failed to be these things, failed to live up to our calling.
What God intended for the Jewish people is now fulfilled by the faithful remnant of Israel joined by the faithful remnant of the other nations. This is the fulfillment of a prophecy in Hosea which described Israel’s unfaithfulness and God’s promise to restore us. When we are united Messiah, this restoration widens: Messianic Jews are gathered back to God and Gentile believers are graciously included in that same mercy. Together we become one united, forgiven and redeemed people.
We are a chosen people: called from darkness to light.
We are royal priests, sharing in Messiah’s kingly and priestly ministry.
We are a holy nation, set apart for God’s purposes, set apart to know Him, be His eternal sons and daughters, friends and companions, set apart to serve Him in this world.
We are God’s special possession, precious to Him, loved by Him.
These privileges come with responsibility: As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.
Those who have received so many good things must be on a mission to do good things to others. Those who have been called out of darkness into God’s wonderful light must bring that light to others who are in darkness. Those who once had no identity as God’s people must bring the knowledge of God to others and help them find their identity as members of God’s people. Those who have received God’s mercy must be merciful to others and help them receive God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father, because You are holy and You’ve given us a new nature and an identity that’s connected to You, help us rid ourselves of all evil behaviors particularly of deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and unkind speech. Search our hearts, reveal hidden faults, and cleanse us from sins that hinder our growth. Give us a deep hunger for Your Word, like newborn babies longing for milk, so that we may grow into the fullness of salvation.
Keep us aligned with Messiah, our Cornerstone, so that our lives, our values, and our priorities reflect His. Strengthen us to live faithfully, even when rejected by others, knowing that we are honored by You.
Father, help us come again and again to Yeshua, the living Cornerstone, rejected by men but chosen and honored by You. Build us together as living stones into Your spiritual house. Make us holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices pleasing to You – our broken hearts, surrendered wills, and acts of love.
Thank You for calling us out of darkness into Your marvelous light, for making us a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, Your treasured possession. May we reflect Your goodness to others, bring Your mercy to those who have not yet received it, and shine Your light into the darkness around us. Amen.