Messiah: Capstone/Cornerstone

"Keep on giving your thanks to God, for He is so good!  His constant tender love lasts forever!" (Psalm 118:1 - TPT) The theme expressed here is a common one in "The Passover Hallels." (Psalm 113-118 and Psalm 136)  In these Psalms, God's people give Him praise and thanksgiving for the way they were saved from their enemies and given provision for life and victory in their battles.  The ultimate battle is the one against the sin that separates us from God.  But God thought of everything.  He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth to become the sacrificial Lamb.  His death on the Cross brings freedom to all who embrace what He did to restore intimacy with Father God.
 
Psalm 118 goes on to say this:  "The very stone the masons rejected as flawed has turned out to be the most important capstone of the arch, holding up the very house of God.  The Lord Himself is the one who has done this, and it's so amazing, so marvelous to see!" (Verses 22-23 - TPT) "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; The Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes." (Verses 22-23 - NIV) Comparing these translations of the Bible, their seems to be a difference in what Jesus is called.  Is it Capstone or Cornerstone?  Jonathan Cahn provides us with an answer to these differences in his Book of Mysteries.  
 
The Hebrew word for cornerstone (the foundation stone that holds a structure together) is Rosh Pinah. But this Hebrew word has two meanings; the second one being capstone. (the finishing stone or top stone that protects what is below it)  Both translations are correct yet incomplete.  Jesus became both. He referred to Himself as the Rosh Pinah in Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10-11, and Luke 20:17.  In these Scriptures we read how Jesus just finished telling the people the parable of the tenants, which describes how a landowner planted a vineyard and then rented it to some farmers.  When the owner sent his servants to collect some of the fruit at harvest time, the farmers beat and/or killed the servants.  Eventually, the owner sent his beloved son, who was killed.  Jesus quotes Psalm 118.  "The stone the builders rejected has become the Rosh Pinah."  Jesus continues to give an expanded explanation:  "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."
 
Today we can see, as we read Psalm 118 at Passover, that in His death, Jesus became the Capstone, the stone that brings completion.  He is the Capstone for all of us who come to Him.  And, His resurrection is our Cornerstone.  He is what begins our life as Christians and what holds us together. Death and resurrection—Capstone and Cornerstone!
 
In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul reminds us that we are "no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people and also members of His household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone." (Ephesians 2:20) Peter the disciple calls us living stones, like our Messiah:  "As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  For in Scripture it says:  'See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.'  Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.  But to those who do not believe, 'The stone the builders rejected has become the Rosh Pinah,’ and 'A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.' …But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:4-9)
 
As we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, let us give Him thanks and praise.  "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever...The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation.  Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous. 'The Lord has done mighty things!' …I will give thanks, for You answer me; You have become my salvation." (Psalm 118:1, 14-15, 21 - NIV)