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The Living Stone

The “Alexamenos graffito” is the earliest known depiction of blasphemous graffiti, dating back to 200 AD. The image, considered the earliest depiction of Jesus, was scratched into a stone wall in Rome and shows a young man worshipping a crucified, donkey-headed figure. The Greek inscription translates, “Alexamenos worships his god.”

Even though this picture was intended to demean and mock Christ and Alexamenos, it reveals something precious. Alexamenos, whoever he was, had visible faith, and in his identification with Christ, he shared in his reproach. Jesus told his disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you” (John 15:58).

Peter reminds his readers that the suffering they endured because of their faith was shared by their Savior, who was also despised and rejected by men. As the Old Testament foretold, Jesus was a stone of stumbling, a rock of offense, and the cornerstone the builders rejected---and he's still being rejected today. Try as men might, there’s no getting around Jesus. They may ignore, mock, and graffiti walls, but as they do, they demonstrate their stumbling. As a rock, Jesus is not only a tripping hazard but also a living stone and the foundation of a new building, the Church.

God is building a spiritual house, adding new people every day. The people who make up the Church are also living stones, a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for his own possession. This new and living temple is no longer made up of silver and gold but something far more precious—people living holy lives of faith.

Jesus once asked Peter, “Who do you say I am?” Peter, whose name means ‘rock,’ replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied in a play on words, saying he would build his Church on the rock of Peter’s confession, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The confession that Jesus is Lord is the church's foundation and a perpetual stumbling stone and rock of offense for those who are perishing.

We may be rightly offended by the world’s graffiti, but we can find comfort in the fact that if the world hates us, it’s because it hated Christ first. Along with Alexamenos and millions of others, we are being built up into something beautiful, precious, and indestructible—living stones on top of the living stone, the rock of ages.

Did you enjoy this brief look at 1 Peter? If you want to learn more about studying and enjoying the Bible, check out my free guide, Quiet Time to Holy Leisure Time.