1 Peter 2:6 6Therefore, it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and the one who believes in him will never ever be put to shame.”
Peter next quotes Isaiah 28:16 to introduce a brief argument that outlines the two choices a person has about Jesus and which reponse pleases God. The original context of Isaiah 28 is a warning of judgment for the disobedience and unbelief of Ephraim. Those who trust in the Lord will not experience the judgment of shame. Peter’s citation does not quite match the Old Testament text but is more of a paraphrase and slight interpretation. The quote refers to a stone laid on Mount Zion, which was the hill Solomon’s temple was built.
The stone represents Jesus, indicated by the pronoun him. Jesus is the cornerstone of God’s new temple, which is those who believe in him. The cornerstone was the important stone in construction that determined the quality of the rest of the building. In today’s terms, we might call this the foundation upon which a building rests. Builders put a lot of effort into a quality foundation, otherwise, a building can become unstable, unlevel, or unsquared. The new cornerstone has been chosen (eklekton) by God, indicating divine purpose and the fulfillment of prophecy. Peter uses this word to describe his readers and all who believe in Jesus (1:1; 2:9). This stone is also precious and highly valuable (entimon) and honored (timē, verse 8). A new spiritual temple will be built with Jesus as the firm foundation.
The old temple of stone was destroyed first by the Babylonians in 587 BC, and then the second temple was destroyed later by the Romans in AD 70. The temple has never been rebuilt because there is no need any more for one because God’s people have become that temple. Peter was martyred in the mid 60s, before the temple was destroyed. He knew that God was doing something greater than preserving a building build by Herod and other people. That temple represented the old covenant, which the people could not keep. God had new plans, which are described further in verses 9-10. The old Israel determined by ethnicity had ended and a new one determined by believing in the cornerstone had begun. The result for believers will be honor and not shame at judgment because they accept