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Psalms 118:20-21

²⁰This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. ²¹I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.

Our verse for today comes from a psalm in which the psalmist praised God for saving him from death. It is followed by the verse that Jesus applied to Himself. He is the cornerstone that the builders rejected. The rulers of Israel did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah. But when Jesus applied that verse to Himself, those who knew this popular psalm would have thought of the earlier verses and seen more fully what He was implying.

The psalmist calls the gate "righteousness" He also calls it "the gate of the LORD" and says, "the righteous shall enter through it," but he doesn't say how to enter it. For us on this side of the cross, the next verse seems so clear. The LORD became our salvation from the second death. He is the only one that could provide salvation by becoming our salvation in giving His life for us.

If you think that may be stretching the meaning of the text, consider that the word "salvation" in the Hebrew language is "Yeshua." That was Jesus' name. The very next verse is the capstone verse. Yeshua, the stone the builders have rejected, has become the cornerstone! He is our salvation. It is all based on Him, even though the rulers of His day had Him put to death.

Consider: How amazing is the Word of God! While the psalmist meant one thing, the Spirit directed Him to write in such a way that the words would specifically point to the Messiah, who called Himself "the gate" and promised those who enter in by Him will be saved (John 10:9). He referred to Himself as the Cornerstone (Luke 20:17). Clearly Jesus saw this passage as pointing specifically to Him.