John Calvin Commentary 1 Peter 2:8

"and, A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence; for they stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed." — 1 Peter 2:8 (ASV)

Which stumble at the word. He points out here the way Christ becomes a stumbling block, specifically when people perversely oppose the word of God. This is what the Jews did; for though they professed to be willing to receive the Messiah, they furiously rejected Him when God presented Him to them. The Papists do the same in the present day; they worship only the name of Christ, while they cannot endure the doctrine of the Gospel. Here Peter implies that all who do not receive Christ as revealed in the Gospel are adversaries of God and resist His word. He also implies that Christ is not a cause of destruction for anyone, except for those who, through headstrong wickedness and obstinacy, rush against the word of God.

This is particularly noteworthy, so that our fault is not imputed to Christ. For, since He has been given to us as a foundation, it is, so to speak, an incidental matter that He becomes a rock of offense. In short, His true role is to prepare us to be a spiritual temple for God. However, it is people's fault that they stumble over Him, precisely because unbelief leads them to contend with God. Therefore, to explain the nature of this conflict, Peter said that they were unbelieving.

Whereunto also they were appointed, or, to which they had been ordained. This passage can be explained in two ways. It is indeed certain that Peter spoke of the Jews. The common interpretation is that they were appointed to believe, because the promise of salvation was destined for them.

But the other interpretation is equally suitable: that they had been appointed to unbelief, just as Pharaoh is said to have been raised up for this purpose, that he might resist God, and all the reprobate are destined for the same end. What inclines me to this meaning is the presence of the particle καὶ (also).

If, however, the first view is preferred, then it is a strong rebuke. For Peter thereby emphasizes the gravity of the sin of unbelief in the people who had been chosen by God, because they rejected the salvation that had been specially ordained for them. And undoubtedly, this circumstance made them doubly inexcusable: having been called in preference to others, they had refused to hear God.

But, in saying that they were appointed to believe, he refers only to their outward call—that is, according to the covenant which God had made generally with the whole nation. At the same time, their ingratitude, as has been said, was clearly demonstrated when they rejected the word preached to them.