[0:00] So you've heard of Gandhi? He was named Mahatma Gandhi. I don't know if I'm pronouncing that first part right.
[0:14] He was, if you didn't know, the leader of the India national movement in the early 1900s against the British rule. He was esteemed for his doctrine of non-violence.
[0:30] In order to achieve progress in both political and social arenas, but particularly against the caste system that was at that time working in India.
[0:47] A caste system is a social status and ranking that is divided by race, wealth, profession, and what had been hereditarily brought on.
[1:05] Well, in his biography, Gandhi writes that in his very early years, while he was a student, he had an interest in the Bible and he read the Gospels. And in his reading of the Gospels, he was moved.
[1:18] And he made it, he considered converting to Christianity. Did you know that? In the time where he considered converting to Christianity. Because as he read Jesus' teachings and what Jesus said in the Gospels, he resonated with that.
[1:35] Because he saw in the Gospels and what Jesus taught a real solution to the political and social problem of his day. Jesus taught an equality.
[1:49] Jesus taught a loving of one another. Jesus taught against prejudice. And so he wanted to know more.
[2:00] And so he went to a church. So he could find out more about Christianity and what it meant to be a Christian. But when he came, the ushers stopped him and refused to seat him.
[2:14] And was told, go to your own people. And so he walked away concluding that Christianity had the same caste system.
[2:25] Hierarchy. And division. That he himself had experienced in India. And so he figured, I might as well stay again.
[2:40] It's a sad story. Prejudice. Well, I guess it's a real time saver. It lets us form our opinions without bothering to get the facts.
[2:55] But there's more than one kind of prejudice. Jesus encountered prejudice himself. Not of race. Not of poverty.
[3:08] But of preconceived ideas of who the Messiah would be. He came to an Israel and to a tradition of Israel that expected a certain kind of Messiah.
[3:23] And he did not meet those expectations. And so Jesus challenged that ideology, that prejudice, that misunderstanding of who the Messiah is.
[3:41] Jesus. So we see, as we've come to this chapter in Mark 12, Jesus had been facing confrontations. After he had claimed to be king by coming into Jerusalem on a donkey, with the palm leaves going down and the people crying out, blessed is he.
[4:00] And then the next day coming into the temple of the temple. And clearing the temple of its buyers and sellers. At which point he was then confronted by the representatives of the Sanhedrin.
[4:18] The leading, decisive religious leaders of Israel. Made up of Pharisees, scribes, and elders of the people.
[4:31] They came to Jesus and said, by what authority are you doing these things? What authority do you have to come into Jerusalem in the way that you do? What authority do you have to come into our temple, because it was their temple, and clear out the merchandise that we have set up so that we can make some money?
[4:52] Jesus, of course, did not answer directly. But he exposed them, both by proclamation and by parable, in their hypocrisy and their unbelief.
[5:03] He faced then a second attack that came from the Pharisees and the Herodians, who brought to him a highly charged issue in order to lay a trap for him.
[5:20] They asked him if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. And he's trapped. If you say yes, then you're supporting Caesar.
[5:30] If you say no, then you're a rebel. So how does Jesus answer the tax question? He asks for a denarii, looks at the face on it, and said, Well, whose face is on this money?
[5:45] Caesar's. Well, then give to Caesar what's Caesar's and give to God what's God's. He was attacked then by a third group, the Sadducees. The Sadducees were sad because they didn't believe in the resurrection.
[5:57] That's why they're sad, you see. I got it in after all. And so they come hypocritically coming to him, asking him a question about the resurrection.
[6:11] They set up a proposal and say, whose wife will this woman be in the resurrection? They're just trying to set him up.
[6:22] And Jesus comes directly at them and refutes them in their two errors. One of their errors, he says, is you do not understand, one, the power of God.
[6:33] And two, you do not understand the scriptures. And then Jesus quotes from Exodus, which the Sadducees did accept that scripture, to prove to them God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead.
[6:51] Because God says, I'm the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He's not the God of the dead. He's the God of the living. He's still the God of Abraham and still the God of Isaac and still the God of Jacob.
[7:04] Therefore, those men are with God and are raised. He silences them. And then comes a fourth test.
[7:16] This one was different, though. It wasn't a group. It was simply an individual. It was a scry. But who came recognizing that Jesus had answered these other confrontations very, very well.
[7:30] He was very impressed. He saw that Jesus was a thinker. He saw that Jesus was not just giving the Sunday school answers. Jesus was giving deep, thoughtful, challenging answers that even silenced these critics.
[7:47] Answers he had not heard before. And so he asked him a genuine question. Teacher, what is the most important command of all the commands?
[8:01] And we know Jesus' famous answer. The greatest command is love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your strength.
[8:14] And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. And the second is like it. And the second is like it. So Jesus gives not one great command, but two that go together.
[8:27] And the scribe was so impressed and so happy with that answer. Jesus, yeah, he said, Rabbi, yes, you have answered very well. I have come to the similar conclusions.
[8:40] And then Jesus says of the scribe, you're not far. You're not far from the kingdom of heaven. You're not in there yet, but you're not far because you are thinking well.
[8:53] You are taking scripture and putting it together and thinking it through. This is what he'd been challenged his disciples with all along. Do you not yet understand?
[9:04] Are you not yet putting it together? He would ask his disciples. And here was a scribe who was putting things together, who was thinking through what scripture taught.
[9:19] And not just kind of quoting verses, but actually taking verses and putting them together and seeing, I see there is a purpose and meaning and design here.
[9:31] So as we see in verse 34, after he answers that final question, no one dared to ask him any more questions. So they were done.
[9:44] So Jesus now has his opportunity to ask a question. What will he ask? What does he want to narrow it down to?
[10:01] He's not going to ask about taxes. He's not going to ask about the resurrection. He's not going to ask about commandments. He's going to ask them about the Christ.
[10:14] What is your Christology? What is your theology of the Christ? What have you put together to understand about the Christ?
[10:26] What have you gained from the scriptures that you have read to understand who is this promised one? What is your answer? Who do you see as the Christ?
[10:38] He's asking the crowd about the view of the scribes.
[10:51] he's asking the crowd to consider, the crowd and his disciples to think through, how is it that the scribes say that Christ is the son of David?
[11:05] Why do they say that? In what sense do they mean that? What are they getting at? That is their traditional, contemporary, regular understanding.
[11:21] Of the Christ. That is what they teach. Why do they teach that? Why do they focus on that? That's where he's going with this. And by the way, do you notice that Jesus does not answer this question?
[11:37] He raises the question, why do the scribes say this? And then he quotes from Psalm 110, this is what David said. It seems to conflict with what the scribes say.
[11:51] And then he ends with a question again. So if David says this, how is it that the scribes can say that? And that's it.
[12:01] He doesn't answer the question. Is he a good teacher? He doesn't answer that question. He stirs up to provoke them to think.
[12:19] not just accept what they've traditionally heard. And that's the challenge today, beloved.
[12:33] Don't just accept what I say. Don't just accept what the church says. Look at it for yourself. What matters is not what Pastor Bill says.
[12:47] What matters is not what this denomination or that denomination says. What matters is what does God say? What does the scripture say?
[12:58] Because men get it wrong. Now, over time, we have learned, huh? And we're continually reforming. We're continually restudying.
[13:11] And hopefully, we're continually teachable to give up certain held preconceived ideas and let God teach it.
[13:27] So this is what Jesus is doing. He's challenging their traditional understanding and their traditional acceptance of what the scribes have taught them.
[13:42] He's going to attack their teaching and then in the next section in verse 38, he's going to attack their character. So, let's look.
[13:56] Jesus turns the tables, he sets the agenda, he brings the question that he wants to ask, what is the true nature of the Christ? And what he unveils for us are two different views.
[14:09] In verse 35, he unveils or just declares what is the traditional view of the scribes. So we have that. His traditional view is that Christ is the son of David.
[14:22] He's the descendant of David. What does that mean? And then he provides provides then a counter view or a different view, another view in verse 36.
[14:35] Here's what David says. Here's David's view. This is David's understanding. This is his perception and his opinion. Which, by the way, is divine revelation.
[14:48] And then he asks them to compare the two. How can this be? Which identity is he?
[14:59] Who is the Christ? So let's look at the first viewpoint, the scribes' view. How is it that the scribes can say that the Christ is the son of David?
[15:13] How do they say that? Where do they get that? What is the descendant of David? What is the son of David? So I want you to see three things here. First of all, the purpose that Jesus has.
[15:25] What's he doing here? The person that Jesus is talking about, the Christ. And finally, I want you to see the perception of that view. That Christ is the son of David.
[15:38] What are the implications of that viewpoint? So first of all, it's purpose. What is Jesus doing? Why is he asking this question? Well, notice, look back at the verse, verse 35.
[15:52] As Jesus taught in the temple. Literally, Jesus was saying, as he is teaching, he's going to teach by a question.
[16:09] He is instructing. He is teaching. He's teaching by asking a question. And his question is to provoke them to think. What do you think of the Christ?
[16:22] Who is he? What is your view? What is your understanding? And does it match with what God has said? So he's challenging them by citing a very well known text text from Psalm 110.
[16:43] A text that was accepted in the first century as a messianic text. A text that is speaking of the Messiah. So Jesus is not giving them some obscure scripture.
[16:58] He's giving them a well known scripture. Psalm 110 written by David himself. And so he's going to ask how do you reconcile what God says in Psalm 110 with your view of Jesus as the son of David?
[17:19] So then secondly note the real issue here is about a person. Who is the Christ? He says in verse 35, how can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
[17:34] So he's talking about the Christ. That's the person he's emphasizing. The Christ. Now Christ is our Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah.
[17:50] Can I spit on you when I say Messiah? Messiah. Hebrew Messiah meaning the anointed one.
[18:01] God anointed certain people, right? Set them apart for a particular duty. He anointed the priest and the high priest because they were set apart to a holy sacred task.
[18:14] He anointed the kings. So he calls on Samuel to go to the house of Jesse and anoint the next king. And he goes through seven sons of Jesse and they're not the ones.
[18:28] It's the runt out there in the field with the sheep. It's David. He's the one you're to anoint. He is to be the king. He is to be the ruler of this nation.
[18:43] So Messiah is then the one who is after David. He's the promised coming king of Israel. He is talked about from Genesis 3 all the way through Malachi 4.
[19:01] in other words the whole Old Testament. He is described as the seed of the woman in Genesis 3 who will overcome the offspring of the serpent.
[19:16] He is the seed of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob and of Judah. He is the descendant of all of them and then he is the descendant of David through Solomon.
[19:33] And as the gospels tell us his line is traced through Solomon all the way through Joseph the husband of Mary who is presumed to be the father of David excuse me the father of Jesus but we know he's not the physical father.
[19:54] Luke tells us the other lineage of the Messiah comes through Mary. Mary also has her lineage from David but not through Solomon but through Solomon's other son Nathan.
[20:10] And so the actual physical bloodline does come from David through Mary. But his inheritance comes through his adopted father Joseph.
[20:24] Anyway he is called the son of David because he is the descendant. Son of David meaning the seed of David the offspring of David the descendant of David.
[20:38] It doesn't necessarily mean the direct first son or second son or eighth son or how many sons did David have anyway. He had a bunch of them. Because we know it wasn't Solomon.
[20:54] And it wasn't Nathan. And it wasn't their sons. It wasn't Rehoboam. It wasn't Hezekiah. It wasn't Jehoshaphat.
[21:07] It wasn't even Josiah. but it was this one born in Bethlehem of a virgin.
[21:23] So descendant. So we're talking about the issue of the Messiah, the Christ. He's the son of David, a descendant of the kingly line and the royal bloodline.
[21:34] So this is the view of the scribes. He's the son of David. He's the descendant of David. He's the offspring from the royal line of David. So what is their perception?
[21:48] By focusing on Christ as the descendant of David, their expectation is that the Messiah will be one like David. he will be just like David.
[22:00] Well, who was David? What kind of king and ruler was David? What was he known for? We know early on, yes, yes, he had a heart for God, yes.
[22:13] That tells us about his personal faith. But what kind of king was he? He was a warrior king, wasn't he?
[22:26] He, even before he was king, he was conquering. While Saul was still king, he's conquering Goliath and conquering the Philistines.
[22:38] His reputation was already being built up before he even took the throne. But then as he took the throne, what did God do through David? Conquer enemy after enemy after enemy after enemy until the end of his life where he had rest on all sides because he had conquered and established a kingdom unchallenged.
[23:01] He is the warrior king. And so the expectations of the scribes was that the Messiah to come as a descendant of David, one like David, would also be a warrior king, one who would conquer, who would destroy their enemies, who would take down their oppressors and set them free from Rome, from taxation, from laws and kings that they did not honor.
[23:34] They hated being under Caesar, an evil, evil king. So they looked forward to this son of David who would set them free and establish an earthly kingdom.
[23:49] And so when Jesus came along and did not act like David, did not conquer, was not a warrior, but a teacher and a humble man who allows himself to be crucified, well this is no sight.
[24:11] This is no warrant. plus he's breaking the rules, he's breaking the Sabbath, he's breaking our traditions, he's not washing his hands, not teaching his disciples to wash their hands, etc.
[24:35] etc. So, well, so let's look back. Where do the scribes get this idea? That he's the son of David.
[24:46] As I said, scripture does make known that he is in the royal line of David. Matthew gives us that genealogy, Luke gives us that genealogy, we see that he's traced all the way back.
[24:59] But where do they get this title, son of David? And why do they focus on that? Well, let's look back at the original promise to David in 2 Samuel 7.
[25:11] In your outline, it's there. The original promise to David of a future descendant who would rule with an established kingdom.
[25:23] this came in 2 Samuel 7 toward the end of David's life. He had already conquered everyone. He was older now.
[25:35] He had done his part. He had established the kingdom. Now he desired, remember he's the man after God's heart. Now he desired to build a house for the Lord.
[25:48] He had built a great palace for himself. He had built a great palace for his Egyptian princess. And he's thinking, I'm living in this glorious palace.
[26:01] The Lord is in a tent. I want to build a house for the Lord. I want to build a beautiful temple. Good motivation.
[26:12] God sends Nathan the prophet to him to say, no David, you will not build a house for me.
[26:22] Your hands are full of blood. You will not build a house for me. But I will build a house for you. I will build a house.
[26:34] So here he goes. So here's part of what Nathan, what God said through Nathan to David. 2 Samuel 7 verse 12. When your days are fulfilled, David, and you lie down with your fathers, in other words, when you die, I will raise up your offspring after you, your seed, your descendant, who shall come from your body.
[26:58] He will be a physical descendant. And I will establish his kingdom. And he, not you, he shall build a house for my name.
[27:09] And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the son of men.
[27:25] But my steadfast love will not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
[27:36] and your house and your kingdom, David, shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.
[27:50] In accordance with all these words, in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. So what is the promise? What is the promise?
[28:02] it will, this will be a descendant of David. This will be a son, an offspring of David. God says, I will raise up your seed, your offspring, after you.
[28:16] You will be a descendant, and I will establish his kingdom. How long? David's kingdom was 40 years. Solomon's kingdom was 40 years.
[28:30] Hezekiah's kingdom, a good king, was 29 years. Josiah, a great king, was 31 years. None of that was forever.
[28:42] All of those were temporary. God is saying, David, your descendant will build a house, and I will establish his kingdom, and I will establish his throne forever.
[28:59] Unending. not temporary. There's the hint that they miss. Yeah, it will be a kingdom.
[29:13] Yeah, there will be a throne. There will be a rulership, but it's not a temporal. He doesn't say earthly, but it hints at not being earthly.
[29:23] forever. Forever. So in other words, it's a bigger kind of kingdom, a bigger kind of throne than a temporal earthly one.
[29:39] The point is, so what's the point? So here's the scribe's view. He's the son of David. The implications of that view is that the Messiah will be like David. He'll be a warrior king. Jesus' point that he's going to make by bringing up the next text is that the title son of David, the identity of the Messiah as the descendant of David is inadequate.
[30:06] It's insufficient to fully explain and grasp who Messiah is. In fact, it's misleading. It's not false.
[30:19] He is a descendant of David. Yes. But to stop there is to fully misunderstand who Messiah is.
[30:31] And that's why they missed him. That's why they missed him. They're looking for another kind of preconceived ruler that would conquer and set them free from their earthly troubles.
[30:50] They want another David. So the scribe's view is too limited. It does not grapple well with the other texts on Messiah.
[31:01] And if we're to understand who God is, if we're to understand who Jesus is, we cannot just take one text and focus on that and that's my Jesus. I remember when I first became a pastor and I was preaching through the Gospel of Matthew and we're going through Matthew 8 and 9 talking about all the miracles of Jesus and we're just loving it.
[31:23] You know, this is Jesus with compassion. Here's Jesus touching the leper. Here's Jesus reaching out to a centurion, a non-Jew, you know, we just love it.
[31:34] It's, oh, Jesus. And then we moved on in Matthew as we do. We go, right, chapter by chapter. And you get into Jesus' teaching. And his teaching's a little bit more bold.
[31:49] Or more challenging. And I was accused of, you've changed. You've changed your preaching. You're not preaching that gentle Jesus anymore.
[32:01] I said, man, I'm just preaching the text. Jesus is not just this gentle. He is. And we love him. But he's also Lord.
[32:15] And he's also establishing a new covenant. He's also changing things, which he has the right to do. They didn't want to hear that.
[32:26] No, I just want this kind of Jesus. Well, that's not the Jesus of Scripture. So when we are developing an understanding of who Jesus is, we must take into account all that Scripture says on this matter.
[32:43] Who is the Christ? Do you know personally? Let's get to some meddling already. Let's make this practical.
[32:56] Could you tell people who Jesus is? do you know? Have you read the Scriptures to see if it's true?
[33:08] If they asked you, how do you know that's what Jesus is? Would your answer be, well, that's what my pastor says? That ain't going to cut it. That's all right if that's where you're starting and that's where you're beginning.
[33:21] but you want to get to the point where you can answer people, no, I know because I've read it. Let me show you. I've read it in Genesis 3.
[33:33] I've read it in Isaiah 53. I've read it in Psalm 110, Psalm 16, Psalm 8, etc., etc., etc. I've watched how Paul talks about who Jesus is and he takes this text and he takes this text, he takes this text and he puts them together.
[33:57] See? Can we do that? So who is the Christ? Well, now Jesus in verse 36 presents a second viewpoint and that's the viewpoint of David.
[34:12] He says, how can the scribes say that Christ is the son of David? David himself in the Holy Spirit declared, now he's going to quote from Psalm 110, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.
[34:33] David's view is that Christ Christ is the Lord. He is the son of God. He is sitting at God's right hand. He's not merely the son of David.
[34:47] He's the son of God. David has a much bigger view of the Messiah. So I want you to note three things here. First, we'll look at the prophecy in Psalm 110.
[34:58] We'll look at the perception that David had. In other words, since David said this, what was he thinking and understanding about the Christ? And then finally, we'll look at the problem that Jesus raises with this mystery.
[35:12] He's son of David and he's son of God. Who is he? How do we put that together? So look at the prophecy.
[35:24] Psalm 110. Jesus says it's written by David. David himself, he says. David himself. You say he's the son of David.
[35:35] Well, what did David say? David himself said, the Lord Yahweh said to my Lord, I don't I sit at my right until I make all your enemies under your, until I put all your enemies under your feet.
[36:00] Just listen. Psalm 110 is not very long. Jesus only quotes the first verse. But there's more there. Psalm 110 says this. It's a Psalm of David.
[36:13] The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. We just heard Jesus say that. It goes on. The Lord sends forth from Zion, your mighty scepter.
[36:24] Rule in the midst of your enemies. So this Lord of David is ruling. Verse three, your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power in holy garments from the womb of the morning.
[36:38] The dew of your youth will be yours. And then David goes on and he says this. The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind about you.
[36:49] my Lord, you are a priest forever. There's that forever again. After the order of Melchizedek.
[37:02] Now this is absolutely unique. He is, the Messiah is a king and he's also a priest.
[37:13] But not after the order of Levi or Aaron, after the order of some dude called Melchizedek. We find way back in Genesis 14.
[37:27] I'm not getting into that now. who is this Messiah? He's not only at God's right hand, he's not only Lord, he's also an eternal priest.
[37:41] And the book of Hebrews is going to make a revolutionary discovery, or not a discovery, proclamation of who this Jesus is.
[37:55] And how he has radically changed from the old covenant to a new covenant. And Psalm 110 is one of the bases upon which the writer of Hebrews does that.
[38:08] Psalm 110 is so big, so important, that it is cited 33 times in the New Testament. That's a lot. Paul refers to parts, portions, quotes of Psalm 110 over and over and over and over.
[38:30] Remember in Ephesians 2 he talks about how we are raised up with Christ and seated with him at the right side. The book of Hebrews goes over and over from this Psalm 110.
[38:44] Not only that he is the ruler, but he's also this priest forever. And how unique Jesus is to fulfill both roles. So Psalm 110, there's the prophecy.
[39:00] So look then back at verse 36 and just what Jesus quotes. From what David says about this Messiah, what is his understanding of the Messiah?
[39:11] What is his perception? What's David's opinion? Who does he think this Messiah is? He says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit where?
[39:31] At my right hand. Yahweh. So in English, we have the Lord said to my Lord, we have the same word. In Greek, we have the same word too.
[39:43] The kurios, the Lord said to my kurios. So if we go back to Psalm 110, we see there's a distinction. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh says to Adonai.
[39:57] Yahweh. Who's Yahweh? That's the God. That is the covenant God. That is the God who rescued them from Egypt. That is the God who walks with them, who talks with them, who rescues them, who loves them, who pursues them.
[40:15] Yahweh. Yahweh. He is the God who disclosed himself to Moses. Tell them, I am sent you. It's the name that Jesus picks up on in the Gospel of John, where John keeps saying, I am what?
[40:32] I am the bread of life. I am what? I am the life of the world. I am what? The true vine. I am, I am, I am, I am. Before Abraham was, I am. At which point they were going to stone him, because he's clearly claiming to be Yahweh.
[40:51] Yahweh meaning he is. I am. So Yahweh says to Adonai, sit at my right hand.
[41:06] sit beside me on my throne. What man does that? No mere man sits on God's right hand.
[41:21] On his right hand is the symbol of power, authority, sovereignty. It was with his right hand that he delivered Egypt, Israel from Egypt, his strong, powerful, authoritative, sovereign hand.
[41:41] I will teach Pharaoh to know I am the Lord. So he's sitting at his right hand.
[41:54] Until, until I put your enemies beneath your feet. Well, how long is that? Well, I imagine it's more than 40 years.
[42:08] Or 29 years, or 31 years, or even 52 years. Which king did that forget? Paul re-quotes this text in 1 Corinthians 15 talking about the end.
[42:30] that Jesus is on his throne right now. He is putting his enemies under his feet. And the very last enemy he will vanquish is the enemy called death.
[42:44] And once he puts death under his feet for all, then he gives the kingdom to the Father. And has accomplished all that he had to do.
[42:55] He is sovereign. The way the New Testament interprets Psalm 110 is that Jesus is right now after he raised from the dead, he exalted to the right hand of the Father, he is on his throne, and he is ruling.
[43:12] You say, what? Yeah, but look at all the stuff going on. He has his own purposes. And he certainly has his own timing. But he is ruling.
[43:26] He is putting enemies under his feet. Every time there's a conversion, every time there's a salvation, he's putting enemies under his feet.
[43:37] And rescuing the victim. Okay? He is. It's not an earthly kingdom. It's not a visible thing we see.
[43:49] It's a heavenly kingdom. That's what David is seeing. He's, he, where is this right hand of God? It's in heaven. This Messiah is sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
[44:05] It's a heavenly kingdom. It's a heavenly king. It's an eternal kingdom. See, David recognizes the Messiah is his Lord.
[44:17] Not his son. He is a greater person. He's my Lord. He's superior to me.
[44:29] What father would say of his son, you are my Lord? David. Because his son, his descendant, is the Lord.
[44:44] Is exalted to the right hand of the Father. Is greater than he is. He understands that there's, that Christ is more than an earthly king or an earthly son.
[44:55] He is a heavenly king with a heavenly kingdom. An eternal sovereignty. Therefore, on the basis of that, Jesus raises a problem in verse 37.
[45:11] And so he says, so here, here's what David says. David himself calls the Messiah Lord. So how can he be his son?
[45:24] There's your dilemma. Is he the son of David or is he the son of God? I heard a yes. Is he the son of David?
[45:37] Yes. Yes. Is he the son of God? Yes. How? That's the great mystery. And yet it's true.
[45:50] And we see it in his own life. We see, and Paul explains to us, how does he, who is the son of God, who is already God? Philippines too.
[46:01] He empties himself. He humbles himself. As we sing in the old carol, veiled in flesh, we see the Godhead.
[46:12] Or the Godhead seed. He's hidden his God-ness in flesh. He does not use his God powers while he is in the flesh.
[46:25] He walks by faith. He even says, every word I say to you is not my initiative. I don't come up with it. I say only what the Father tells me to say.
[46:35] He walks by faith. He himself grew. He humbled himself to be a child who had to learn the scriptures. And did he never learn the scriptures?
[46:49] By age 12, he's confounding the teachers. So by age 30, when he's confronting the high priests and the Pharisees and the scribes, they're no match.
[47:01] He has read the scriptures more thoroughly, thought more deeply in his humanness, come to understand and grasp who he is, who God is, what the plan is.
[47:15] And it was not what the scribes thought. So the problem is the son of David term is insufficient to capture all that Christ is.
[47:33] It's lacking. It's limited. He is far superior to David. He's not merely a descendant. He's Lord.
[47:44] His identity is much loftier than a descendant. Merely a descendant of David. He's not just a king. He's the king of kings. He is the son of God.
[47:55] He is Lord. As Paul says at the beginning of the gospel of Romans, where he says of the gospel concerning his son, and then Paul identifies two identities of this son of God.
[48:08] one, who was descended from David according to the flesh. That's one part of his identity. And two, he was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection.
[48:21] How do we know he's declared to be son of God? Because he raised from the dead. Permanent. Conquered dead. And now his identity is Jesus, the Messiah, our Lord.
[48:38] So let's put this together. Let's watch somebody, one of his disciples, put it together. At Pentecost, in Acts 2, remember Pentecost?
[48:50] Remember the spirit comes, right? It's poured out on the disciples. They begin to speak in other languages. And they're filled with the spirit. And remember, the crowd thinks, oh, they're drunk.
[49:02] They're drunk. And Peter, there he comes. Here comes one of his glowing moments, okay? Peter stands up and says, men of Israel, these men are not drunk as you suppose.
[49:20] But you know what it is? It's a fulfillment of Joel chapter 2. And he quotes from Joel chapter 2. Then he says, this Jesus, whom you crucified, you want to know who he is?
[49:34] Let me quote from Psalm 16 and talk about how the Holy One was not abandoned to Sheol.
[49:45] He was not corrupted in the grave, but he was raised from the dead. And then Peter quotes from David in Psalm 110, David's prophecy.
[50:00] What I want you to recognize is that here's Peter. He's going to talk about Jesus. How does he do that? Joel 2, Psalm 16, Psalm 110.
[50:13] Let's put these things together. Here's what he says. Here's part of what Peter said in Acts 2, 29. He says, Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried and his tomb is with us to this day.
[50:29] Being therefore a prophet and knowing David knew something, knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, David foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Messiah, the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
[50:53] He's quoting from Psalm 16. This Jesus God raised up and of that we all are witnesses. Now watch.
[51:04] He's going to turn to Psalm 110. Being there exalted at the right hand of God and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, the Holy Spirit, that you have yourselves, that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.
[51:20] For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
[51:31] This is Peter now quoting from Psalm 110 again. He concludes, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him, Jesus, both Lord and Christ.
[51:51] This Jesus whom you crucified. Who is Christ? He's the promised son of David.
[52:03] He is the promised coming king that was promised to David. But he's much more than that. He's exalted. He's superior. He's greater. He's much more than David.
[52:18] But he's also savior. The fact that he's raised from the dead obviously tells us that he died. And why did the Messiah die?
[52:31] He died to bear our sins on the cross. To do what we could not do. He paid the price we could not pay. We're all dead.
[52:44] Under the law we're all guilty. Under God's holy standard none of us can match that standard. None of us can fulfill the law.
[52:54] The whole Old Testament proves it. None could do it. Not even their best ones. Not even David. Not even Abraham. Not even Daniel. Or Josiah.
[53:07] Name a whole bunch. Ruth. None of those could do it. So Christ died to pay the debt. And then he makes a trade with us.
[53:20] He takes our sins and gives to us his righteousness. That's why we're called saints. He gives us a new identity.
[53:31] An identity that he earned. An identity that he merited. An identity that he fulfilled righteousness. Tempted in every way yet without sin.
[53:45] Fully maned, fully tempted, yet never gave in. And we know as we read some of the accounts of Jesus how desperately tempted he was.
[54:01] Let this cut the path. Right? He wanted out. Yet not my will but yours be done. So he's the savior from sin at the cross.
[54:12] And then God raised him from the dead to declare him son of God. To declare that the sacrifice Jesus offered on the cross was accepted. God accepted.
[54:24] It was holy and righteous and good and it was fulfilled so therefore God raised him from the dead to exalt him with the honor and glory that he deserved. So what is your view of Jesus?
[54:42] Who is the Christ? How would you answer that question? what is your view?
[54:57] Is he God's promised king? Do you believe that? Is he not merely an earthly savior but an eternal savior? Do you believe that?
[55:12] Do you see his death as your salvation? That he truly did bear your sins? your sins on the cross and set you free from your slavery to sin?
[55:35] Do you believe he's raised from the dead as your savior Lord? That he is indeed exalted at the right hand of God right now ruling, choosing, guiding, determining, raising up and putting down?
[55:54] Do you trust that? Is your trust in him? Not an idea. Not a faith statement.
[56:07] This is what I believe these things. Is your trust in him? Do you walk with him and rely on him each day?
[56:22] Looking to him and abiding in him for your walk as you face your own trials, as you walk through your own Gethsemane, as you walk through your own humbling?
[56:38] Do you trust in him? Have you entrusted your life to him? that's a scary thought. Are you actually giving it over? To do it as he pleases.
[56:52] Do I trust him that much? Or am I holding something? I'll give him this. Is he your Lord?
[57:09] Is he your king? Is he your king? like Jesus, I'm just going to ask the question and not answer it for him? That's for you to do.
[57:20] Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the way Jesus teaches to provoke us, to move us to think, to not just take answers that others give and resign with that, but to think ourselves.
[57:43] Thank you, Lord, that he's that kind of Lord. He's that kind of savior. He's that kind of teacher that he wants us to figure it out, to come to our own conclusions, not on based of what others say, but based on what you have said in your word.
[58:04] Help us to be those kind of people. And Father, give us confidence as we read your word, as we study, as we learn more about who Jesus is, that Father, we would have the confidence to give an answer for our faith when we share with those who do not know him.
[58:23] We pray in Christ's name. Amen. God, amen.
[58:40] One of my favorite teachings is just exactly that when the Old Testament is brought out of the New Testament. And we get to find out who is this King of Glory. Would you stand, please?
[58:52] We're going to sing about the King of Glory. Who is he? Lord Almighty? King of Glory. King of Glory. Sorry. My bad.
[59:04] Who is this King?