Son Of David; Son Of God

[0:00] There is some debate about the exact timing of the events recorded here in Mark chapter 12. But one of the things that we are certain of is that these discussions that Jesus is having here between these different groups of religious leaders took place somewhere between 24 and 48 hours prior to the Passover celebration in Jerusalem.

[0:28] And we've talked about this a little bit in the build-up through these last couple of chapters at the busyness that would have been the city of Jerusalem at that time.

[0:41] You remember maybe some weeks ago we talked about an early historian, Jewish historian, had talked about just a few years after this about two and a half million people had gathered in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration.

[0:55] So you can just imagine in old city Jerusalem, not the metropolis that it is now, but old city Jerusalem, you can imagine just hordes of people, the busyness that comes along really even around the temple with the events leading up to the Passover celebration and the Feast of Unleavened Bread that would follow thereafter.

[1:15] And in the midst of all of that, there's no question that the gospel authors intended for us to understand this section of Jesus' life and teaching in light of the Passover itself, in light of the theological significance of what the Passover was in the Old Testament and for the Jews and what that was going to mean in regards to Jesus' life and his death and his resurrection.

[1:46] But I'm certain that during this Passover week, thoughts of the Messiah would have been ever present in the minds and in the conversations of the people in Jerusalem.

[1:59] It just makes sense, right? The point of the Passover is to reflect on the Exodus coming out of Egypt, right? They're reflecting on the goodness of God in that Exodus and then in the midst of that, they are anticipating another Exodus.

[2:15] They're anticipating a Messiah who will come and rescue them in their minds from Roman oppression in the same way that God had delivered the nation out of Egyptian oppression so many years before.

[2:30] For this particular Passover week, the presence of Jesus in Jerusalem certainly would have tremendously heightened this awareness of Messianic prophecy and expectation.

[2:45] So it makes perfect sense then that Jesus would teach a lesson on the identity and purpose of the Christ, which is exactly what verses 35 to 37 are.

[3:00] He's asking questions in order that he might get the people to consider or perhaps reconsider their thoughts about the Messiah and his purpose.

[3:10] So the religious leaders have taken their turns at trying to trap Jesus in his words, but his responses to their, quote, unanswerable questions are not only adequate, they're profound.

[3:25] So that we read in our last passage that no one dared ask him another question. And so Jesus turns the tables now. He asks a question of his own, a question as far as the New Testament records are concerned, were unanswered by the people in the crowd.

[3:43] Using the Bible, Jesus challenged the errant assumptions about the Messiah that were so common in Israel, and he was leading them to examine his true identity.

[3:57] Now, do you remember Mark's purpose in writing this gospel? All the way back in the very first verse of chapter one, what does Mark say his intent is? His aim is to proclaim the good news that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah and the Son of God.

[4:16] And everything that follows in Mark's gospel is serving that purpose. Now we get to these three verses here. And in a public forum in the midst of the temple area in Jerusalem, Jesus takes on that same aim.

[4:30] That's what these verses are doing. Jesus is proclaiming the good news that he is the Messiah and the Son of God. He's the Son of David.

[4:43] He's the Son of God. And I want to show you as we work through these verses that the Lord's questions here, rhetorical as they were, were a matter of interpretation.

[4:54] They're a matter of inspiration. And then they're a matter of identification. And my prayer is that we'll all come to hear him as gladly as the crowd heard him there in verse 37.

[5:07] First, let's see a matter of interpretation. A matter of interpretation. Look with me at verse 35 again. Jesus taught in the temple. He said, How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?

[5:26] That's the initial question. Now, there's a lot of scribes around. And Jesus is going to keep dealing with scribes as he goes on even beyond this conversation. But as the midst of this great crowd that is gathered with him in the temple, his first question is, How can these fellows over here, your experts, how can they say that Jesus, or not Jesus, but the Christ is the Son of David?

[5:51] And just in case there may be anyone who is a little confused by that language, let me just take a quick minute to refresh us on what we mean when we use this term Messiah.

[6:04] Okay? It starts all the way back in Genesis. Right? Genesis 3 records the very first sin committed by the very first people God created.

[6:15] We know their names, Adam and Eve. Because God is holy, He has to judge sin. And Adam's disobedience to the Lord in the garden plunges the created world, God's created world, into and underneath the wrath of God's judgment, the curse of God's judgment.

[6:37] That's what's happening in Genesis 3. And the pinnacle of that judgment is what? Death. That's the pinnacle of it. There's lots of things related to the curse, but it all eventually leads to the reality of and the certainty of death.

[6:54] But while God is proclaiming those consequences in Genesis chapter 3, He tucks in this promise. This promise that He would, at some point, send a Savior, who would, as the Bible goes on to explain, would defeat death and would restore creation to God's intended purpose.

[7:20] God is saying, and in His patience, and in His long-suffering, God allows man to continue to exist. Have you ever considered that?

[7:32] God told Adam and Eve one thing not to do. And He said, In the day that you eat of the tree, you shall surely die. And the day that they ate of it, it would have been perfectly just and within the rightness and righteousness of God to do away with Adam and Eve and to take away their lives immediately in that moment.

[7:52] But in His patience and long-suffering, He continues to allow them to live in a cursed world, but they live. That's a part of God's grace coming through even from the very beginning.

[8:03] And God has allowed mankind to continue to exist ever since. But then He made all of these different promises at different points in history.

[8:14] Covenants He makes with His people. each one building on the other, explaining how He is going to send this Savior, how He is going to provide this redemption, how He is going to make things right, and He's going to set the course of the world back to its intended purpose.

[8:36] And this coming Savior that the Bible continues to speak of, that's what we mean, that's who we're referring to when we use words like Messiah and Lord and Christ.

[8:49] And those covenants were provided through God's people, His chosen nation, Israel, which is why the Jews are so significantly concerned about this particular topic. And so Jesus' question in verse 35 is a direct challenge to their interpretation of the identity and purpose of this Savior.

[9:12] That's what's happening. That's the backdrop to all of this. They have this mindset of who this Savior will be, what He will be like, and what He will do. And what Jesus is doing with this question is He's challenging that interpretation that they have, specifically as it relates to a title, Son of David.

[9:33] The Son of David is a common title used by the Jews to refer to this Messianic figure. And it's actually rooted in one of those covenants. 2 Samuel chapter 7.

[9:43] I think I may actually have this on the screen for you to see. 2 Samuel chapter 7. God says this to David. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you.

[9:55] Offspring there is singular. I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your body and I will establish His kingdom. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever.

[10:10] A covenant made with David. I am bringing one from your lineage. This Messiah, this Savior, He's going to build a house for me forever. When we get to the New Testament we find out that's a house not made with hands.

[10:24] That's a people that God is redeeming for His glory and for His purpose as the church of Christ. Now that may not seem like very significant to us, a promise made to David so many thousands of years ago.

[10:36] But this fact of a Davidic Messiah is echoed over and over and over in the Old Testament. Especially in the Psalms and in the prophets.

[10:47] And I want to show you a few passages about this. Psalm 89 verses 3 and 4. You have said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David my servant.

[11:00] I will establish your offspring forever and build your throne for all generations. David echoes the covenant. Isaiah chapter 9. We usually quote this at Christmas but think about these words.

[11:14] For unto us a child is born. To us a son is given. The government shall be upon His shoulder. His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

[11:31] Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end. On the throne of David and over His kingdom to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

[11:47] The zeal of the Lord of hosts. will do this thing. Jeremiah chapter 23. Behold, the days are coming declares the Lord when I will raise up for David a righteous branch.

[12:02] Notice branch is capitalized in our Bibles because that's a reference to this messianic figure. I will raise up for David a righteous branch. He shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

[12:17] in His days Judah will be saved. Israel will dwell securely and this is the name by which He will be called. The Lord is our righteousness.

[12:29] Have you ever wondered why the Old Testament is so concerned with all of those genealogies? You ever get on your one year Bible reading program and you get just a little ways into it probably around this time of year and you start hitting those genealogies and you're like why in the world does God want me to read this?

[12:49] Why in the world? That's not about simple historical records. That's not why that's there. Do you know what they're for? They're tracking the promise of God.

[13:01] They're tracking the covenants of God. As they recorded the lineage of David they're showing that God's promise is reliable and they're showing that God's promise is active and it all comes back to this covenant this Davidic Messiah that God is going to send to redeem His people.

[13:22] We could go to many more passages but my point is to show you that there's a really good reason why Son of David became a prevalent messianic title in the time of Jesus.

[13:36] Remember in chapter 10 blind Bartimaeus what is it that he yells for as Jesus walks by? Jesus Son of David Messiah Lord So what's Jesus getting at with this question then?

[13:53] Notice back in verse 35 what is it that he asks? How is it that the scribes can say that the Christ is the Son of David?

[14:06] Well we just went to a bunch of passages that show exactly why they could say that the Messiah is the Son of David so what's Jesus getting at here? Is he denying that the Messiah is David's son that he will come from David's line?

[14:22] No. Matthew's account I think helps us understand what's happening here just a little bit better. Matthew chapter 22 he writes now while the Pharisees were gathered together Jesus asked them a question saying what do you think about the Christ?

[14:39] Whose son is he? And here's how they answer they said to him the Son of David now remember the common belief among the Jews was that the Christ the Messiah would be a political and military figure whose purpose was to deliver Israel from Rome that was their mind that's what they thought he was going to do they thought of him only as a human authority with an earthly purpose when they said the Christ is David's son they meant he was nothing more than David's son and this is the idea that Jesus is challenging in verse 35 he's not challenging the title he's not challenging the fact that he was indeed from the line of David he's challenging the mindset of the people that says that the Christ is nothing more than the son of David he's nothing more than an earthly king that will come and will rule on this earth he didn't deny that he was the son of David he insisted that he was more than that he insisted that he was more than just a political savior and James Edwards frames it this way and I think this is helpful

[15:57] Jesus invites the temple audience to reconsider whether son of David is conceptually adequate to explain the Messiah is the son of David conceptually adequate let me explain the modern equivalent to this modern equivalent is when people say Jesus is nothing more than a great teacher he is a moral example to us he is an amazing miracle worker and when we challenge that thought in our culture we're not denying that Jesus is indeed those things what we're saying is Jesus is more than just those things he is more than just a good teacher he is more than just a moral example he is more than just a miracle worker he's more than just a religious leader he's the son of God he's the savior of the world he's the lord of all that is and to estimate him as anything less than that is wrong and it misses the point altogether and that's essentially what is happening with the

[17:19] Jews in general and especially the scribes what Jesus is challenging is the fact that the scribes refer to the Messiah as the son of David and it's not that it isn't true it's just that it's not conceptually adequate to communicate all that the Messiah is and does so Jesus challenges their interpretation and keep in mind he's stirring up these conversations about the Christ within two days of his own crucifixion and what would be the purpose in that he's not only identifying reframing their minds about what the Christ is he's going to demonstrate what the Christ was meant to do within 48 hours of this moment he's going to show them matter of interpretation number two it's a matter of inspiration a matter of inspiration look with me at verse 36 now David himself in the Holy

[18:20] Spirit declared the Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet so to make his point Jesus quoted the first verse of Psalm 110 which is quoted more than any other Psalm any other Old Testament passage for that matter in all of the New Testament now why would you think that so Jesus' argument with the scribes here is so strong that the apostles followed the Lord and they quote this Psalm or allude to this Psalm 33 times in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament passage you'll find it not only in the Gospels you'll find it in Acts you'll find it in Paul's letters you'll find it in Peter's letters you'll find it in the book of Hebrews as well so let's look at it and see why it's so significant there's two things about this Psalm that Jesus and the scribes agreed about first thing is this they agreed that the

[19:25] Psalm was referring to the coming Messiah they agreed about that in fact why don't you just turn back there with me let's go to Psalm 110 in your Bible and I'm not going to read the whole thing I'm going to leave that to you in your own time but I want you to see exactly what they're referring to here Psalm 110 this this Psalm and maybe you'll maybe you'll you'll skim it as I'm even talking here for just a moment this Psalm is it it's an amazing description of Christ eternal rule as prophet priest and king and it's this very first verse that Jesus quotes look at it with me a Psalm of David the Lord says to my Lord sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool now stay there in Psalm 110 we're going to reference back to that particular verse and the way it looks in your Bible here in just a moment it's an amazing description of Christ eternal rule and that's something that the scribes agreed with historically this

[20:36] Psalm was sung as a coronation hymn when Israel would have a new king and they didn't sing that at the coronation of Israel's kings because they thought that king was the fulfillment of this Psalm that's not why they sang it they sang it because they believed that the role of king in Israel was a type of the king the great king who was to come from the line of David whose throne would be established forever based on the covenant of God all rabbinical teaching that we can find historically about Psalm 110 up to the time of Jesus affirms that this is a messianic psalm it was only after the time of the apostles that the leaders in Judaism conveniently denounced it as such and decided this is no longer about this coming Messiah this has something specifically to do with David but everything going up to the time of

[21:37] Jesus and during the time of the apostles the Jews recognized this psalm as messianic so they're agreeing about those things okay that's important for us to understand I'll explain why in a moment number two they agreed on the doctrine of inspiration they agreed on the doctrine of inspiration back in Mark chapter 2 in verse 35 Jesus says David himself says in the Holy Spirit and then he quotes the verse or if you like by the Holy Spirit affirming the fact that Psalm 110 was a work of inspiration from the mouth of God now remember when we say that the Holy Spirit inspired David we don't mean that he inspired him in the same way that an artist is inspired by a beautiful mountainous scene okay we don't mean that we don't mean in the same way that a child is inspired by their teacher to do something with their lives that is helpful to the community that's that's not what we mean by inspiration the word we use inspiration comes from a word that means breathed out most notably you'll find this in one of

[22:58] Timothy's letters 1st Timothy 316 or 2nd Timothy 316 Paul says all scripture is breathed out all scripture is by inspiration of God and it's profitable and he goes on to list how it's profitable this is what we mean by inspiration it means that the words of the Bible are literally the words of God who cannot lie Jesus didn't mean that upon thinking about the things of God David was inspired in his imagination to write this psalm in the way that he thought things might unfold that's not what Jesus means he means that the Holy Spirit of God spoke these words through the pen of David so that David's words were God's words that's a Christian understanding of inspiration okay an understanding of inspiration that the scribes that

[23:58] Jesus was speaking to in the temple agreed with they were in agreement about that Psalm 110 is messianic it is also inspired by God it is God's words which means that it is truth so what's the point look at the verse you're there in Psalm 110 look at the verse we have in English the word Lord twice do you notice anything different about that in your Bible in the first one most likely in your Bible all four letters are capitalized in the second one it's not just the first letters capitalized anytime you see all four letters capitalized with Lord it means that the name that was used in Hebrew was Yahweh the covenant name of God that's the high and holy name that's the name that that God gave Moses at the burning bush when when Moses says who should I tell them sent me what is your name and God says I am that I am I am the self-existent one I am the only God

[25:00] I am Yahweh Jehovah we say sometimes okay that's the first Lord second Lord is not Yahweh second Lord is Adonai Adonai this word is used 450 times in the Old Testament almost exclusively in relation to God but they used it to relate to this messianic figure this Lord this master Adonai with the implication of deity now that's important in other words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit David wrote that the Messiah was not merely someone who would come after him but is someone who has preceded him under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit David himself did not recognize the Christ as simply his future offspring but he acknowledged him as his present

[26:01] Lord and Master and God and to David this Messiah was before him and was greater than him and his perspective was not one of future hope but of present worship and praise the Lord Yahweh has said to my Lord this messianic figure that's supposed to come from my line David is calling him Lord and Savior and God he does not only come after him he comes before him in David's words I'm reminded of a song it's a newer song by Matt Papa and Matt Boswell called Christ the True and Better and the last verse refers to this thing Christ the true and better David lowly shepherd mighty king he the champion in the battle where oh death is now thy sting in our place he bled and conquered crown him

[27:02] Lord of majesty he shall be the throne forever we shall heir his people be and this is a matter of inspiration because what God says about the Christ is far more important than what our opinions about the Christ are and that's the purpose of Jesus his challenge it doesn't matter what the reigning experts think about the things of God what matters is what God has revealed about himself in the inerrant infallible inspired word of God that's what matters and Jesus is insisting on that once again how can the scribe say he's David's son David himself calls him Lord it's a matter of interpretation it's a matter of inspiration finally it's a matter of identification identification identification verse 37 if you're back and go back to Mark chapter 12 now verse 37

[28:08] David himself calls him Lord how is he his son David himself calls him Lord how is he his son so Jesus forces the people to reevaluate their position and he's essentially asking this question how can the Christ be David's son and David's Lord how is that even possible again Jesus isn't denying the fact that the Messiah would come from David's lineage remember all of this began with the scribe's answer insisting that the Christ was only the son of David and Jesus is now using the scripture inspired by God to prove that the Messiah was indeed both son of David and his Lord but how is it possible there's only one way that's possible this

[29:09] Messiah must be a divine human being the only way for the Christ to fulfill the scriptures requirements for the Messiah he had to be both divine and human he was not only David's son he was God's son co-equal co-eternal with God the Father think about the Messiah's role for just a moment the Jews thought of him as a human ruler he was going to deliver the nation from the oppression of Rome but God doesn't need a Messiah to deliver a nation he doesn't need a Messiah to do that think about the Old Testament examples where God delivered the nation of Israel without a prominent figure think about even coming out of Egypt all Moses was was a spokesman

[30:11] God delivers those people remember in Isaiah the story of Sennacherib hundreds of thousands of soldiers are camped out near Jerusalem and the king of Jerusalem of Judah goes and he prays to God and he lays out the letter the criticisms from Sennacherib and he prays and says Lord the only way that anything happens with this is if you do it and they go out the next morning they find that all the soldiers are dead in the middle of the night God kills them God doesn't need a Messiah to deliver an earthly nation from another earthly nation but to deliver his people from sin and death however God required a Savior and it required one who was not only human but divine so the Jews misunderstood the Messiah's purpose so that they failed to understand his identity as well so Jesus was working it backwards he's teaching them about his true identity so that after his death and resurrection they could understand his true purpose because he

[31:16] Jesus of Nazareth is this divine human Messiah about which David wrote he perfectly fulfilled all of those covenant promises and prophecies written in the Old Testament and this is the message of the Bible that Jesus is the son of David and the son of God this is Mark's purpose in writing this Jesus of Nazareth the good news is that he is the Messiah and the son of God Jesus' purpose in verses 35-37 is to say he is not only David's son he is God's son which makes only him capable of delivering and bringing salvation let me give you a few more verses about this remember those genealogies we talked about earlier Matthew starts with one at the very beginning of the New Testament why he's showing that in this genealogy of David's line it leads all the way up to this backwater area in Nazareth with Joseph and

[32:23] Mary and where Jesus is born Jesus is in this line that's its purpose then we see in Romans chapter one Paul says concerning his son who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead Jesus Christ our Lord you know why you need to work hard at bringing someone to Easter service Sunday resurrection Sunday because they need to hear that without the resurrection none of this means anything the thing that makes us know that Jesus is the Messiah is the fact of his resurrection the thing that first tells us and proves to us that this Bible is inerrant that it is true is the fact of Jesus's resurrection and that's what Paul's saying concerning his son he came from the line of David but he was also declared to be God's son in power through the resurrection from the dead

[33:26] Galatians chapter four when the fullness of time had come God sent forth his son born of woman born under the law to redeem those who were under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons Philippians 2 is my favorite one verse 6 though he was in the form of God in other words he was God he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped but he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form he humbled himself became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of

[34:34] God the Father you know what that sounds like to me that sounds like an eternal throne that will never be diminished in any way that's the covenant made to David that's applied to Jesus of Nazareth the Son of God Hebrews 1 long ago at many times and in many ways God spoke to our fathers by the prophets but in these last days he has spoken to us by his son he's appointed him heir of all things through whom also he created the world he's the radiance of the glory of God the exact imprint of his nature he upholds the universe by the word of his power and after making purification for sins that's the purpose he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high second Timothy 2 remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead the offspring of David as preached in my gospel when Jesus challenged the scribe that day in the temple he wasn't only forcing them to reevaluate their thoughts of the Messiah he was leading them to understand that he is that promised Savior here Kent Hughes wrote this

[35:56] Jesus's exchange with the scribes was a veiled self enunciation that he himself was Messiah the divine human fulfillment of this prophecy before the week was over he the son of David would die in fulfillment of prophecy then his mighty resurrection would make everything clear concerning his humanity and divinity that's the point to view the Christ as only a political Savior was ultimately no lasting help for the people of Israel there's no help if all they're doing is getting a restoration of an earthly kingdom their shooting and their expectations are far too small but God's intention was far greater than that in the same way to view Jesus as anything less than Savior and Lord is no less lasting help to me and to you this is true of Jesus this is who he is this is why he came and he demands our repentance and faith in light of that fact look at the end of verse 37 this is where we'll close

[37:22] I know it's 1115 and you're just blew your mind that I said this is we're going to close then it verse 37 the great throng heard him gladly the great throng heard him gladly and Mark doesn't clarify what he means by that it could be that they received Jesus's words by faith and began to follow him as Lord could be it could be that they were only intrigued by a fresh and exciting perspective of Psalm 110 or that they were just really happy anytime the arrogant scribes were stumped by another teacher there's probably a lot of truth in that as well what we know from other passages is that immediately following Jesus's resurrection the amount of people following him was relatively small but Mark calls this a great throng which indicates to me that many were happy to hear Jesus few were willing to believe Jesus and my point with that is that it is entirely possible to sit in services like this week after week and be very happy to hear from and about Jesus without ever actually believing in him without ever actually following him alone for salvation it's entirely possible to be a follower of

[39:02] Christianity and not be a disciple of Christ so my question for you this morning as it is most Sunday morning is not to cause you to doubt your salvation that's not the question my question is just simply to say do you gladly hear Jesus or do you gladly receive by faith what you hear from Jesus there's a difference in those two things lots of people go to church because they're happy to hear about Jesus and they're happy to hear from him lots of crowds gathered around Jesus in the gospels for that reason they were glad to hear him they were glad to see what he could do they were glad to be witnesses of those things it was entertaining if not anything else but very few at least at this point seem to be glad to receive what he was actually saying to receive him to follow him to turn from sin to turn from Judaism to turn from secularism to turn from whatever ism you may claim and follow Christ alone and the point of verses 35 and 30 through 37 is to say this is who Jesus is and he leaves no room for indifference to us cannot be indifferent to the person of Christ you either follow him or you reject him and I'm going to leave you and we'll close with this from John chapter 3 these are Jesus's words he says for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but in order that the world might be saved through him whoever believes in him is not condemned you know what I love about that that on your worst day if you're in Christ you're still in Christ on your worst day on the days when you're really struggling with that besetting sin perhaps that the book of Hebrews talks about or the thing and you're just you're feeling all the shame that comes from falling again and again and again if you are in Christ you are still in Christ you are not condemned and he says go and sin no more but you are safe in him

[41:35] I love that but the verse isn't in there whoever believes in him is not condemned but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God and that's the tragedy of those who sit Sunday after Sunday in church services like ours and are glad to hear Jesus glad to hear about Jesus but never truly follow him they're not disciples of him they're not glad to receive what he has said by faith and those people are condemned already in this moment they stand condemned and the only hope that any of us have is the wonderful grace of Jesus asNINGNING as