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[0:00] I invite you this morning to turn with me to Matthew chapter 22.! And as you turn there, I want to offer you an encouragement.

[0:13] ! Rather, I would like to share how you have been an encouragement to me.! What it means for you to sing some of the songs we sing together.

[0:38] Last week, we sang, Because He Lives, I Can Face Tomorrow. I know what tomorrow looks like for some of you.

[0:52] For some, tomorrow is no small thing. It isn't easy at all. We sang, Life is Worth the Living Just Because He Lives.

[1:06] And I know that on some days, that's all some of us have. And when life's like that, those are not easy things to sing.

[1:18] So, singing alongside my church family, you all, right, last week, really moved me. Thank you for that.

[1:30] And that's part of why the Lord commands His people to gather together in worship. We're supposed to worship as a family.

[1:42] Not, you know, come here in my lane, put my blinders on. It's just me and Jesus. He wants us to worship as a family because it's so very rich.

[1:52] So, when you share your burdens and your sorrows with your brothers and sisters in Christ, not only do you receive the benefit of their prayers and their encouragements and their helps, but you also bless them.

[2:08] You bless me. You enrich our worship. When you sang those words, you brought a weight to our gathered worship that was beautiful and precious.

[2:24] So, don't shy away, friends, from the Lord's commands. To bear one another's burdens, which requires the sharing of them, and to not forsake the meeting together.

[2:37] And, friends, if you need to share your burdens, to be shepherded, please talk to me, talk with one of the other pastors, talk to a community group leader or a good friend.

[2:53] Fill out a connection card, whatever it is. Don't bear your burdens alone for your good and for all of ours. And, if you're looking for a community group, if you've not gotten plugged in, I'll just give a quick plug.

[3:10] Tyler, he preached last week. If you need more of that intensity in your life, that passion in your life, he's one of our community group leaders. His group is the one that has the most room for new people.

[3:22] So, just talk to him after the service. Now, it feels almost as if I've preached a sermon already, so let me preach a sermon. Matthew 22, beginning in verse 41.

[3:37] Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?

[3:47] They said to him, The son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David, in the spirit, calls him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.

[4:06] If then, David calls him Lord, How is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word. Nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

[4:22] This is God's word. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, Will you, by your spirit and through your word, Show us your son, In whose name we pray.

[4:41] Amen. Amen. If you think back to the previous sections of Matthew chapter 22, What we've seen, As Jesus has entered the city of Jerusalem, To begin what we call Holy Week.

[5:00] He's the last week of earthly ministry. He's been contending, Or in fact, The religious leaders have been contending with him. And we've seen in chapter 22 a series of three traps that they've tried to lay out for him, To discredit him.

[5:16] First, the Pharisees asked him a political question. Should we pay taxes to Caesar? And then the Sadducees came and tried to trap him in an absurd hypothetical regarding the resurrection, A doctrinal question.

[5:29] And then, A question about the supernatural. And then the Pharisees come back again and say, Well, they're asking him to stick his neck out. Matt preached two Sundays ago, right?

[5:40] And say, Which command of God's law was the most important? And each time, For those who set the trap, They found that it sprung on them.

[5:50] Because Jesus took their trap, Turned it around, And used their weapon against them. But now, Jesus turns to the offensive.

[6:02] Today, he doesn't react to their ambush. He sets one of his own. He asks two questions. And the first is a softball. Verse 41. Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, Saying, What do you think about the Christ?

[6:19] Whose son is he? Now, Christ is the Greek word. It's the equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah. They both mean anointed. Kings and priests in Israel were anointed for service to the Lord.

[6:33] And the people of God were expecting a climactic anointed leader. The whole structure of their scriptures pointed to him. You see, the Hebrew scriptures, What Christians call the Old Testament, Are self-evidently incomplete.

[6:50] That is, When you read them, They tell you, More is coming. Expect a sequel. Right?

[7:01] So, the Old Testament is full of promises. Of what's to come. Promises for a great salvation. Promises for a great deliverance for God's people.

[7:11] A great renewal. A new covenant with God. A new birth. And interestingly, Interestingly, Those promises aren't just about what is to come. They're mostly about who is to come.

[7:28] These promises come in the form of a person. That the child of Eve who will crush the serpent's head. The great prophet that Moses promised to come after him.

[7:40] The servant of Isaiah's prophecies. The son of man in Daniel's visions. A king to sit on David's throne. God's people weren't just expecting positive events.

[7:56] They were expecting a person. And so, when Jesus asks, Who is the Christ? They know exactly what he's talking about. Not just the next anointed priest or king, But the coming king.

[8:10] The one in whom all God's promises are yes and amen. And Jesus asks, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?

[8:22] Well, the answer, He'll sit on David's throne. Of course, he'll be David's descendant. Right? That much is straightforward. Like I said, it's the softball question.

[8:33] But the bigger thing here, Before we get to the harder question, Is, Why is this his next move? Why is he asking this?

[8:44] Like, if you had just bested the Pharisees And the Sadducees in public debate, Would this be your next play? In chapter 22, the Pharisees, Like we've said, The Pharisees and the Sadducees, They've been challenging him on taxes, And the resurrection from the dead, And the law of God.

[9:01] But it's not like they really care about those things. They don't care what he actually has to say about them. They're only bringing those issues up, So that they can trip him up.

[9:14] Right? Jesus himself is their problem. And they're just looking for ways to discredit him. Right? He is their chief concern right now.

[9:25] They want to get rid of him. Why? Well, he had received Christ's anointing from John the Baptist. He had just ridden into the city as a king.

[9:37] He had received a king's welcome from the crowds And from the pilgrims who were there for the Passover. He had gone into the temple grounds And acted as if he owned it.

[9:51] He conspicuously, publicly, prominently Presented himself as the Christ. But they were just beating around the bush here.

[10:03] What about taxes? What about the resurrection? What about the law? They're trying to trip him up on secondary issues. Now, whether that's from cowardice Or their own confusion or something else, We don't know.

[10:17] But Jesus takes the bull by the horns here And centers the conversation on the main thing. He is the Christ. Or at least that's what he's claiming.

[10:29] All the promises of God find fulfillment in him And nowhere else. Well, I think there are a lot of people Who also get hung up on secondary issues.

[10:42] Don't end up ever dealing with Jesus Christ himself. But he's not going to allow them to skirt the issue. He's forcing their hand.

[10:53] They will deal with him head on. And that's true of everybody. You have to deal with him. Either you will do it today Or you will do it on the day of your death.

[11:06] Do it today. See, if you're not a follower of Jesus, First, welcome. I'm glad you're here. And I'd like to ask you, Why?

[11:20] What prevents you from following him? Perhaps you don't know what he's all about. And you're trying to figure that out. Excellent. Listen on. That's the main point. But perhaps There's a secondary issue That's stopping you.

[11:38] Maybe 10 or 15 years ago, The most prominent issues, Secondary issues that would stop people Might be, you know, God sending people to hell. Or how can there only be one path to heaven?

[11:50] Today, our culture, and maybe you, Are more likely To push back on the Bible's moral stands. Particularly teaching on human sexuality.

[12:01] Things like that. If a secondary issue is your chief barrier To faith in Christ, If that's your main concern, I invite you to recognize That you're standing right where the Pharisees are.

[12:16] Or they've been, in all of chapter 22, Discussing side issues While the main issue is left unaddressed. Because at the end of the day, If he is the Lord of the universe, It doesn't matter what I think About any of these things, About taxes and sexuality or doctrine.

[12:37] It only matters what he thinks. So that's the question You really need to deal with. Is he Lord?

[12:51] If not, go about your business. Right? It doesn't matter what he says About the secondary issues. But if he is, I don't get to subject him To my judgments.

[13:06] And Christians, I hope that you see That this frees you In your evangelism. Right? When we're sharing our faith With other people, Recognize when secondary issues Are becoming primary.

[13:21] Right? If you're trying to share The simple gospel, That you can be reconciled Reconciled to the living God Through Christ's cross And empty tomb. But somebody really wants To talk about the political Or sexual or whatever Ramifications Of the Christian faith.

[13:38] You could say something Like, Friend, I mean, Actually, I don't expect you To obey Christ If you're not a Christian. But, If you embrace him As your king, He's going to change you From the inside.

[13:57] You'll want To follow him. And if you don't Choose to entrust yourself To him, What he commands Will be irrelevant to you. So let's worry about that After You've had the chance To respond to him And his call on your life.

[14:15] I hope that's an encouragement To you In your evangelism. You don't have to know How to answer Every question. Respond to every objection.

[14:26] Secondary questions Can get answered second. And that's what Jesus Is doing here In verse 42. Bringing the conversation Back around To the main thing.

[14:41] Christ. I love how Charles Spurgeon Puts it. He says In light of their Previous questions He pushed on To the more Vital question.

[14:52] What think ye Of Christ? At the present day If you speak to a man About his soul He will ask you What do you think Of this doctrine Or that? To this we reply Dear fellow Are you saved?

[15:05] That is your matter. We will tell you What else we believe Another time For the present You need a savior And there Ought your mind To settle. Well says he What is your opinion In reference to baptism?

[15:19] That is you know Do we baptize babies Or not? Our answer is Ready enough For we see the Lord's will Plainly enough In his word But we beg you To think more Of Jesus Than of the ordinances.

[15:31] But he says What form of church Government do you prefer? Dear friend What has that To do with you? Have you passed From death To life? There is the point And I love how he Wraps this up He says A man is drowning And I put out my arm To rescue him But he Will not grasp my hand Till I can assure him That I can pronounce The name of a certain Doctrine correctly Is he not an idiot?

[16:03] Looking back On the debates Of chapter 22 The relationships Of God's people To the government Like taxes Right Matters It does God's people Their understanding Of the resurrection It matters Their understanding Of the law Matters But none of it Matters Until they've actually Become his people You can have All the right answers To the doctrinal questions But if you've never Repented and believed It avails you nothing What the Pharisees And Sadducees Needed What you need What I need What every Human being Ever Needs Is to be reconciled To the living God Everything Else Is secondary Every single thing And there is only

[17:06] One way Into that Reconciliation And it is Christ And that's why Jesus brings The conversation Back To that topic What Do you Think Of Christ And let me ask you What do you Think Of Christ Now That first question Whose son Is he That was the easy one From the line of David But now Jesus Springs his trap He asks the second question And it's one they can't answer Verse 43 He said to them How is it then That David In the spirit Calls him Lord Saying The Lord Said to my Lord Sit at my right hand Until I put your enemies Under your feet Now That might sound like Word soup To you Right

[18:06] Here's what's going on Jesus is quoting Psalm 110 And it's only seven verses long So here's the whole song A Psalm of David The Lord The Lord says to my Lord Sit at my right hand Until I make your enemies Your footstool The Lord sends forth From Zion Your mighty scepter Rule in the midst Of your enemies Your people Will offer themselves Freely on the day Of your power In holy garments From the womb Of the morning To the dew Of your youth Will be yours The Lord has sworn And will not change His mind You are a priest Forever After the order Of Melchizedek The Lord Is at your right hand He will shatter Kings On the day Of his wrath He will execute Judgment Among the nations Filling them With corpses He will shatter Chiefs Over the wide earth He will drink From the brook

[19:06] By the way Therefore He will lift up His head Now the superscription Of that psalm Says A Psalm of David Which could mean That it is a psalm From the royal court To David And that initially Seems to fit Because this is a psalm That describes The enthronement Of a king in Israel With whom God Has made a covenant Just like David But when you dig down Into that It doesn't hold up Does it?

[19:36] It speaks of A worldwide kingdom Among the nations That David never achieved It goes on To call him A priest In the order Of Melchizedek David could not Be that In the covenants Of the Old Testament Kings had to come From the tribe Of Judah And priests From the tribe Of Levi No one could be Both king And priest In fact David's predecessor On the throne Saul God rejected him Took his throne Because he tried Mixing the two This would have to be Some other Kind of king Altogether Belonging to Another covenant To another Administration Of God's grace And so the psalm Isn't to David When it says A psalm of David It's a psalm From David Talking to The coming Messiah The Christ And here's the point Of Jesus' question How

[20:37] Could David Call his own Descendant Lord The Lord said To my Lord To us that wouldn't Be such a huge Problem Right We don't call Anybody Lord These days But If we did It wouldn't really Be that big A deal Right To give a term Of respect To a descendant To our eyes David is simply Admitting that a future King One of his descendants Would achieve More than him Simple But we have to Understand That our World view Your world view Sitting here today Is an anomaly In world history Among A myriad of other things We hold Unusual Views On Our elders And On ancestry Where most Cultures In history And indeed Most cultures Today Venerate Their elders

[21:37] America has An obsession With youth Right From the beauty Industry Look five years Younger To Hollywood To business Magazines Listing the Thirty most Influential leaders Under thirty Those sorts of things Some call this The American Cult of youth And how do we Look at ancestry Honestly we don't Do we In our culture Your heritage Can still be An asset Right Cornell Still gives you Extra points In their Admissions process If your parents Went there Your parents wealth Or their race Or their professional Network can still Help you out But you could Become a billionaire Or a movie star Or a rock star Or president Without prominent Family What do you know About Bill Gates Or Jeff Bezos Family Their parents No idea Right What do you know About the parents Of your favorite Musician Or your

[22:41] Senator's Parents Do you know Who your Senator is It doesn't Matter to you It doesn't even Occur to you To ask those Questions Do you But go to Asia And ask those Same questions Lineage is Crucial And it's not Just for public Figures Right You and I Our culture Doesn't care about Our own Ancestry As individuals It doesn't matter What our parents Did I'm my own Man Right Every Person in this Room Has Or had Eight Great Grandparents Just do the Math That's assuming There was no Funny business Somewhere along The way Someone got it First Did you even Know that Like did you Even know That you had Eight great Grandparents Is that something That ever Occurred to you Second Of those Eight How many

[23:43] Do you even Know something As basic As their First and Last name I'm willing To bet That more Than half Of us Zero Is how many We know Their first And last name For I'm willing To bet That Now Go to Africa And ask The same Question For us Genealogy Is a Novelty We give Someone an Ancestry kit When we Can't think Of an Actually Thoughtful Gift To give Them On Christmas For the Rest of The world And for The rest Of human History Ancestry Was central Not a Novelty In some Cultures Elders And Ancestry Are respected To the Extreme And they Follow The practices Of ancestor Worship Now Why Say All this It's how We make Sense Of this Second Question And why It's a Trap

[24:43] Or why It's so Hard To answer Because That's the World view Of Jesus Audience The Jewish People Revered Their Elders And they Had a Grand Respect For Ancestry Sons And Grandsons Would call Their Parents And their Ancestors By terms Of respect Not the Other way Around In the U.S.

[25:06] You might Hear a Son Call his Father Sir Not the Opposite In a Traditional Culture Though Like the One That David Was Writing In The One That Jesus Is Teaching In For To hear A Father Call his Son Lord Like I Thought Long And Hard I Can't Think Of an Analogy To explain How unusual That is And even If in That kind Of a Culture A Child Achieves More Than Their Parents It Was The Parents Who Produced The Child Brought Them Up Into Their Greatness In Middle Eastern Eyes David Must Be Greater Than His Descendant But Something Disrupts That Flow Of Respect In Psalm 110 Someone Is Coming In David's Line Who Is Greater Than David He Is So Far

[26:07] Greater Than David That David Calls Him His Lord How Much Greater The Lord Almighty Tells Him In Verse One Of That Psalm Sit At My Right Hand That's Something That Can't Be Said Of David Or Of Any Human King No Matter How Great If A King Conquered The Entire Planet This Very Moment That Still Doesn't Compare That Wouldn't Put Him At God's Right Hand The Scriptures Say The Earth Is His Footstool To Rule The Whole World Would Be To Sit At God's Feet Not His Right Hand The Lord Says In Isaiah Chapter 42 I Am The Lord

[27:07] That Is My Name My Glory I Give To No Other Yet As Martin Luther Observed Of Psalm 110 God Tells This King To Sit Not At My Feet But Next To Me As High As I Sit And Then He Concludes That Since God Doesn't Share His Glory And Since This King Is Seated Just As High As The Almighty He Says From This It Follows That He Must Be God What Do You Think Of The Christ Psalm 110 Tells Us That The Christ The Messiah The Promised One God Will Come As The Christ For His People So

[28:07] Jesus Isn't Just Saying What The Pharisees Are Upset About Right I'm The Christ The Messiah David's Son That's What They Already Understood That He Was Saying That's What They Were Already Rejecting And That's Why They Already Opposed Him Jesus Is Saying I'm The Christ The Messiah David's Lord Your Greatest King Whom You Revere He Worships Me Jesus Isn't Twisting Here The Words Of An Isolated Psalm He Could Have Pointed This Out In So Many Places In The Old Testament Places That The Pharisees Simply Missed Because It Didn't Conform To Their Assumptions And Isaiah Isaiah Isaiah Prephesized About The Messiah Chapter 11 He Talks About Jesse King David's Father In One Breath He Calls The Coming Christ Both Jesse's Branch Verse One That Is His Offspring And

[29:08] Jesse's Root Verse Ten That Is His Source The Coming Christ Is Both The Branch The Descendant And The Root The Source! And This Comes In A Long Line Of Jesus' Own Incredible Statements About Himself Truly Truly I Say To You Before Abram Was I Am John Chapter 8 Matthew 12 I Tell You Something Greater Than The Temple Is Here The Queen Of The South Came From The Ends Of The Earth To Hear The Wisdom Of Solomon And Behold Something Greater Than Solomon Is Here Also Matthew 12 And so He Asks The Pharisees In Verse 42 What Do You Think About The Christ And Friends What Do You Think About The Christ

[30:08] Jesus Has Already Told Us What David Carried Along By The Holy Spirit Thought Of The Christ He Sits At The Right Hand Of The Father Equal In Glory And Majesty And So He Calls Him Lord But That's Not All He Wants Us To Think About The Christ He's Not Done Because Christ Quotes More Of Psalm 110 Than Just That Look With Me Verse 43 He Said To Them How Is It Then That David In The Spirit Calls Him Lord Saying The Lord Said To My Lord Sit At My Right Hand That's The Part We've Already Dealt With But He Continues Until I Put Your Enemies Under Your Feet Now Which Enemies Are We Talking About Here Certainly Standing Right In Front Of Him The Chief Priests And The Pharisees And The Sadducees Have Made Them Them His Enemy I

[31:09] Mean! He Does Have A Victory Over Them He Silences Them Here Today So That They Can't Even Answer Him A Word And They Don't Dare Ask Him Anything Else But His Showdown Is Not Chiefly With Them He's Not Even Going To Bother Contending With Them Again He'll Let Them Fizzle Out On Their Own And He's Going To Move On To Bigger Enemies Right Have You Ever Heard Of A Contemporary Small Thing To The King Whom Even David Calls Lord Now Psalm 110 Goes On To Discuss The Messiah's Victory Over The Whole World Bringing All Things Under His Rule And Dominion And That Sounds More Like It That's The Bigger Enemy The Scriptures Tell Us That He Has A Victory Over Something Even Greater Than That First Peter Chapter Three Says!

[32:10] And Is At The Right Hand Of God With Angels Authorities And Powers That Is The Spiritual Powers Of Evil Having Been Subjected To Him That Is He Is Already In His Work Subjected And Defeated And Defanged The Spiritual Powers Of Darkness They Can Rage And Lash Out As They Fall To The Dirt But The Blow Has Already Been!

[32:37] The Victory Won The Contest Is Over But Our Lord Sets His Sights Higher Still Just A Few Days After This Conversation In Matthew 22 He Takes Aim Of The Two Greatest Enemies On Good Friday He Won The Victory Over The Guilt Of Our Sin Paying It's Just Divine Penalty At His Cross What Do You Think Of Christ And On Easter Sunday He Won The Victory Over Death Death Trampling It Beneath His Feet As He Left An Empty Tomb Behind What

[33:40] Do You Think Of Christ What Do You Think Of Christ Not For Some Exam Or For Some Conversation After Church Today It's For Your Soul There Is No Name Under Heaven By Which You Might Be Saved Except Jesus This Jesus What Do You Think Of Christ Just Who Is It That Gave His Life For You On The Cross If It Were Just An Innocent Man Who Died If He Were Merely David's Son That Changes Nothing For Us Even An Innocent Man A Sinless Man Would Only Have Done What Was Owed The Lord For Himself He Couldn't Stand In

[34:41] Your Place Or Bear The Divine Justice For Your Sin And He Couldn't Impart Anything To Us No Righteousness To Stand Before The Judgment Seat Oh But If He Is David's Lord If He Shares The Same Glory Of The Father If He Is From Everlasting To Everlasting If He Step Down From The Throne Of Heaven And Took On A Human Nature So That He Might Be Able To Taste Death For You Oh Then He Could Lay Down His Life For The Forgiveness Of Your Sins And Mine Because He Could Truly Bear The Full Weight And Fury All My Sins Deserve And He Could Offer What No Other King Can To Be Wrapped And Clothed Not In Silk!

[35:37] And Satin But In His Own Righteousness He Has That To Offer You To Stand Faultless Before The Judgment Seat All By His Grace And If He Is David's Lord He Holds Not Only The Keys To The Royal Treasury To The City To The Military He Holds The Keys To Death And Hell So When He Permits Himself To Be Consigned To The Grave He Is Not Bound He Is Not Shackled He Is Not A Prisoner He Holds The Key Because If He Is David's Lord In Him Is Life And Death Cannot Hold Him An Empty Grave Is There To Prove My Savior Lives What Do You Think Of Christ Here's

[36:39] What I Think These Are Very Ancient Words I Believe In One God The Father Almighty Maker Of Heaven And Earth And Of All Things Visible And Invisible And In One Lord Jesus Christ The Only Begotten Son Of God Begotten Of The Father Before All Words God Of God Light Of Light True God Of True God Begotten Not Made Being Of One Substance With The Father By Whom All Things Were Made Who For Us For Our Salvation Came Down From Heaven And Was Incarnate By The Holy Spirit Of The Virgin Mary And Was Made Man And Was Crucified Also For Us Under Pontius Pilate He Suffered And Was Buried And The Third Day He Rose

[37:39] Again According To The Scriptures And Ascended Into Heaven And Sits At The Right Hand Of The Father And He Shall Come Again With Glory To Judge The Living And The Dead Whose Kingdom Shall Have No End What Do You Think Of Christ Let's Pray To Him Let's Pray To Him!

[38:03]  To To To