Who is Jesus?

[0:00] The following message is given by Walt Alexander, lead pastor of Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee.! For more information about Trinity Grace, please visit us at TrinityGraceAthens.com.

[0:14] ! Mark chapter 12, I'm going to begin reading in verse 35.

[0:35] So flip with me there, if you would, Mark chapter 12, verse 35. Word of God says, And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

[0:54] David himself in the Holy Spirit declared, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.

[1:09] David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son? And the great throng heard him gladly.

[1:24] May God bless the hearing and the preaching of his word. In the popular 1930s book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie famously said, A person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

[1:45] Our names are important to us. You know that. You know, we love it. We love it. We like it when someone remembers our names. We like it when someone calls us by name and not, Hey you, champ, bro, whatever, sis.

[1:59] Not as common as bro. But names are not just important because we like them. Names are important because they express who we are. Names help us understand.

[2:11] See, I go by several different names. Each of them express a different aspect of who I am. Some people call me Mr. Alexander. That's someone who assumes, perhaps, views me as an adult, as a grown up.

[2:24] Someone who's gotten this life figured out. And I can assure you I do not. Some people call me Pastor Walt. That's someone who associates me in my role as a pastor.

[2:36] So that tells you something about me. Something I do for a living, so to speak. Someone I've shared life with. Other people call me just Walt.

[2:46] Usually that's someone who relates to me as a friend. Someone who's known me for a while. Someone whom I've shared much with. Still others call me Doofus. But we don't have to talk about them.

[2:59] A few people call me Walter, which is my full first name. Both of my grandmothers did and my mom still does. Three people in the world call me Dad. One of the most tender names I go by is a name only my children use for me.

[3:18] One person calls me Hunk-a-Hunk-a-Burnin' Love. No one else calls me that, thank the Lord. But I like it when my wife Kim does.

[3:33] Today just happens to be the 16th anniversary of our first date. Come on. Each of these names express a different aspect of who I am.

[3:44] The way I relate to people. And the same is true for you. You know, one of the things we see in the New Testament is that Jesus goes by many different names. Jesus goes by Jesus of Nazareth, which tells you where he's from.

[3:56] Jesus, son of Joseph, would tell you who his father is. He goes by teacher, as we saw all throughout chapter 12. He goes by Lord in certain places and in this passage. He goes by son of God, son of man, Emmanuel.

[4:08] They express different aspects of who Jesus is. But there's no name that Jesus goes by more than simply Jesus than the name Christ.

[4:19] Now we often say Jesus Christ. But did you know that Christ is not Jesus' last name? It wasn't Joseph Christ, Mary Christ, and Jesus Christ. Christ is a word translated Messiah or anointed one.

[4:34] It's a title given for Jesus Christ. In fact, at the beginning of Mark's gospel, we saw the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus, son of Joseph, son of Nazareth, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

[4:52] But what does it mean that Jesus is the Christ? What does it mean that Jesus is the Messiah? What does it mean that he's the anointed one? Why 2,000 years later do we still call Jesus of Nazareth by the name Jesus Christ?

[5:10] These three verses are going to help us understand why. And call us to rise up and follow the promised king, Jesus. In a word, where we're going is all rise to follow Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

[5:25] All rise to follow Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I'm going to break this out in two points.

[5:36] The first is Jesus is the son of David. Jesus is the son of David. Now, we have been in this gospel, or in this day. Today is still Tuesday for Jesus.

[5:47] As we've said, it's question day. And if your child's four years old, it's always question day in your house. But for Jesus, on this day, he is teaching in the temple.

[5:57] And all of his enemies are coming up, trying to unravel his teaching and disperse his crowd of followers. So after a string of questions, our passage ended last week, they suddenly stopped talking.

[6:13] Look in verse 34, it says at the end of that verse, And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. So they asked him a number of questions, but no one dared to ask him any more.

[6:28] And now Jesus has a question of his own. One writer says, After a day of questions comes the question of the day. That's what we're about to see.

[6:40] Jesus asked the crowd gathered in the temple where he went to teach the question of the day. Look in verse 35. He said to all those gathered, How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

[6:55] How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? So you see it being used as a title there. And Jesus is asking a question about the scribes.

[7:05] How can the scribes say this? You know, the scribes are people who follow direction. There's two types of people in the world. Those who follow direction and those who don't.

[7:17] Whether you get a new chair, a Lego set, or an Instapot, you have to choose which kind of person you're going to be. Usually I spend like three hours not following direction and then come back and do it in 30 minutes. By following direction, well the scribes are people who read directions.

[7:30] And follow them. They're men who read and study the word of God. They know what it says. And they're committed to teaching others.

[7:41] And that's a good thing, right? To know the word of God. To read the word of God. But they've been opposed to Jesus from the beginning. And Jesus begins to tell us why.

[7:51] So he asked this question. How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of God? Now, this is a complex question. What is Jesus asking here? It seems as if Jesus is saying, I'm not the son of God.

[8:04] They say I'm the son of God. So what do the scribes say when they say that the Christ is the son of God? It seems to be he's denying that he's the son of, not God, of David there.

[8:17] It seems like he's denying that. Well, that's not quite what Jesus is saying. And before we can understand what Jesus is asking, we must understand what he's not asking.

[8:27] See, throughout the Bible, the people of the Lord have been led by the Lord's anointed. The Lord chose kings. If you remember when they asked for a king, he gave them Saul.

[8:38] He gave them other kings. He set them apart. He literally anointed them with oil. In different countries of the world, they still have kings and queens that they anoint in a coronation service.

[8:50] And throughout the Bible, kings come and go in Israel. They're anointed and they reign for a while. Then they die. And you can read all about them in the Kings and Chronicles, which is totally fascinating books.

[9:02] But there was no king like King David. He is a man after God's own heart. You remember, he's the one who slew Goliath. He defends the people. He leads them to peace, security, and success.

[9:15] He brings revival and blessing. And at the height of his kingdom, when he's sitting high on the hog, he says, I want to build you a house, Lord. I want to build you a house.

[9:29] He's saying, I live in a great house. And this is a good desire. You know, I live in a great house and I want to build you a house. And the Lord said, no thanks. But what the Lord had in mind was even better.

[9:42] He says, your son will build me a temple and your throne will reign forever. Your kingdom will not pass away.

[9:53] What he's saying is that I'm going to establish your household. Now, if you study England, there's different kings and families that would reign for a while and reign for a while and reign for a while, you know.

[10:03] And it would be passed down. What he's saying is, I'm the only throne that matters. Your son and the sons of your family will reign forever and ever and ever.

[10:16] But then David dies, as you know. Solomon does build the temple. He is anointed king. He's a great king. But he strays and he dies. Thousands of years pass.

[10:28] And the people of Israel are waiting on this king. I mean, it's hard to capture how they longed and waited. The only similarity for us as a Christian is how much we long and wait for the new heavens and the new earth.

[10:41] For things that finally put right. And so they always long. They long for this deliver. And over the years from time to time, a guy would rise up. A military guy would rise up and he would do some great things.

[10:52] And they would think, this must be the one. And then he would fade away. Let me tell you about one of them. 200 years before Christ was born. Jesus was born. Things were not going well in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, just a narrow, Israel is just a narrow piece of land that keeps getting taken over by all sorts of people around it.

[11:08] And it was being taken over by Syria to the north. And they dedicate the temple of God to the Greek god Zeus. And they sacrifice a pig on the altar.

[11:21] An unclean animal on the altar of God. And force the people to eat pork. It wasn't legal yet. But one family stands up to them.

[11:33] Judah Maccabeus. Or better known for his wrestling name, Judah the Hammer. And Judah leads a campaign. Just like Jesus for three years. Judah gathers a crowd of followers.

[11:46] Not carrying a Bible, but carrying a sword. And when they're seriously outnumbered and you think they would have no hope, Josephus tells us that they came in, they led them into battle, they overtook the Syrians.

[11:59] And Judah and his family cleared out the temple. And they partied in Jerusalem waving palm branches. Just like Jesus did in the triumphal entry. So they're partying down.

[12:11] And unfortunately, Judah and his family begin to stray and turn away from the Lord. And so the people are left waiting and longing again.

[12:22] Well, throughout the Gospel of Mark, though, it's clear that Jesus is the promised son of David. Do you remember, as Taylor preached several weeks ago, when Jesus was making his way into Jerusalem, making his way up to Jerusalem, a blind man named Bartimaeus cried out to him, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on him.

[12:42] Jesus didn't correct him because he knew himself to be the son of David. Several verses later, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowd is singing with palm branches like Judah the Hammer had them do.

[12:53] He's saying, Hosanna, blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David. Hosanna in the highest. So Jesus is, what Mark is telling, Jesus is the Christ.

[13:04] Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus is the true king, the son of David. But how can we be sure? Scriptures try to help us realize, how can we be sure this is the son of David?

[13:17] How can we really know? The scriptures tell us he was born from the right family. That's what Matthew 1 tells us. But the scriptures also tell us something more about him. Look in Acts 2. It says, men of Israel, hear these words.

[13:29] Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst. So what Peter tells us at the Sermon at Pentecost is that all these things that Jesus did was pointing to who he was.

[13:46] Jesus did all these signs and wonders. He fed the 5,000. He healed the sick. He calmed the storm. And all that happened was so that everyone would know that Jesus is the one.

[13:57] Jesus is God's anointed. Jesus is able to do all those signs and wonders, not because he's a good man or even a great man, but because he's God's man.

[14:08] He's God's anointed. So just like David was able to take out, drive out these Philistine and bring the people into peace and security and safety, Jesus Christ does that in his own way.

[14:23] Acts 10, 38 says, God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went out doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. God anointed him, not with oil, but with the Holy Spirit.

[14:39] Jesus is the son of David, the Messiah, the King. That's what Mark is telling us. That's what he's whispering to us from these verses.

[14:50] In so many ways, since this is true, we must remember that God can do anything he wants through Jesus Christ. There's, you know, if you're, regardless of what age you are, if you're young, one of the things I want my kids to learn more than anything else is that there's one person on the earth no one can stop.

[15:08] That person is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is strong and mighty. Jesus is the King. He's the only person who will never fail you. He's the only person who will never leave.

[15:19] In so many ways, though, part of growing in the Christian life is continuing to trust in the power of Jesus Christ. You know, sometimes we grow in the Christian life.

[15:31] We come to believe that things are the way they are because that's the way they've always been. And perhaps we've come to believe that nothing we can do about it. But faith begs us to look to Jesus Christ.

[15:42] It's the same spirit that was anointed Jesus Christ as a spirit that is within us. Romans 8 tells us. And has raised us from the dead.

[15:54] It turns us from anger to gentleness. Porn to purity. Pride to humility. Fear to faith. So there's this wonderful, you know, What did Luther say?

[16:06] Faith is a curious little thing or something like that. I'll put it on the box. It just seems so small and yet is so vital to the Christian life.

[16:17] Cultivating this faith. Everything in the world says, Live by what you see. Faith says live by what you don't see. A.W. Tozer, great man of God, said, Unbelief says some other time but not now.

[16:28] Some other place but not here. Some other people but not us. Faith says anything he did anywhere he can do right here. He did any other time he's willing to do now.

[16:39] Anything he ever did for other people he's willing to do for us now. That's faith and that's what we hold on to. Jesus is the son of David. This scripture tells us there's something else we need to see about Jesus Christ.

[16:52] Jesus is the son of God. So Jesus is the son of David. Jesus is the son of God. Now that we understand that Jesus is not saying, The Christ is not the son of David.

[17:05] We can consider what he is saying. What he is asking. Look again in verse 35. He says, How can the scribe say that Christ is the son of David? David himself says in the spirit, Declares the Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.

[17:22] David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son? So David is quoting Psalm 110. I think it's the most referenced, I should have verified this, Most referenced prophecy about Jesus Christ in the New Testament.

[17:42] It's a very important prophecy about him. And so it's a song written by David, But it's one of the most important verses about the Messiah, About the Christ. And we just said that the Messiah is the son of David.

[17:55] Well, in the song, David tells us the Messiah is also the Lord. So we know from Scripture that the Messiah is the son of David, But now we're seeing the Messiah is the son of the Lord.

[18:08] He says, The Lord, Now, Now, In my Bible, The ESV, They don't get this right. That should be all caps there. Or that's what it literally is in Psalm 110 in the Old Testament.

[18:20] The Lord, That means the Lord over all, Yahweh, The Lord, Said to my Lord. Do you see that? He said, The ruler over all, Said to my Lord, The Messiah.

[18:33] So he says, The Lord, The ruler over all, Said to my Lord, The Messiah, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.

[18:45] Pedro Martinez, Who was considered the right hand of God, Right? And that's what they said, Or at least that's what the New Yorkers say. Well, What he's saying is there's a ruler over all, Who has put another ruler right there beside him.

[18:59] It reminds me of Joseph. Remember when Joseph was in Egypt, And he was elevated above everyone else but Pharaoh. And he suddenly had command over everything in Pharaoh's house.

[19:10] Well, This is what David's saying. The Lord, The Lord over all, Yahweh, Has another Lord right there beside him. Now that's mind blowing. We're beginning to get into the Trinity.

[19:22] In fact, All persons of the Trinity are here. And he's saying, Saying the same is true with the Lord. There's one Lord over all, And there's a Messiah who rules over all with him. Now that's totally amazing.

[19:34] And now we can understand a little bit about what Jesus is saying. He's saying, If the Messiah sits at the right hand of the Lord, How can the scribes say the Messiah is merely the son of David?

[19:45] So that's what the question, That's what he's getting at. If the Messiah sits at the right hand of the Lord, How can the scribes say the Messiah is merely a son of David?

[19:56] Merely a human king like David was. How can the Messiah be the son of David and the Lord of all? How can the Messiah be before him and yet after him?

[20:09] And Jesus leaves his question unanswered. But in many ways, The whole gospel he's been telling us the answer. You know, one of the most well-respected theologians of the last 50 years Is a man named D.A. Carson.

[20:23] We had the privilege of having him in a couple times When I was serving Cornstone Church in Knoxville. And while in college, Dr. Carson tells the story of beginning evangelistic, A Bible study in his room.

[20:38] In his dorm room. And the Bible study quickly grew. And Dr. Carson, imagine this, Said he was quickly in over his head. He was a new Christian. Thankfully though, A mature believer named Dave Began attending the Bible study.

[20:55] And Dave was a graduate student. This was at McGill University. So quite the university. He's a graduate student. He's very good at helping new believers Know what it means to follow Jesus. One day, Dr. Carson takes a few friends To get coffee with Dave.

[21:11] Because they were interested in Jesus Christ. And Dave asked them suddenly, Why have you come to see me? What do you want with me?

[21:24] First one asked one question. But the second one says, I grew up in a Christian home. In a good home. My parents taught me right and wrong. Disciplined me. But for the life of me, I can't see how Christians Are any different than anyone else in the world.

[21:39] What have you got that I don't have? You know, you probably wondered that question. What does a Christian have that I don't have? They asked Dave.

[21:50] And Dave says, Watch me. Now Dr. Carson says his jaw dropped. Thought he would be a little bit more healthy. He said, I'm not, I'm sorry.

[22:00] I don't understand what you're saying. He said, Watch me. Come and live with me. For a month if you like. Watch what I do when I get up. Watch what I do when I'm on my own. Watch what I do.

[22:11] Watch how I work. Watch how I use my time. Watch how I talk to other people. At the end of the month, You tell me if there's a difference. In so many ways throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus has been saying, Watch me.

[22:24] From the beginning of the Mark's gospel, Jesus has been showing what it looks like When God's in charge. Jesus teaches with authority. And we saw, Who is this that teaches with authority? Not like the scribes.

[22:35] Jesus forgives sins. Who can forgive sins? But God is what the Pharisees and scribes say. He frees the demon-possessed man, The man far off that no one would touch.

[22:48] He comes and frees him. He calms the waves. He walks on water. What Mark is trying to say is, Jesus is doing things that only God can do. As we've said, Jesus is able to do all these signs on water, Not because he's a good man or a great man, But because he's God's man.

[23:01] But that's not all. What Mark's helping us see, Is that he is doing what only God can do. Because he's not merely a son of David. Jesus is the son of God.

[23:13] That's what's coming together. How could the Messiah be the son of David? Son of a human ruler. And yet, the Lord of all. It's because Jesus Christ is the son of God.

[23:25] The Lord of all. Born into a human family. Born into David's family. So that he would become the promised son of David. And he shows himself to be the true son of David.

[23:37] And Lord of all. Because unlike David, he does not die. As Acts 2 tells us. He is raised up to a Roman cross. Is crucified in our place.

[23:48] But on three days, The pangs of death could not hold him. Three days later. Because he is the son of God. Now strikingly, The first people, If you want to call them this.

[24:00] The first group that identifies Jesus as the son of God. In the gospel of Mark are demons. Even the demons believe in shudder.

[24:13] What do you think about when you hear the word demons? These spirits in a fallen world that lead people away from following God. Yet they call Jesus the son of God.

[24:24] When all the religious people don't get it. So how could these scribes who read all the directions. Before they start the project.

[24:36] Be the very same ones. That miss. The Messiah. Is the son of God. And is standing right before him. One Friday in May 2016.

[24:52] As the presidential race was marching forward between Trump and Clinton. If you remember that one. Last two have been doozies. More than 30 wars were taking place around the world.

[25:04] Three million people. In the midst of all this craziness. Three million people tuned in to BuzzFeed. For a little experiment. They tuned in to watch two men wrap rubber bands around a watermelon.

[25:22] For 44 minutes. Three million people tuned in to watch men wrap rubber bands around a watermelon.

[25:34] And to see what would happen next. At you know the pressures mounting with each rubber band. I mean we don't know what we're watching. And why we're still watching it.

[25:44] Well at minute 44. The last rubber band. The 686th rubber band. Was wrapped around the watermelon. With three million people viewing.

[25:55] And what do you think happened next? It exploded. It created a mess. But the world kept on going.

[26:08] And these three million people closed out the webpage. And went about their business. And one author says. It's a vivid example of one central obstacle. We encounter.

[26:20] Distraction. And I think. Sometimes religious people like these scribes. Can talk so much about God. Read so much about God.

[26:31] Try to do so much for God. That we can become distracted from God. We think we know it all. We've seen it all. We're familiar with God.

[26:44] And yet. Missing when he's standing right. Before us. And so.

[26:55] Regardless of our age. The Bible is written for us to know God. I think that's one of the things going on here. John 17. 3 says. And this is eternal life. That you know. That they know you.

[27:05] The only true God. And Jesus Christ. Whom you have sent. Did you notice. I said all the Trinity were here. The Lord said to my Lord. But he also says that David. Declared in the spirit.

[27:17] Did you see that in verse 36. David's saying. It's a powerful contrast. You. You believe your conclusions about God. From what you've read in the Old Testament. But David said in the spirit. It's a powerful contrast.

[27:28] Our loyalties. Not to what we've seen before. But to what the spirit said. And so. So as we grow in the Lord. What we need more than anything else. Is to keep going where the Holy Spirit has spoken clearly.

[27:43] We need to go. To the word of God. As the people of God. One thing we need to resist. More than anything else. Is that I know it. Already. Already. Sometimes we can say.

[27:54] I'm weary. I don't know what to do. I'm anxious. I don't know what to do. I don't know where to turn. I'm depressed. I don't know how to figure this way out. I'm just going to sit here.

[28:05] And wait. But. Jesus would say. This scripture would say. Have you gone to where the Lord still speaks? Have you gone to where the Lord speaks clearly.

[28:17] And authoritatively. George Mueller. Said about his devotions. I was talking to some guys about this the other day. His devotions. And what he came to see. It is as plain to me.

[28:27] As anything. That the first thing the child of God has to do. Morning by morning. Is obtain food for the inner man. As the outer man is not fit for work. For any length of time. Except we take food.

[28:38] And as this is one of the first things we do in the morning. So it should be with the inner man. He's saying. There's a man inside you. That needs to be fed every day.

[28:49] You don't miss meals. I don't miss meals. I don't miss meals. But there's a man inside you. That doesn't need. That can't miss a meal either. Feed him.

[29:02] Sometimes. You just want. You want to say. Like. If people come. And something's hurt. You want to say. Have you. Have you taken advantage of the food? Like. Have you taken advantage of what's laid bare? Have you taken advantage? Have you gone to the place where God still speaks?

[29:14] Are you waiting on an experience? Are you waiting on something to move you within? Or are you feeding this inner man? Because this inner man needs to be fed. So don't be satisfied until you find the food that he needs.

[29:24] Or she needs. And feed it. God has spoken. Jesus is the son of David. Jesus is the son of God. And all rise. All must rise to follow Jesus. The king of kings.

[29:35] And the lord of the lords. You know. Throughout the history of the church. There are a few songs that capture. A message like this. More than the hallelujah chorus of Handel's Messiah.

[29:45] Now I'm no classical music sort of guy. But I do love this. I think we have the words for you. In the hallelujah chorus. It's just kind of running through these words again and again.

[29:56] The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. He shall reign forever and ever. King of kings forever and ever. Lord of lords forever and ever. You know. Musically. If you listen to this.

[30:07] It's a majestic piece of music. You probably heard it. On TV. I'm sure. But any other place is better here live. But musically it just keeps building and building. And these verses are bending back on one another.

[30:19] Repeating one another. And the music is just building and continuing to repeat. And the hallelujah chorus ends with king of kings forever and ever. Lord of lords forever and ever.

[30:29] King of kings forever and ever. Lord of lords forever and ever. In so many ways it's bringing us into the throne room. What's going on when Jesus Christ returns from accomplishing his great mission.

[30:41] And God says he gives him the name above every other name. He gives him the name of the Lord. He says you are king of kings and lord of lords forever and ever.

[30:52] And every man and every woman must decide to declare him king for themselves. And the story goes that in England. In the presence of the king of England.

[31:02] They were required to stand. Because the first time this piece was performed before a public audience in 1743. King George II was there.

[31:14] And as the refrains kept declaring that Christ is the king of kings. And the Lord of lords saying he'll reign forever and ever. King George stood. Perhaps it would have been better if he kneeled.

[31:25] But he stood. Because it was as if he was in the presence of the king. Well Mark invites you to stand. There's a lot of people pumping their names in this world.

[31:39] But Mark's inviting you to stand for yourself. To rise up and say Jesus Christ is the king. Jesus Christ is the Lord. Drawing a line in the sand.

[31:52] I'm going to say to other people watch me. Watch my life. I'm not playing a game. I'm not playing a charade. I'm following Jesus Christ all the way to the end. So that I might usher into this throne room.

[32:03] Where all the angels are saying. Hallelujah. Bless the Lord. King of kings. Lord of lords. Forever and ever. Giving the praise he deserves. Amen. Father in heaven.

[32:15] We thank you for these few minutes to sit under your word. And to consider these things. Help us God. To declare you as Lord.

[32:30] One by one. Of our hearts and our lives. We confess our need for you. And we hide in you. This day.

[32:41] In Jesus name. Amen. You've been listening to a message given by Walt Alexander. Lead pastor of Trinity Grace Church in Athens, Tennessee. For more information about Trinity Grace.

[32:53] Please visit us at TrinityGraceAthens.com Thank you.