Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah.
! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah,
either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us
that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself?
The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian,
we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the
Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do
what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian,
checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us
questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things
that you're really struggling with. So God bless. Let's pray. May the words of my mouth and the
meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.
So, you probably know this, but this summer at Messiah, we're looking at Psalms each week.
And what I love about Psalms is they have a remarkable way of focusing us and, let us say,
distilling biblical truths down to their essence as prayer offered to God. And so today's Psalm,
Psalm 110, is a really important one, and it zeroes in on a really key question for us. And the question is
this. What kind of leader do we need? What kind of leader do we need? Like me, you are probably
bombarded with news of political division, leadership scandals. You probably heard a few this week.
And it becomes clear after a while that even the most well-intentioned human leaders cannot bring
lasting peace and cannot fix what is broken. And people turn to religion. And religious leaders are
limited and confused and often disappoint us. And so the question remains. This Psalm puts it right in
front of us. What kind of leader do we need? What kind of leader do we need? Psalm 110, you'll be happy to
know, gives an answer. And it reveals a leader who rules with power and justice, and a leader who
brings us into God's presence with mercy and grace, does both those things. So it's not just a king,
not just a priest, but a priest-king, a person who embodies these roles together, political leader,
religious leader, priest-king, together. Now, the Old Testament, it's not in this psalm, but the Old
Testament refers to this leader, this priest-king, as the Messiah. And Messiah means anointed one.
That's what the word means. It's a Hebrew word, means anointed one. Because if someone in the Old
Testament became a king or became a priest, what they would do is pour oil on their head.
They're anointed with oil. And that would sort of ordain them or induct them into that office.
And so that's the Messiah. That's the Old Testament Hebrew. In the New Testament, which is written in
Greek, they have a different word, a translation of Messiah. And that word is Christ. So when I was
teaching the Bible in the Arctic, I would always tell my students, you know, Christ isn't Jesus' last name.
So like if you had the first century equivalent of a phone book, you wanted to give him a call,
you wouldn't look under C. Christ is a title. And some modern Bible translations don't even say
Jesus Christ, they just say King Jesus, to put that really before us. And so Jesus Christ is to say
that Jesus of Nazareth embodies this promised priest king. Perfectly embodies that.
And so Jesus is the leader we need. And so let's look at Psalm 110 with that in mind, that Jesus embodies
these two roles, the divine king, the eternal priest, and that he, because he embodies those two roles,
is the leader we most need. So Psalm 110. We're going to begin with the first part of it. It's kind of
divided into two. And it's the two pillars of this Psalm, let's say, are two declarations that God makes
to the Messiah, the priest king. So here's the first thing God says to the Messiah, then we'll look at the
second thing. So I'll read it again, just so it's firm in our minds. So Psalm 110, 1 to 3, which I just
read, but we'll read it again. 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, the dew of your youth will be yours. All right, so let's look at that declaration God
makes. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand, and I'll make your enemies your footstool.
The Lord says to my Lord. Sounds weird in English. It sounds less weird in Hebrew.
I think I said this last week, but I'll say it again. When you see in the Bible, in the Old
Testament especially, that the word Lord written in all caps, capital L, capital O, capital R,
capital D, that's God's name. It's the name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked
God. Basically, who are you? Who's sending me? And God answered something like Yahweh or Yahweh,
which is essentially, I am who I am. And so whenever you see Lord in all caps, it's that name.
When you see Lord, capital L, lowercase O-R-D, that's a more general title. It's the Hebrew Adonai. It's a
title of respect and honor. So essentially, the Lord says to my Lord is the same thing as saying,
Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, says this to a powerful king. Okay, so picture God in his throne
room talking to a powerful, divinely chosen king. And even David, greater than David, because even David
calls this figure, this my Lord, okay? Greater than David. Now, what is the covenant God of Israel say
to the powerful king? It says, sit at my right hand. This is an ultimate position of shared authority.
Like even the visual of that, because if you look at, you imagine God sitting on a throne,
you can, you probably picture only God, but this image is not only, only God, the father. It's also
a powerful king beside him, sharing his authority right beside him. And so God is essentially saying
to that figure beside him, my honor, my power, it all belongs to this person here too.
Everything belongs to this person here too. And that's what happened to Jesus. So imagine,
40 days after this scene, this scene here, this is the resurrection, 40 days after that,
Jesus ascends to the father and he comes into the throne room of God the father. God is,
the father's on the throne and Jesus, even his resurrected body has nail wounds and thorn scars on his
brow and a spear mark in his side. And he goes to God's throne room, the father's.
And the father says, Jesus, my son, sit at my right hand, my honor and my authority belong to you.
And my friends, Jesus has been reigning from that position ever since.
He's been reigning as the divine king there ever since. So what does that mean? Well, it means,
we talked a little bit about being disillusioned with political leaders and religious leaders. It means
that when human powers fail, there's a king on the throne. And his reign, the reign of Jesus,
the Messiah is a present reality. We're waiting for it to be fully brought into our world, but it's a
present reality. Jesus reigns as king today. And this for me, and I hope for you, is a powerful source
of hope. Because it means that whatever storms life throws at you, you have an anchor. You have a king
who's reigning on high.
Shifting political tides, human leaders failing. You shouldn't be surprised. Our focus is we have a king.
We know the world's true king. Okay? Now that next bit. So the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand
until, here's the next bit, until I make your enemies your footstool.
So the picture here is you have a throne with a king on it, and there's a footstool in front of it
that the king puts his feet on. But with this imagery here, it's a picture of complete conquest
where the enemies become furniture. That's pretty defeated when you become a piece of furniture,
I think. So essentially God is saying that all who stand against my chosen king will be subdued.
God is saying there are no forces anywhere that can block what I'm doing through this king.
My plans cannot be thwarted.
So we don't fight a losing battle. We serve a king whose victory is assured.
And so in any troubles that you experience,
of any kind,
keep your eyes
heavenward.
Remind yourself there is a king in charge. It might not always look like it
momentarily, but there is a king in charge.
Okay?
Now what about our role in all this?
Look at verse 3, just that line,
your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power.
See, if we belong to Jesus, we're not furniture.
We're not footstools.
We're willing participants.
We're like troops that are willingly engaged in this spiritual battle.
Now, you can see,
I've read through this now,
you can see in this psalm that
there's a lot of militaristic imagery.
And no surprise then that
Jesus' contemporaries expected a kind of military leader
to overthrow the occupiers
and set up an earthly kingdom.
Turns out
that the revolution
Jesus brings goes deeper than that.
doesn't just transform
political arrangements.
It actually transforms
the human heart from the inside out.
Through love,
through truth,
through mercy.
And as willing people,
as Christians,
who are being transformed
from the inside out,
we are to embody
these values of Jesus,
these kingdom values.
You know what the other thing is?
this king is the greatest servant of all.
There's no greater servant than the king,
King Jesus.
So he models this for us.
So, that's the first part.
A king,
Jesus,
the Messiah,
the Christ,
who's currently reigning
at the right hand of God,
the Father,
whose victory is assured,
and who we can trust in
when things look all topsy-turvy
in our lives
and in society at large.
He's our king.
Not only that,
and here's the second part,
he's also our eternal priest.
Divine king,
eternal priest.
So let's look at the second bit here.
Jesus is the eternal priest.
So, again,
remember I said
the pillars of this psalm
are declarations from God.
The first one is
that
word to the Messiah
said at my right hand.
That's the first one.
Here's the second one.
The Lord,
verse 4,
the Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind.
Now God speaks
to the Messiah.
You are a priest
forever
after the order
of Melchizedek.
Who on earth is that?
I'll tell you in a minute.
And then the rest.
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 by the way.
Therefore,
he will lift up his head.
Before I say anything more,
I should say this.
The early Christians
were so convinced
that Psalm 110,
this Psalm here,
described Jesus so well
and so comprehensively
that they quoted
this passage
in the New Testament
more than any other
Old Testament passage.
It's all over.
Every major New Testament
writer quotes it.
It's all over the New Testament.
And if you go looking for it,
you'll find it everywhere.
So,
Divine King,
now we've got
the eternal priest.
Let's have a look at that.
Now,
I want to just
first tell you
how weird this is,
this Psalm.
Strange.
Why is it strange?
It's strange
because in Israel,
a priest
and a king
were entirely
different roles.
and they were
entirely different roles
that you dare not mix.
They're different roles
because Israel
comes from 12 tribes
and kings
always came
from the tribe
of Judah
and priests
always came
from the tribe
of Levi.
So,
you couldn't be both.
You've got to be
from one tribe
and if you're
from Levi,
you may be a priest
and if you're from Judah,
you may be a king
but you can't be both.
And so,
in that system,
that law system
in the Old Testament,
there was no room
for a priest king.
And so,
somebody reading this
would think,
wait a minute,
this isn't right.
A priest king?
How does that work?
Like,
even if you read
King Saul
in 1 Samuel,
he tried to,
he was a king
but he tried to do
priestly duties
and he was judged
for it.
They don't mix
in that system.
But,
but,
it's a different
kind of priesthood,
it's a different
kind of system.
And so,
in this different
kind of priesthood
and different
kind of system,
they mix.
In the Melchizedek
system,
they mix.
So,
let's talk a little bit
about this Melchizedek
person.
He's mentioned
really in two places
in the Old Testament,
Psalm 110,
right here.
And then,
way back at the
beginning,
in Genesis chapter 14,
like,
at the beginning
of the Bible almost,
Abraham
wins this great battle
and he's heading
back home
and he meets
this man
whose name
is Melchizedek
who comes
out of nowhere.
Comes out to meet him.
We've never met him
before.
We have no idea
who this is.
He's described
as the king
of Salem,
which is the old
name for
Jerusalem.
So,
he's the king
of Jerusalem
and he's described
as a priest
of God
Most High.
So,
this guy,
whoever he is,
is a priest king.
Both roles
are sort of
embodied in his
person.
He's a priest king.
So,
he comes out,
meets this
victorious Abraham.
He's got bread
and wine to offer
him.
He blesses
Abraham
and he receives
a tithe.
So,
10% of
Abraham's
food and
animals and
stuff.
Okay?
And then he
disappears.
And we don't
see him again
until Psalm 110.
10%.
And if all
you had was
the Old Testament,
you would just
think it's kind
of an odd guy
who pops up
and,
I don't know.
But see,
Hebrews
in the New
Testament
links it to
Jesus.
I'll tell you
about that in a
minute.
So,
I said Melchizedek's
a priest.
He's a priest
and a king.
I probably
should say
something
momentarily
here about
the Old
Testament
Levitical
system.
What does
that mean?
I said that
in the Old
Testament,
priests always
came from the
tribe of Levi.
They are
Levitical.
They come from
the tribe of
Levi.
And their job
is to offer
sacrifices in
the temple.
To bridge
this gap
between human
beings and
God.
That's what a
priest does.
A mediator.
So,
that's what
they would
do.
There's a real
problem,
though,
is that these
priests are all
too human.
They sin.
They corrupt,
some of them.
And they die.
They die.
So,
there's no
permanent
arrangement here
because you
have frail,
sinful,
mortal people
who are
priests.
So,
that system
cannot provide
a permanent,
flawless pathway
to God.
But see,
Jesus can.
Jesus is a
priest king
in the order
of Melchizedek.
He's in a
different system,
and he's in a
system that
predates that
Levitical one.
And because he's
an eternal
priest,
not subject to
the same
limitations as
that other
priesthood system,
his sacrifice
is eternally
effective.
And that's
where it gets
really weird.
Because Jesus,
the priest king
from Melchizedek,
he doesn't
sacrifice animals.
He sacrifices
himself.
So,
imagine a
priest,
arrayed in
all the
vestments and
all that,
going into the
holy place of
the temple,
and not putting
an animal on
the altar,
but climbing on
there himself,
dying to
make a way
to God.
That's a
weird image,
but that is
the claim of
this passage,
and that is
the claim of
our faith,
that Christ is
not only the
great high priest,
but he's the
perfect sacrifice.
So,
as a perfect
priest,
offering a
perfect sacrifice,
he's a
perfect bridge.
Do you see?
As a perfect
priest,
offering a
perfect sacrifice,
he's a
perfect bridge
between us
and God.
I mentioned
a spiritual
hunger,
that we
all,
we've all
been disappointed
by,
I mean,
probably in
some way,
organized religion
or religious
leaders or
whatever,
but we have
a longing
in our
heart to
know God.
We all
do.
And the
message here
is Jesus
has done
that.
Open the
gates wide.
There's a
wonderful passage
in the New
Testament book
of Hebrews
where it
says,
come boldly,
come boldly
to the throne
of grace.
Jesus throws
those doors
wide open
and says,
come with me,
I'll bring
you to
God.
And that
changes
everything.
A perfect
priest,
a perfect
sacrifice
becomes a
perfect bridge
to bring
you and
me to
God.
It's a
wonderful
thing.
So,
we started
today with
that question
the psalm
puts to us,
Psalm 110.
The question
is,
what kind
of leader
can actually
help us?
What do
we need
in a leader?
And Psalm 110
gives the
answer,
which is,
we need a
divine king,
eternal priest,
we need someone
who can deliver
lasting peace,
who can fix
what is broken,
who can make
us whole,
who can bring
us to God
and make our
relationship
with God
right.
And Jesus,
my friends,
has done that.
He's our
divine king,
he's our
eternal priest,
and Hebrews
says that,
what is he
doing now?
He's continually
interceding for
us,
like he's
praying for
us to the
Father.
So just
think about
that,
you go about
your day,
maybe it's a
good day,
maybe it's a
bad day,
you've got
worries,
you've got
anxieties,
Jesus,
ascended to
the right
hand of
the Father,
is praying
for you and
for me,
is bringing
any concerns
that you have
on your
hearts and
minds to
the throne
of grace.
We're in
good hands,
we're in
really good
hands,
a perfect
priest and
a perfect
sacrifice makes
a perfect
bridge,
and we
have a
king who
rules in
righteousness,
it's a
wonderful thing.
I'll end
with this,
if you don't
know Jesus,
the priest
king yet,
I hope you
do,
I hope you
come to
know him,
ask questions,
and test it,
and see if
this Jesus
fulfills your
spiritual hunger.
I think
he will.
And not
just fulfill
your spiritual
hunger in a
way that he
adds a little
bit to your
life, you'll
discover as
you walk that
path with
Jesus, the
priest king,
you'll discover
that he's not
just like an
augmentation to
your life,
he's everything.
He's all you
need.
He's all you
need.
So we
can live with
confidence.
Our faith is
not like
shifting sands.
We have a
king that
reigns and a
priest that
intercedes.
We can live
with confidence.
We can live
in willing
obedience.
So we don't
just have to
sit here and
wait, we
can participate
in Christ's
victory.
We can
participate.
The victory
of God is
unfolding in
real time
right before
us.
Again, it
doesn't
always look
like it, but
it's happening.
So we can
live with
confidence, we
can live with
willing obedience,
we can live in
worship.
We can praise
and thank this
one who has
done for us
what we cannot
do for
ourselves.
He's done
it.
So come
to God.
How?
Through the
merits of our
great priest
king.
He will
not fail
you.
He will
get you
where you
want to
go.
Because he's
Jesus the
Christ, the
chosen one.
That's good
news.
Amen.