Romaine Park Church Burnie Service – 20/03/2022, Nick Booth :- Seated in Authority – Luke 20: 41-44.
Have you ever been excited about riddles or puzzles?
About 10 years ago I got into the Sudoku puzzles a little. They were Ok but I found them a bit of a waste of my time. I’ve noticed that there is a new craze out there. This latest one is called wordle! Anyone getting into that? I got to say – I actually don’t get it – I haven‘t really had any desire to get into it yet either.
Back in the 90’s (yes that was last millennium), I was a young adult back then and the thing to do at that time in our young adult connect group was to pose a riddle and see if other people could solve it. I guess, that was the poor persons version of a modern day escape room! Where people solve puzzles to escape from a locked room in a certain amount of time!
The riddles back in the 90’s would require us to think laterally and to try and explain the reason behind a very unlikely question. A classic example of one such riddle is this one
There was a man who lived on the tenth floor of a building. Every day he takes the elevator to go down to the ground floor to go to work or to go shopping. When he returns, he takes the elevator to the seventh floor and walks up the stairs to reach his apartment on the tenth floor. On a rainy day, or if there are other people in the elevator, he goes to his floor directly. He hates walking so why does he do it?
Answer: He was actually a vertically challenged man and on wet days, he would carry an umbrella.
- Riddle me this batman?
So in today’s text Jesus posits a question that had the hearers stumped!
Luke 20: 41 – 44 41 Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
- Unmet expectations
Jewish leadership of Jesus’ day were genuinely on the lookout for the Messiah. But they were looking for a King to deliver them from Roman rule. Jesus’ agenda was much bigger than that and much more vital. He came to deliver us from Sin, from Satan, from Sickness and from eternal Separation from God in Hell.
Bible scholar, Michael Green, in his book ‘Evangelism in the Early Church’ points out that it had been supposed by many scholars, that a scroll/ or scrolls of biblical passages had been put together that brought all the messianic prophecies together into one collection. Well, during the discovery of the Dead sea scrolls – just such scrolls were discovered. In fact, when reading the New Testament books of Matthew or Hebrews, many of these passages are the very ones that those biblical writers used when quoting to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.
So these passages were taught all throughout the known world, in the synagogues and into the diaspora – dispersion. They were taught in every Synagogue and both the Jews and the Godfearers (non-jewish adherants) throughout the known world were pre evangelised by them in the early centuries. But just because these scriptures were taught – did not mean that all their implications were fully understood.
Jesus, himself used many of these texts and it is very clear from the gospels that Jesus was making the claim to be the Messiah as well as claiming deity and equality with God. And it was these claims that caused the Jewish leadership of Jesus day to crucify Him, and you know, we are only a few weeks away from remembering that at easter.
Numerous passages are quoted throughout the New Testament by the writers to prove that Jesus is the Messiah. This one from Psalm 110 is quoted and referenced 7 times in the NT.
- Why did the Jewish leadership not get it?
Well, the problem that we have is the one that we find when we have a mistaken worldview, or a wrong filter applied – that filter will stop us from seeing the truth, even if it is clearly evident and right in front of us. This was the case for the ruling class of Jesus’ day!
Jesus quoted Psalm 110:1 in Matthew, Mark and Luke to claim deity, Peter to ascribe Lordship in Acts. The Hebrews author ascribes eternality and sonship of God.
It is also referenced in Mark 16:19 19After the LORD Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
Again not long after, by Peter in Acts 2:34 34For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The LORD said to my LORD: “Sit at my right hand.”
It gets referenced by Paul in Ephesians 1:20-22 “when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church,
Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Let’s look a little at the passage from Psalm 110 where the text comes from. The Passage contains two different Hebrew words for “lord” in the original language. The first word is Yahweh, this was the Hebrew covenant name for God. The second is word translated as Lord is adoni, meaning “lord” or “master.” So, in Psalm 110:1, David writes this: The LORD says to my Lord is “Yahweh says to my Adoni….” The first “Lord” in “the LORD says to my Lord” is the eternal God of the universe, the Great I AM who revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3. This self-existent, omnipotent God speaks in Psalm 110 to someone else who is also David’s “Lord.” The second “Lord” in “the LORD says to my Lord” is the Messiah, or the Christ. Psalm 110 describes this second “Lord” as follows:
- He sits at God’s right hand (verse 1)
- He will triumph over all His enemies and rule over them (verses 1–2)
When Jesus quotes this passage, He unmistakably identifies himself as the second “Lord” of Psalm 110:1 and as the Messiah. Well, the Pharisees all agree that David was speaking of the Messiah but they did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah nor did they accept his claim to divinity. But when David wrote, “The LORD says to my Lord,” he distinctly said that the Messiah (or the Christ) was his lord and master—his Adonai.
This common title for the Messiah in Jesus’ day of “Son of David,” was simply because the Messiah would be the descendant of David and would inherit the throne and fulfill the Davidic Covenant (according to 2 Samuel 7). But Jesus challenges the use of the title “Son of David” to emphasise His point in the gospels. If David calls him “Lord,” how can he be his son?’” (Matthew 22:41–45).
Jesus’ reasoning is this: “Son of David” is your title for the Messiah, yet David himself calls Him “Lord.” The Messiah, then, must be much more than just a son—a physical descendant—of David. According to Psalm 110:1, this “Son of David” was alive during David’s time and was greater than David. All of this information is contained in the statement that “the LORD says to my Lord.” Jesus is David’s Lord; He is the Jewish Messiah, and he is eternal.
One other important point that Jesus makes in this statement in Matthew and Mark’s gospels’ is that David wrote the psalm under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; Jesus says David was “speaking by the Spirit”.
- The Holy Spirit is the originator and inspirator of Scripture.
It is important that we remember that Scripture is written by God. Yes, it has human authors but the divine inspiration and its ultimate authorship is what gives the Bible its authority in our lives. This book is not full human ideas, it is Gods word. And I do hope that we all send time listening to what He says to us through it.
One reason why I want to point this fact our is because Sin will always try and make us blind to Truth. We can actually know all about the Bible and still not know God. But religion without genuine relationship with God blinds us and kills us. John 9 and 10. We need the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us. It is the Word and Spirit together that produces the life giving relationship that we so desperately need.
- We need a Revelation –
In John chapters 14 and 16, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals Jesus to us. He, the Holy Spirit, leads us into all truth. We won’t know God unless The Holy Spirit reveals Him to us.
How many of us spent years of our lives thinking one way about Jesus, about religion, about church, and then someone shared Jesus with us. We had to probably have this happen more than once. But then we saw it, we understood. God revealed Himself to us.
That is why some people describe it as seeing the light. Paul saw an actual light at his conversion and we’ve used that language ever since.
- To be God’s son is to be God!
To claim to be God’s son was to claim to be Coequal and of the same substance as God. This was clearly the background understanding of the people of Israel at the time of Jesus. John’s gospel in chapter 5 makes it clear that when Jesus claimed to be God’s son, that people wanted to kill him for the supposed blasphemy.
Now, if it is not true, then to call yourself God is blasphemy. But because it is true, to kill God’s son was far worse than Blasphemy.
How could this happen? Well because Jews had not understood that the Messiah would necessarily be God the Son – they had only known that he would be an eternal king from the line of David. But this truth claim by Jesus is vital for our salvation. We must recognise Jesus’ Lordship and God-ness to grasp what it is that God has done for us.
Philippians 2: 5 – 11 NIV 1984
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death–
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Every knee shall bow – every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!
There is no salvation without confession of Christ!
Matt 10: 32- 33 NKJV
32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Romans 10:9-10 New King James Version
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
I wonder if today you would join me in confessing Jesus as your lord in this prayer as we close. It is a prayer of surrender where you trust your life to Christ and ask Him for salvation? I will pray it, and maybe you will pray it after me. Please do it out loud even if you are on your own at home. Then please also reach out and tell someone that you have made this choice. Please do let us know also so that we can help you as you learn to follow Jesus.
Dear Lord,
I admit that I am a sinner. I have done many things that don’t please you. I have lived my life for myself only. I am sorry, and I repent. I ask you to forgive me.
I believe that you died on the cross to save me. You did what I could not do for myself. I come to you now and I give my life to you. From this day forward, help me to live every day for you and in a way that pleases you.
I love you, Lord, and I thank you that I will spend all eternity with you.
Amen.
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