I read the account of a man who was a brilliant Christian apologist. When he engaged in debate, he would not only win but often annihilate his opponent’s position. Then, in a graphic display of resounding victory, he would dust off the spot where his opponent stood. That illustration reminds me of what is taking place in the text for our study today.
If you’ve been with me for the past few weeks for my teaching from Mark’s Gospel, you know what I’m talking about. In this final week of Jesus’ earthly life, the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and scribes had all taken their turn trying to draw Him into a debate that would enable them to find some fault in Him. They failed miserably. His victory was not just resounding, but it was a demonstration of His divine authority and power, and now He is about to dust off the spot where they stood.
Jesus turned the tables on them and became the interrogator. He subjected them to His profound theological questions.
With that introduction, let’s turn to our text. It is very brief, with just three verses: Mark 12:35-37.
Jesus, in this text, poses profound questions that serve to illuminate His identity in our minds, engaging us in a thought-provoking exploration.
The First Question is
How is Christ David’s Son
The common belief of the time was that the Messiah would be a man of unparalleled influence and power. He would free the nation from bondage and fulfill the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Jewish people viewed the Messiah as the savior of the whole nation, not of individual souls. They did not (and still do not) believe that Messiah would be God in human flesh. Jesus’ claims that He was God in human form ultimately led to His death.
Jesus’ first question is, “How is it that the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David?” This understanding was common among Israel’s intellectuals, theologians, and rabbis. The coming Messiah would be the son, the descendant of David. Most people in Jesus’ audience would have been familiar with the many Old Testament texts that undergird this belief. This connection to David is crucial as it fulfills the prophecy of a Messiah from the line of David.
In Matthew’s account of the Magi, they came to Herod wondering where they could find the King of the Jews. They had seen His star in the East and had traveled a long way to worship Him. Herod didn’t know the answer to their question, so he gathered all the scribes and chief priests and asked them where this king would be born.
Their answer was, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” They quoted Micah 5:2.
In Luke’s record of Jesus’ birth, he tells us, “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.”
In John 7, some people listening to Jesus teach got into a debate about who He was. Here’s what took place. “Many from the crowd said, “Truly, this is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” But some said, “Will the Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and the town of Bethlehem, where David was?” So, there was a division among the people because of Him.” They were partly right but missed the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah chapter nine, about how God would honor Galilee with Jesus’ ministry.
The Gospel writers record the shouts of the people during Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in the final week of His earthly life. “Hosanna to the Son of David! “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna means, “save now.” These few examples clearly show how the people not only understood but also proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David.
If we look back through the pages of the Old Testament, we learn about David’s reign, which the Jews considered to be the golden age of Israel. He was Israel’s most illustrious king. He extended the nation’s boundaries from Dan to Beersheba. He was the most significant military genius in Israel’s history and had the finest public works program of any king who ruled over the Jewish people. He was a shepherd, a poet, and a brilliant administrator. He personified the most splendid statesman of that historical era.
When David had conquered all his enemies and lived in peace and luxury, he expressed his desire to build a temple, a dwelling place for God. His counselor, Nathan the prophet, said, “Do all that is in your heart because the Lord is with you.” However, later that night, the Lord appeared to Nathan and gave him a different message for David.
He said, “When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you (Solomon), who will 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. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son…And your house and kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” The sovereign God, Yahweh, Jehovah, promised David, ultimately, a forever king on his forever throne, instilling in us a sense of reassurance and confidence in God’s plan.
After David’s reign, the kingdom began to decline and was divided after Solomon’s rule. From that time on, people longed for the good old days, the golden years under David. God promised them that the house of David would be restored and the monarchy promised to David would last forever. Generation after generation, the Jewish people eagerly anticipated the coming Messiah, the Son of David, one of David’s descendants, fostering a sense of hope and expectation.
Since everyone understood that Christ would be a descendant of David, why did Jesus ask this question? He did it to highlight the difficulty in reconciling the answer to the first question with the answer to His next question.
The Next Question is
How is Christ David’s Lord
In answer to His question, Jesus poses a complex problem. Writing under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration, David said some specific things about Jesus.
Let’s pause here for a moment. Jesus said, “David himself said by the Holy Spirit.” Let us notice Jesus Christ’s view of sacred Scripture. David was the musician and literary giant of antiquity. Yet, Jesus did not regard his poetry as produced by one uniquely gifted with artistic ability. Instead, when Jesus quoted from the 110th Psalm, He said that David wrote what he wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
The Free University of Amsterdam founder, Abraham Kuyper, once remarked, “We live in a time not simply of biblical criticism but of biblical vandalism, where every conceivable hostile attack against the normative authority of the Bible has been launched in the last one or two hundred years. Those who continue to hold to an inspired text of Scripture are, in many circles, considered to be backwoods fundamentalists and theological [Luddites] with no academic credibility.” We make no apology for accepting the infallibility and inspiration of the Scriptures!
The 110th Psalm is the New Testament’s most frequently quoted Old Testament text. Only seven verses long, it is alluded to or cited 33 times. That tells me the New Testament writers understood the gravity of this text in understanding the person and work of Jesus.
What did David say? “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” Right away, we must conclude that the Messiah must be more than an extraordinary human being because David refers to Him as Lord.
The KJV and NKJV distinguish the differences in the word lord by spelling one with all capital letters, the other with capital L, and the rest in lowercase. The rendering in all caps is the proper name for God, Yahweh, or Jehovah.
This was the name God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. Yahweh is God’s name, not His title. The supreme title given to God, translated in English by “Lord,” is Adonai, which means “the One who is absolutely sovereign.” So, in Psalm 8, we read, “O Lord, our Lord,” or “O Yahweh, our Sovereign, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.”
The rendering with the first capitalized letter is given as Adonai. We could paraphrase this: “Jehovah said to my Adonai or Sovereign, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footrest.” So, we must ask, “Who is David’s Adonai?”
God is conversing with Himself about David’s Lord, David’s Adonai. Jehovah speaks to somebody else, identified in Psalm 110 as David’s Lord. Jesus asked these scholars: “What do you think of this text? What is the Holy Spirit saying? What is it that the Lord said to David’s Lord? ‘Sit at My right hand.’”
“Sit at My right hand” means, “Be seated in the highest place of authority in the universe according to My delegation.” This elevation to the Father’s right hand symbolizes that Jesus is coequal with the Father in rank and authority and affirms His deity. This is the missing part of the Jewish concept of Messiah. The fact that the Messiah is entirely man yet fully God cannot be fathomed solely by intellect; it must be embraced by faith.
This Messiah, who was prophesied to come, would finish His labor in the world and then be exalted into heaven and enthroned at the right hand of God. He suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified, dead, and buried. He was resurrected and ascended into heaven, where He now sits on the right hand of God.
Further, God said to His Son, sit at my right hand UNTIL I make your enemies your footrest. We are currently in this “until” time.
This language calls to mind the events in Joshua 10:24 and 25. After capturing the five kings of the Amorites, here’s what happened. “And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, putting their feet upon their necks. And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of good courage: for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.” After this graphic picture of domination, the five kings were executed.
Paul confirms this total subjugation of Jesus’ enemies in First Corinthians 15:24 to 26. “Then cometh the end, when he [Jesus] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, authority, and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” So, Jesus will ultimately triumph over all other powers.
The author of the Book of Hebrews places great significance on the supremacy of Jesus when he writes in Hebrews 1:13, “But to which of the angels has He ever said: ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool’”?
Earlier in that chapter, the author cites Psalm 45:6–7: “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.” (Hebrews 1:8–9)
However, If David called the Messiah Lord, how could the Messiah be his son?
The Messiah will be the Son of David, but in Jewish categories, the Son is always subordinate to his Father. The son is never more significant than the father. So, you would expect that as marvelous as the Messiah might be, if He was David’s son, He could not be greater than David. But David himself, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, calls his son his Lord. Jesus is not simply the son of David; He is David’s Sovereign. He is David’s Adonai. He is David’s King, before whom even David must bow. Therefore, David himself calls Him “Lord.”
In light of this, looking briefly at Paul’s writings in chapter two of Philippians seems appropriate. “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Listen to the hymns of the Christian faith. Listen to contemporary praise and worship music. They all celebrate the name of Jesus as the name above every name. However, Paul says that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess – not that He is Jesus, but that He is Adonai, Kyrios, and Lord. That is the supreme title. That is the name above every name. The name reserved for God in the Old Testament is now given to His Son, now called Kyrios kyrion, the Lord of the lords, the Sovereign One whom God has seated at His right hand.
Our text ends with a detail that is noted only by Mark. “The common people heard Him gladly.” The embrace of Jesus by the ordinary people further enraged the religious leaders. The Sanhedrin had begun the formal attack that morning to destroy the influence of Jesus with the crowds whose hero he now was since the Triumphal Entry. It had been a colossal failure. The crowds were drawn closer to him than ever before.
In John 5:37 to 40, Jesus said, “And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; these testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
What a tragic statement; “You think you have eternal life.” These men, the supposed guardians of Jewish religious life, were so blinded by their sin and their hatred for Jesus that they could not see the Light of the World even though He stood before them. As a result, eternal life eluded them.
What do you say about Jesus? Who is He to you? Have you accepted Him as Savior and Lord? Either you will confess Him now, voluntarily, or you will confess Him at the judgment, involuntarily. The choice is yours!
