Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Last week we studied Psalm 2, which spoke about the rebellion of the nations against Jehovah God and his newly proclaimed king, his Son, Christ, the Messiah.

We related the rebellion of the nations and talked about how we, as individuals, rebel against God and the Messiah in our own personal lives and how we might turn away from that rebellion and embrace the blessing of living in a right way before God.

This week we’ll be studying in Psalm 110, which is on page 603 of the English Bibles in the pew and (p 377 en la de Espanol).

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Let’s look together at Psalm 110...

[pray]

Wow, this verse almost seems to be custom written to be a continuation of Psalm 2 that we studied together last week.

This psalm continues to talk about the coronation of the Messiah as the king over Israel, but moreso about the king who is raised as a king above the enemy nations that surround Israel.

The psalmist proclaims here that “This is the declaration of the LORD (Yahweh) to my Lord (Adonai), that is to say Father God making a declaration about the coronation of Christ, the Son, as the newly crowned king.

I.

The Messiah is a King

In Matthew 22 we see recorded a verbal exchange that Jesus had with the Pharisees, the Jewish religious elite leadership...

The common belief among the Jewish religious scholars was that this psalm was speaking about the Messiah, whom they believed would be a king in the family lineage of King David.

Jesus is saying here that the Messiah should be something more than a mere son of David.

He points back to Psalm 110:1

There is a difficulty in the translation here.

We are looking at many different words that have similar meanings in Hebrew and to the original readers, the readers in Jesus time and then translated for us today into English or Spanish.

This is a declaration that Jehovah God spoke over Adonai, which is a name for God.

However, the Pharisees were speaking of the Messiah using κύριος [kurios], which means “master” rather than אָדוֹן [adon], which can also be translated to mean “master” yet carries more of a sense of “Lord God” reflecting God’s authority over Israel.

This is what Jesus was calling out when he questioned them about the son of David, but also was David’s Lord and master.

They did not have an answer for Jesus, and were silenced by his educated questions.

II.

The Messiah is also the High Priest

However, verse 4 takes a sudden turn in the Hebrew mind...

The second half of the verse seems to be saying that the King is also a priest.

However, in the Hebrew view, kings and priests were very separate roles.

We’ll look at Melchizedek in a few moments.

This reference to the Messiah as both priest and king was confusing to the Jews of Jesus time.

While the first part of the psalm is clearly a declaration to the King (vv.

1-4), the second part of this psalm switches to an oath being made to the priest (vv.

4-7).

What is a Priest of the Order of Melchizedek?

Melchizedek was both priest and king, an unusual combination, as we mentioned.

Melchizedek, whose name means “righteous king” was the King of Siam and a priest of the God Most High.

Melchizedek gave Abram a blessing...

This is the only appearance that we have of Melchizedek, though there are references to his name and his function as Priest/King in both the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Apostle James wrote about the hope that we have in Jesus...

James said that Jesus was a High Priest like Melchizedek.

He makes reference to the work of the High Priest in the Holy of Holies, within the Temple of God.

One of the functions of the High Priest is that he carries the sins of the people to the seat of atonement in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement.

This is how sins were forgiven through the sacrificial system of the Old Testament law.

Jesus abolished that system by dying on the cross and bringing us our atonement by providing for the forgiveness of our sins through his death.

This is why the curtain separating the Holy of Holies was ripped from top to bottom when Jesus dies.

The Holy place of God was opened up to those who met the requirements to enter into his holy presence.

III.

King and High Priest for Israel, so what?

Why do we care about Jesus being the King of Kings and the High Priest of Heaven?

Jesus is our High Priest because he provides what we need for the forgiveness of our sins just like the High Priest is an intermediary for forgiveness by sprinkling the sin-bought blood of the people on the seat of atonement.

We care about this because atonement is what we need to be justified before Father God!

This allows us to take part in that blessing of a relationship with the One True God, the Creator of the Universe that we’ve been talking about throughout this series.

But do we really need another priest?

Jesus was born of the tribe of Judah, where Levitical priests in his day came from the tribe of Aaron.

According to the Apostle James, Jesus being of the order of Melchizedek, rather than the order of Aaron, means that a new law must be established.

And isn’t that exactly what Jesus established, a new covenant, a new law?

According to Jesus he came to fulfill the law rather than to abolish it...

I told you last week, Jesus is an “already/not yet” kind of king.

He is also an “already/not yet” kind of priest.

While he came to fulfill the law and establish a new covenant, the Old Testament law is still in effect “until all things are accomplished.”

But we of the Christian faith do not hold to that law… that law was for Israel and Israel will still be held to that law.

Those who come to Christ through the new covenant are held to a new law...

IV.

Why Do We Need a New Kind of Priest?

We all come to Christ in our sin.

We get this sin from birth, from our parents, inherited from Adam and Eve.

1.

We are sinful people

Do you know anybody like this? Are you like this?

Scripture is clear that we can do nothing for ourselves to save ourselves from God’s wrath and punishment.

While the world would like to say that a loving God would never banish anybody to the fiery pit for eternity because God is pure love, does not know God.

See each of us was already destined for hell when we were born, because we were born in sin and separated from God.

Since God is justice, he has no choice but to banish us to eternal separation from his presence.

2. Sin = Death

This is what scripture calls the just payment for our sinful condition...

We cannot avoid this sin and we cannot resolve this sin on our own merit.

We HAVE to have a High Priest to provide for us a way to atone for our sins before we can be redeemed, or resolved before God.

Christ’s death on the cross was purely an act of love, designed to give us a way out of our sinful state...

3. We need salvation

I’ve already said that we cannot find this salvation on our own.

We are wholly incapable of accomplishing this in our own human power.

But God has provided a way for us to reach salvation and to be completely forgiven for our sins...

This is repentance.

We’ve talked about the need for this at length over the last few weeks.

I’ll remind you that repentance is defined as “turning away from our sins and turning to God.”

When we confess our sins and ask God for his forgiveness and we confess Jesus as Lord, we can obtain this salvation and the same atonement that we require to be in right standing before God.

This idea is so important that Paul repeated himself...

Jesus’ death on the cross, was a purposeful act that was designed to pay the price necessary so that we might find forgiveness and be able to walk into the blessed relationship with the One True God, the Creator of the Universe.

It is this process of salvation that changes our status before God from “sinner” to “justified by faith.”

This salvation is what puts us at peace before God, putting down our own personal rebellion against God.

4. We NEED Peace with God

This peace with God gives us great benefits, the chief of which is...

For a rebel, who stands condemned, there is no sweeter gift than to know that he is no longer condemned.

Let’s read further along in Romans 8...

When we repent by turning away from our sins and begin to walk according to the Spirit, which we are given at the point of salvation, we become new creatures by the work that is completed within us...

And once we have the Spirit in us and we stand reconciled before God, we have a great promise that holds us to this new thing that has been born within us...

We can have full assurance of this salvation that we have grasped and the justification that has been pronounced over us and the transformation that has taken place within us that we can never be separated from the love of God, because we have a Messiah, a King, and a Priest in the person of Christ Jesus who is in us and to whom we are deeply and intimately connected.

Conclusion

Salvation

It may be that God is calling you into salvation.