Turning the Tables

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 15

Psalm 15 ESV

A Psalm of David. O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart; who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend; in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord; who swears to his own hurt and does not change; who does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 110:1-3

Psalm 110:1–3 ESV

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.

Sermon

GMC! I was glad when they said to me let us go and worship in the house of the Lord!

Today we are finishing up really the “miniseries” of four sections in chapter 22 of Matthew wherein Jesus faces subsequent tests. If we remember back to the first test, it was a civil test: Is it lawful to pay taxes to caesar or not? Jesus answer: Render to caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are God’s. The Second test came from the Sadducees, and it was a long and convoluted way to ask this: will there be a resurrection. Of course there is, Jesus replied, For God is not the God of the dead but of the living. and what is more, you know neither God’s words or his power. Then last week, the third and final test that Jesus is given, this time by a lawyer, a Pharisaical expert of the law and his test was for jesus to summarize or lay the foundation of all of God’s Law. no problem, Jesus said, It is Love God and love others.

But if that is the last test jesus was given, why was that not the last sermon? Because the fourth test is Jesus giving a test right back to the Pharisees. He will turn the tables back on them. What we will see that is fascinating and beautiful is that they approached Jesus with their “impossible” tests and for Jesus they were nothing, because of who Jesus is. he is the christ, the son of the living God. He is the second person of the trinity, God made flesh. But all of these things make HIM impossible in some sense to the pharisees. It is impossible for them to See Jesus because they do not see with eyes of faith. So when asked a question on Jesus and his nature for them (but not for us!) it is impossible.

So with that being said lets dive into our passage for today. Matthew 22:41-46 we will be finishing chapter 22 this week setting the stage for my favorite portion of Matthew in chapter 23! But that is a digression, Matthew 22:41-46.

Matthew 22:41–46 ESV

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

These are the words of the Lord for us this morning, lets open with a word of prayer.

Our Father in Heaven, Holy, precious and perfect is your name. Our God and our father, the one who loved us, who called us, and who sent your son to redeem us. Thank you for the precious gift of Jesus Christ our Lord. We are grateful that we have one who forever intercedes on our behalf, our Lord, Our God our king and our brother. We thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, the comforter who gives us us precious gifts, who seals and sanctifies us and empowers us to serve you. Thank you for all that you do for us. We do humbly come before you and ask that you speak to us this morning. May your words ring in our hearts and souls, may we hear clearly from you thins morning. Speak to us and change us as we hear your words. Above all we ask that you would Be with us this morning. it is in Jesus name that we pray. AMEN

Just as an ending to this whole series of tests, it doesn't get much better than this. Three times in a row Jesus is approached each time the thinking is this will trap him, this will trick him, this will stump him, this is what we need. and then in what is really the shortest of all the test passages Jesus literally shuts them all up. Verse 46 - no one was able to answer him a word. More than that, he shuts them up and shuts them down. No more huddling up and trying to plot and plan, no more teaming up with the herodians, sending in the Sadducees or calling up your expert witness, Jesus drops the mic. for continuing in verse 46 - nor from that day did anyone DARE to ask him any more questions.

But what happens in verse 41-46? what does jesus do so masterfully? What is it that stops these people in their steps. In fact, they are so thoroughly defeated that we will not hear form them until chapter 26. What are the first things that they will say after this? Matthew 26:3-4

Matthew 26:3–4 ESV

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him.

What is it that shuts them up, shuts them down and then pushes them to their murderous conclusions? He shows them who he is. it is Jesus, ALL of jesus that is impossible to deny and yet who they will not accept. So today we will spend our time this morning diving into how and what Jesus does to test the pharisees, and hopefully this test will be good for our hearts and souls too.

but before we dive in, we need to deal with THE BACKGROUND

The BACKGROUND

And here I mean less the book context, like what has come before and after, because we have been wrestling with that, but the cultural and theological background that Jesus was asking these questions. And here the background is huge, and we could never do it all the justice that it deserves, but a spark-notes version will still be of great value to us.

Before we deal with who is David’s son, we should wrestle a bit with “who was David” or more rightly: “why was David so incredibly important?” and really, “why was David so important to the Pharisees?” Put simply it is because through David and through David's lineage run ALL the promises of God.

In particular we can turn to 2 Samuel 7. If I were to ask you: what is the most important passage in all of Scripture. you should answer that ALL scripture is God breathed and useful for teaching and reproof and correction. But if i pushed you to make a list of most important passages in understanding and knowing God’s plan of redemption and how he will save his people, 2 Samuel 7 should at least make your top ten list.

For some context, or background to the background if you will. David has conquered his enemies, he has been wildly successful and the sort of visible and tangible sign of his success, and more to the point, in God’s granting him success, the fact that the ark of the covenant has been brought back to Jerusalem. the ark, if you remember was the sign of God’s presence with the people when they first entered the promised land, it was a holy thing and to even touch it meant death. In chatter 6 famously David was so joyous that the Ark of the covenant had been brought back that he was dancing naked in joy and his wife was a little peeved about it.

But at the beginning of Chapter 7 David notices something: I am king. i have a gorgeous house, made with all the nice things, i am king and live in a palace, but God has just a tent. (in reality the tabernacle was not JUST a tent, but it was a tent). So David resolved to build God a house. In short, David was told that he would not build God a house, that Job would fall to Solomon, but seeing David heart God came and spoke to David through the prophet Nathan.

After talking to David about his sovereign choice in raising him up from out of the pastures and anointing him as king and loving him God says this, and this is what is important.

2 Samuel 7:12–16 ESV

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall 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 to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

If we just look at it there are some important things to note. One is that God promises David that God will verse 13. ESTABLISH HIS THRONE FOREVER. this thought is continued 15: MY STEADFAST LOVE WILL NOT DEPART HIM and finally again in verse 16 “YOUR KINGDOM SHALL BE MADE SURE FOREVER BEFORE ME. The promise here is that through David, and through his line there would be made an eternal throne. It would set up the people of God as an eternal kingdom, God never departing from them. in fact, the sons of David would be as sons to God. not in a generic “we are all God’s children” sort of way but in particular way. A way that no other house would know, just ask Saul and, unfortunately for David, David's best friend and Saul’s son Jonathan. HERE God makes to David promises that will shape and guide not just the rest of the Old testament, but are still, as we will see in a bit, at work today.

David knew how big these promises were. Read so many of the things that he and others wrote in the Psalms. Psalm 2:7-9 “I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”” Psalm 72:11 “May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!” Psalm 89:27-29 “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him. I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.” and we could go on and on and on.

And so the Pharisees and really every Jewish person knew how big these promises were. We started seeing some of this in the triumphal entry. it was no accident that the people shouted “hosanna to the Son of David” as Jesus entered town. Matthew knew this which is why he was sure if we remember back 72 sermons ago to Matthew chapter 1 He was sure to trace the lineage of Jesus to David. Which is why this background is the perfect place for Jesus to Go. and he starts with THE SET-UP

The SET-UP

There are really two questions in Jesus test. but the first one is really easy. I had a professor who would give you 25 points on a paper if you just turned in something with your name on it. this is about that easy.

Matthew 22:41 “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,”

Note that having been defeated AGAIN the pharisees are huddled together trying to lick their wounds and probably formulate yet another test. but jesus does not give them that opportunity. He goes up to them and asks them a question. again. not a hard one at all, not a soft ball question, but a tee-ball one. It is right there for them to get it.

Matthew 22:42 “saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

A few notes, (1) the Chrsit, we often think of it as Jesus’ Last name, that is not true, that is his role and title. it means Messiah. It is the fulfillment of the things that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi and Zechariah and many many others prophesied about. the deliverer, the Messiah. The one we read about in all the other places. Who’s son is he? They answer, to their credit 100% correctly. The verse continues. They said to him “The son of David”.

Two important thoughts in this set-up. One is that he is setting up the Pharisees. Because if this is true (and it is) he is going to subvert their expectations and show them, Much like the Sadducee TRIED and failed to to the consequences of this belief. There is a famous riddle that is meant to subvert your exceptions in much the same way. one Day a dad and his son were driving somewhere. Sadly they were in a tragic accident and both were airlifted to separate hospitals. The son, in a children’s hospital is wheeled into surgery and the surgeon looks at the child and say: I can’t do this surgery, for this is my son! The riddle asks: how is this possible? The answer is, spoiler alert: the surgeon is the child's Mother. but in all the ways that the riddle is set up you are supposed to be blind to the fact that is even a possibility. So too here this simple question is meant to get them thinking in ways that will make where Jesus is going next a hard pill for them to swallow.

But the second thing that I would like to note is that even in the asking of this question like this, Matthew, or really Jesus here, is beginning to show how he is the great fulfilment of ALL the promises of God. He is the fulfilment of all the promises for a messiah, he is the suffering servant and the long awaited king. he is the Chrsit the son of the living God. And he is the Son of David, the fulfilment of all the promises there as well. In fact, adding on to all this something talked about on Thursday at Grace Group, he is the one who came, not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. he is the one through whom all the promises of Abraham are fulfilled and he is the promised seed of Woman in Genesis 3. All of these find their fulfillment in Jesus. this is why I said the thing that so confounds the Pharisees, the thing that makes them so mad and leaves them speechless is less the “test” here of Jesus and more the person of Jesus. We see that clearly in THE QUESTION

The QUESTION

The Question, the blank that we have had each of the last four weeks, and the clue that you should be able to guess the last blank if you have been paying attention at all...

here is the question in it’s simplest form: verse 43: How can David call his own Son “Lord”?

The father, no matter how old, no matter the position, is always the father. Desiree and and I often tell Jayden, We love you, we love being with you, but I am not your friend, I am your Dad. that is a part of the very fabric of our relationship. So too with David and his sons (in the working of the world). the sons will always be under David. Sure, God made a promise about the sons to David, but he made the promise TO DAVID.

Shortly put David’s SON cannot be also his LORD.

In asking this question Jesus masterfully makes sure that the “easy” answers are not available. Easy answer 1: DAVID NEVER SAID THAT! um… yes he did. Psalm 110:1

Psalm 110:1 ESV

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Jesus quotes a verse. The Pharisees were experts, they would have known of this verse. had they studied it? had it given them any problems? That I do not know, I would think not. It was just there, a pretty turn of Phrase, a poetic and beautiful thing. the LORD says to My Lord. YHWH has said to ADONAI. They would say this verse and go along in their reciting of Psalm 110, not challenged or changed, but it was always there. So you cannot say he didn’t say it. But maybe you want to go with easy answer 2: David was confused.

This is not an option either, for it was not just David who said it. no, David wrote these words under inspiration of the Holy Sprit. Read carefully verse 43 again: how is it that David IN THE SPIRIT calls him Lord. So easy answer 2 of David was confused does not work because it was not JUST David who said it. It was David under the guidance of the Spirit, and David MIGHT be confused but the spirit never is.

So Jesus asks the question again, stunning in it’s simplicity and yet confounding in its depth and weight: Matthew 22:45 “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?””

What is beautiful is how this works. it cannot be a question of which of these things is true: Either it is true that the Chrsit is David Son OR it is true that David called him Lord. Rather it is a question of SINCE BOT OF THESE THINGS MUST BE TRUE how do you recon this. it is not possible to hold one and ignore the other, they stand and fall together. So pharisees, answer me, how can both these be true.

and it is here that we can look to THE ANSWER

The ANSWER

We can look tot he passage first, but here we will not find an answer. verse 46: NO ONE WAS ABLE TO ANSWER HIM A WORD. all those standing around, have nothing. I can imagine Jesus looks to the disciples of the Pharisees and the herodinas. Well? what do you say? how can David call his own son lord? then he turns to the Sadducees: come on guys, you can work all the elaborate schemes and plots about a woman marrying seven different men, you know all that moses wrote? help me out. If David calls him Lord, how is he his son? Pharisees, Lawyer, this question is right up your alley, this is YOUR TYPE OF QUESTION. how is this possible.

NO ONE is able to answer him even a word. no “maybe this” or “it could be that”.

No one here can answer, but those of us who know Jesus, who have seen and KNOW HIM surly can. as one commentator wrote: The Pharisees scratch their heads with both hands, but we lift both our hands in praise!

The answer is that before David was his son could say “I am”. the answer is that the son of David prophesied and long awaited is in fact the only son of God. It is because in Christ we all live and move and have our being. EVEN DAVID. So his son cam be his Lord because his son is his God.

How can David do this: because the answer was the one asking the Pharisees this very question. It is because Jesus is the WORD made flesh. because he was fully God and fully man the only one who could intercede for sinful man to a holy God. It is because Jesus, fully God and fully man is the king better than, before and after David. the Great high priest that offers a ore perfect sacrifice. it is because Jesus was THE WAY THE TRUTH and THE LIFE and NO ONE comes to the father except through him, yes even David approaches the father through the person and work of Jesus Christ.

the answer to this question is the answer to every trial and trouble that we all have., it is Jesus. The answer to this question is the answer to how sinners like me can be saved, it is Jesus. the answer to THIS QUESTION is every Sunday School answer and is our only hope in life and in death: Jesus

Lets PRAY