"THE TABLES ARE TURNED"
Notes
Transcript
Parallel gospel accounts -
Matthew 22:41-46 - make three observations
Mark 12:35-37 - make three observations
Luke 20:41-44 - make three observations
Proposition - We have seen over the pasts several weeks how the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and Scribes have teamed up in an effort to catch Jesus in the wrong. This morning we are going to see how Jesus turns the tables and addresses the heart issue.
Interrogative question - Who do you say that Jesus is?
1. The Tables are Turned - vs. 41
1. The Tables are Turned - vs. 41
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:
What has been going on in the previous verses?
Why do you think Jesus even entertains the idea of sticking around?
2. The Question - vs. 42
2. The Question - vs. 42
42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”
What do you think about Christ?
Why does Jesus ask two questions?
Why do you think that the Pharisees answered so quickly?
Jesus’ words turned an apparently easy question into a profound and searching question. No father calls a son his “lord.” Sons are subservient to fathers. Therefore, if David called his natural, physical descendant (the Messiah) his “Lord,” it could only be because the One to come would somehow be greater than David was. The only way that could happen was if the Messiah were more than a mere man. He would have to be a divine Messiah, that is, God. This did not fit with the Pharisees’ expectation of who the Messiah should be or what he should do, so they were silenced. Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 482). Baker Books.
By my count, Psalm 110:1 is cited directly or alluded to indirectly at least twenty-seven times, the chief passages being Matthew 22:44 (parallel accounts in Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42–43); Acts 2:34–35; 7:56; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 12:2; and 1 Peter 3:22. Verse 4 of Psalm 110, in which Jesus is called “a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek,” is referred to in Hebrews 5:6; 7:17, 21; 8:1; and 10:11–13 and is the dominating idea in those chapters. Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (pp. 482–483). Baker Books.
3. The Significance of the Question - vs. 43-45
3. The Significance of the Question - vs. 43-45
42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet” ’? 45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
What is the significance of the Pharisees response?
12:37 In Jewish culture (and Roman culture as well) fathers (and other patriarchs) were deserving of utmost respect; they were lords of their families and descendants. Thus Jesus pointed out a paradox intended to expand the audience’s messianic categories. He did not deny the Messiah was a son of David but noted that Ps 110 implies that the Messiah, though David’s son, is his superior. Some have argued that the superscription of Ps 110 can be read as “a psalm to [or for] David,” indicating that the psalm was written about David by someone else. However, the same superscription is used on all the psalms of David, notably Ps 18, which was clearly written by him, not about him, nor do the Pharisees seem to have entertained this option (Mt 22:45). Cabal, T., Brand, C. O., Clendenen, E. R., Copan, P., Moreland, J. P., & Powell, D. (2007). The Apologetics Study Bible: Real Questions, Straight Answers, Stronger Faith (p. 1494). Holman Bible Publishers.
Psalm 110 is about a divine king exclusively, a king who has been placed at the right hand of God in heaven and who is presently engaged in extending his spiritual rule throughout the entire earth. Significantly Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 483). Baker Books.
110:1 The LORD to My Lord. The psalm opens with an oracle from God (the LORD/Yahweh) to the Davidic king (my Lord). Sit at my right hand. This is the position of honor (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; Ps. 45:9), occupied by the human king. The Davidic king “sat on the throne of the LORD” (1 Chron. 29:23). make your enemies your footstool. Cf. 1 Kings 5:3. God will subdue these enemies, making them subject to the authority of the Davidic king (cf. Ps. 2:8; 72:8–11, 17; Isa. 11:1–10). In Matt. 22:44 (Mark 12:36; Luke 20:42) Jesus draws attention to the fact that David (the psalm’s author) calls the king “my Lord,” which implies that the king (whom all agreed was the Messiah) was greater than David. The idea that the risen Lord Jesus is the reigning messianic king seated at “God’s right hand” appears in Acts 2:32–35; 1 Cor. 15:25; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet. 3:22; cf. Matt. 26:64. In 1 Cor. 15:25 and Eph. 1:20 Paul combines this with Ps. 8:6 (see note there).
110:1 The Messiah is superior even to David and exercises universal rule (Matt. 22:44–45; Acts 2:34–36; 1 Cor. 15:25–28; Eph. 1:22; Heb. 1:13 Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 1084). Crossway Bibles.
“The Lord” refers to Yahweh; “my Lord” refers to the Messiah. See Psa 110:1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Mt 22:44). Lexham Press.
4. The Reaction to the Question - vs. 46
4. The Reaction to the Question - vs. 46
46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.
Edward Reynolds (1599–1676) was one of the great expositors of Psalm 110, and he wrote that “this psalm is one of the fullest and most compendious prophecies of the person and offices of Christ in the whole Old Testament.” He felt that “there are few, if any, of the articles of that creed which we all generally profess, which are not plainly expressed, or by most evident implication couched in this little model.” Reynolds believed this psalm taught the doctrines of the divine Trinity; the incarnation, sufferings, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of Jesus Christ; the communion of saints; the last judgment; the remission of sins; and the life everlasting.1
Charles H. Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher of the nineteenth century, taught that Psalm 110 is exclusively about Jesus Christ. David “is not the subject of it even in the smallest degree,” he wrote.2 Boice, J. M. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (p. 483). Baker Books.
SO WHAT??
Who do you say that Jesus is?