Jesus in the Psalms
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Introduction
Introduction
The Psalm we will look at this morning is Psalm 110 and is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. This gives it great significance and importance.
But it also contains some obscure references that need to be explained to be fully understood. Fortunately for us, the New Testament authors, and even Jesus Himself, clear up our understanding of this important passage.
The Psalm begins with the words, “The LORD says to my lord:”
This statement, while initially confusing, gives us the identity of the one who is speaking and also the one who is being addressed.
Our first thought may be that David, the author of this Psalm must be either the speaker or the one being addressed, but that will not prove to be the case.
Our first hint is in how our Bibles translate the name of the speaker. Whenever we see the name, “LORD”, in small caps that means that the word in the Hebrew was Jehovah.
This can only be a reference to God, Himself. The speaker in this Psalm is God. But who is the Psalm addressed to?
The Jewish people were divided over whether this referred to David, or to one of his descendants, or to the coming Messiah.
Some believed it referred to David or one of his descendants, but many of the things that are said could not apply to David or to any of the kings of Israel or Judah.
This is where Jesus helps us to better understand this passage.
In Matthew 22:41-46 we read:
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,
“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.
He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
“ ‘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 can he be his son?”
No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Jesus makes clear in this passage, quoting Psalm 110:1 that the person being addressed is the coming Messiah.
The words that follow will reveal important truths about the Messiah, spoken centuries before He was born. This is where we find Jesus in the Psalms.
The Messiah as King
The Messiah as King
The rest of verse 1 presents the Messiah as a victorious king:
The Lord says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”
This passage is quoted several times in the New Testament by Jesus, Peter and the author of Hebrews. It is a picture of the total submission of His enemies and their humbling before Him.
The Messiah is frequently described in the Psalms as a reigning King:
Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.
In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.
Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.
Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.
It should be noted that only through Jesus, who was a descendant of David, does the throne of David last forever.
So the Psalmist clearly saw the coming Messiah as a king, but did Jesus come as a king and fulfill these prophecies?
The answer to this question is twofold:
First, Jesus did speak frequently of establishing His kingdom during His ministry on earth. Jesus announced:
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
This was to be a very different kind of a kingdom than the political rulers of His day. His was to be a spiritual kingdom as he described in John 18:36
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
His kingdom was truly a kingdom of heaven in the hearts of men.
Second, as we shall see later in this passage, Jesus is coming again in the future to fully fulfil all of the prophecies of the victorious rule of the eternal king.
The Messiah as Priest
The Messiah as Priest
Back in Psalm 110 we find that not only is the Messiah to be a king, but the Messiah would also be a priest.
This is very unusual in that to be a king from David’s reign on, the king had to be from the tribe of Judah.
By contrast, all priests were required to be from the tribe of Levi.
One cannot be from both the tribe of Judah and from the tribe of Levi. So, how could the Messiah also be a Priest?
The answer is the the Israelite priesthood traces its roots back to Aaron, the first priest under Moses.
Prior to this, however, there were priests of God, even before the formation of the nation of Israel. This is what is referenced in Psalm 110:4
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
What is this referring to?
In Genesis 14 we read about a priest that ministered to Abraham, a distant ancestor of both Moses and David as well as all of the nation of Israel.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
We learn more about the significance of this meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek in the book of Hebrews.
The author of Hebrews begins in chapter 5 by describing the role of a priest:
Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness.
This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
From this we learn that the priest represents the people before God. He understands the weakness of the people he represents.
In fact he had to also offer sacrifices for his own sins before he could represent them.
We also learn that this is not a position that one claims for himself, but he must be called by God.
Hebrews continues in verse 5:
In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”
And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
Note the quote from Psalm 110 in verse 6. In these verses we learn that God selected Jesus to fill this special role of a priest before God.
His priesthood is also not the priesthood of Aaron but of Melchizedek. He is the priest, not only of Israel, but of the gentiles too.
In Hebrews 7, we are given further comparisons between Jesus and Melchizedek:
This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,
and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.”
Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!
This priesthood that emerges in the time of Abraham is seen to be an eternal priesthood with Jesus as its fulfillment.
The author of Hebrews continues in verses 20 to 22 of chapter 7:
And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath,
but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’ ”
Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
So, how is this priesthood of Jesus superior to the Old Testament priesthood?
Hebrews 7 continues:
Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office;
but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
The priesthood of Jesus is not limited by the death of the priest. He lives forever to intercede for us even now and to complete our salvation forever.
Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.
Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.
Our high priest Jesus is a superior priest in that He lived a holy life. Other priests have to answer for their own sins before they can represent others.
Back in Hebrews 5 the author continues to describe how Jesus fulfilled this role of priest in His ministry.
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.
Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered
and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him
and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Jesus functioned as a priest during His earthly ministry, praying and interceding for the people.
As our great high priest, He also completed our salvation by dying on the cross for us.
heb 9:11-14
But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation.
He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.
The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Jesus entered a more perfect tabernacle, he entered Heaven itself, going directly into the presence of God.
He also offered a superior sacrifice, Himself, in the place of the blood of bulls and goats which were only outward symbols of God’s forgiveness.
Those sacrifices looked forward to when all sin would be forgiven at the cross, but they did not take away the penalty of sin by themselves.
The Messiah as Judge
The Messiah as Judge
Back in Psalm 110 where we started there is a third picture of the Messiah. In addition to being a King and a Priest the Messiah is also seen as a Judge.
As we said earlier, some of the things predicted in this Psalm about the Messiah are still in the future.
When Jesus was preparing to die for us, He promised His disciples that He would return to take us to be with Him.
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.
My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
We are clearly promised that Jesus will return to bring us to Heaven where He is. Some of these future events are described in this Psalm:
The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.
Note in this passage that the Messiah is seen seated at the right hand of God. This was the place of honor due to the one who had conquered sin and death.
Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
But now we see that the Messiah is coming a second time. This time to judge the world. Verse 6 says that He will judge the nations.
This is the final judgment. There is no second chance to believe in God. The author of Hebrews states:
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
This passage clearly indicates a future Judgment. For many, this will be a horrifying experience to stand before God. But, for the believers it will be the culmination of their salvation.
Make note though that after we die there is nothing waiting but judgment.
It is essential that we make a decision to follow Jesus here and now while we still can. There is a time coming when it will be too late.
Verse 3 of Psalm 110 makes reference to a final battle with evil forces.
Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.
The king and Judge are portrayed as preparing for a battle with the forces of evil. The second Psalm lays out the setting for this final conflict:
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying,
“Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”
When the Messiah returns He will do battle with these evil forces, defeating them in the final great battle. The Messiah (Jesus) will defeat God’s enemies.
Finally, at the end of verse 7, we are told He will lift His head high. This refers to the exaltation of the Messiah. Paul describes this exaltation in the book of Philippians:
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Psalm 110 as well as several other Psalms clearly predicted the coming of the Messiah. It outlined the three roles of the Messiah that were or will be fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
He came as a king, establishing a spiritual kingdom that redefines the world system centered around obedience and love for the God of the universe.
He came as a Priest to deal with the one problem man could not deal with himself, his sin.
As our high priest, Jesus lived a sinless life. This is essential because every other priest who has represented man had his own sins to deal with.
Jesus understands us because He lived His life among us experiencing everything we experience, only He never sinned.
Our priest gave Himself as the perfect sacrifice to pay the price for our sins and He brought that sacrifice into the perfect tabernacle before God Himself.
Our High Priest represents us today before God because He conquered death and live forever.
Because of His sacrifice we can know that we will go to be with Jesus after we die.
Finally we saw how the Messiah will someday come back to bring us to Himself.
His second coming will also be a time of judgment and defeat of the evil forces in our world.
All of this was written approximately 1000 years before Christ came to earth fulfilling this important Messianic prophecy.