Messiah: He Reigns

Psalm 110

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Next steps lunch next Sunday after church

1 Corinthians 6 and 7 on marriage, singleness, and sexuality.

After those few sundays we are going to take a break in May and June and work through some content regarding biblical manhood and womanhood starting on mothers day.

Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 110

Messiah: he came, he died, he arose, and today….he reigns

The historical facts surrounding his coming, his death, and his resurrection are sure.

The resurrection of Christ is one of the most well documented events in human history.

Some say the disciples of Jesus made it up: 11 of the 12 apostles died gruesome brutal deaths given the opportunity to deny the resurrection. Men don’t die for what they know is a lie.

The first recorded witnesses of the resurrected Lord were women in a patriarchal society. If the resurrection was made up, women as the first to see would be doubted further establishing the truthfulness of the Gospel accounts.

All 4 Gospels portray the apostles as lost, idiotic, unaware, and struggling to understand what Jesus is doing. Men don’t portray themselves that way unless it is the truth.

The resurrection is not a cool story, a fairytale, or a fable. It is discernable fact we can reasonably hold to as a historical moment which then has implications for us today.

This morning we are going to look at one last messianic Psalm predicting the coming of Christ and his attributes.

The psalms are a poetic collection in the Bible. Many written by David, Asaph and a few others. Just for context, the psalms written by David were 1,000 years before the coming of Jesus Christ. which is remarkable as we’ve seen in all these Psalms the clear messianic pictures that Christ so cleanly fulfills…these psalms they communicate joy, frustration, cries for help and lament over hurt. In this mini series of sermons we have been looking at 4 messianic psalms which basically just means psalms that refer to the coming messiah (or Christ) and how Jesus fulfills those promises predicted 1,000 years before his coming.

Read Psalm 110

Pray:

Main Idea: Christ reigns as king over all and priest for all

Illustration:

Have you ever had a moment with a new friend where you connect on a level that brings you close quickly?

Homeschool

Jesus came to earth in order to be our great high priest as an understanding confidant. He is not a far removed king!

This psalm talks about the Trinity, the rule of Christ, the Church, his priestly intercession and much more but I want to boil this down to two true realities about Jesus Christ today as we reflect on the resurrection….

Christ reigns as king over all

Psalm 110 is written by David and is kingly in its tone but also contains realities related to the priestly character of the messiah which for an Old Testament reader that would be remarkable and strange.

Lets look first on the kingly aspect. David was the prototypical king in the Old Testament who foreshadowed much of what Jesus came to be.

The first verse of Psalm 110 is one of the most quoted verses in the New Testament and immediately sparks questions about the identity of the king talked about here by David. (read it)

The first Lord is Yahweh but then who is the second Lord spoken of here?

Jesus quotes this verse to ask about the identity of the “Son of David” which we read last Sunday how the people ascribed Jesus with this title in Matthew 21.

Jesus asks the pharisees essentially who is this descendant of David he calls “Lord?” It’s odd for David to refer to a descendant of his as Lord….

Matthew 22:41–45 “41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, 44 “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet” ’? 45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?””

Jesus is descended from King David but through his divinity, David calls this future king descended from his line “my Lord.” Jesus brings this up to the religious leaders as a question of the nature of the Messiah. He is king and Lord over all!

God the Father says to God the son in this image in Psalm 110 “sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool.”

Here we have Trinitarian theology regarding God the Father who is speaking to God the Son.

When Jesus rose from the grave in power, he revealed himself to 500 some people 1 Corinthians 15 tells us and then ascended to this place at the right hand of the Father where he currently resides fully God and fully man. He is in the flesh on the throne interceding on our behalf.

Peter makes this statement in Acts 2 regarding Psalm 110 and Jesus as the Messiah.

Acts 2:29–36 “29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, 35 until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.””

Peter is identifying Jesus with the promised messiah of Psalm 110 where David not only sees Jesus taking the right hand of the father but conquering all his enemies. Yahweh enthrones Christ Jesus and gives him dominion as he has conquered death.

These first few verses show us a picture of Jesus as reigning king, far greater than any other authority on earth. The author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 110 in chapter 1 verse 13

Hebrews 1:13 “13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?”

In other words, no angel or other spiritual being has this kind of authority that was given to Christ Jesus as the conquering ruler of all time. He wins!

Lots can be said about verse 1 and how the Bible talks about it….

Verses 2 and 3 show us that the scepter (Genesis 49 and Numbers 24) is given by God the Father to the Son Jesus Christ to rule even the enemies of God. The scepter is a sign of Old Testament kingly reign.

Verse 3 then talks about the people of God offering themselves willingly to the Lord and being made holy (the Church). They will be renewed in their youth. This is as a result of the power of his reign (work of Christ).

His rule and reign brings power against foes but also holiness and renewal to his people.

Illustrate:

There are many ways I am not in control….my wife’s pregnancy….I have no idea what is going to happen. But he is a sovereign God.

His rule not only means salvation but he meets our needs…chamber space last year story….

Apply:

What are the areas of your life that seem out of your control?

He is a sovereign powerful God

How does understanding his rule over all affect our understanding of his potential intervention in our lives?

Do you believe in his reign today? He has power over the grave and rules in power right now.

2. Christ reigns as priest for all

Not only will this messiah pictured in Psalm 110 be the Davidic king promised in 2 Samuel 7 but he will be a priest on behalf of his people making sacrifices on their behalf for all time . Namely his body.

For this messianic king to have priestly purview would be wildly out of bounds for the Jewish reader. The kings of Israel were strictly forbidden to take on any priestly duty.

2 Chronicles 26 shows us when king Uzziah tried to perform an offering as unto the Lord, after being warned leprosy immediately broke out as he disobeyed God by taking on the role only the sons of Aaron could do.

In verse 4 of Psalm 110 he calls the messiah a priest forever (eternal reality of his reign)

By identifying this messiah with the priestly line of Melchizedek rather than the old testament line of Aaron he relieves the blood lineage requirement without relieving the mantle of priestly responsibility. The character from Genesis 14 Melchizedek is also a king acting as a priest for his people at the same time which is typological for Christ Jesus who comes as king and is our great high priest.

Think about what it means for Jesus to not only be king forever but also our high priest. He is a complete savior both as ruler but also intercessor on our behalf (like the perfect parent who both meets your needs but also has power to get things done on your behalf)

Hebrews 10:11–14 “11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

He is priest for all people once for all offering up himself to sanctify his people. The beauty of the cross is that he made a way through his life that could never be made any other way.

Go off here!

Verse 5 of psalm 110 tells us “the Lord is at your right hand” this is adonai not yahweh which this chapter identifies for us in Hebrew differentiating the son from the father.

He will execute judgement (his discernment is sure)

He will shatter kings (nothing stands against him)

He will shatter chiefs

He will drink by the brook (refreshed and not exhausted from battle. When you are exhausted he is not)

He will lift up his head (he is not fatigued or faint)

This king fights our battles for us and reigns forever as both priest and king mighty in battle on behalf of his people

Apply:

He sympathizes and knows our deepest needs. Will you reach out to him today?

His sacrifice is enough for you today will allow him to save you?

Surrender to the priest king today as the reigning one who will sanctify his people through the power of his resurrection.

How do you need to respond today to Christ the king? Do you need to bend the knee?

How do you need to respond to Christ your high priest? He is not far removed from you.

Main Idea: Christ reigns as king over all and priest for all