Rebel or Submit

Have you noticed that rebellion against authority has been on the rise in recent years? We see it in the news, violent street protests, court rooms, schools and even in our homes. I saw a video recently that went viral across social media. Parenting expert Jo Frost from the “Supernanny” show, made a video addressing the alarming trend of organized "teen takeovers," where groups of youths are participating in rebellious acts causing public havoc, destroying businesses, neighborhoods, looting shops, and filming attacks on strangers. She warned parents to "get a grip," stressing that parents must take responsibility rather than blaming social media or external authorities for their kid’s rebellious behaviors. Just this past Memorial-day weekend there were several “teen takeovers” in Chicago that led to police officers being injured and 50+ arrests made toward teens engaging in criminal activity. Police confiscated guns, knives and other weapons (See article). Rebellious acts have gone unchecked and have led to loss of respect for authority and even loss of lives.

As we look at the past and the present affairs in this world, this is nothing new. Rebellion has existed since the fall in the book of Genesis. Today, it starts early with kids pushing boundaries, questioning rules and getting their way even as young as 2-3 years of age. Have you seen a 3-year old throw a fit? But it’s not just kids and teenagers who test the boundaries and rebel, we too as adults do the same. We resist governments, authority systems that we may not agree with, even God Himself. There is something selfish deep in the human heart that says: “I want to be in charge”, I want to do it my way like Frank Sinatra. Our heart has a sickness called sin. Paul in Romans 3:10-12; quoting Psalm 14:1-3; Psalm 53:1-3, reminds us of our human condition 10 as it is written: 11 “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; No one does good, not even one.”

Humanity resists God’s authority every day. We all are rebellious by nature! We are all sinners and guilty from the least to the greatest. Psalm 2 speaks directly to this reality. It reveals us something that is bigger and greater than just our own personal sin struggle—it reveals a global, world-wide human rebellion against the Creator God. As we look at Psalm 2 today, we will see how humanity rebels, God’s response and the choice that each one must make: to Rebel or Submit?

Last week we were introduced to the Book of Psalms. Psalms is a collection of 150 poems, arranged into five books written by many authors. There are also different types of psalms as shown on the screen. Psalm 2, is a royal psalm that focuses on the king of Israel. Although these psalms were originally written for David and his successors in Jerusalem, the references made about the king in some of them were not fulfilled by the O.T. kings (Psalm 2, 45, 110). These look forward to the true king and Son of God, The Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus used the words of Psalm 110, another royal psalm to describe his own relationship with his heavenly Father (110:1; see Matthew 22:43-45). Early Christians used quotations from the royal psalms to show that Christ is the ultimate the fulfillment (eg see Matthew 22:43-45; Acts 2:34-35; Heb. 1:5, 13). In general, the Royal or Messianic Psalms help us to express our worship of Christ as King of the universe. Last week Pastor Joel introduced us to Psalm 1 where he challenged us to delight and be rooted in God’s Word and avoid the ways of the wicked. Both Psalm 1 & 2, have very similar messages and warnings contrasting the righteous and the wicked. Psalm 2 is divided into four parts. Let’s walk through the text together. The 1st point in our outline is:

1. The Rebellion of the Nations (vv. 1–3)

Follow along as I read verses 1-3 “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?”

In verse 1, the author begins by asking a rhetorical question, one that doesn’t need to be answered. Right away, the Psalmist is shocked and outraged. He’s not just describing rebellion—he’s questioning it. Why? Because it doesn’t make sense. Why would they do such a thing as to rage against God? How foolish for humanity to think that they can rebel against God and win? What does it mean to rage against God? One of the benefits of Hebrew poetry and synonymous parallelism is that the second line is another way of saying the first line. So, we can use the second line to help us to interpret the first one.

The people raging and plotting a vain thing means basically the same thing. Who are the one’s raging and plotting. You have nations, peoples, kings and rulers who are joining effort together in this rebellion. It’s interesting to note that this word “plot” is the same word for “meditate” in Psalm 1. Plotting or mediating is this idea of whispering or murmuring under one’s breath. So, the righteous one in Psalm 1 meditates or murmurs and whispers on the Law of the Lord daily, but the ungodly in Psalm 2 murmur or whisper under their breaths in secret as they plot against God. Their rebellion is irrational and they think that they will succeed. Now, Who are they rebelling against?

“The kings of the earth rise up… against the LORD and against his Anointed.” There’s some disagreement as to who the “Anointed One” is in this context.

--Some scholars say that the “Lord’s Anointed” here is David or one of the Davidic kings from his linage. The word “Anointed” refers to a king chosen by God and in the O.T, kings were anointed with oil as a sign that they were appointed by God.

--others believe that Psalm 2 is a foreshadowing, and refers to Christ and his return (2nd Coming) to destroy the kingdoms of this word and set up His kingdom. This is a messianic psalm prophesying the establishment of the worldwide reign of Christ in the future.

In our text today, the psalmist tells us that together everyone is uniting and plotting a fighting strategy not against other nations—but against God Himself! This is a world-wide organized resistance against God All-mighty! They are ignorant of God and ignorant about God (in that they don’t know Him) but the root cause according to a fellow Pastor Dave Lambert: “Mankind’s root problem is not ignorance; it’s rebellion!” Paul tells us in Romans 1 that all men know that there is a Creator God, but they suppress that truth. They don’t want to know about God so they turn to their own man-made idols that they can control. They don’t want a god that holds them accountable for their sinful deeds. Truth be told, this is not just a world political conflict. This is a power grab move, a spiritual rebellion. Men have been rebelling against God and his authority and have been plotting to overthrow His rule and wanting power since the fall of Adam. And what do they say in verse 3?

“Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.” This verse reveals how the earthly rulers are conspiring against God seeking to reject His authority and reclaim their own independence. They see God’s authority as oppression, as bondage. They see God’s divine laws or commands as “Chains” and “cords” that they need to break free from. To them the law is oppressive and restrictive. They believe freedom means independence from Him and His Laws. (Google AI Overview) The world believes freedom comes from rejecting God’s rule but the Bible teaches the complete opposite…”freedom is found under God’s rule!” Freedom is found in Christ Alone!

And honestly, that rebellious mindset hasn’t changed in the 21st century. Today people still reject His Word, they redefine morality and think:

“God’s rules are outdated”

“I want to live my own way.” “No one tells me what to do—not even God.”

But here’s the truth: Sin is universal rebellion, is not just making mistakes at times. Sin is wanting to do what you desire, is resisting the very authority of Christ. Rejecting God doesn’t lead to freedom—it leads to chaos and destruction. This brings us to the 2nd point. (Show Slide 6)

2. The Response of God (vv. 4–6)

How does God respond to such chaos? The truth is that God is not threatened by rebellion. God is not anxious. He is not worried. He is not calling together a cabinet meeting the last minute! There is no panic in heaven, because God is Sovereign and in complete control. What do we see in these verses. “He who sits in the heavens, he who is enthroned in heaven laughs.” He laughs—not because rebellion is funny, but because it’s doomed to failure. It’s not a laugh of the humor type, but of the mocking type, it’s divine scorn. Their raging, plotting and murmuring are all in vain: hopeless, worthless. The Lord holds humanity’s efforts of rebellion in contempt or disgust. He derides them and mocks them and taunts them. Human rebellion is powerless against the sovereignty of God. Notice then how the tone shifts:

“He rebukes them in wrath or judgment and terrifies them in His anger or fury…”

Are you afraid of God? Are you terrified of His anger and fury? Mankind should be! God takes rebellion seriously. His justice is real. Rebellion demands God’s wrath and his anger. None of us have any true comprehension of what that would be like. As believers we don’t have to experience His terrifying wrath and anger. But for the ungodly, God is patient and will not ignore much longer. His wrath has been building up against the enemies throughout history. In Romans 2:5, Paul reminds people that the wicked are storing up wrath and that God will judge them to the full extent and friends you don’t want to be on the wrong side when he does. Learn from history past, repent and turn to the Lord in humility for salvation! Someone once said: “Eternity is too long to be on the wrong side!”

What’s next?... we see a decisive and powerful declaration by God the Father:

“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

Unlike the rulers of the world who try to negotiate, God doesn’t negotiate. He doesn’t adjust His plan. His plans cannot be thwarted by opposition…In His Sovereignty He simply declares: “My King is already in place.” It’s already established! You can do nothing to prevent Me from performing my will and my purpose. Their scheming and plotting have failed to stop the King from setting up His rule. This brings us to the 3rd section of the text. (Show Slide 7)

3. The Ruling of the King (vv. 7-9)

In verses 7-9, the King’s Son Himself speaks. What’s the decree that he’s speaking of: “I will tell of the decree: The LORD (God the Father) said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.” Does this mean that Jesus was not God’s son in eternity past? By no means! Many false teachers and scholar critics have tried to use this phrase to try to disprove the deity of Jesus as God’s Son. They read the English translation and they teach that Jesus isn’t equal in essence to God as the 2nd Person of the Trinity. Jesus is a created being because only someone who had a beginning in time can be “begotten”. Jehovah’s Witnesses hold on to this teaching that Jesus was literally “begotten” as in “created” by God the Father. (Gotquestions.org)

Jesus the Son of God has existed eternally with the Father as we read in John 1:1. The phrase used as “begotten”, expresses the unique relationship between God the Father and His King, the Son. The phrase “only begotten” translates the Greek word mono-genes. This word is translated into English as “only, one and only, only begotten”. It’s also used a few times in the N.T. in the Greek. According to the Greek-English Lexicon of the N.T. and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG, 3rd Edition), mono-genes has 2 primary definitions:

One is pertaining to being the only one of its kind within a specific relationship” (Heb. 11:17; referring here to the relationship between Abraham and his only son Isaac). Note: Abraham had other sons, but Isaac was the only son of the covenant promise, a special relationship

The other is pertaining to being the only one of its kind or class, unique in kind.” (This is meaning of John 3:16; John 1:14, 18; 3:18; 1 John 4:9). The Father and Son share the same divine nature. We are sons and daughters of the Creator God, but we don’t share that divine nature. ONLY JESUS does! Only He is the unique in kind and has that special relationship with the Father. We don’t! We are created beings and worst off we are sinners. Jesus is PERFECT in every WAY!

As we look at this passage, what’s in mind here is that the Christ, The Son of God was to be in the future elevated or “begotten” to a special status by virtue of his victory over death and hell at His death and resurrection. Paul refers to this in Acts 13:33 where he quotes Psalm. He writes of the good news what God promised in the past, he fulfilled it to their children by raising Jesus. Here is the promise about what the ultimate Davidic heir would be. By virtue of defeating death, hell and the grave and by rising from the dead, Christ was given this elevated “sonship”, this elevated status as God’s begotten Son, who was faithful and obedient in all things. (See also Matthew 28:18; Eph. 1:19-22)

God’s king has divine authority and He has royal divine status. The King is the Messiah, The Anointed One of God, Jesus. His authority is universal and will rule over all nations and over everything. God the Father is going to give the Son all the nations as an inheritance. He will have power, authority, dominion and will judge the nations. This King is not weak! He has ultimate power and is decisive in His judgment. The King will rule with power and break the nations that rebel and completely destroy them. He is king over all the nations and as Paul write “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the father.” (Philippians 2:10-11). Christ has not fully exercised that authority yet… Hebrews 2:8 says “”putting everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to Him.

The psalmist, David (Acts 4:25), refers to God's mention of the king's right to rule. He recalls the covenant God made with him. This is a permanent decree authorizing Davidic rule. God promised king David this: "He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever." (2 Sam. 7:13). This statement connects the idea of the promised Messiah being referred to as a "Son" of God. Further, God referred to his relationship with David's promised descendant—the One with a "kingdom forever" as a father-son relationship. He said, "I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son" (2 Samuel 7:13–14). The covenant relationship between God and King David finds a greater fulfillment in the relationship of Father-Son that exists between God and His Son, the Messiah. John 3:16 emphasizes this relationship by stating, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…"

Christ, The King, has always enjoyed elevated status as God’s son, the second person of the trinity. But because of his victory over the grave at Resurrection, he has been given even more exalted status and with it comes the Crown and an inheritance that gives Him authority over all world rulers as he breaks and destroys them to pieces to establish His Kingdom.

As Believers and God’s people we don’t just accept Jesus, we submit to Him because He has authority over every area of our lives.

This brings us to the last section of the psalm verses 10-12 (Show Slide 8)

4. The Reminder to the nations and the Reward for the faithful (vv. 10-12)

Now as the psalmist who opened the psalm is speaking again. The tone changes from declaration to invitation… and warning. He is reminding….he is sending a warning to the rebellious kings and rulers. “Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned…” If any of you have not yet bowed the knee to the Son, now’s is the time to do it! The only logical conclusion and course of action is to submit. They are to wise up and serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. In verse 12, he writes “kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. We see God showing mercy to the rebellious kings and rulers. God is giving people a chance to respond, a chance to repent and turn toward him. The Psalmist makes a call to wise submission. “Serve the Lord with fear and celebrate His rule with trembling.” That’s an interesting combination—fear and joy. It’s not just serving with reverence or awe…Fear means more than just respect for God. Trembling in the Hebrew language refers to “utter terror and fear or at least great emotional distress (See Exodus 15:15; Job 4:14; Psalms 48:6; Isaiah 33:14; Dan. 10:11; Ezra 10:9) (Biblegateway.com)

Simply put it means to take God seriously and find joy in His rule. In ancient times to “Kiss the Son” of a king was a sign of submission, humility and loyalty to a king. This phrase means to surrender, honor, worship and if NOT….the warning is clear for anyone who does not… “He will be angry and you will be destroyed”. We must humble ourselves and submit and bow to the Son, King Jesus. The alternative is destruction. True wisdom is surrendering to God but for the ungodly, ignoring Jesus is unwise. Christ is both Judge and refuge (a place of safety) for those who serve Him. The King who judges rebellion is also the One who provides refuge. Safety and freedom are not found in rebellion or resisting God…it’s found in trusting and submitting to him.

In conclusion, Psalm 2 is a royal, messianic psalm that points forward to the coming of the eternal King Jesus. It serves as both a warning and an invitation: Reject God’s King and face judgment, or trust Him and receive blessing, refuge and security. While Satan is currently the ‘god of this world,” his reign is doomed and his destruction is in sight, for God the Father has decreed that God the Son, will take His rightful place as RULER over the entire earth. The Messiah, will judge the earth (v.8); He will be given the nations as a heritage or inheritance and all the earth as His possession. We will see this fulfilled at Christ’s second coming as He establishes His rule forever! (Rev. 19:11-20:6)

We are left with a clear choice: rebel or submit, resist or trust, stand against the King or take refuge in Him.

What will you choose today? There is no middle ground! Every person from the least to the greatest ultimately faces this decision. And here is the good news in all this… “The King who rules over all creation and all nations is also the Savior who welcomes us to come to Him and be part of His kingdom. So the question is simple? What will you do with King Jesus? Wise up, repent and turn away from your sins and rebellion and embrace King Jesus. The Lord Jesus is merciful and stands ready to forgive all who receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Let’s pray…

Lord, Help us to see You not just as a great teacher, healer, Savior, but as King. Forgive us for the ways we resist Your authority. Teach us to trust You, submit to You, and find refuge in You. We choose today not rebellion—but surrender. In Jesus’ name, Amen

Benediction: Revelations 5:13

Bible Study Resources:

Life Application Study Bible (NLT)

Richards, O. Lawrence. Bible Teachers Commentary

Wikipedia Online: William Ewart Gladstone

Halley’s Bible Handbook (New Revised Edition): The Psalms

CLC Bible Companion

Lamber, Dave: Sermon: Psalm 2: Let Earth Receive Her King

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%202%3A11&version=NET

https://www.tiktok.com/@jofrost/video/7641105247301078290

Chicago officials consider fining parents over teen takeovers

Chicago teen takeover leads to 53 arrests, sparks policy debate

https://www.gotquestions.org/only-begotten-son.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/you-are-my-son-today-I-have-begotten-you.html

https://www.bibleref.com/Psalms/2/Psalm-2-7.html