Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Mark 12:35-40

Theme: If Jesus is Lord, then 1) Christ’s lordship will affect the decisions you make, 2) Christ’s lordship will motivate the things that you do, and 3) Christ’s lordship will illuminate the things that you think and the attitudes you hold.

Most of you have heard people say one of the following statements: "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you are sincere in what you believe."

Or, “I believe in everyone’s right to believe whatever they want to believe in.”

Or my favorite: “There are many paths to God, and it depends on the individual as to which is their path.”

These statements are all very politically correct statements in an ever increasing secularized culture.

We’ve all heard them countless times.

They are usually made by people who don’t want to make waves when it comes to religion or faith based discussion.

They sound so broad-minded.

They each have just enough of a ring of truth to them, that most people buy into their philosophy.

The only problem is that it does matter what you believe.

It does not matter how sincere you are if you are sincerely wrong.

When men die and stand before the Creator of the Universe, sincerity of belief will not matter.

What we believe matters.

This is the force of the argument that Jesus drives home in His conversation with the Scribes.

I. THE SANCTIMONIOUS SCRIBES

1. the scribes were the ‘bible answer men’ of their day

a. their function was to copy, read, and explain the Scriptures to the people

b. they lectured on it in the Synagogues and taught it in the schools

1) the word Scribe comes from a Hebrew word that literally means scripturalists

2. they were experts in the Hebrew Scriptures

1) in fact, in our text Jesus confronts them with a probing question about what they really believed about the Messiah

2) was the Messiah to be merely a human national deliverer?

3) or was he more?

b.

Jesus wanted to know whether they understood the truth about the Messiah

3. in this text, Jesus reveals the supernatural nature of the Messiah’s lordship and at the same time refutes the self-exalting nature of the scribes

4. the message of tonight’s passage is a simple one: Jesus Christ is Lord

5. the question we need to ask ourselves — and I’ll deal with this when we discuss the lessons for tonight’s text — the question we need to ask ourselves is "What are the implications of Christ's lordship for me?"

A. THE CHAMPIONS OF IMAGE BUILDING

1. for the Scribes of Jesus day, image was everything

a. the most distinguished position in that culture was that of Scribe

2. they were easily recognized because they wore a long, white linen robes that reached all the way to their feet

a. around the bottom of this robe, it was hemmed by long, white fringe

ILLUS.

One commentator wrote: “They were ecclesiastical swans, regally gliding amongst the common mud hens of humanity."

3. the were highly respected

a. they were commonly greeted in respectful tones as "rabbi" which means my great one or "master"

b. when a scribe passed by, the people rose respectfully to honor him

c. at feasts they were given the place of honor, seated to the right and left of the host

d. in the synagogues, the scribes were given the place of ultimate honor

1) they sat on a bench with their backs against the chest holding the Torah scrolls

4. they were considered holy men, and they played the part well

a. most of them were sanctimonious

1) which is a fancy way of saying the were hypocrites

b. most of them were supercilious

1) which means they were pompous and convinced of their own superiority

5. Jesus is very clear that though they appeared holy on the outside, that they were more interested in self-aggrandizement

“And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers.

They will receive the greater condemnation.””

(Mark 12:38–40, ESV)

a. with comments like these, Jesus obviously would have failed a Carnegie course on how to win friends and influence people

B. THE CHALLENGE TO THE SCRIBES

1. during the first half of this week Jesus had been in a running debate with the scribes and religious leaders in a game of 20-questions

a. up to this point, they had been the ones asking the questions

b. each time, Jesus had turned the tables on them

2. Jesus now goes on the offensive — "And Jesus answering began to say, as He taught in the temple, 'How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?" (v.

35)

a.

He challenges these scribes to tell Him what they really believe about the Messiah

ILLUS.

Historically, the Jewish people believed that God’s Anointed One — Messiah — would be a man, and nothing more than a man; a man like King David.

He would be an earthly ruler of unsurpassed power and authority.

He would conquer Israel’s enemies.

He would fulfill all the promises given to the Patriarch Abraham and King David.

The Messiah would be a son — i.e. a descendant — of David, and would usher in a kingdom similar in size and glory as Solomon’s kingdom.

He would be the savior of the nation, but not a savior of individual souls.

3. the scribes were supposed experts in the Old Testament Scriptures

a. they were given great respect among the people because of their devotion to biblical knowledge and understanding

1) they knew the prophecies which indicated that the Messiah would come of David's seed

b.

Jesus, using the Scriptures, questions why these scribes believe that the Christ is merely the son of David

1) in verses 36- 37 He quotes from Psalm 110

2) the scribes knew this Psalm and recognized it as a Messianic prophecy pointing to the Christ

4. because the Old Testament taught that the Messiah would come from the lineage of David, they expected Him to be merely a physical descendant of David

a. the thought of the supernatural never entered the picture

ILLUS.

The Jewish people had not an inkling that God’s Anointed One would be divine — an incarnation of God into this world.

The questions of Jesus had purpose.

He was not seeking information for His benefit – He already knew their hearts.

In fact, He was not at this moment seeking to discern what they thought of Him.

He knew what they thought of him.

Jesus specifically asked whom they considered the Christ to be.

Who was the Christ; who was the Messiah?

The Scribes rightly affirmed that the Christ was the Son of David, but they failed to see Jesus as the Christ.

That was the major point of contention.

5. Jesus declares that David had penned these words through inspiration of the Holy Spirit ... “David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:” vs. 36

a. what is David declaring?

He’s revealing a conversation between God the Father, and God the Son ... “The LORD, Yahweh, said unto David’s Lord, Adonai, sit on my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool”

1) while David had not lived to see Christ in the flesh, through the Spirit he recognized his Lord as Christ, the Son of God

b. so when Jesus said, "David himself calls him — i.e. the Son of God — Lord" He threw the scribes into a theological dilemma

1) how could God’s Anointed One be both David's son and David’s Lord?

2) the first word Lord in this verse is Yahweh, which is God’s covenant name

3) the second word Lord is Adonai a word that the Jews used as a title of God

c. in this passage, King David pictures God speaking to the Messiah, whom David calls his Lord

1) the scribes had never thought of that

5. the Messiah could not be both David's son and his Lord if He were merely human

a. it would take a divine-human being to do that

b. the scribes had no answer

c. they had never thought of God’s Messiah in terms of being a supernatural being

6. but this is exactly what the 110 Psalm teaches