Who Is He? The Lord
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Introduction
Introduction
Over two Thousand Years ago a child was born that changed the course of history. This is literally why we have dates like 2021. When was year zero? Though the math was off by a few years when this calendar system was started, the intent was for year zero to be the year the Jesus Christ was born. BC is before Christ. AD is latin “anno Domini” meaning “In the year of our Lord”. Of course, modern scholarship is attempting to erase that by using the letters BCE and CE, which I’m just as happy to accept as “Before Christ’s Era” and “Christ’s Era”.
The shift to BCE and CE (before common era, common era) reminds me of Psalm 2:1-3
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
Even though the secular world attempts to get away from things that point us to Jesus Christ, they still cannot escape the reality that we are in the year 2021 because Jesus Christ came into the world. He is Lord even of time.
As we conclude our mini series on the nature of who Christ is, we are once again going to be taking the words of the angels to the shepherds in Luke 2 as our launching point.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
The last two weeks we have looked at Jesus as savior and Jesus as the Christ. Today, we see him as Lord.
But What does it mean for someone to be a Lord? at base level, the idea of Lord is pretty straight forward. If you were to look up the word Lord in an English dictionary and a Greek lexicon, you would find similar definitions. The concept of lord can pertain to ownership: One is a Lord over something by virtue of being the owner. This can be true of physical property. You are lord over your own home. In biblical times, this could be true of a master/slave relationship. The Lord owned the slaves, thus he was their lord.
This could pertain to the concept of having authority by virtue of holding a position. In biblical times, it was common to refer to individuals who were in positions of authority and power as “lord”. So government officials, teachers, religious leaders, patriarchs, etc, were all often refereed to as “lord”.
But in the Angel’s declaration about the arrival of Jesus, the grammar of the sentence makes it clear that this was not a generic lord who was born. They identified him as the Christ. They identified him as The Lord.
For unto you is born this day... a savior. Who is that savior? He is the Christ. He is The Lord.
We’ve seen what it means for him to be savior.
We’ve examined what it means that He is the Christ.
But what does it mean that Jesus is Lord? That is what I want us to take into consideration today, and to do that I’d like to take us to Psalm 110.
Psalm 110 is considered one of the great Messianic Psalms. It is a Psalm of David. We know nothing of the background surrounding this text, the occasion for writing or any other details. This psalm gets quoted a few times in the NT, and Jesus actually says that David penned these words under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
This Psalm is very clearly about the Messiah, the anointed one, the Christ. It is prophetic. And it minces no words.
The language this Psalm is not the kind of language we often use when we talk about the nature of who our God is. But these are true words, and a true description and prediction of who Christ is and what he will do.
This Psalm breaks down essentially into two sections, though I have three headings, which we will examine in order. First,
The Lord is Ruler.
The Lord is Ruler.
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
In this verse alone we see incredible truth about our Lord.
First, we see the divinity of Christ, in that The Lord calls him Lord. Right away we have ask what is going on here? How is it that the Lord is speaking to another Lord?
This text is quoted a few times in the NT.
The first is in Matthew 22 when Jesus seems to present a riddle to the religious leaders. He asks them in Matthew 22:42-46
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?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
What Jesus was getting at is that the Messiah, the Christ, yes, he is the son of David, but there were hints in the OT that He would be much more than merely a physical descendent of David. David calls him Lord! There is a clue latent in this text about the divine nature of the Christ!
Some say, sure he was more than a mere man, but that’s doesn’t make him God! He was merely the chief angel.
Hebrews uses this same text to demonstrate that the Messiah is more superior than an angel:
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”?
What Jesus and the author of the Hebrews helps us to see is that within the OT text itself were the clues that the Christ would be more than a mere man. He would be more than an angel. He would be more than a physical descendant of David. He is LORD! He is divine!
And God has given him rulership over all things.
1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Seated implies authority. Seated implies a finished work. Hebrews again speaks of Christ as having passed through the heavens and is seated a the right hand of God. Peter stated that God exalted Christ to his right hand in Acts 5:30.
This is a privileged position of authority, power, and rulership. And he is to remain seated until “I make your enemies your footstool”
There is going to come a day when all of creation will bow before our king.
Notice verses 2-3:
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
This Lord carries the mighty scepter. The scepter, of course, is the symbol of kingship and authority. Kings would wield a scepter and use it to render verdicts about various matters. The one who holds the scepter holds the power. This calls to mind the prophecy that Jacob gave to his sons concerning the tribe of Judah in Gen 49:10
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.
The Lord wields the scepter and he will Rule.
That word for rule is interesting. It has the idea of ruling, yes, but can mean subdue, trample, have dominion, or dominate. One commentator put it this way:
Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary The King (110:1–3)
The word used for Rule has a certain sternness, which suits the contrast between the enforced obedience of enemies in this verse and the glad response of volunteers in the next.
Yes, Jesus will conquer his enemies and they will bow before him and they will serve him, but not everyone will be subjected to conquering.
Those who recognize him for who he is will come and offer themselves freely.
3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.
The offing of ourselves willingly is a concept found a few times in Scripture. Perhaps the most recognizable one is Rom 12:1
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
We willingly offer ourselves up to the Lord, recognizing that he is exactly that: Lord. Worthy of our devotion. worship of our worship. worthy of our servitude.
Clothed in holiness, which we know from the NT is not our own but the righteousness given to us by Christ himself, we come before him to serve him.
That last phrase “from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours” is a difficult Hebrew phrase, but it seems to be an idiom of sorts that carries the idea that the Christ will never grow old. His reign will never lose its vitality. As soon as the day dawns on this kingdom, the dew will remain in perpetuity.
It has been said that “the sun never sets on the British empire”. This was a phrase uttered at one of the high points of British control in the world. The British had established colonies and trade routes, they dominated the seas, and they had ports all over the world. So it could be said that the sun never sets on the empire, which communicated the vastness of its reach.
History, however, has shown us that all the great empires of the world have eventually come to an end. Babylon. Persia. Greece. Rome. Britain.
But when the Lord reigns in his kingdom, there is no end to that reign.
What does it mean that Jesus is Lord? It means he will rule. He will reign. He is King. The Lord is Ruler.
Notice also that he is Priest.
The Lord is Priest.
The Lord is Priest.
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
We spent some time talking about the concept that the Messiah would be a priest last week, so I’m not going to spend too much time on this today.
This is the text where we find the prophetic words and the basis for Christ’s priesthood.
If you recall, only Levites in the lineage of Aaron could be a priest. Jesus was not born from the tribe of Levi. He is of the tribe of Judah. How is it that he could be preist?
This is how: He is after the order of Melchizedek
17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Melchizedek was king of Salem. Salem was eventually renamed, Jerusalem. He was a priest to of God Most High.
Remember: this is before the Law. This is before God had established the levitical priesthood. But here is Melchizedek. A priest. a King. In God’s holy city.
Some believe Melchizedek was none other than a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ Himself. I don’t think there is enough information to lead us to a dogmatic conclusion on that. But it is after this pattern that Christ holds his priesthood.
These are the only two examples in all of Scripture of the offices of the Priest and the King being fulled by one individual. Only the Lord could fully fulfill both roles.
Notice the text says that the LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “you are a priest forever”
Israel had issues with their earthly priests. Aaron himself, the very first high priest, sinned by created the golden calf in the wilderness. Eli’s sons acted wickedly that God cursed them and blotted out their line. God’s judgment came upon various priestly individuals for their sin.
But event he righteous priests, who sought the Lord, who obeyed his word, who pursued obedience to the Law, even they grew old and died.
Not so with God’s Messiah:
4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”
Christ holds an eternal priesthood, and thus he is able to offer an eternal salvation.
The Lord is Ruler. The Lord is Priest.
Finally, the Lord is Warrior.
The Lord is Warrior
The Lord is Warrior
5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
This is a picture of our Warrior Lord.
The Lord is at your right hand. Again, the privileged location of the Christ. This also shows us the unity of the Father and the Son.
Some people try to paint a picture of split personalities in the in Godhead. The Father is a big meanie, but the Son is all soft and gentle. Here they are presented as working in concert with one another. It is the Son who rides forth into battle, it is the Messiah who brings forth his wrath.
And none will be able to stand before him.
It says he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses. He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.
It is a picture of complete and utter destruction. All that will be left are the destroyed bodies of those who persisted in rebellion against him.
We are given fuller picture of this battle in Revelation 19:11-21
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” 19 And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
It’s a bit of a gruesome picture. the countryside filled with corpses. Birds dining on the flesh of their carcasses.
It is a picture of full and utter annihilation before the Lord God Almighty.
And then we are left with verse 7
7 He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head.
After the destruction of the enemy, he will be refreshed and exalted.
Passages like this are difficult for us to wrestle with at times. I mean, this doesn’t exactly sound like the Jesus I remember from my storybook bible.
We think of Jesus as being all tender and soft. When we come to passages like this we don’t know what to do with them. Could it be that we have an incomplete picture of who our Lord is? We want to think of our God as a God of love, and he is! Praise God he is a God of love! He think of him as one who offer forgiveness, and Praise God he does! All the aspects that we like about Christ, about his gentleness, his compassion, his mercy, all those things are good and true!!
But he is also warrior. He is also judge. He is also king. And if we fail to come before him offering ourselves willingly, there will be judgment that comes upon us.
It is good and right that he carry out these actions, because those he is destroying are those who persist in their wicked rebellion against him.
This reality can be terrifying. It should be for the unbeliever.
But for us, it should also be comforting.
The Comfort of knowing that our Lord is a warrior.
He is a fighter. He protects his own. He fights for his own.
I think of Rom 8:31-39
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
He not only is a fighter who protects his own, but
He works justice. True justice.
In a world full of injustice and we look around and see our government is corrupt, our judicial system is corrupt, our military and police forces are corrupt, our schools and education centers are corrupt, and we lament and weep at the sin and the pain and the abuse, and the hurt, and we cry out Come quickly Lord Jesus.
Not just so he can take us out of the world so we don’t have to deal with it any more, but come quickly and execute your justice, your righteousness in the land! Make things right again! Make it new.
And because of our Lord is a warrior, that is exactly what will happen.
Just this morning I saw a tweet from a well-known pastor.
“A Day is coming when it’s not present that will be opened, but books” —Mark Dever
Those books will be opened and he will judge because he is Lord. We are accountable to him.
But because he is Savior and Christ, we don’t have to stand before him in fear of destruction. But can rejoice to see his face.
8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This is the message of Christmas. For unto you is born this day in the city of David. A Savior. Who is Christ. The Lord.
Jesus is savior. Jesus is Christ. Jesus is Lord.
If you’re here today and you’ve never trusted in Christ, you are in danger of receiving the wrath of the Son. Not because he is a big meanie, but because your sins is far more significant than you could ever imagine, and he is a God of justice. As long as it is called today, do not harden your heart. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. Saved from your sin. Saved from hell. Saved from the wrath of the son when he brings forth justice. I plead with you today, trust him now.