David's Son and David's Lord

The man who appeared to be a poor busker by the subway is actually a world class musician. The man driving the luxury car and wearing the nice suite is over his head in debt and about to declare bankruptcy. The instagram feed that appears to be one blissful moment after another is actually controlled by a depressed teenage girl who can’t get her life in order. Things are not always as they seem. Appearances can be deceiving. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Now, consider the danger if we evaluate things according to our first impressions.

We might miss out on that which is actually significant, like someone mistaking a winning lottery ticket for a piece of trash on the street; or we might be; or we might invest our lives into something which is not important; like someone throwing their life’s savings into a pyramid scheme that will give no return.

At the most fundamental level, this is one of humanity’s biggest problems. We don’t see as God sees, we don’t understand as God understands, and so we don’t evaluate as God evaluates. But in our folly, we think that we’re wise, and we go on chasing the wind, making sandcastles on the beach, or like the Greek myth, we’re like Sisyphus rolling the stone to the top of the mountain only to have it come crashing down again.

How often are we calling insignificant what God says is glorious? How often are we bored with something when God wants us to be captivated by it? Or, how often are we enamored with what God is repulsed by? How often are we drawn to something that God disdains? How often are we impressed by something that God finds repugnant?

Our text this morning helps us see what is not obvious. It reveals realities to us we have a hard time grasping. It shows us something beyond appearances and presentations into reality itself, and helps us to see reality how God sees it, and to live accordingly.

So much of what we cannot know by intuition or observation, God reveals by his word. And in our text this morning we are going to take a closer look at Jesus, and perhaps, in doing so, we’ll come to a clearer, more realistic, more accurate picture of Jesus. Mark 12:35-37.

Our outline is going to be simply phrase by phrase. Please, take out your Bible and follow along.

1 “And as Jesus taught in the temple.” Let’s remind ourselves of the context for a moment. Look at 11:1-10 - describes Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. For three years Jesus had demonstrated his miraculous power all across Israel, people recognized his authority, and when he came into the city he was greeted with an uproar from the crowds.

Monday morning, on his way back to Jerusalem, he cursed the fig tree. The fig tree had leaves but no fruit; the appearance of fruitfulness, but the lack of any vital life, and he saw in it a parallel to the nation of Israel. Israel appeared healthy - large temple, activity in the courts, religious leaders everywhere - but they were corrupt to the core, and deserving of God’s curse.

And that’s why Jesus stormed the temple and cleaned the place up in verses 15-19. Israel’s temple worship was a sham. It was hypocritical, money-loving, self-absorbed. After clearing the temple, Jesus taught the rest of the day and then returned to Bethany at night.

Tuesday morning on the way in (vs 20-26) Jesus taught on the vital principles of following him: faith, prayer, and forgiveness. And it’s that Tuesday that he begins to get bombarded with antagonistic questioners. 11:27-12:12 the chief priests, scribes, and elders ask him a religious question 1) “where do you get your authority to do these things?” And Jesus refuses to answer plainly and instead tells a parable about them rejecting God’s son. Then a political question about whether they should pay taxes. His answer: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar and to God the things that are God’s.” Then the Sadducees come at him with a theological question, asking him about marriage in the resurrection, and Jesus corrects their bad theology. And then finally we get a question that’s not so hostile: the scribe asking about the greatest commandment, to which Jesus responds that it is love - for God and for neighbor.

All of this has happened on Tuesday - “as Jesus taught in the temple.”

2: “He said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?”

Now Jesus goes on the offensive. Verse 35 says, “And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” Again, for those of us who desire to teach well, whether that’s in one-to-one counseling, small groups, Sunday schools, or preaching, the text says that he “taught” and that the way he taught was by asking a question.

We think of teaching as disseminating information. That’s part. It’s also getting people to think by asking questions. Have you noticed how frequently Jesus is asking questions in order to teach? How much more persuasion and influence would you have with your children, your students, the people you’re counseling, discipling - if you mastered the art of the question?

Jesus here mentions the scribes - scribes were educated students of the law, committed to translating and interpreting it. They would have been there in the temple courtyard with him.

Now, his question is “how can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” The “son of David” was the title Jews had for the promised king who would come from David’s line and reestablish David’s kingdom and rule from David’s throne. See, Israel had experienced an apex of glory under king David, but after him things slowly declined until they crumbled and Israel went into exile. But all along there were prophets saying the “son of David” would come and reestablish Israel and establish a righteous kingdom.

Now, in the last few chapters of Mark, it’s clear that Jesus knew he was the true son of David, and that the people knew he was too. Remember the blind man, Bartimaeus in chapter 10? Jesus was called “son of David” and responded to it. Jesus is the son of David, and he knows it. In chapter 11, the crowds shout “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed in the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest.”

So everyone knew Jesus was claiming to be the son of David. But here, Jesus asks “why do the scribes say the Christ is the son of David?” Jesus appears to be calling into question one of the most foundational truths about the identity of the messiah.

What is he doing? He’s setting up a tension; a dilemma. Jesus wants to put two seemingly contradictory truths side by side and to help them figure out something profound.

3 “David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared.” Now, he’s about to quote Psalm 110. But before we look at that, notice that little prepositional phrase “in the Holy Spirit.” As Jesus quotes this Old Testament psalm, he does two things. First, he establishes the authorship of David. David wrote it. But Second, he emphasizes that David’s work is divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit. David was not merely inspired, like a poet is inspired by a sunset. David wrote by the direction and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which means that as David spoke, the Spirit guided his every word, so that what we read is yes, David’s Words, and God’s Words.

4 “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” Now here, Jesus quotes the first part of Psalm 110. This is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament. The early church loved this psalm, which is funny, because most of us are completely unfamiliar with it. We love Psalm 23, the Lord is my Shepherd, but Psalm 110? It’s confusing to the modern reader: “The Lord said to my Lord” - what?

Keep your finger in Mark 12 and turn over to Psalm 110 because I want you to see something. When you look at verse 1, you see “The LORD” and the letters are all caps, says to my Lord where only the L is capitalized.

The first LORD translates the Hebrew word Yahweh. Yahweh is the covenant name of God. Yahweh is how God revealed himself to Moses. Not a title, a name.

Now the other word we see here as “Lord” is the Hebrew word “adonai.” Adonai means “sovereign one” or “master.” Now this is a title, and most of the time it is a title used to describe God himself. In fact, Psalm 8:1 says, “O LORD our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” It actually says, “O Yahweh, our Adonai - our master, our sovereign one - how majestic is your name.” Adonai is a title for Yahweh.

So Jesus quotes a line from one of King David’s poems: Psalm 110: “The Lord (Yahweh) said to my Lord (adonai).” David says that Yahweh spoke to David’s adonai.

Who is David’s adonai? In ancient Israel, there was only one above the king: God himself. Who is David talking about? Who is the adonai?

David is prophetically speaking of a future Messiah that even David - the greatest of all the kings of Israel - will bow down to and call Master, Sovereign, Adonai.

Look back at what Yahweh says to Adonai. “Sit at my right hand.” In other words, “Sit at the highest place in the universe.” You are greater than principals, greater than presidents, greater than kings, greater than emperors, greater than the wisest philosophers, greater than the most brilliant politicians, greater than the most decorated poets or prophets - only one sits at the right hand of Yawheh is David’s Lord, who is the Messiah- who is Jesus our Lord.

Verse 37: “David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?”

Okay, now we see what Jesus has done. On one hand, everyone rightly understands that the Messiah is the son of David. In other words, he’s a man, descended from David’s line, who will rule and reign one day.

But on the other hand, Jesus is pointing out that the Messiah is the Lord of David - the adonai of David - the divine, sovereign master equal to Yahweh himself.

Jesus' question is this: How can the messiah be David’s son and David’s Lord? A son is junior to his father, a Lord is greater than his father. How can both be true?

Pause for a moment and let’s step back. A good question creates tension, curiosity.

Notice, the text does not give the answer. All it says is that the “great throng heard him gladly.”

But what are we to make of this? What are the questions supposed to do? What are the questions supposed to clarify?

Can you see what Jesus is doing? Jesus is helping the crowds come to a fuller, deeper understanding of who he is.

Things are not always what they seem. The truth is not always self-evident. And Jesus ‘ question is helping them see something profound about who he really is: Yes, he is David’s son - a man through and through. But he is David’s Lord - God very God.

You can almost imagine the people there, listening to his questions, following his logic, and then “bam” - the light bulb goes off and they realize: Whoa, this one right here, this is the son of David, yes, but I did not consider that…he’s David’s Lord.

Could you imagine the sensation of listening to someone speak, being confused, interested, amazed, surprised, and then, through a series of questions, the truth hits you like a ton of bricks, the lights turn on, and you realize, “If what he’s saying is true - that’s God right there.”

This reality of the nature of Christ is bedrock for the Christian faith. It’s no wonder the early church loved Psalm 110. It is essential to get Jesus right. I mean eternally essential. If we believe Jesus is the son of David, that is fully man, but not divine, we embrace heresy and will find ourselves with a false gospel that cannot save.

If we embrace that Jesus is David’s Lord, but he is not David’s son, not a man, that his divinity precludes the possibility of his humanity, we embrace a heresy and will find ourselves with a false gospel that cannot save.

Jesus is a man. Jesus is God. Jesus is one person with two natures. He has a human nature, like you and me, and he has a divine nature, as David’s Lord. This is what theologians call the hypostatic union - the union of the human and divine natures of Christ. This is why the Puritan John Arrowsmith called him Theanthropos, a combination of two Greek words: “theos” (God) and “anthropos” man. He is the God-man.

So as a man, he knows what it’s like to be weak, he knows what it’s like to be poor, he knows what it’s like to suffer, he knows what it’s like to be alone, he knows what it’s like to experience hunger and thirst and pain and even death. Hebrews makes it clear that he experienced temptation as we have and is therefore able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

But in our text, what Jesus is emphasizing to the scribes and helping them to see that he is fully and truly and completely divine. He is not merely a man, he is the God-man.

I’m reading Hebrews devotionally right now and I read this week: “For it was fitting that [Jesus], for whom and by whom all things exist…” and then goes on to speak of his death. And I was thinking about that: “For whom and by whom all things exists.”

All things exist because Jesus made them. All things exist because Jesus designed them in the infinite creativity of his divine mind before the foundation of the world, created them by the infinite power of his hand, and set them in the expanse of his creation. But it doesn’t only say “by whom all things exist” it also says “For whom all things exist.” All things exist for Jesus Christ. Everything in the universe has a purpose. Every mountain, every thunderstorm, every raindrop, every galaxy, every anthill - and every stomping elephant and swimming dolphin and crawling spider and barking dog - and every human being that has ever existed - and all the ranks of angelic beings - all exist for Jesus Christ. Your life is not about you. It’s about Jesus.

You are not the center of God’s creation. Jesus is. And it is the highest privilege for a human being to be called to worship and serve him.

All throughout the New Testament we are shown that Jesus is fully, truly, and completely God. In John 12 he’s identified with Yahweh himself. In 2 Timothy 4, Jesus is the judge; in Acts he’s described as the Holy One; in Revelation he’s the Alpha and the Omega; the first and the last; Jesus is “God our Savior” in Titus, he is called Mighty God in Isaiah 9:6, he is the Lord of glory in 1 Corinthians 2.

Everything that God is, Jesus is. He possesses eternity, he is omnipresent, he is omniscient, he is omnipotent, he is immutable, he is sovereign.

And still, if you didn’t think the New Testament taught clearly that Jesus is God, then consider this: he always accepted worship. He accepted the worship of his disciples and he accepted the worship of angels. If he were merely a high-ranking spiritual being, he would be wrong to accept worship, because the Bible says that worship belongs to God alone.

Throughout the ages Christians have tried to grasp for words to explain this mystery.

The Nicene Creed written in 325 put it like this: “I believe in one God the Father almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man…”

Chalcedonian creed: 451 AD: “our Lord Jesus Christ, the same perfect Godhead and also perfect in manhood; truly God and truly man, of a reasonable soul and body; consubstantial with the Father according to the Godhead, and consubstantial with us according to the Manhood; in all things like unto us, without sin; begotten before all ages of the Father according to the Godhead, and in these latter days, for us and for our salvation, born of the Virgin Mary…to be acknowledged in two natures, inconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably…”

Church, this ought to make us fall to our faces in wonder, love, and praise. What is God like? He came to us. To reveal himself to us that we might know him. But more than that - he came to lay his life down to pay the penalty for our sins, that through his atoning sacrifice there would be no more condemnation for us to face. This Jesus came to save sinners.

Let me ask you: do you think there is anyone Jesus cannot save? Is there any sinner so lost he cannot redeem? Is there any heart so corrupted he cannot cleanse? Is there any habit so deep that he cannot break? Listen - he is God, he is for us, he is gracious, and you must trust him.

And if you’re not a Christian this morning, here I am making this claim that the Creator God entered his creation. I wonder if you think I’m crazy. I wonder if you have a materialistic worldview that precludes any possibility that such a thing could occur. But what if it were true? What might happen? One author makes a few significant points:

First, If God became a man, we would expect him to be utterly different, set apart from everyone else. Jesus was this way, so completely holy that no one could convict him of sin.

Second, if God became a man we’d expect his teachings to be the most profound words ever spoken. This is exactly what happened with Jesus. Everyone who knew him said, “No one has ever spoken like this man,” and to this day his words are cherished and studied by people on every part of the globe.

Third, if God became a man, we’d expect him to display supernatural power. Of course, this is exactly what Jesus did. He healed. He calmed storms. He raised the dead. He cast out demons. Even his enemies couldn’t deny his miracles, they could only attribute them to Satan.

Fourth, if God became a man, we’d expect him to change the world. There’s no one in all of human history so influential as Jesus Christ.

Friends, Jesus is the center of human history, the whole universe exists for his glory, and we should fall on our knees before him, receive his forgiveness by grace, and devote the entirety of our lives to his purposes. This simple question he asked the scribes unveiled something we could not grasp on our own - that the one who came to be our savior is our God.

Where is Jesus in your life? He is to be worshipped and adored and treasured and admired and trusted and obeyed, because he has no rivals. Some people set themselves at the center of their lives, and Jesus is a moon that orbits around their ambitions.

But Jesus won’t have it that way. He is the center of all reality. He is the Lord of all creation. He is the God of the Nations. He is the Sun around which all the universe orbits. You must not marginalize Jesus.

He is David’s son, a man who suffered and died and rose; he is David’s Lord; the God who came, conquered death, and redeemed his people, and is coming again. See him for who he truly is, and give him the honor he deserves.

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