The Most Important Question Ever Asked
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During Jesus’ long Monday at the temple during His last few days before Calvary, He was questioned by the religious leaders to try to discredit His claim as the Son of God. They failed in their attempts, as Jesus silenced them, and now it was Jesus’ turn to ask a question. The question that Jesus directed towards the Pharisees is “The Most Important Question Ever Asked!”
“What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? [Mt. 22:42]
Text; Mark 12:35-40
35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?
36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
37 Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.
38 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces,
39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,
40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
1. What do you think about the Christ? 35
1. What do you think about the Christ? 35
Christ- Gk. χριστός, lit. the ‘Anointed One’). The word is the Gk. translation of the Heb. ‘*Messiah’.
Christos and Messiah are the Greek and the Hebrew for the same word, and both mean the Anointed One. The reason for the use of the title is that in ancient times a man was made king by being anointed with oil. Christos and Messiah then both mean “God’s Anointed King”, the great one who is to come from God to save his people.
Jesus asked a specific question about the Messiah: “Whose Son is He?” Think about the Messiah. What is His origin? Who gave birth to Him? What do the scriptures say?
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
14 ‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
15 ‘In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David A Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’
17 “For thus says the Lord: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;
18 nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”
35 Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David:
36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Jesus was asking three things.
a. Where does your deliverance come from? The Messiah is to deliver man from all the evil and enslavements of the world. Where will such a Person come from?
b. Where does your Lord come from—the Person you are to follow? The Messiah is to be the Lord who is to rule and reign and govern all lives, executing perfect justice and care.
c. Where does your peace come from—the Person who is to bring about the perfect world and all that is good and beneficial? Where does the Person come from who is to bring the Kingdom of God to earth?
Their answer;
“Son of David”- the Jewish people viewed the messiah as nothing more than a man. The messiah would be a son (descendant) of David and, like him, defeat Israel’s enemies and usher in the glorious kingdom.
The genealogies of Jesus offer irrefutable proof that He was a descendant of David. Both His earthly father, Joseph (Matt. 1:1–17), and His mother, Mary (Luke 3:23–38), were direct descendants of David, thus Jesus was also. The temple had the records and no doubt were verified by the Sanhedrin. Matter of fact, no one ever challenged Christs’ Davidic linage!
2. David calls Him LORD; 36-37
2. David calls Him LORD; 36-37
The religious leaders were half right in saying the Christ is “The Son of David” but they were not willing to confess that the Christ is “The Son of God.”
Jesus quotes a psalm of David that the Jews considered a Messianic psalm
1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”
The Messiah is both David’s Son and David’s Lord at the same time.
Jesus was saying that David himself didn’t think the Messiah would be just a descendant; instead, David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, realized that the Messiah would be God in flesh. The God-Man, fully human, fully divine!
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
They had misread the scriptures concerning the Messiah as being not only the Son of David but also being the LORD God!
6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
16 In those days Judah will be saved, And Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS’
36 His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”
Why is this so important that Jesus be the God-Man? Because if Jesus was just a man, we are still in our sin.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.
14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Another way of demonstrating Christ’s deity is to ask the question, “If God became a man, what would we expect Him to be like?”
First, if God became a man, we would expect Him to be sinless, because God is absolutely holy (Isa. 6:3). So is Jesus. Even His bitter enemies could make no reply to His challenge, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46). He is “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens” (Heb. 7:26).
Second, if God became a man, we would expect His words to be the greatest words ever spoken, because God is omniscient, perfectly wise, and has infinite command of the truth and the ability to perfectly express it. Jesus’ words demonstrated all that. The officers sent to arrest Him reported back to their superiors, “Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks” (John 7:46; cf. Matt. 7:28–29).
Third, if God became a man, we would expect Him to display supernatural power, because God is all-powerful. Jesus controlled nature, walked on water, healed the sick, raised the dead, dominated the kingdom of Satan and the demons, supernaturally avoided those who tried to kill Him, and performed miracles too numerous to be counted (John 21:25).
Fourth, if God became a man, we would expect Him to exert a profound influence over humanity. Jesus did. He changed the world like no one else in history.
Fifth, if God became a man, we would expect Him to manifest God’s love, grace, kindness, compassion, justice, judgment, and wrath. Jesus did. Look at the Cross!
Jesus Christ was in every way the exact representation of God’s nature (Heb. 1:3).
(John Macarthur, Luke 18–24, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody, 2014], 155–58)
Ordinary common people gladly heard Him! Do you hear Him talking to you today?
3. A Day of Reckoning; 38-40
3. A Day of Reckoning; 38-40
Jesus warns the people not to be like the religious leaders playing a game of religion at the expense of their own soul and to the detriment of others.
Privilege creates responsibility. These religious leaders had been given the Law of God to guide them into a relationship with the Lord and that they would guide God’s people Israel. Yet they had not taken advantage of that privilege. Their judgment will be more severe than those who have never heard the Word!
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
They knew Jesus was the Son of David, their Messiah, the Anointed King of God and they refused to repent and believe!
Close;
Most people today are like the scribes and the Pharisees. They believe the Bible stories about Jesus. They love the image of that baby in a manger. They enjoy reading about Him feeding multitudes, healing the sick, preaching sermons, raising the dead and walking on water. They even like the story of the cross and the resurrection. What a powerful testimony of a good man and His desire to help others.
But just like the scribes and Pharisees most people in our culture cannot grasp the truth that Jesus Christ is more than a baby in a manger, or a man who got Himself crucified on a cross. They cannot seem to grasp the truth that He is God in human flesh! They cannot get their minds around the truth that He is the only way to God; that He is the only hope of salvation.
Let me ask you the most important question you will ever be asked,
What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?