Connecting the Dots

 

^"41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: ⁴² "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They *said to Him, "The son of David." ⁴³ He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,"Sit at My right hand,

Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet”"? ⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?" ⁴⁶ No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question."     

Matthew 22:41-46

 

Good Morning my beloved, 

 

We welcome you to worship in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. What a tremendous honor and privilege to come God's Word, I am grateful that God has blessed me with another opportunity. God has been great in continuing to bless our efforts in reaching the lost and the deceived, please keep sharing the ministry website as you feel lead. I humbly ask you to continue to pray for our brothers and sisters throughout the world, especially those in North Korea, China, Somalia, Yemen, Eritrea, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan and Sudan. May God raise up Spirit-filled leaders to evangelize the lost and continue to bless our growth together with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, as we faithfully lead others to Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.   

 

 

When it comes to opinions about Jesus Christ, the world has never lacked for opinions about Jesus. "Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." The Jewish religious leaders of His own day said He was able to perform miracles by the power of the devil himself.

 

Over two centuries ago, Jesus asked the Pharisees most important question of all questions, "Who is the Christ? Whose son is he?" The answer to this same question has determined the fate for every single human being who lives or ever has ever lived. 

 

I believe that every parents dream is that their children surpass them in terms of true success and impact upon the world. It brings me tremendous joy when I see my children excel and develop in areas where I have been pouring into them for years. I don’t know if I'll live long enough to see the full impact of that investment, but I do have faith that whether I'm present on this earth or not, that will continue. They may still be young, but that’s certainly my hope for my sons. 

King David was said to be one of the greatest leaders that Israel has ever had. There were many prophecies concerning the one called the Son of David, who would far outshine David himself. 

 

As we continue our study of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 22 , it feels like we’re going rock climbing, jumping from mountain to another.

 

In today's passage it's seems as if Jesus has decided to do a little tricky questioning Himself. If you've been with us through the last few messages, you know that the religious leaders of the day had been continually asking Jesus what they believed were some tricky questions, attempting to trap Him in His words. I can almost hear Jesus is saying, "So, you like tough questions? Let Me show you what a tough question really is!" Funny thing is it isn't really a hard question. Every Jewish person knew that the Messiah would be the descendant of David. The deity of Jesus Christ has forever and always been attacked by those who would deny the reality that He is the Son of God, God incarnate and His worthiness to be King.

 

Let us pray

 

Heavenly Father,

 

Father, we humbly thank You for Your Word, help us to not just hear Your Word, but that it may be understood, and applied to our lives, encouraging each heart to bow the throne of grace in repentance. May we walk in confidence of our forgiveness and live in a way befitting of Christ's Lordship in our lives. Thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ, Who gave His life for us, a sinful, unclean people. May we humbly give our lives to Him in gratitude for His finished work on the cross. And, because we have been forgiven, help us to graciously forgive others. We pray that You would touch every hardened heart, living in fear,  guilt, and shame, that they would heed the call of the Gospel to repent and believe. All for Your glory and Christ's sake.

We ask and pray in Jesus' name

Amen

Today's Message: Connecting the Dots

We can only know Jesus as He really, the deity of Christ, when we have proper a perspective. The Jews believed their Messiah would be a human political military leader. False religious systems have a problem with the unique identity of the deity of Jesus Christ. God, has given us in His Word, a corrective to connect the dots to that very serious error.

As you will recall, this is Passion Week, and Jesus has been engaging in a long conversation and confrontation with the religious leaders in the temple. He has cleansed the temple, been inundated with their questions, intended to discredit Him and trap Him, about His authority and who gave Him that authority, whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar and which is the great commandment in the Law.

 

The Pharisees are still huddled there in the midst of the temple courtyard and no doubt, they are surrounded by all the people with Jesus in the center as the center of attention. This time He confronts them with a two-fold question, they didn't quite expect, indicting their ignorance and ultimately, a pronouncement which reflects their judgment. I believe that there’s an invitation here, because some of the religious leaders are surely closer than others to salvation, who may have needed more information about the deity of Jesus Christ, that could bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ. Remember, Jesus said to the expert lawyer "You are not far from the kingdom of God."

Open your Bibles to the twenty-second chapter of the gospel of Matthew, chapter 22:41-46 . I invite you to follow along with me, as I read these six verses to you. Let us be faithful to open our hearts and minds, and listen to what the Spirit of God has to say to each of us today. Matthew 22:41-46.

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, "The son of David." He *said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet’"

If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?" No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question."

This is a great passage that, I believe, proves that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. I mean, since when does a father call his son "Lord?" When David wrote Psalm 110, he was in the Spirit, led of the Spirit. The father is always greater than the son, unless that Son, is the Messiah! The Sonship of Jesus is not like other sons.

Let's look at verse 41, "Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question." 

Jesus is about to make His point about who the Messiah is. And course, the Pharisees with all their self-proclaimed wisdom, take the bait. How could they possibly be so foolish? 

 Mow, let's look at the question in verse 42, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They *said to Him, "The son of David."

Notice He’s not asking about Himself, it’s an indirect question, He's just asking them about their opinion about the Messiah. He knew that they thought the Messiah was nothing more than a man because they didn't understand the what the fullness of Messiah’s role would be. In Mark's parallel account, he says "And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?" And that's true!

In 2 Samuel 7:13-13, God gives the promise of an eternal Kingdom to David and He says this, "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."

Finally, the Pharisees get something right! At least part of it, they should have realized that Jesus is referring to Psalm 110, the "Messianic Psalm." They were in such a hurry to show their knowledge when in fact they end up displaying their ignorance. It is really inconceivable to me that they could be so ignorant as not to know their own Scriptures? After all, they are the "experts," they shouldn't have missed this. So, Jesus is about to give them a lesson in deeper understanding. Or by the end of it confusion.

Verse 43-44, He *said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet"?

This is obviously indicated numerous in the Old Testament, the problem is, Solomon’s kingdom didn’t last forever, so we know it can't be talking about him. It had to be someone else in the Davidic line that’s going to have an eternal Kingdom.

Micah 5 says "Now muster yourselves in troops, daughter of troops; They have laid siege against us;
With a rod they will smite the judge of Israel on the cheek. "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel.
His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." Showing the Messiah will come out of the city of David, Bethlehem. They should have known that the Messiah was to be of the seed of David.

That's brings us to verse 46, "No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question." 

On Tuesday, when He cleansed the temple and all the children shouted all shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David," the Messianic title, they kept records on the genealogy in the temple, they should've known. They could have disqualified Jesus on a non-Davidic line if it were so, but they couldn't do it. They knew He was qualified to be the King of Israel. Instead, they're saying the great Messianic title is too great a title for You, there’s got to be another one. David, as great as a king as he was, would actually look up to his descendant. Which humanly speaking would have been the opposite. The Son of David would not simply bring hope to Israel, He would bring hope to the entire world. Jesus showed Himself to be the Son of David. The Messiah is in fact the Lord God, Adonai.

David used the word, Adonai, which means "sovereign one." David used the word, Yahweh, which is the personal name of God in the most reverent form. Jesus took the Sadducees to Moses at the burning bush. He took the expert in the law to Deuteronomy 6. Now He’s taking the Pharisees to David, showing them that the kingdom of God has come and He is God’s fulfilled promise. These were the religious leaders, and they couldn't answer Him. How can One be the root of David and the offspring of David, except He be God?

They were looking for a man. A man of God instead of the God-Man! They did not understand that the Messiah would be God Himself. The should have answered the Messiah has to be God as well as man. But they could not answer the question. He even told them "I and the Father are One." They never expected God to send His own Son.

They should have searched the Scripture, that's where they would find the answer. The answer was standing right in front of them, they had a front-row seat to the healings, the miracles, the raising of the dead, all the profound words of divine wisdom, the answer was right there in the Scripture, "David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet," Lord number one talking to Lord number two. Jesus said David wrote it under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration. The original text says, "Be thou sitting," present imperative, continuous, take a continuous place of exaltation on the right hand of God, as a symbol of authority. The Lamb of God is indeed a Lamb without blemish.

 

Jesus is telling us three things; He's affirming the Messianic character, is affirming Davidic authorship, and He affirms the deity of Messiah. Jesus affirms the Messianic character of the Psalm 110, He affirms the Davidic authorship, and He affirms that it presents the deity of the Messiah. Jesus fulfills them all perfectly and they didn't want to see it.

In Matthew 24:2, Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down." You know, to this day, the Jewish people no longer know their genealogy because of the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D..

In Closing..

John writes in John 1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." 

The Word is the Greek word "lógos," is used 330 times in the New Testament, a statement expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit; preeminently used of Christ Who reveals the Father. The Messiah had to be victorious over death, "Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet." The Messiah had to rise from the dead. That's why Jesus said "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."  That's the ultimate sign that Jesus is the Messiah.

Hebrews 1 says, "When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."

Romans 10 says "But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."  

That's a great verse, with a tremendous promise. We often hear that used in modern evangelism today, but there's more to it that simply saying the words. You have to believe He is God. It is an understanding and a believing in your heart, that the Messiah, the Savior promised from Genesis all the way to the time Jesus came, is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. And this Messiah is Lord, because He is the Son of God. The Son of God Who has come to be the Savior for all humanity, and shall have new life by His resurrection from the dead. The God-man came into the world to die for the sins of man, as God, was raised from the dead to have victory over death and sin and hell. That's what Romans 10:8-10 really means.

God has revealed Himself to you today, asking "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?"

I pray your answer is Christ Jesus is the one, He is the Son of God!

 

May it be so..
 

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

 
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