"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? 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.'" David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?" And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.
In His teaching He was saying: "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation."
Good Morning my beloved,
This is very important and very foundational portion of Scripture, the final encounter between Jesus and His opponents, the religious leaders of of Israel, who hated Him for publicly exposing their corruption and denouncing their hypocrisy, diminishing their public influence and perception and upholding a teaching that was diametrically in opposition to basically everything they stood for. After having endured all their conspiring efforts, giving it their best shot with questions intended to find some flaw in His teaching so they might find some excuse to kill Him, He addresses the reality of His identity as more than a man, more than good teacher, a prophet, He is, in fact, the Messiah, the Son of God, God incarnate. When it comes to opinions about Jesus Christ, for over two centuries, the world has never lacked for opinions about Who Jesus is, Who He claimed to be and what He taught and condemned.
Even today, some still believe in a cultural friendly Jesus, that appeals to the sinfulness of men's minds, that is very clearly a direct contradiction to all that Scripture teaches, propagated by blasphemous false teachers, espousing Satan's damning lies, that allows people to indulge their worldly desires and engage in fleshly desires of lust and still claim hold of a salvation which they very obviously do not possess. Unable to seduce mature Christians, who have overcome the temptations of the evil one and escaped the desires of the flesh, who no longer buy into those kinds of damning lies, so they focus their attention on undiscerning believers, untaught, ignorant of the Truth, who are seeking relief from the guilt of their unregenerate life, that are still struggling with difficulties of being under the captivity of worldly seductions.
There are literally millions of people like that in the world, who are extremely vulnerable, so these false teachers promise them that you can have it all, they offer compromise; given to open-minded, convictionless, permissive preaching, which is not the Truth, freedom from guilt, deliverance from damnation and you don't have to give up your sin. And they keep passing down their heresies to the next generation, and the next. I believe if there’s anything lacking in modern evangelism, it's absolute, dogmatic, uncompromising, biblical Truth, authoritatively proclaimed in love, that produces genuine repentance leading unto salvation.
The only true freedom from sin and damnation is found in an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ, everything else, is a damning counterfeit, authored by Satan, who is a liar and the father of lies. Which one you choose to believe will ultimately determine the fate of every single human being who lives or ever has ever lived. So, I offer this word of warning in love to the would be victims of a "have it your way Salvation" enticing lustful, undiscerning believers selling something they can never deliver with their high-sounding words of deception, offered by godless false teachers, who claim to represent Jesus Christ with a "too good to be true" false gospel of unrestrained tolerance and acceptance of sin, derived from their own corrupted interpretations, that is easy to digest, getting paid a premium salary for what they do, rather than paying themselves wages of accountability and Judgment for their damning lies.
Oh
my beloved, I beseech you with all of my heart to run from those arrogant ones who are foolishly more concerned with peoples relationships with other people than they are with peoples relationships with God, never
preach the consequences of sin, who never preach holiness, purity or
repentance for the forgiveness of sin but replace the Gospel message of
Judgment of sin, and it's damning eternal consequences because it makes
people uncomfortable, with sweet sounding words that men want to hear
that are above and beyond what Scripture says. They are hiding the Truth, daring to suggest one can be saved while
continuing to live as they want. Whatever the leaders are, the people
will become.
The
bad news is God hates your sin, the good news is He is willing to
forgive it, if you are willing repent, turning away from it and believe
the True Gospel of Salvation.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, thank You for Your profound wisdom imparted to us through Your Word. Stir the hearts of those who are being lead astray by wicked, perverse men who claim to represent You espousing a false gospel.
I pray that You will grant us the grace, spiritual wisdom and understanding necessary to believe and live out Christ's finished work to every area of our lives and our relationships and interactions with others, following the example of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who embraced sinners, while boldly proclaiming the Truth in love. Father, I pray that You would grant repentance and saving faith to any in our midst who has not yet come to Christ, grant complete submission to any who has not fully surrendered to His Lordship, and are still clinging to their sin, grant forgiveness to any who has not let go of past wrongs and miraculous healing to any who still suffer from painful open wounds and encourage any who are struggling with hopeless, for Your glory and for Christ's sake.
In His precious name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: Son Of David Lord Of All
As we examine this text we’re going to see Jesus, Who is a master at using questions to confront those who are spiritually blind, ask a little rhetorical question of His own as part of His teaching in the temple. Ironically, they never misunderstood His claim to be the promised Messiah, the anointed King or the Son of God, in fact, it infuriated them that Jesus claimed to be more than a man, and called Him a blasphemer because He made Himself equal to God. Funny thing is it isn't really a difficult question, because everyone knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, and like David, He would defeat Israel’s foes and bring about a glorious kingdom fulfillment.
King David was said to be one of the greatest leaders that Israel has
ever had. They believed what God said to King David in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, "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." There were many prophecies concerning the one called the Son
of David, who would far outshine David himself.
What they did not believe was that Jesus was the divine fulfillment of that Messianic hope, a belief that they had to fight to hold on to, given the miracles that He performed, which could only be described as those being done by the power of God. Instead, they would even suggest that He did such miracles by the power and authority of Satan rather than God. This is the last word that Jesus has to say to the religious leaders concerning His identity, confirming that He is the Messiah and also Lord. I believe this is also a final invitation to the one who was said to be not far from the kingdom of God, who understood the kingdom was about external sacrifices and religious ceremonies but were internal issues of the heart to come nearer to the Truth of God, and actually embrace Him for who He is, the Christ and be saved. Ezekiel 18:32, says "For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live."
Open your Bibles with me, if you will, to Mark chapter 12, verses 35-40. Mark 12:35-40. I trust you will be following along with me as I read to set the text in our minds, as we open our hearts to hear what the Spirit of God has to say to us today.
"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? 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.'" David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?" And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.
In His teaching He was saying: "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation."
Let's look at verse 35, "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?" The Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes are still huddled there in the corner of the temple courtyard 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, one they didn't quite expect, unlike theirs, a question with purpose, a saving purpose to identify the Messiah, because they had an incomplete understanding. Since not all of the member of the Sanhedrin were equally evil, surely some were closer to salvation than others, they just may have needed more information about Who Jesus is, to bring them to the saving knowledge of Christ. In Matthew's parallel account, he adds Jesus asked, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" The implication behind the question is "How He is the son of David and nothing more?" The scribes kept all the genealogical records in the temple, you can be sure they would have examined the records with great care, if Jesus were not a descendant of David, surely there could not have been a more successful way to attack His claims to be the Messiah. Matthew tells us the Pharisees take the bait, "They said to Him, "The son of David," with all their self-proclaimed wisdom. Finally, the Pharisees get something right, at least partially.
Verses 36, "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." Jesus's quoting directly from Psalm 110, David, moved by the Holy Spirit is declaring the coming Messiah as his Lord, using one of the greatest divine titles of the Old Testament. 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. But, if Messiah is only a man, then how can David call Him Lord? And, how can He be both David’s son and David’s Lord? Since when does a father call his son "Lord? The father is always greater than the son, unless that Son, is the Messiah! Obviously, the Messiah is much more than a mere man. Notice the word "Lord" is used twice, Greek noun "kurios," meaning owner and master, one exercising absolute ownership rights. It's the equivalent to the Hebrew title for God, Adonai. He's pointing out the obvious, that it’s not enough to merely say the Messiah is the son of David when David himself calls the Messiah Lord. This is significant because historically, it has never been debated that Psalm 110 was a messianic Psalm. Being the religious leaders, "experts," in the Scripture, they should not have missed this, the problem they have is applying this Psalm to Jesus, even though they knew He
was qualified to be the King of Israel, so He is about to give them a lesson in deeper understanding.
Verse 37, "David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?" And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him." Obviously, Solomon’s kingdom
didn’t last forever, so 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. How could David, being the great king that he was, actually look up to his descendant and call Him Lord? Unless his descendant the Messiah, is actually the Lord God! David used the word, Yahweh, which is the personal name of God in the most reverent form, "the Sovereign, the Self-existent One." David is saying He is not like the Lord God; He is Lord God, evidence that the Messiah then, has to be 100% God and 100% man. Jesus Christ the God-Man! By the way, here we also see the evidence of the Trinity, the sameness and distinctiveness within the Godhead. The Holy Spirit, God the Father and God the Son. The phrase "Sit at My right hand," places the Messiah permanently in a position of authority and divine power that is co-equal with Almighty God Himself. Jesus then, is David’s Son and He is David’s Lord and He is Lord of all.
Look at what Paul says in Philippians 2, "For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
They should've known, they had a front-row seat to the miraculous healings, the miracle of the raising of the dead, all the profound words of divine wisdom, the answer was right there in the Scripture. The One Who claimed to be the forgiver of sin, the "I AM," Who precedes Abraham, the omniscient One Who even knew what was in the minds of men. Jesus is affirming the Messianic character, is affirming Davidic authorship, and He affirms the deity of Messiah. The answer was standing right in front of them! And they didn't want to see it.
In verses 38-39, "In His teaching He was saying: "Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes, and like respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets." Jesus is taking on false teachers of false religion, condemning those who have a corrupt view of Scripture and deny it's true meaning, demonstrating a zero tolerance policy for those who deny His true identity! I believe this is more than sufficient evidence that we are not to tolerate false religions, holding hands singing
hold in common. He is emphatically saying, there is no common ground between God's Truth and Satan's Deception, we are to "Beware of those who disagree with us!" We don't get close to those who deny the true meaning of Scripture, we only engage them to as Jude puts it, "snatch them from the fire." But be warned, don't get too close to them, lest your own garments will be singed. You cannot be a true Christian and deny His teaching! It's all or nothing. Jesus said in Matthew 12, "He who is not with Me is against Me.."
1 Corinthians 10, "That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons." Never before in church history has the church had the capability to reach the ends of the earth with the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and now we seem to be ashamed by the narrowness and exclusivity of it's message! It's unthinkable that we would dare to dilute the Truth that has stood for centuries, the only Truth that saves, to make it more tolerable, more acceptable for those who are offended because it condemns them. Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.."
I struggle to imagine anything could be more grossly inappropriate, more disastrous than to approach the ministry by deliberately removing anything that’s offensive, tampering with God's Word to please those who are perishing. Never did I imagine that I would the spend so much of my time in ministry defending the Truth against the deception in the church, those who call themselves Christians. I confess, it's embarrassing to be grouped into the same category with those who reject biblical teaching, because they're confused about the fact that absolute truth is what God says, isn't subject to how a person thinks or feels about it.
At some point, we have to face the reality that the church has failed miserably to preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage with love, great patience and careful instruction, whether a corrupt society, under the influence of Satan, agrees with it or not. Romans 1:18 is clear, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." Woe to those who preach not God's Divine Truth, being wise in his own eyes, have chosen to exchange the Truth of God for a lie, compromising with the world.
There are antichrists in the church, all over the world, in every denomination, who are disguised as true teachers; it is becoming more and more difficult for undiscerning Christians, that don't know the doctrine to sort them out. In Matthew 24, Jesus warns us, they're only going to get worse and worse, becoming more deceptive, "so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you in advance."
Scripture is very clear, you are either of Christ or you are anti-Christ, there is no middle ground, you cannot be a semi-Christian. In Revelation 3:16, He says, "So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth." There's no neutrality, no compromise in true Christianity, that's not the Gospel, it is Satan’s deception. No true Christian denies the Truth. We're no longer battling against the enemy outside of the church, the deadliest, most dangerous attacks against the Truth are coming from the inside by those who are corrupting the true Gospel.
In my years of ministry, I have found when you teach the truth of
God with authority, you will always run the risk of driving Christ
rejecting unbelievers away, counterfeit Christians and those who are
deceived by false religion, but you will also attract those who want to
know God, through knowing and accurately understanding His Word.
Today, I believe it has gone far beyond anything the New Testament writers could have ever conceived, apostasy is literally engulfing the world, the church is plagued with heresy. No sooner than I have dealt with one form of false doctrine and heresy, a new one appears, turning the grace of God into licentiousness. Scripture promises judgment is going to be executed on them because of all their ungodly deeds, misleading God's people further and further astray from the Truth, seducing them to follow after their own damning self-styled interpretation of God's Word, with inclusive language all for the sake of personal gain. Satan's strategy to take as many with him to Hell as he can hasn't changed, he's still redefining the Truth to make us blind to the coming destruction. Do not be deceived, wake up and look behind enemy lies. Repent, and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
That brings us to verse 40, where Jesus indicts those "who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation." They’re supposed to be the protectors of those who needs to be protected, which would certainly include the widows and orphans, instead they "devoured" them. Jesus uses the Greek verb "katesthíō," which is a very strong word, meaning to plunder, to squander, to ferociously consume, leaving nothing without hope of recovery. In other words, they would pretend to their "expert" legal services to take care of all the legal work to protect her estate, while mismanaging her assets, making excessive financial demands. They were not only abusive, and cruel, they were heartless. God has a special place in His heart for widows and has given clear commands for how they are to be cared for. Isaiah 10:1-3, "Woe to those who enact evil statutes and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice and rob the poor of My people of their rights,
So that widows may be their spoil and that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar?"
So that widows may be their spoil and that they may plunder the orphans. Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar?"
Their entire corrupt religious system was built on stealing money from the poor, convincing people to pour money into the temple to purchase their redemption. Everything they did was to line the pockets of the religious leaders, the wealthier they got, the more money they wanted. These wicked agents of Satan were literally robbing people blind, "and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers." They were doing the same thing these A-List Prosperity Gospel preachers do today, fleecing desperate people under the false pretenses that the more money you give, the more blessings God will pour out upon you. Just like the phony religious healers preying on hopelessly ill people, desperate for healing, saying pompous and protracted prayers for a price.
Jesus can't stand religious hypocrites, that do not practice what they preach. Just look at the end of the verse, "these will receive greater condemnation." The word He uses for greater is "perissós," which means exceeding expectation, excessive, more than is necessary, over and above. I believe there's nothing more dangerous than being close to the Truth, right on the edge of salvation and rejecting it, suffering even more severe punishment. Acts 1:25 says, "Judas turned aside to go to his own place," the hottest Hell is reserved for those who reject Christ. Hebrews 10:29, "How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?"
Here’s a news flash for those of you who are confused: This life is not about you, your popularity, or your pleasure, or to seek honor for ourselves, get rich off the flock. Our responsibility is to faithfully feed them, and warn them of potential danger, protecting them from false teachers, even if it costs us out life.
Our lives are to be lived in such a way that gives God the glory He alone deserves and exalts Christ. That's the purpose for our life, not to garner wealth or acquire material possessions. All of life is all about God!
I can't help but think about how God has blessed my family beyond measure, faithfully providing our every need throughout these past few years, especially when things seemed impossible, I was down to my last few pennies. It had a huge impact on my life, giving me the confidence to live each day with a Proverbs 3:5-6, attitude, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean
not on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge Him and He will
make your paths straight." When we put God first in our lives, everything else falls into place.
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
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved
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
Copyright © 2019-2024 All Rights Reserved