Introduction
Jesus has answered every question put to him, whether they were from hostile intentions such as the first three, or from a sincere desire to learn such as the last. Those who tried to shame him found themselves shamed; the one seeking wisdom found himself affirmed. Whatever the question, Jesus gave a good answer. Now he takes the time to ask a good question.
Text
35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?
Mark gives a summarized version of Jesus’ teaching. It is Matthew who fills in the detail. He lets us know that Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees.
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
The table has turned around. They are still in the temple courts, and there is a crowd gathered around. Though Matthew refers to the Pharisees and Mark to the teachers of the law, the actual scenario is that both are present and many of the men are teachers of the law who are Pharisees.
I wonder how they feel right now? They are still smarting from those other questions Jesus had asked in response to their questions. They must suspect a setup. If so, they are right! They give the answer that Jesus is expecting: the Messiah is the son of David.
We have discussed this phrase before – son of David – back in chapter 10 where blind Bartimaeus used it for Jesus. By Jesus’ day it had become a common title for the Messiah, which is interesting in itself because it is not found in that form in the Old Testament. Then where did they get the idea? It is in the Old Testament.
Through the prophet Nathan, God promised to establish David’s throne forever. One of the songs of ascents that the pilgrims sang spoke of this:
10 For the sake of David your servant,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The LORD swore an oath to David,
a sure oath that he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants
I will place on your throne—
12 if your sons keep my covenant
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne for ever and ever” (132:10-12).
Eventually the throne of David did end because the nation of Judah ended, but the Jews believed the Messiah would come and re-establish Israel as a great nation. He then would sit on the throne, and therefore, must be a descendent of David. They pointed to the prophecy of Isaiah:
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he 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.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty
will accomplish this (9:6,7).
They looked to Jeremiah’s prophecy:
5 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD,
“when I will raise up to David
a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land (Jeremiah 23:5).
As time went on, teachers and writers of other religious writings latched on to the phrase, Son of David, so that it became a common expression among the people for the Messiah. So then, Jesus picks up on that term and asks his question:
36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
”‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
First, let me note that Jesus is not challenging the validity of that expression. The phrase is a correct designation. Matthew begins his gospel saying, A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. Romans 1:3 speaks of him as a descendant of David; Revelation refers to the Root of David and Offspring of David (5:5; 22:16). Nor is he, by the way, just having fun making the religious leaders squirm. What he is challenging is their limited view of who the Son of David is. And being a good Jewish rabbi, he turns to the Jewish Scriptures, quoting from Psalm 110:1.
This psalm is understood to be a messianic psalm, i.e. a psalm that refers to the Messiah. The Jewish leaders and teachers regard it that way. No one would reply, “But, Jesus, David is not speaking of the Messiah.” Indeed, they would have used that very psalm to instruct the people about the Messiah.
Jesus is saying to them, “Think. You correctly regard the coming Messiah to be David’s son. Fine. But do you have the full understanding of who the Messiah will be? Why would David call his own son his Lord?”
Let’s think about that. At first, it doesn’t seem that profound. After all, the Messiah is to be even greater than David. But even so, a father does not call his son, “my Lord,” especially as one king to another king. I doubt, when he drops in for a visit, that former President Bush addresses his son as Mr. President. And if President Bush were to act lordly with his father, the elder Bush would remind him just who is father and who is son!
But not David with this son. No, this son is “my Lord,” the one who is above me and reigns over me. Consider the high exalted depiction of his “son” in Psalm 110.
1 The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”
This son sits at the right hand of Yahweh, the name of God indicated by LORD. He sits at the right of God as one who reigns alongside him. That is what the next verses expound.
2 The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;
you will rule in the midst of your enemies.
3 Your troops will be willing
on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy majesty,
from the womb of the dawn
you will receive the dew of your youth.
This son possesses a mighty scepter, the emblem of a ruler. He rules “in the midst” of his enemies. Dr. Boice notes that this indicates the spiritual rule of the Messiah. An earthly king does not rule in the midst of his enemies; rather he disperses his enemies so that he may rule. This king carries on his rule in the midst of enemies who carry on their battle on the earth. His troops include his angels, but they also include his people, the church.
4 The LORD has sworn
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
The phrase, “order of Melchizedek,” is significant because it teaches that the Messiah is a priest (and king) altogether different from the human priests and kings. The book of Hebrews goes through great length to point out how Jesus is of the priestly order of Melchizedek rather than of Aaron, from whom all Jewish human priests were descended. Integral to the discussion is that it makes Jesus so much greater than any human high priest. Speaking of Melchizedek, Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! (7:4). See how great Jesus is! He is of the order of Melchizedek. He lives forever; he is above everyone else; the work he does in making a new covenant is greater than any other’s.
The remaining verses of the psalm proclaim this son’s great power.
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7 He will drink from a brook beside the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.
The Lord God is at his right hand, i.e. fighting for him. With such power, this son will crush kings on the day of judgment; he will not faint but will be refreshed and lift up his head in authority and glory.
Jesus as Exalted Lord
Back to Jesus and his lesson for the Pharisees and the crowd. He is saying, “Your Messiah is too small. You think you have an exalted view of him, (And so it seemed. After all their view basically was that he would be the emperor of the world, the greatest commander of all time.) but you really have a paltry understanding. You do not know how much above, indeed, how much unlike, any mortal he really is.”
Jesus’ disciples and followers did pick up his teaching at least after Pentecost, and they made reference to the phrase “at the right hand of God.” Peter speaks of it in his first sermon at Pentecost.
32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
”‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:32-36).
The writer of Hebrews begins his letter with these words:
3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven (1:3).
Both of these men are referring to Jesus’ ascension into heaven where he then sat down “at the right hand” of God. In both cases, they are making the point that the ascension in heaven demonstrated Christ’s Lordship and greatness over all other creatures. As the Hebrews writer goes on to note:
13 To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”?
Paul brings out the same image of Lordship and glory in Ephesians 1:19-23:
That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
Jesus Christ is Lord! That is Jesus’ message and the message of the apostles. He has not merely escaped death. He has conquered it. He has not simply risen back to life; he has ascended into glory, to the seat of the reigning Lord at the right hand of God the Father. He is Lord!
Lesson
This is a message we need to hear and reclaim: that Jesus has ascended on high as Lord. Think about it. Most teaching about Jesus focuses on four activities. One, we often speak of his incarnation, always of course at Christmas time. Two, we rightly focus on his great work of atonement on the cross. By that work we are redeemed and receive forgiveness of our sins. Three, closely with that comes the resurrection. Both works are celebrated each year. The fourth work we give attention to is the one still to come – his final return. That perhaps is the most fascinating topic for us. But what we give little attention to is the work that takes place after the resurrection – Christ’s ascension. And we have done so to our own detriment.
Our lack of understanding the doctrine of Christ’s ascension leads us to think of Jesus’ great work being in the past with one final work to come in the future. We think about what Jesus has done for us on the cross and by his resurrection. We fantasize about the work to be done in the future when he returns. Meanwhile, there is the Holy Spirit who carries on the work in the present. We don’t necessarily have this clearly thought out, but we go about life as though Jesus has taken a vacation from work. He is Lord, of course, but he is not at work presently.
But the ascension, which is captured in the phrase “sitting at the right hand of God,” teaches that Jesus is very much at work as king and as high priest. Consider what the Scriptures teach us.
1 Corinthians 15:25 teaches that Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Christ, at this moment, his reigning over the kingdom of kingdom working to put all enemies under his feet so that he may some day turn the kingdom back over to God the Father. Christ’s battle is not done. He is still carrying it out; he has been victorious over death, but as verse 26 notes, he will finally destroy it altogether, after he has destroyed all other enemies.
What does this mean for us? It means that our commander fights with us and for us. He is not a king far off from battle who has sent out his troops to the fighting for him. We take much encouragement in knowing that the Holy Spirit has been given to empower us; but take even more encouragement that your king leads the charge and guarantees the victory.
But what if we should stumble in the battle? What then? What if we face a court martial for our failure to obey orders? Then our hope is found in him who sits at God’s right hand. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? (Romans 8:34)
Our king is also our high priest at the right hand of God, and he is now carrying out his great work of interceding for us. We tend to think that Jesus’ work as priest was completed with his sacrifice on the cross. For from it! With that sacrifice he entered into the throne room of God in the Holy of Holies, not to complete his work but to commence his role as our high priest.
We have so perverted the work of Christ on the cross by neglecting and distorting his work begun at his ascension. We somehow have gotten it into our minds that Jesus looks down on us grieved by our ongoing sinful state, regretting the wounds he received for us. “Here are my wounds. How can you continue to sin?” Well, Jesus is showing his scars and saying, “Here are my wounds.” But he is speaking to his Father. He is saying, even now, “Here are my wounds that I received on behalf of my poor sinful people. Forgive them.”
quote from Arise My Soul
The ascension of Christ as Lord gives us confidence that he leads the battle and gives the victory. His ascension as High Priest gives security that we will not be rejected or allowed to fall away. The apostle Paul also taught another good lesson for the Colossians. They were trying to achieve victory over sin and temptation through imposing rules and restrictions on themselves. Through rigorous self discipline, they would resist sin and grow in holiness. Here is Paul’s response.
23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 2:23-3:2).
Let us set our hearts on where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Let us raise our eyes of faith and behold him on his throne reigning over God’s kingdom and interceding for his people. It is when our eyes are focused on Jesus that we will have victory over sin. It is when we behold our Lord exalted on high that we will have the confidence to carry on in this life’s battle, know that our Lord fights with us and for us, and that as Lord he will have the victory.
It is when we see him at the right hand of the Father, that we will yield our lives to him and give to him due obedience. As good and true that it is that Jesus is our friend, remember that even Jesus said we are his friends if we obey his commands. Our friend is our king. Our brother is our Lord. Never will we understand how wondrous a friend he is until we have knelt before him and honored him as our Lord and King. We do not need to wait until he returns to proclaim Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords, for our Lord has ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father.
