A Side Lesson in Messiahship
The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool." Psalm 110:1, RSV.
Yesterday we began to examine Jesus' use of Psalm 110. He had pointed out to the Pharisees that the coming Messiah/Christ would not only be a human being but would also be God. Thus "son of David," while being a true description of the Messiah, was an inadequate one. The Messiah would not only be David's Son but also his divine Lord.
Jesus accomplished at least three things in His exchange with the Pharisees. First, He publicly demonstrated their inadequacy as interpreters of Scripture. Second, He made an immense claim for Himself. The fault with the Pharisees was not that they had thought too highly of Messiah, but not highly enough. He would be divine--so divine that the great David hails Him as Lord (Yahweh). And in making that staggering claim for the Messiah, Jesus was advancing it for Himself, just as He had already done earlier in the week by riding in lowly triumph into Jerusalem and by claiming authority over the Temple.
A third implication arising from Jesus' use of Psalm 110 is that if the Messiah is not merely David's son, then David as a model for the Messiah is incomplete. Human kingship of the warrior variety was no longer an adequate understanding. As a result, we find Jesus accepting the titles of the Messiah and the son of David, but rejecting the limitations of the Jewish definitions. Jesus never came as a warrior king, but as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And He was not merely seeking to deliver the Jews from the Romans, but to save His people everywhere from their sins (Matt. 1:21).
Jesus' use of Psalm 110 in Matthew 22 also reveals some things about His understanding of His mission: (1) that He would be victorious and sit at God's right hand, and (2) that He eventually would triumph over His enemies, who would become as a footstool.
Such confidence is crucial for believers as we face the onslaught of the world against our faith. It is little wonder that Psalm 110 became the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New, being alluded to or quoted 33 times. The book of Hebrews repeatedly uses the text to drive home the point that Christians can live in absolute confidence because they serve a risen Jesus who sits "at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3, RSV).
We can be thankful that Jesus is not merely David's son, but his victorious Lord.
The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool." Psalm 110:1, RSV.
Yesterday we began to examine Jesus' use of Psalm 110. He had pointed out to the Pharisees that the coming Messiah/Christ would not only be a human being but would also be God. Thus "son of David," while being a true description of the Messiah, was an inadequate one. The Messiah would not only be David's Son but also his divine Lord.
Jesus accomplished at least three things in His exchange with the Pharisees. First, He publicly demonstrated their inadequacy as interpreters of Scripture. Second, He made an immense claim for Himself. The fault with the Pharisees was not that they had thought too highly of Messiah, but not highly enough. He would be divine--so divine that the great David hails Him as Lord (Yahweh). And in making that staggering claim for the Messiah, Jesus was advancing it for Himself, just as He had already done earlier in the week by riding in lowly triumph into Jerusalem and by claiming authority over the Temple.
A third implication arising from Jesus' use of Psalm 110 is that if the Messiah is not merely David's son, then David as a model for the Messiah is incomplete. Human kingship of the warrior variety was no longer an adequate understanding. As a result, we find Jesus accepting the titles of the Messiah and the son of David, but rejecting the limitations of the Jewish definitions. Jesus never came as a warrior king, but as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). And He was not merely seeking to deliver the Jews from the Romans, but to save His people everywhere from their sins (Matt. 1:21).
Jesus' use of Psalm 110 in Matthew 22 also reveals some things about His understanding of His mission: (1) that He would be victorious and sit at God's right hand, and (2) that He eventually would triumph over His enemies, who would become as a footstool.
Such confidence is crucial for believers as we face the onslaught of the world against our faith. It is little wonder that Psalm 110 became the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New, being alluded to or quoted 33 times. The book of Hebrews repeatedly uses the text to drive home the point that Christians can live in absolute confidence because they serve a risen Jesus who sits "at the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3, RSV).
We can be thankful that Jesus is not merely David's son, but his victorious Lord.
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