It seems that once Jesus responded to the scribe’s answer with, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” From that moment no one dared to ask him any more questions, freeing him to teach in the temple. Please read Mark 12:35-37. Jesus doesn’t teach about the resurrection or taxes, instead he asked this question, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David?” Jesus is going to answer the question he asks in such a way that should stretch our thinking about who Jesus really is. He answers his question from the psalm where David himself says by the Holy Spirit: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” (Psalm 110:1) He points out that “David calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?” Think about this for a moment, no man would call his son ‘Lord’ meaning that his son is master over him. But that is precisely what David is saying in the Spirit. The Lord “Yahweh” said to my Lord “Master,” Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. The Lord made a covenant with king David and promised him that he would build him a house that would last forever in 2 Samuel 7. In order for this promise to be fulfilled the Lord would have to take on humanity in the genealogy of David and at the same time remain fully God. Matthew’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel is a testimony as to how the physical lineage of Jesus is tied to king David and at the same time how Jesus is also the Son of God with whom his Father is well pleased with him at his baptism. With Jesus teaching in the temple, he was teaching truth that would set the people free from religion and free to be in a relationship with the Living God through him. When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ they have someone who knows how to sympathize with them in their weakness, they have someone who has been tempted in all points of temptation and yet is without sin. Why, because Jesus is not only the Son of David, he is the Son of Man and the Son of God. A person who has been saved by Jesus will go through a transformation over the course of their life. The reason is because they have the Spirit of God’s Son living in them. The scribes may have been able to teach about the coming Messiah on one level but Jesus being God is able to teach from an eternal perspective that reshapes how we listen, learn and apply the Scriptures to our lives. Now that you know whose Son Jesus really is, will you let him teach you how to live life?
Categories: Weekly Sermon