Matthew 22:42-46 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
We see in the Old Testament many verses expressing that a deliverer would come to rule over Israel. He would come from the loins of David; he would destroy Israel’s adversaries and restore Israel to a prominent place among the nations. Peace, prosperity, and safety would be the product of his reign. Regardless of how they understood the Messiah’s reign, they concluded he would come as an descendant of King David. David’s time of rule was a period of prosperity for the Israelites. Gold and silver from all over the world flowed into the treasure of David and the people. The Israelites were looking to this future time of peace and prosperity that the Messiah would bring. The Messiah also would have a divinity about him for he would be in the likeness of the king of Salem who blessed Abraham after he and his people won a war against their adversaries. The king of Salem, Melchizedek, was so great that even the father of their nation, Abraham, gave tithes to him. The lesser always gave tithes to the greater. Melchizedek had no perceived beginning and ending; therefore, he was eternal, one who is blessed by God. For many of the Jews, the Messiah’s coming would be to establish an eternal rule. He will destroy their adversaries and bring peace The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. (Psalms 110:4) Melchizedek was given his priestly responsibilities by God himself. He was not out of the loins of men as were the Levites out of Aaron. Therefore what God had sworn to be true was greater than what Moses, a mere man, swore to be true. For many religious Jews, the Messiah was to carry this mantle of ruling Israel forever. The prophets foretold this Messiah would come from David’s loins. Messiah, as David, would be from the tribe of Judah, the tribe of kings. Jesus fulfilled this requirement. His supposed father, Joseph, was a descendant of David. Because Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, He, as the Messiah, could rule forever as king and as priest. Jesus was not a Levite, but as with Melchizedek, Jesus’ priestly position came directly from God, not from the loins of men. The Pharisees could not conceive of Jesus being a spiritual leader, for He was out of the tribe of Judah and not Levi, and He was considered by them to be a bastard, born out of an illicit relationship of Mary. They knew Jesus’ beginnings were in dispute; they knew He was not a Levite, so they questioned greatly Jesus’ role as a spiritual leader. They resented that so many people treated Jesus as a king, giving him what they believed was undue deference. Jesus knew their thinking and confronted them with the question, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” Jesus knew their hearts; He knew they resented him and wanted to kill him. So, if they are believers in the Messiah’s coming, what basic stipulation did they hold for the person who would be the Messiah. They stated what they knew the scriptures told them: The son of David,” they replied. Jesus then quoted from the scriptures: The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. How could the Messiah be out of the loins of David, if David calls the Messiah his Lord. The lesser calls the greater, Lord. This is a repeat of Abraham and Melchizedek. The lesser honors the greater. Jesus went on, if David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son? Because Jesus’ response was scriptural, they were quieted and went away without any further questions.
But, they went away with murder in their hearts, intending to kill this man who claimed to be the Messiah. As we peruse Jesus’ life, we see major incidents when God himself affirms that Jesus the son of Mary is his Anointed One. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17) John the Baptist who is preparing the Jewish people to accept a heavenly intervention into their lives by calling the people to repent of their sins and to be baptized in water has a divine interaction with Jesus. When Jesus approaches him to be baptized, John recognizes Jesus as holy. “John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (John 2:14) After the Holy Spirit descends on Jesus, John knows Jesus is the Messiah who takes away sins. Later in Jesus’ ministry, we see Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus. Once again, we see God affirming Jesus as his son. While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5) The apostles were shaken for now they realized Jesus is someone far beyond the miracle worker, the great teacher: He is the Son of the living God. This separation is acute—Jesus performed many miracles and wonders, but the prophets of old did the same things, but not to the extent that Jesus did them. But now for the apostles’ understanding, Jesus moves into another category, not just a holy man of power but as the Messiah, “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” (Mark 8:29) This categorical response is soon challenged by the events of the world. Jesus is taken captive by the high priest and his followers abandon him. Jesus is humiliated by the Romans and then hung on a cross. The disciples fear for their lives and initially leave him in terror, unable to tell anyone that they are followers of this man, Jesus, who they once believed was the Messiah, the one who would rule Israel justly and in peace, throwing off the yoke of their oppressors. They question Jesus’ divinity until the resurrection and then after the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’ followers, they understood fully the reason for Jesus’ death and resurrection. David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’” (Acts 2:25-28) In Peter’s sermon to the people who witness Pentecost, he affirms that Jesus is the Messiah anointed by God. David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” (Acts 2:34-36) When the people heard the truth about Jesus, many repented of their sins and turned to Jesus as their Messiah. Many were saved on that day. Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2) The Messiah had come into their lives as ruler and priest of their existence forever.
Paul addresses the issue of Jesus as the Messiah for all people in the world. He emphasizes how Abraham’s covenant was for the whole world. Faith in God through Jesus would heal all people of every land and the hearts of people could be changed permanently into new hearts. In talking to the Greeks in Colossus, he states, My goal is that they (you) may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they (you) may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they (you) may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:2-3) As Jesus claimed to the Pharisees, He was not a mere man out of the loins of a man named David, but He was the Son of God who would heal all lands, all people. God’s mysterious plan of redemption for the world culminates in JESUS ALONE. Most Greeks did not have an understanding of the Jewish religion, for the Jews were not even allowed to enter a Gentile home. But now Paul is not only entering their homes, but he is living with them. He is passing on to the Greeks a better understanding of the one in whom they have placed their trust. He reveals the mystery of God that was held from people until the last days, CHRIST alone, the Savior of mankind. In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and the knowledge of what reality is. Paul explains to the Greeks as well to the Jews that all have sinned, all are in need of restoration to the God who made them. None will ever approach the God of Creation who is holy, without one fault, unless they too are holy without one fault. Only IN THE PERFECT ONE, can anyone approach the eternal God. As with all people, Paul states, You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15) All the principalities and rulers everywhere, even in the spiritual world, have seen God’s answer to man’s dilemma of sin. God through Jesus Christ has answered all accusations and condemnation by the devil and his cohorts against the human race. He has provided humans a way out of their captivity to sin: Jesus Christ, in him is the fulness of God himself. All other ways to God, all other religions, philosophies, methods, and knowledge to gain eternal peace with God are foolishness, deceptive, and devilish. Only through Jesus can men and women become whole, living in peace and love. Jesus quelled the Pharisees’ attack on him in today’s focus by intimating strongly to them through the scriptures that the Messiah is not the son of man, of David, but He is the Son of God. His lineage falls back to God, not to man. He wanted those who were listening to him to know that they were looking at the Messiah, the beloved Son of God. Dear friends, He is your Messiah, your Deliverer, your Savior. Take him today as all of that: Jesus only is the Truth of existence and the Way to eternal life. Amen!
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