One Question to Answer All Questions ....

The culture of Jesus’ day was filled with theological questions. Two such questions would have been as follows: 1) Was everything written down or was their a second body of information, passed along verbally, that had the same weight as God's own words? 2) Does God steer your life, or did He clock out after Creation to let humans figure it out? In 2026, though they sound different, we also have theological questions. For example, is authority divine or is it determined by consensus? Or, is truth something you discover or something that you construct? Over time, the specific inquiries have changed, but these deep and soul level questions have been asked by every generation. Furthermore, the answer to each of these questions is determined by how you answer the one question that Jesus asked in this passage. Why? Because if we know who Jesus is, then we know who holds authority, who judges and who saves. In just two short verses, Mark 12:35-37 presents the ultimate question that Jesus asked: Whose Son is He? In this case, Jesus was specifically asking in relation to the former King David who ruled Israel many centuries earlier. Let us look together at these verses:  “And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, ‘How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David. David himself, in the Holy Spirit declared, The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?’. And the great crowd heard him gladly” (Mark 12:35-37).    

To fully understand the significance of the above passage, we must first understand how The Messiah/The Christ is both David’s Son and David’s Lord.  Let us begin by reading Matthew 1:1-17. In verse 1, we clearly see it directly stated that Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is the Son of David. Furthermore, by reading all 17 verses, we see the detailed lineage showing exactly how Christ is a descendant of David through Joseph, his adoptive father. Thus, if you believe Holy Scripture to be true, you must also believe that Jesus is the physical son (or direct descendent) of David. 

Next, let us now examine how Jesus is also David’s Lord by looking at three specific verses from Psalm 110:

Verse 1: “The Lord says to my (David's) Lord: 'Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.’”    

Verse 4: “'You (Christ) are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.'”

Verse 6: “He (Christ) will execute judgment among the nations."

By studying these verses in detail, we see a very interesting opening  statement by King David, who, as Jesus noted in Mark 12:35, was filled with the Holy Spirit when Psalm 110 was written. Specifically, he writes "The Lord says to my Lord" (verse 1) which is then followed by a direct quote ending at the conclusion of verse four. Hence, the first four verses of Psalm 110 are an account of King David witnessing YAHWEH directly speaking to The Messiah/The Christ (David's Lord). Furthermore, we see how this Psalm (specifically the opening verses) contributes to presenting a unified theme thoughout scripture as twenty-four New Testament verses either directly reference or allude to it. Two such times are as follows: 

 1 Corinthians 15:25 - "For he has put all his enemies under his feet" -  referencing Psalm 110:1

Hebrews 7:24 - "but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever." -  refererencing Psalm 110:4

Is it not awesome to see how these verses (and many others) are woven together to present one beautiful and unified message about the Messiah?

Now, at first reading, this passage may come across as theological trivia for intellectuals to kick around and debate. However, nothing is further from the truth - for this passage ties the most significant Messianic Old Testament passage to Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah, God's one and only Son who was sent to save us from our sins by dying on a Roman cross.  Consider this: many people take for granted the identity of Jesus; but, for the skeptic and those with minds that need greater proof, a passage like this demonstrates both the deity of Jesus before His earthly life began and the brilliant unity of the Scriptures as evidenced by the aforementioned twenty-four direct and indirect New Testament references to it . This King (Adonai) who rules and reigns is also the Son of David physically. Friend, you may not grasp all the implications of the question that Jesus asked on this day; but you do understand this question: whose Son do you say Jesus is? Is He the Son of David, the Son of God? And, if you truly believe the claim that He is the Son of David and Son of God, how will that impact your life?  More specifically, if you have not already done so, will you make this Son of God the Lord of your life by accepting His free gift of salvation today?....

To hear more about God's free gift of salvation, follow this link. 

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