AT THE FEET OF
JESUS
Matthew
22:41-46
As much as any time in history, the
greatest question facing our world today is, “Who is Jesus Christ?” Since so much is at stake in how the
question is answered, it is not surprising at all to see so many attempts being
made to offer a definitive word, an answer that will settle the matter “once
and for all.”
Current books
like The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown,
pose serious questions for those who do not know any better and allow his work
of fiction to shape their answer about who Jesus is. Religious pluralists do their best to homogenize all religious
belief and make Jesus just another in a long line of figures who offer some
good in our search for some kind of god.
Among a host of
philosophers and theologians, Jesus is nothing more than a man who was “first
among equals,” an excellent example of evolved humanity, a virtuous man whose
character may never be surpassed…nonetheless, still a man. Perhaps He gets credit for being a prophet
of God, a teacher from God, but never God Himself.
Should we ever
get right down to the bottom line, the question that must be answered is not
just “who is Jesus Christ?” but is He the Messiah of God? Is He indeed God and worthy of worship and
adoration and praise? Does He have all the power and authority and
knowledge and wisdom and love and dominion and glory of God?
THESIS: Jesus wants
to go on record for all the world to know that He is the Messiah, God the
Savior, and there is no one else worthy to be worshiped, no one else before
whom we must bow down, no other place where we kneel in total surrender and
submission.
--Two primary questions need to be asked:
1. Is the Messiah
the Son of David?
2. Is Jesus the Son
of David?
--Therefore, is Jesus the Messiah? And most importantly, is He then your Lord?
I. IS THE
MESSIAH THE SON OF DAVID?
--Jesus turns things around and after answering their
questions now poses one for their consideration…and He asked them one they knew
quite well.
Matthew 22:41-42 Now while the Pharisees were gathered
together, Jesus asked them a question, 42
saying, “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to
Him, “The son of David.”
--Every educated Israelite knew that the Messiah, or the
Christ, was ‘the son of David’ and did not hesitate with their answer.
--Never considering that the Messiah would be more than a
mere man, the Pharisees understood that the identity of the Messiah consisted
of being the son of David, just as God had promised David through the prophet
Nathan.
2 Samuel 7:12-13 “When your days are complete and you lie
down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will
come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 “He shall build a house for My
name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
--The prophecies concerning the Messiah include many which
trace His identity to David and speak often of Him as David’s son…not his
immediate son Solomon but One who would come at another time.
--Everyone knew that the Messiah was David’s son.
II. IS JESUS
THE SON OF DAVID?
--Therefore, at the beginning of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus’
lineage is traced to David in both Matthew’s genealogy (1:1ff) and in Luke’s
(3:23ff.).
Matthew 1:1
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
--Since this was a pivotal feature in the identity of the
Messiah, all the Pharisees had to do was demonstrate that the lineage of Jesus
did not come from David…but the lineage was beyond dispute.
--Jesus was without question the son of David and was
referred to that way throughout the gospels.
--When Jesus was regarded as the “son of David” His identity
as the Messiah was clearly intended.
Matthew 21:15
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that
He had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple and saying,
“Hosanna to the Son of David,” they
became indignant,
--The Pharisees knew what was at stake and were indignant
that Jesus allowed Himself to be viewed as the anointed one promised to David
centuries earlier.
III. IS
JESUS THE MESSIAH?
--So, with the first two questions answered, we turn now to
the ones of greatest significance, the ones which bring our attention to the
most important question in the world: Who is Jesus Christ?
--The Messiah is the son of David—Jesus is the son of
David—therefore, is Jesus the Messiah?
--Besides the mass of evidence in the way He fulfilled all
the prophecies, we can turn to the very words of Jesus Himself to find the
answer to this question.
--In the way He answered it, you can understand why it is
not possible to speak of Jesus as a good teacher or as just a model of
excellence—He either spoke the truth about His identity or He was a master of
deception or a victim of delusion.
With the recent death of Ronald Reagan, the fortieth president of the
US, many were surprised to know of his personal faith in Christ. He not only believed personally but took it
upon himself to be a defender of the faith.
In a 1978 letter, he argues with a
liberal California pastor about the divinity of Jesus: "Either he was what
he said he was or he was the world's greatest liar. It is impossible for me to
believe a liar or charlatan could have had the effect on mankind that he has
had for 2000 years. We could ask, would even the greatest of liars carry his
lie through the crucifixion, when a simple confession would have saved him? ...
Did he allow us the choice you say that you and others have made, to believe in
his teaching but reject his statements about his own identity?"
--The testimony of the gospels leaves no room for
misunderstanding on this point…one of the reasons there is so much intense
effort to discredit the gospels and deny their trustworthiness.
--So what does the Bible say that helps answer the question,
“Is Jesus the Messiah?”
A. IN PETER’S CONFESSION, HE ANNOUNCED THAT JESUS WAS THE CHRIST,
THE MESSIAH OF GOD.
Matthew 16:16-17, 20 And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living
God.” 17 And Jesus answered
and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did
not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven…20 Then He
warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
B. IN JOHN’S TESTIMONY, HE DECLARED THAT JESUS WAS THE CHRIST, THE
MESSIAH OF GOD.
John 20:30-31 Many other signs therefore Jesus also
performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book; 31 but these have been
written that you may believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His
name.
1 John 5:1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God; and whoever
loves the Father loves the child born of Him.
C. In Jesus’ own words, He confirmed that He was the Christ, the
Messiah of God.
u To the Woman of Samaria:
John 4:25-26 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called
Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”
u To the High Priest:
Mark 14:61-62 But He kept silent, and made no answer.
Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the
Blessed One?” 62 And Jesus
said, “I am; and you shall see the
Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of
heaven.
--Without going on and on, can we not agree that the
Scriptures offer no other possible conclusion but that Jesus is the Christ, the
Messiah?
--Now it is equally clear from the Scriptures that the
Messiah, the Christ, is the Lord.
--When Jesus posed the question to the Pharisees in Matthew 22:43, the question forced the issue of what our response and confession must be when we recognize Jesus as Lord.
--David calls Him Lord, and the LORD God calls Him Lord, so how
can we reach any other conclusion but that Jesus is the Christ, and therefore
the Lord of all?
--Everything in heaven and earth is under His dominion and
subject to His everlasting lordship.
Daniel 7:14 “And to Him was given dominion, glory and a
kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve
Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His
kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
--From the perspective of the Bible, there is no question
whatsoever about the identity of Jesus—He is the Christ, the Messiah, the son
of David and son of God!
IV. IS JESUS
YOUR LORD?
--If we are not prepared to answer this question in the
affirmative, then the answers to the rest of these questions are meaningless
exercises of a mere academic nature.
Matthew 22:43-45 He said to them, “Then how does David in the
Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, 44
The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Thine enemies
beneath Thy feet”? 45 “If
David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
--Jesus quotes King David from Psalm 110:1,
The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at My right
hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”
--The first LORD is the Hebrew word, Yahweh and the second Lord is the Hebrew word Adonai as a way to affirm that the covenant making God of Israel (Yahweh) spoke to the Messiah as Lord (Adonai), the Master who reigns over all.
--David refers to the Messiah who was to come as “my Lord,”
or as His Master, the One who would have all authority and dominion over him.
--For Jesus to put the question squarely in the laps of the
Pharisees shows that there can be no doubt, no question, no compromise, no
middle ground, about the identity of the Messiah—He is the Lord of David, the
Lord with “dominion, glory and a kingdom” who would rule forever and ever!
--Even as some
were prepared to acknowledge that the Messiah was David’s son, the remaining
confession posed the greatest challenge—would they bow down to Jesus as the
Messiah and declare that Jesus is Lord to the glory of His name and the praise
of His Father?
--If Jesus is the Messiah, and if He is the Lord, then
living in denial of His lordship in our lives places our lives in great
jeopardy.
--As Jesus said in this passage, those who are His enemies,
those who refuse to submit to His authority and acknowledge His dominion, will
become His footstool and His foot will be placed on our necks as a means of
compelling us to confess that He is Lord.
Psalms 138:2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and
will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted
above all things your name and your word.
--When Jesus
Christ is Lord…
uHis Presence
becomes our Prize…as the deer pants for water (Ps 42)…the
nearness of God is my good (Ps 73)
uHis Word
defines our Purpose…a lamp to my feet, light to my path (Ps 119)
uHis Beauty
captivates our Passions…one thing I seek…to behold the beauty of the
Lord and to meditate in His temple (Ps 27)
uHis Portion
fills us with Pleasure…boundary lines have fallen in pleasant
places…delightful inheritance…joy in your presence (Ps 16)
uHis Glory
motivates every Pursuit…not to us…but to Thy name give glory (Ps
115)
--Living under the lordship of Jesus Christ means more than
just admitting that He is the Lord, believing the truth about His identity.
--It means that we willingly and gladly choose to follow Him
wherever He leads us and obey Him in all that He tells us.
--It means deciding to take our place at His feet as those
who yield our will and submit to His in all things.
What we think about who Jesus Christ is
defines our lives more than any other single factor. Based on that understanding, what we do and the choices we make
will either confirm that He is the Lord, or will challenge His lordship.
Therefore, when
we know that Jesus the Messiah is our Lord, we will choose each day to take our
place at His feet…to listen and be ready to do whatever He wants without delay
or doubt. Lenny Leblanc and Greg Gulley
wrote a song, “No Higher Calling,” that speaks of this position at the feet of
Jesus as the most high place.
One day even His
enemies will be at His feet…but not by choice!
They will be compelled to confess that He is Lord. We want to be at His feet because we know
that there is no greater honor, no higher calling, than to be at the feet of
Jesus.
Providence Baptist Church
© David Horner 2004
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