So far, in Jesus’s last week of ministry, he has faced down three traps. The first was from the Pharisees and Herodians, who wanted to trap Jesus in treason. The second was from the Sadducees, who wanted to trap him in false teaching. The last trap was really more of a sincere question. A scribe came asking Jesus which law was the greatest. Jesus deftly answered each question and left his inquisitors tied in knots and the crowds marveling. Now, it is Jesus’ turn for accusations. Thru the rest of chapter 12, Jesus will pronounce three indictments against the teachers of Israel. He begins, today, by indicting them for their failure to understand the nature of the Messiah. To see that, let’s read Mark 12:35-37. From this passage, see two points: The infinite nature of the Son of God and the incarnation of Jesus.
First, see the infinite nature of the Son of God. During this week in Jerusalem, Jesus went back to the temple each day to teach, and while he was there, Mark tells us that he began to teach against the scribes. Here, he asks, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?” The scribes did, in fact, believe that the Messiah would be from the line of David, and for good reason. 2 Sam. 7:12-16 promises that there would be a descendent of David who would rule forever. Isaiah 11:1-10 prophesied of the shoot from Jesse’s stump. During the intertestamental period, writings like the Psalms of Solomon hoped for a Davidic ruler who would purge Jerusalem of Gentiles, destroy unrighteous rulers and rule the world in righteousness. So, like the scribe who asked Jesus about the greatest of commandments, they were not far from the truth of the Messiah. But, in all their studies, they’d missed an important note. So, Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, which is a Messianic psalm that David wrote himself. It says, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” David looks forward and prophesies that there will be a ruler to come, whom he calls “My Lord”, and “The Lord” promises “My Lord” with conquest and rule. Then, in verse 37, Jesus points out an important possessive pronoun. David calls this Messiah figure “My Lord”. In Jewish culture, it was improper for a father to call his son Lord. So, Jesus wonders, “how is the Messiah David’s Lord?”
The Messiah is David’s Lord because he was before David. This means that the Messiah is eternally the Son of God. We know this because the OT promised it. Micah 5:2 promises that there will be a ruler who is born in Bethlehem who will be “from of old, from ancient days.” Isaiah 9:6-7 says, “For to us a child is born… and his name shall be called… Everlasting Father, prince of peace.” The NT agrees with this eternal nature of the Son. John 1 introduces the Son of God as the Word who was with God and was God. In Rev. 22:16, Jesus describes himself like this: “I am the root and descendant of David, the bright morning star… I am the alpha and the omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” The Son of God was never created. He was not the first of God’s creation. He was not the chief angel. He was and is one with God, very God of very God.
Yet, here stands Jesus, a man who gets hungry, who cries, who tires, and who will, in just a few days’ time, be beaten, spit upon, and crucified. This reality leads me to my second point, the incarnation of Jesus. How is it that the Messiah can be before David, and at the same time, a descendent of David? This can be so because of what theologians call the hypostatic union. In Jesus, the eternal Son of God took on human nature while remaining fully divine. As John says, in John 1:14, “The word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In the womb of Mary, the eternal Son once again made a new creation, forming in her a new Adam, Jesus of Nazareth. So, Jesus was fully human. Luke 2 tells us that he was born and grew and matured. John 4 tells us that he grew tired, even in a storm. John 11 tells us that he wept at Lazarus’ tomb. Matt. 4 tells us that he was hungry in the wilderness. But, he is also fully divine. When he is awakened by his fearful disciples in the midst of the storm, he speaks and the winds obey him. After weeping for Lazarus, his voice thunders, “Lazarus, come forth”, and Lazarus is raised.
So, why does Jesus indict the scribes for their wrong beliefs about the Messiah? If they were close, why did he not encourage them? I think he does this for a couple reasons. First, as with the scribe who asked about the greatest commandment – to be mostly right is to be wholly wrong. The scribes prided themselves on having a perfect understanding of God’s Word, and yet they had missed the very nature of the Messiah. To be wrong about the Son of God is to be wrong about salvation. This is true in our modern context, as well. There are many false religions (Mormonism, JW, Islam), who say that Jesus is a great prophet or the first of creation, or the chief angel, but he is not God. Like the scribes, they say good things that seem close to the truth, but they are dead wrong. They prove themselves to be false teachers.
Second, the people of Israel believed the scribes to be authoritative in their teachings. The whole of Jewish life was shaped by the opinions of the scribes. But, they were egregiously wrong about the nature of the Messiah. Jesus points this out to condemn them and call the people to turn from their leadership. The same should be true of us, today. There are many teachers, many prophets, many pastors, who like to delve into deep things. They strain at the small, inconsequential subjects of scripture, while getting the most fundamental truths wrong. They can tell you the exact day that the rapture will happen, but they can’t tell you the basic facts of the Gospel. They strain at a gnat and swallow a camel. Do no follow teachers who set themselves up to be an authority on a subject of scripture and only teach that one subject over and over and over again, while ignoring the basic truths that you should believe.
Friend, Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is the descendent of David, according to the flesh, but he is the eternal Son of God who created the world, who sustains it, and who will one day judge it. Turn and believe in him today.
Brothers and sisters, we should be wise about the teachers we follow. If they deny the nature of Jesus, then we should run from them. If they deny that salvation is not by works, but by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we should stand against them. We should not trust in the authority of man, even if they are teaching on our favorite subject. Instead, we should trust in the authority of God’s word, as revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ.
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