Whose Son Is The Christ...And Why Should You Care? (PM Lesson Outline)
*Our discussions on Sunday nights have been such a blessing to me. These notes are but an outline. The Holy Spirit has been moving so much of an evening!
GIST: Jesus is God...and that changes everything.
SCRIPTURE: Mark 12:35-37
35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
I. Why Here? (Why Now?)
1. This is One of His Last Public Teachings. In Mark’s account, this is the last time we see Jesus teaching publically. He still has some lessons for the disciples, but this is the last time He’s instructions are directed toward “the crowd”. It would be easy to see this as anticlimactic. But there are two points to note on that front. First, this isn’t a made up story. If it were, a scene like the triumphal entry or the cleansing of the temple would have been the choice for “last public words before being arrested and killed”. This, however, is what Jesus actually did. It’s not being “spiced up”. Secondly, Jesus was still super intentional with both His words and His timing...so this wasn’t an afterthought. And lastly, look at the crowd’s reaction. “37b And the great throng heard him gladly.” Clearly, this wasn’t boring them!
2. This Reflects the Reason for the Scribe Being “Close”. Remember the scribe from this morning? He knew all the right answers, but Jesus still said he was only “close”. What was he lacking? This. He knew in his head he needed to follow God. He didn’t put into practice that this meant giving up everything in wholehearted love and allegiance to this Jesus!
3. This Message is Central to Christ’s Person and Purpose. From the beginning of this study in Mark, we’ve been talking about Jesus’ person and purpose. He’s been very clear on both--and gone to great lengths to ensure they weren’t misunderstood. Here, as He is about to be arrested under false charges, He again clarifies both.
II. Why This? (What’s the Message?)
1. This quotes Psalm 110, the most quoted OT passage in the NT. That might not seem like a huge deal, but this culture’s familiarity with the passage He quotes here gives us quite a bit of insight into why He uses it. Therefore, it’s important to look at the whole psalm (<--click that link :D) This was a very recognizable passage, and one taken as a Messianic prophecy. Just a brief glimpse at this gives us a picture of who the Messiah would be: one who was given authority by God, and was Himself God; one who would come to rule the nations; one who would come as the Great High Priest; one who would judge the world. That one… is Jesus.
2. This tells us that Jesus is the Son of David (Messiah), but He’s the Greater Son--GOD! In context, this should really connect. The religious elite were looking for the wrong Messiah. We’ve said this often, so I don’t want to belabor it too much. However, they were looking for an earthly king like David, and Jesus says, I’m more than that---and even the Scripture told you I would be--as even David called Him Lord. The words used in this Psalm are literally Jehovah said to my Adonay. The One True God said to my Lord or God. While this word could be used to mean just someone who was above you, it was also used to refer to God.
So, yes, Jesus came as God in human flesh into the line of David. However, he was not his physical heir. On that same note, Jesus is not the physical heir of God the Father either. He did not come into being sometime later He is 100% God. Which leads me into this last point, as well. The crowd wasn’t bored by this discourse. They were blown away! This truth is bold and life shattering! (In a good way :D)
3. This References the Trinity. Ok, so this is a bit of a side note, but Sunday nights are side-note kind of circumstances, and this is an important observation. As difficult as this doctrine might be to wrap our minds around, it’s important to note that it’s taught throughout Scripture. Look at verse 36: “David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord (God the Father, Jehovah) said to my Lord (the Messiah, Jesus),”
TAKEAWAYS
(Why Should We Care?)
Like I said, the crowd heard Him gladly. His teaching was life changing. Why should you care about this today. Two quick thoughts.
1. Are you blown away by the incarnation?
Nearing Easter, are you thinking about it? Jesus is God. Yet, He took on the humiliation of human flesh and suffered and died...for you. That’s huge.
Think about the implications this has. If people accepted this, the world would be saved! Most people in the world today don’t want to come to this conclusion. The Way. The Truth. The Life. THE ONLY WAY! That costs too much.
2. What are your expectations of Jesus?
I know we’ve hit this so often, but what are you looking for?
There are people looking all around us, as well. Try to talk about their expectations and point them away from selfish ones to the truth!
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