Mark 12: David Foretold a Divine Messiah

Today’s reading is Mark 12.

Jesus was questioned right and left. Some questioned with pure motives, some with nefarious. No doubt, some with mixed motives. But Jesus finally asks a question of His own.

He quotes Psalm 110:1:

The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet” (ESV)

And he asks a question: “How can the scribes say that Christ is the son of David? … David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?”

No one argues whether this psalm is about the Christ. This psalm, no doubt, continues the messianic theme started in Psalm 2. This king is the son of God, to whom God will give full dominion, crushing all His enemies.

But here’s the thing. The Messiah is going to be the son of David. If David is the father, his offspring would not be his lord. But David calls him “my Lord.” David calls him that by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. How can the Messiah be both David’s son and also David’s Lord?

The account doesn’t give us anyone’s response to the specific question. In fact, according to Matthew’s account of the gospel, “no one was able to answer him a word” (Matthew 22:46). But what is the answer to Jesus’s question?

The answer is quite simply that according to the flesh, the Messiah would descend from David. But the Messiah would be more than flesh. He would be the Lord. He would be divine. He would be God in the flesh.

Grasp Jesus’s point. The Messiah is more than a special man. The Messiah will be God in the flesh. He will be the son of David and the son of God. He will be more than a great king, He will be The Great King. The Jews rejected Jesus because He claimed to be the Son of God. He claimed to be God. In their minds, the Messiah would never make such a seemingly blasphemous claim. However, according to David, that is exactly what the real and true Messiah must claim. He is not only David’s son, but also David’s Lord.

That is precisely whom Jesus claimed to be. That is precisely who Jesus is.

Despite not being able to answer Jesus’s point, the people would still reject Him. In fact, Mark gives us a hint of what is coming. He says “And the great throng heard him gladly.” That seems positive. But don’t forget what happened to the last person heard gladly in this book. That last person was Jesus’s cousin John.

Tomorrow’s reading is Mark 12.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does Mark 12 prompt or improve your hope in God?

Psalm 119:145-160: Up Before the Dawn

Today’s reading is Psalm 119 (vss. 145-160).

If Jesus Needed to Pray…

As our psalmist presents the ideal Israelite who loves God’s Word and faithfully submits to Him, he writes:

I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I hope in your words.
Psalm 119:147 (ESV)

Mark 1:35 tells us about the truly ideal Israelite:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed (ESV).

So, perhaps it is not so much finding Jesus in Psalm 119:147 as it is merely seeing how Jesus lived the same principles. But it leads me to one point I think I need to hear and to share.

Jesus saw an incredible need and felt an incredible desire to pray. The reason He got up early and went into a desolate place was not because the prayer rule is early in the morning and in a desolate place. Rather, His ministry had just taken off. Because of healing miracles, the crowds were flocking to Him in Capernaum. Crowds showed up at His house and stayed until late in the night. He arose early in the morning and sought out a desolate place because prayer was so important to Him and so necessary to His work, He had to purposefully carve out a time and place in which He could privately commune with God in prayer.

If Jesus, God incarnate, God the Son, the Son of God, Messiah, Christ, Lord, Savior needed to rise early and commune with the Father in prayer, who am I to think I can keep putting prayer off for a more convenient time? The example is not actually getting up at 4AM to pray. The example is not actually wandering out in a desert to pray. The example is pray. And if I’m too busy, if my life is too crowded, if too many people and responsibilities are pulling me in too many directions to pray, instead of making excuses, take extreme measures and make extreme sacrifices to pray.

Someone says, “But I need to get sleep. It’s not healthy to sacrifice too much sleep.” Absolutely! That is so true. Better to cancel something else so you can pray than to cancel prayer so you can sleep.

Again, if Jesus needed prayer, how much more do we? Have you prayed today?

Today’s reading is Psalm 119 (vss. 161-176).

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

What do you want to share with others from Psalm 119:145-160?

John 10: “You Are Gods”

Today’s reading is John 10.

Once again, the Jews pick up stones to kill Jesus. This time, instead of just slipping away from them, He asks a question. “For which good work are you going to stone me?” Pretty sure I wouldn’t have taken the time to ask such a question, but that’s our King: guts galore. The people declare they are going to stone Him for making Himself out to be God. Of course, let’s pause to notice once again those who declare Jesus never claimed to be God are simply wrong. The Jews hear Jesus claiming deity. And Jesus doesn’t respond by saying, “No, no, no! You all misunderstood me.”

Instead, He asks about Psalm 82:6. Which in the Septuagint, often quoted by Jesus, reads:

I said, “You are gods,
and all are children of the Most High” (LES2)

Opinions abound on whom the psalmist calls “gods.” However, Jesus gives us clarity. He says, “If he called them gods to whom the word of God came…” (John 10:35, ESV). The Word of God came to Israel. Psalm 82 spoke of the judgment God was going to bring upon Israel because they allowed partiality against the weak, needy, fatherless. They did not love their neighbors as themselves and would be judged for it.

But what is Jesus’s point? How does this transfer into a defense of His claim to be the Son of God? Jesus is not merely making a play on the quote’s context, which includes the notion of being children of God. Rather, if God can call all Israelites His children, what should they have expected the Messiah to say of Himself when He arrived? If all Israelites are children of God, would we not expect the Messiah, the ultimate Israelite, to be the ultimate child of God? Would we not expect Him to come in and proclaim Himself God’s Son? Keep in mind, Psalm 2 calls Him that:

The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.”

Psalm 2:7 (ESV)

Jesus is not saying to the crowds, “Hey, guys, I’m not saying I’m divine, I’m just saying what these verses said.” Jesus is saying, “Hey, guys, have you considered what these verses really mean about the Messiah? What did you expect the true Messiah to come in and say? Who did you expect the true Messiah to actually be?”

Jesus caps off the argument with this: “If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:37-38, ESV). This really drives it home, doesn’t it? Jesus is doing what only someone from God could do. More than that, Jesus is doing what only God can do. Jesus is claiming to be what only God promised to be. He is the New Moses. He is the New David. He is the One Shepherd. He is the Messiah. He is the LORD.

Praise the Lord! That’s our King!

Tomorrow’s reading is John 10.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does John 10 prompt or improve your hope in God?

John 1: Life and Light

Today’s reading is John 1.

Do the first words of John’s gospel record sound familiar to you? Of course they do. John takes us all the way back to the beginning. The first time we read these words, we read, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1, ESV). John takes us back, but instead of just saying, “God,” he says, “The Word.” Who is this Word? The Word was with God and the Word was God. Recall, God created through His spoken Word. John says, “I want to tell you about God’s Word, God’s creative power. But you need to know God’s creative Word was not just a sound, not a series of letters, not a series of statements. Really, that Word is a person. That Word is with God, but also that Word is God.”

Recall the first recorded words of God are, “Let there be light.” The Word, however, didn’t just create light, the Word is light. More than that, God’s words brought forth man on the sixth day. God’s Word, however, didn’t just give life to man, God’s Word is life. More than that, this Word that is light and life became flesh and dwelt among us (Oh, I wish I had time to write about this tabernacling among us. Study it. You’ll be amazed.)

But then John says, “We have seen his glory.” Wait! What?! This is no once upon a time. This is no ancient story. This is not a friend of a friend of a friend told me. This is no legend, no myth, no ancient tale. John says, “We saw it.” “We saw” glory full of grace and truth. And then he makes it clear, “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”

We must not minimize what John says, but can I put this very powerful intro to the book in more common language. John says, “I want to tell you about this guy I met. His name is Jesus. He’s like no man you ever knew. He wasn’t just a guy. He is the Word. He is Light. He is Life. He is the Son from the Father. He is God. Let me prove it to you.” And then he writes the rest of His book.

Praise God! This is Jesus. I can’t wait to meet Him again in John’s book.

Tomorrow’s reading is John 1.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
Discuss Today’s Meditation with Your Family

How does John 1 admonish you?

The Christ, the Son of the Living God

Today’s reading is Matthew 16.

Honestly, there is not much to elaborate in today’s post. If you’ve been reading these posts throughout Matthew and if you’ve been listening to Text Talk, you’ve heard us say again and again that Matthew is telling a story. His main point is in answer to this one question: Who is Jesus?

Some have said He’s an insane man. Some have said He is possessed by the prince of demons. Others have said He is a resurrected John the Baptist. Still others claim He is one of the prophets brought back to life. A major point in all of this is that something has to be said. Jesus has been too amazing to dismiss. He has had too much impact to ignore. We have to figure out some response to the question: Who is Jesus?

Peter gives the response Matthew is driving home: “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

Because He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, Jesus would establish and build His church. The apostles would be given the keys to heaven’s kingdom, opening and closing the proper doors so folks can enter Christ’s kingdom.

Praise the Lord!

Who do you think Jesus is? Can we help you answer that question? If so, leave a comment below.

Tomorrow’s reading is Matthew 16.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

Discuss the Following Questions with Your Family

1. What are your initial reactions to the chapter and the written devo above?
2. What would you say to someone who buys the Pharisees’ story about Jesus that He is in league with and possessed by a demon?
3. What would you say to someone who says Jesus is just a good teacher or just a wise sage?
4. Why do you believe Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God?
5. What do you think we should pray for and about in light of this chapter and today’s post?