Matthew 22:41-46
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 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 YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET “‘? 45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.
I would really have loved to hang out with Jesus. He just seems the kind of person that edifies your life by being around Him. I know we all have a connection with Him through His Spirit and I’m working on growing closer in that way. But, I don’t think it is quite the same as actually walking the earth alongside of Him. Jesus gets tired of defending Himself and pulls out this gem to shut everyone up. Everyone’s religiosity has been provoking them to challenge this uneducated Rabbi who seems to be leaving the teachers dumbfounded. I am remembering a passage that was preached about this past Sunday which is often quoted but not in entirety. We read in Isaiah 55:
6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it. 12 “For you will go out with joy And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
We are used to just quoting verse 8 or 11 and so easily let the surrounding verses fall away. This passage is humbling to me in that we see if we grow closer to the Lord, we will be blessed beyond thought. As we submit to God’s will in our life, we will go out with joy and be led forth in peace. Isn’t that a beautiful thing? When Jesus said what He did to the Pharisees, they walked away in confusion and frustration. Jesus’ followers however were actually comforted by this conundrum! They were actually close enough to Jesus to know that He was the Christ. Jesus’ quote comes from Psalm 110:
1 The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” 2 The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” 3 Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses, He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. 7 He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head.
For clarification, this is a vision from David of God the Father speaking to Jesus the Son. God is telling Jesus what is going to happen. The Father foretold of Jesus’ reign over the earth in spirit. The Pharisees were so caught up in the physical they had no way of comprehending what Jesus said to them so they walked away. Yet His followers stuck around and continued to grow in His truth. The question for us, however, is how do we respond to God’s ways? Do we continue to learn more or do we get offended and run away?
