City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

⁴¹ Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is the son of David? ⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms:

The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
⁴³ until I make your enemies your footstool.’

⁴⁴ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can he be his son?”

Luke 20:41-44 (CSB)

This is the declaration of the Lord
to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”

The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back:
“You are a priest forever
according to the pattern of Melchizedek.”

Psalm 110:1,4 (CSB)

Reflection

It is interesting to note that after Jesus had been questioned by those sent to make Him stumble, He then turns the tables on them. See, the people expected that the Messiah would be a king after David, in his lineage; that is an earthly king. They did not equate this future king, which was prophesied, to be God Himself. They refused to consider the divinity of Jesus as something beyond a new earthly ruler of the Jews come to redeem them. So Jesus provides a question to make them stumble in their thoughts and which they could not truly answer.

Jesus asks them, how can the Messiah be an earthly king if even David spoke of the Messiah’s divinity as God Himself in Psalm 110? This Messiah that David prophetically spoke about had to exist before David, but also David spoke as if this Messiah was God Himself. How else can it say that “the Lord declared to my Lord”? Either David believed in polytheism or God is more than one person. Given that no one would dare believe that David thought there were multiple gods, it left only the latter answer. This meant that the Messiah had to be God incarnate and only Jesus truly fit this description.

Application

There are many religions that have developed overtime that deny the Trinity and Jesus’ divinity as God. Yet, the Old Testament is full of verses like these that show who Jesus is before He came to earth in the flesh. This is what makes any religion that denies Jesus as God, false. This includes religions such as Islam, Mormonism, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

We have to study the Bible to truly understand who God is and to defend this reasoning if anyone asks. Remember Galatians 1:8 which says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!” Do not be led astray, but remember that Jesus is God and that He is far greater than any earthly person could ever be. Only the God and Priest Jesus, in the order of Melchizedek, could ever cover our sins through His death and resurrection once and for all.

Prayer

Father in heaven, I believe that You and Jesus are One and the same. I believe that He existed with You since the beginning of time and that He became flesh and dwelt among us two-thousand years ago. I want to get to know You more each and every day and dwell in Your presence. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.