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You can turn in your Bibles to 
Matthew chapter 22 where we come to the last controversy between 
Jesus and the religious leaders. It began in Matthew 21 at verse 
23 with a dispute concerning authority. They asked Jesus by 
what authority he did the things that he did. And Jesus puts them 
on the horns of a dilemma they are unable to answer and Jesus 
says, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these 
things. Then Jesus tells a series of three parables which has as 
its focus or has as the focus the judgment of God upon Israel, 
national Israel, old covenant Israel, specifically the religious 
leaders and those who followed them. And after those three parables, 
there's a series of four debates or disputes or controversies. In the first one, the Pharisees 
and the Herodians ask Jesus about the lawfulness of paying taxes 
to Caesar. In the second one, the Sadducees 
come and present a riddle to Jesus, trying to test him or 
entangle him or show him as one who's unable to justify the position 
that there is a resurrection of the dead. In the third one, 
Pharisees again are the larger category, but one of their scribes 
or one of their lawyers comes to Jesus to test Him and to ask 
Him which is the great commandment in the law. And this last controversy 
comes from our Lord. Jesus goes on the offensive. 
Instead of being the one questioned, Jesus becomes the questioner. Remember the specific context, 
it's still the Tuesday of the Passion Week. Most likely in 
the temple courts, later on that afternoon, the Lord Jesus will 
give the Olivet Discourse, which is recorded in Matthew chapters 
24 and 25. Much of what Jesus is doing here 
had already been done by the prophet Isaiah. Remember in Isaiah 
chapter 5, the prophet, under God, tells the people that they 
were the vineyard that had not been fruitful. And then on the 
heels of that, the prophet Isaiah condemns his generation by virtue 
of pronouncing woes upon them. Well, Jesus tells the same parallel, 
similar parallel in Matthew 21, and he will engage in the same 
woes in Matthew 23. So that's the larger context, 
the judgment of God upon the nation of Israel, the old covenant 
people who had rejected their God. Well, I want to read verses 
41 to 46 and then take up the question concerning the Messiah. While the Pharisees were gathered 
together, Jesus asked them, saying, What do you think about the Christ? 
Whose Son is He? They said to Him, The Son of 
David. He said to them, How then does 
David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said to 
my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your 
footstool. If David then calls him Lord, 
how is he his son? And no one was able to answer 
him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him 
any more." Well, let us pray. Our Father, we pray now for the 
Spirit of God to illumine our minds and our hearts that we 
would receive with thanksgiving your word. As we wrestle with 
the question presented by the Lord in this passage, what do 
we think about the Christ? May you bring this to bear upon 
believer and unbeliever, and may we wrestle with these things 
in our own heart and life. If we profess saving faith, we 
must love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind. If we are 
not believers, we must flee to Him, and I pray that the Spirit 
would guide us and lead us along this path. that you would now 
forgive us for all of our sins and everything that would darken 
our understanding. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, I want to look at 
three things this morning. In the first place, the question 
concerning the identity of the Messiah in verses 41 to 42. And some of these words I'm going 
to define in just a moment. But for now, the question concerning 
the identity of the Messiah. Secondly, the question concerning 
the interpretation of Psalm 110, specifically verse 1. And then 
thirdly, the conclusion of the public controversies. But note in the first place the 
question concerning the identity of the Messiah in verses 41 to 
42, while the Pharisees were gathered together. Remember, 
the Pharisees had been bested by Jesus when it came to paying 
taxes to Caesar. Remember, the Pharisees had witnessed 
Jesus best the Sadducees by silencing them concerning their question 
about the resurrection. Again, the Pharisees, specifically 
their lawyer or their scribe, had been silenced by Jesus when 
he asked, which is the great commandment? So these Pharisees 
are now gathered together, probably another hint to Psalm 2, verse 
2, where the peoples gather together against God and against His Christ. They are sort of licking their 
wounds or musing upon the fact that this Jesus, this rabbi, 
this one, has indeed bested them in several arguments. Note in 
this context, Jesus asked them, saying, what do you think about 
the Christ? Whose son is he? Davies and Allison 
say that Jesus abandons his defensive posture for the offensive. His questions, unlike his opponents, 
go to the heart of things, for they concern Christology. It is everything what we do with 
our answer in verse 42. What do you think about the Christ? 
If you are a believer here this morning, hopefully you think 
about the Christ, that he's altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand, 
and one who is David's son and David's Lord, and one who is 
worthy of my worship and love and adoration and affection with 
all my heart, soul and mind. If I'm an unbeliever here this 
morning, what do I think of Christ? Well, hopefully you will see 
from this passage that he is David's son, but he's also David's 
Lord. He is both God and man, two natures 
and one glorious person. who is completely sufficient 
and able to save you from your sins. So everything in life ultimately 
hinges upon that question in verse 42. What do you think about 
the Christ? I mean, you all face big questions 
each and every day. What are we going to have for 
supper? Again, not in a worrisome sort of way. Where are we going 
to go to college? Who am I going to marry? What 
sort of a person am I going to be in business? Those are big 
questions to be sure, but no question is as big as what we 
find in verse 42. What do you think about the Christ? Not what is the church's official 
position concerning Christ, though that's important. Not what do 
my parents think about Christ, though that's important. Not 
what does the guy down the street think about Christ, though that's 
important. But what do I think about Christ? What do I think 
right now concerning this one who is set forth in Matthew's 
Gospel? This one who is described as 
David's son and David's Lord. What think I of this Christ? So I hope that you will pay close 
attention this morning Now, notice, specifically, Jesus asks a two-fold 
question. He says, what do you think about 
the Christ and whose son is he? The question concerns the Christ. Now, the word Christ is the Greek 
word that means anointed one. In the Old Testament, the word 
Messiah was the word that meant anointed one. So if I refer to 
Messiah or I refer to Christ, I'm referring to the same person, 
the same party. One is in the Hebrew language, 
Messiah, the other is in the Greek language, Christ. But when 
you come into a Christian church and you hear reference to Messiah 
or you hear reference to Christ, it's referring to the Anointed 
One of God, the One sent by the Father to do a particular task. And in Jesus' case, He's anointed 
as the Mediator. He is Prophet and Priest and 
King. And He does all these sorts of 
things so that He may bring glory to His Father and salvation to 
His people. As well, this particular question, 
or these two questions that Jesus asks them, goes back to the original 
dispute. Remember, they asked, by what 
authority do you do these things? Jesus applies Psalm 110 verse 
1 to himself. So, Jesus is essentially answering 
the question. It's by the authority that I 
have as the Lord of David, stationed at the right hand of God Most 
High. So, this will effectively bring 
everything back to bear on that original dispute. Now, when we 
come to this, we will see as well that it's a hot topic. Notice back in chapter 21. before 
this Tuesday, specifically on the Sunday that records the triumphal 
entry, or when Jesus entered into Jerusalem. Notice the persons 
all laid down these palm branches before the Lord Jesus. And then 
in verses 9 and 10, in verse 8 we read, And a very great multitude, 
this is chapter 21, spread their clothes on the road. Others cut 
down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed 
cried out, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David! They are saying 
this to the Lord Jesus Christ. So now Jesus is asking the religious 
leaders, who is Messiah? Who is Jesus? Whose Son is He? Notice they say in verse 8, blessed 
is He, or verse 9, blessed is He who comes in the name of the 
Lord, Hosanna in the highest. And then on the Monday, when 
Jesus cleanses the temple, notice again, verse 15, when the chief 
priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children 
crying out in the temple and saying, Hosanna to the Son of 
David, they were indignant and said to Him, Do you hear what 
these are saying? So Jesus is not one to avoid 
controversy. Jesus is not one to avoid hot 
topics. Jesus is not one to sort of dance 
around the issues. He knew, as they knew, that the 
crowds had ascribed to Him the position of David's son. And 
so Jesus now brings it all to bear upon these religious leaders 
and say, and He says to them, what do you think about the Christ? 
Whose son is He? The question, as well, is not 
an academic debate. These rabbis, these Pharisees, 
should have had settled opinions, decided opinions, on this particular 
matter. Now notice what they answer to 
him as he asks the question. They say, and they say rightly 
at the end of verse 42, they said to him, the son of David, 
This is a good answer, and it's part of the answer, but it's 
incomplete, and that's why Jesus counters with more questions. 
They understood rightly the nature of the question. What do you 
think about the Messiah? What do you think about the Christ? 
Whose son is he? And even the Pharisees got this 
right, as any of us should have. They said David's. If you've 
been at our Bible studies on Wednesday nights, we've considered 
the Davidic Covenant. God promised to David in 2 Samuel 
7 that God, from David's line, would bring one that would rule 
and reign as a king forever. In a unique way, this one would 
be David's son. But according to God, in that 
promise in 2 Samuel 7, God also says, He will be my son. So the 
rabbis understood the David part, but they didn't get this God 
part. And that's what the questions 
Jesus goes on to ask will further show. But consider this. They 
knew the son of David. We read Psalm 89 at the outset 
of worship. It's a psalm that rehearses that 
Davidic covenant of 2 Samuel 7. So does Psalm 132. So these rabbis, these Pharisees, 
should have gotten this, and they did. What about Isaiah the 
prophet, chapter 9, verses 6 and 7? That text we rehearse every 
December, relative to the Incarnation. It speaks of a Davidic son, one 
upon whom the government will be upon his shoulders, and he 
will be mighty counselor, and prince of peace, and everlasting 
father. That's David's son. What about 
Isaiah 11? This shoot that comes from the 
stem of Jesse, which is David. What about Jeremiah 23 and Jeremiah 
33? These Pharisees were right, David's 
son, but they were not completely right, and that's why Jesus goes 
on to draw out from them this. Notice, secondly, the question 
concerning the interpretation of Psalm 110. He said to them, 
how then does David in the Spirit call him Lord? See, remember 
I've said many times Jesus doesn't need me to say how wise he is, 
but he is wise, isn't he? You see what Jesus is doing? 
They understand he's David's son, this Messiah, this Christ, 
this anointed one, but they haven't gone far enough. And several 
things that we see in Jesus' statement here ought to cause 
us to consider. In the first place, he understands 
that David wrote Psalm 110. He said, well, of course he did. Well, if you happen to be in 
a Bible college or a seminary setting, especially a non-conservative 
one, they would laugh at Davidic authorship of Psalm 110. Jesus 
assumes that David wrote it. As well, Jesus assumes that Psalm 
110 isn't about David. It's another misunderstanding 
that scholars bring to Psalm 110. Oh, David's writing about 
himself. No, David's writing about the 
Messiah. David's writing about the Christ. 
David is writing about this Anointed One, come from God to do a particular 
job. That's what Jesus assumes, that 
David is the author and that the Messiah is the subject of 
Psalm 110. But notice as well what Jesus 
assumes. He assumes divine inspiration 
of Scripture. He says that David said this 
in the Spirit. In the parallel, in Mark 12, 
it says David said this in the Holy Spirit. the doctrine of 
divine inspiration. God, the Lord, spoke His truth 
through His servants, David. But the truth spoken is God's 
truth. Its origin is God. Its sufficiency, 
its authority, its integrity is all bearing the mark of God. Jesus assumes the divine inspiration 
of Scripture and says that David in the Spirit called Him Lord. And as well, notice, This goes 
specifically to the situation. They said to him, the son of 
David, and he says, well, how does the son of David call him 
Lord? It's a good question, isn't it? Is everybody with me? Pay 
attention. As I said, verse 42 is the most 
important question you'll certainly hear today or ever. So you need 
to track with me, you need to follow along with me, and you 
need to see what our Lord is doing before we come to make 
application of this particular text. You need to see how he 
silences his Opponents, you need to see how what he does to silence 
them says something grand, amazing, and glorious about himself. Notice, 
how then does David in the Spirit call him Lord? That's what the 
text says, and now Jesus appeals to that specifically. Verse 44, 
the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make 
your enemies your footstool. Now, we need to have a little 
bit of a Hebrew lesson again. And I want you to go, oh man, 
this is just... I don't even want to learn about Hebrew. You've 
got to understand a few things about the text. You've got to 
understand what's happening in the text so that you understand 
that David isn't talking about himself when he writes Psalm 
110.1. He's talking about two persons. The one is called Lord 
and the other is called Lord. So if we don't take a little 
time to define how this is the case, we're going to be confused. 
That's like Jim said to Jim. Well, which Jim said to Jim? 
We need to identify our Jims, don't we? We need to define our 
billies. We need to know which Toms are 
speaking to other Toms if we're going to make heads or tails 
out of our Tom talk. If we're going to understand 
Psalm 110.1, we need to understand this Lord who says to that Lord 
so that we can appreciate what David is ascribing concerning 
Jesus. In the first instance, it says, 
The Lord. If you have a New King James 
Bible, it's all capitalized. Capital L, capital O, capital 
R, capital D. The translators do this to indicate 
the word Yahweh. In Psalm 110.1, the first Lord 
is identified as Yahweh. Sometimes we call him Jehovah. 
These are anglicized or English versions of a four-letter word 
that we find in Hebrew. It's basically Y-H-W-H. So you can see where we would 
get Yahweh. You can also kind of see where we would get Jehovah, 
but let's just go with Yahweh at this particular time. Yahweh 
is the personal name of God. The word God tells us what God 
is. He is spirit, He is infinite, 
He is eternal, He is unchangeable in His being, His wisdom, His 
power, His holiness, His justice, His goodness and His truth. The 
word Elohim, as applied to God, or the word El, means God. That's what He is. Yahweh tells us who He is. It's His personal name. It's 
the Tom. It's the Jim. It's the Mike. 
It's the Bob. It's the personal identifier 
of this God. So the first instance of Lord 
is Yahweh, this Lord Jehovah. said to my Lord." Now, in the 
Hebrew text, this word is Adonai. Again, you can say, wow, this 
is all boring stuff, or you can just internalize it so you can 
understand what Psalm 110.1 is about, and hopefully by the time 
we get to the end and I ask you again, what do you think about 
the Christ, you can start to turn it in your head with a little 
bit more information. So Yahweh says to Adonai. Now, the Adonai in the text is 
David's son. The Adonai in the text is the 
Messiah. The Adonai in the text is the 
Christ. The Adonai in the text is our 
Lord Jesus Christ. So you see the argument. They 
say David's son. Well, how in the Spirit does 
David call him Lord? No man in this place calls his 
son Lord. Do you? You don't do that. The fifth commandment forbids 
it. It prevents it. It prohibits it. The children 
must honor their parents. Anything the children should 
call their dad's lord. Oh, now he's really getting into 
bad territory. He's punishing this. Respect 
your parents. Why would David call his son 
lord? Because he is David's lord. He is David's son and he is David's 
lord. See, the issue isn't that they 
were wrong. The issue was that they stopped short. And the whole 
point of Psalm 110.1 is to indicate something of the identity of 
the Messiah. Yes, He will come from David's 
line. Yes, He will come from David's 
seed. Yes, He will be in that Davidic line. But He'll also 
be divine. He'll also be God's Son. This is how David can call Him 
Son and call Him Lord. It's what later in theology will 
be called the hypostatic union. Now there's a passage or a word 
we won't get too much into. But the fact is that our beloved 
Christ, our Messiah, our Lord Jesus, is two natures. He is 
both humanity and deity, all in one glorious person. And this is what they did not 
reckon with, and this is what they did not understand. So Jesus 
presses it upon them in this particular instance. It is intriguing 
as well. David, in the language of Davies 
and Allison, makes a Christian confession. He calls Jesus, Lord. He calls Christ, Lord. He calls Christ, the Lord, Messiah. Now notice again in verse 44, 
the Lord said to my Lord, so there's the identity, who he 
is. He is Adonai, he is the one promised. But notice as well 
something concerning his authority. Remember the whole issue, the 
whole debate, back chapter 21. By what authority do you do this? Jesus underscores the nature 
of his authority. He's enthroned at the right hand 
of Yahweh. He has a position of exaltation. 
He has a position of majesty. He has a position of absolute 
authority. The Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand, and then notice specifically something concerning 
his mission, till I make your enemies your footstool. It is 
quite intriguing, brethren, that these enemies are going to be 
made Jesus' footstool in about a generation. Jesus, after he 
condemns them by woe in chapter 23, will condemn them by prophecy 
in Matthew 24, specifically speaking about the destruction of the 
temple, when the Son of Man is enthroned at the right hand of 
the Majesty of God Most High, David's son, David's Lord, will 
execute judgment upon these persons in the destruction of their city. 
He will lower His foot upon them. He will exercise His authority 
over them. He will subdue His enemies. And 
even in our particular instance, after He finishes here, they 
can't answer Him. It is figuratively as if he has 
bested his enemies. It is figuratively as if he has 
lowered his foot upon them, that he is ruling in the midst of 
his enemies, and he must reign till all of them are made his 
footstool. So Psalm 110, verse 1, in discussions 
concerning the identity of Jesus Christ are absolutely crucial. 
He is David's son, and yet he is David's Lord, and this is 
what he underscores to these particular persons. Now, does 
Matthew tell us that Jesus is this man? Yes. This is a good 
time for everyone to wake up now, because we're going to look 
through several passages of Scripture, several passages of Scripture, 
to see where Jesus is identified as son of David in the first 
place. Notice in Matthew 1.1, the book of the genealogy of 
Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. What follows 
is a genealogy in verses 2 to 16 to show us how Jesus Christ 
is the Son of David. Notice as well, Matthew 9, 27 
and 28. And notice in several of these 
passages how both Son of David and Lord are used interchangeably 
as applied to Jesus Christ. Notice in Matthew 9, 27. Some 
will say, well, you know, Lord just meant like Sir. Yes, it 
did mean something like Sir, but when Matthew continually 
sets forth Jesus Christ as he does, the attentive reader ought 
to be able to apply Lord to Jesus in something far surpassing than 
Sir. Right? Kurios meant Sir, but 
it also meant Lord. And as it's applied to the Lord, 
Jesus Christ, in conjunction with Son of David, Notice, again, 
this fleshes out what Psalm 110.1 says. Notice in verses 27 and 
28. When Jesus departed from there, 
two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, Son of David, 
have mercy on us. Notice at the end of verse 28, 
they said to Him, Yes, Lord. Notice Matthew 12.23. Matthew 
12, 23, and all the multitudes were amazed and said, Could this 
be the Son of David? Again, all these people had 2 
Samuel 7. They had Psalm 89, Psalm 132, 
Isaiah 9, Isaiah 11, Jeremiah 23, Jeremiah 33. They had Genesis 
3, verse 15. The very first promise concerning 
the Deliverer was that He would be a man. that he would be the 
seed of a woman, and that he would crush the head of the serpent. 
That's the first promise. In Genesis 12, he's associated 
with the family of Abraham. In Genesis 49, he's further associated 
with the tribe of Judah in the Shiloh prophecy. By the time 
we get to 2 Samuel 7, he's completely identified with the Davidic line. 
So he is a man from a woman. He is associated with the nation 
of Israel, vis-à-vis Abraham. He is from the tribe of Judah, 
and he comes specifically from David's line. So these persons 
had this, and when they saw what Jesus was doing, they asked questions 
like these. Could this be the son of David? 
Could this be the promised deliverer? Could this be the second Samuel 
7 man? Could this be the king in the 
line of Judaic kings that will assume the throne, that will 
reign on his throne, that will do what David typified in terms 
of judgment and justice? Is this the one that's going 
to occupy that throne and dwell forever and ever and rule and 
reign in righteousness and justice? There's an anticipation and a 
joy on the parts of these people. Notice as well, 1522, again in 
association with the Lord. 1522, and behold, a woman of 
Canaan came from that region and cried out to him, saying, 
Have mercy on me, O Lord, son of David. My daughter is severely 
demon-possessed. Notice where it's not coming 
from. It's not coming from the religious leaders. It's not coming 
from those in high places. It's coming from the rank and 
file of men. It's coming from the common people. They are seeing 
this Christ. They are seeing His power. They 
are seeing these displays. They are thinking in terms of 
2 Samuel 7. And they ask the question, Or they even assert 
it, this is the son of David. Notice as well in 20, 30 and 
31. 20, 30, and 31. The multitude warned 
them that they should be quiet, but they cried out all the more, 
saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David. Verse 33. They said to Him, Lord, that 
our eyes may be opened. You see, already in Matthew, 
He's prepared us for this exposition of Psalm 110.1. He's identified 
this Jesus as both Son of David and as Lord. He's identified 
Him as both Son of David and Son of God. And then notice in 
21.9 and 15, we already read those, so we don't need to duplicate 
it. But when we get to 22.44, and we see Jesus apply this particular 
passage, we, the careful reader, go, that's right, He is David's 
son. But He's David's Lord, too. He 
is from the tribe of Judah. He comes from the line of David. 
But He is eternally begotten by the Father, God of God, light 
from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made. He is 
from everlasting. He continues to everlasting. 
He is the second person of the triune God. That second person 
of the triune God took on our nature. That second person of 
the triune God went into the Virgin's womb. That second person 
of the triune God exited the virgin's womb. That second person 
of the triune God, with that humanity, was a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief. That blessed Jesus is the one 
here schooling them on the doctrine of Christology. And does Matthew 
apply the title Son of God to Jesus? Absolutely he does. 1.23, the language isn't, I'm 
going to tell you that He's the Son of God. The fact that He 
identifies Jesus as Immanuel or God with us indicates something 
unique or different about Jesus. He is the Son of David as the 
genealogy has described, but in verse 23 He says He's our 
Immanuel. When Jesus is with us, God is 
with us. When Jesus in the upper room 
is speaking to the disciples, and Philip says, show us the 
Father. And Jesus says, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. 
This is God with us. But then notice Matthew 2, verse 
15, an application of Hosea 11, specifically to our Lord. And 
was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by the Lord through the prophets, saying, 
out of Egypt, I called my Son." This is the Father speaking of 
Jesus and identifying Him as His Son. Notice in 3.17, at the 
baptism of our Lord Jesus. When He had been baptized, verse 
16, Jesus came up immediately from the water. And behold, the 
heavens were opened to Him. And He saw the Spirit of God 
descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice 
from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
pleased. You see, He's David's Son, brethren. 
He's David's Lord. He is Son of Man according to 
the flesh, according to David. He's Son of God, declared with 
power by the Spirit in the resurrection. Chapter 4, verses 3 and 6. The 
temptation, if you are the Son of God. Now, on the lips of the 
devil, it's perverted to be sure, but Jesus is the Son of God. 
Matthew 8, 29. Matthew 8, 29. Again, not the religious leaders, 
not the skilled ones, not those who'd studied Christology in 
their rabbinic schools, but demon-possessed men. Notice in 829, "...and suddenly 
they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, 
you Son of God? Have you come here to torment 
us before the time?" Notice in 1433. Here, thankfully, it is 
the disciples. Matthew 14, 33, Jesus walks on the water. Jesus 
walks on the water. They acknowledge this. They see 
what's happened. And then in verse 33, then those 
who were in the boat came and worshipped him, saying, Truly 
you are the Son of God. Do you know what's in their minds? 
Sometimes I wish we knew the Old Testament better than we 
do. Because when these disciples see Jesus walking on the water, 
they're thinking of Yahweh who's over the waters. They're thinking 
of Yahweh who can walk on the waters. They're thinking of God 
Most High, and it brings out this confession. Truly, you are 
the Son of God. 1616. Who do you say that I am? Verse 16 of Matthew 16, Peter 
answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living 
God. 17.5, Mount of Transfiguration. What does Yahweh say? This is 
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Brethren, as we get 
to 2244 and we see Psalm 110.1 and we see its application to 
our Lord Jesus, there ought to be with us a victory shout, triumph, 
praise God, the Son of David, and yet David's Lord, the One 
who does come according to our nature, from the line of David, 
but the One who has come, eternally begotten by the Father, to come 
into this world. taking all of our common infirmities 
and everything except sin, identifying with His creatures so that He 
can live and die and rise again, so that we might have everlasting 
life. 26, 63 and 64. This is the last one here. 26, 63 and 64. Notice, verse 
63. Jesus kept silent, and the high 
priest answered and said to him, I put you under oath by the living 
God. Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus said to 
him, it is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter 
you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the power 
and coming on the clouds of heaven." What does that mean, sitting 
on the right hand of the power? It means Psalm 110.1, right? 
You see, Jesus here specifically applies it to himself. In 2244 
you'll notice he does not say, oh and David was writing about 
me. It's implied, it's inferred, it's almost, you know, everybody 
has this in their heads. But Jesus doesn't say this at 
that particular time because they would have carted him off 
right then and put him to death. But there were certain things 
that had to happen before they put him to death. And in this 
instance he says, it is as you said, nevertheless I say to you 
hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand 
of the power and coming on the clouds of heaven. And he's speaking 
to that generation and I will submit he is talking about the 
fact that their fair city and their temple would be demolished 
before their eyes. Brethren, this is what Psalm 
110 verse 1 is all about. So back to our text, Jesus draws 
out this question. He cites Psalm 111, verse 45, 
he says, if David then calls him Lord, how is he his son? 
Let's not forget, I want the answer. Remember the Sadducees 
presented a riddle to him? There was this woman, and she 
had a husband, and he died, and she married the brother, and 
he died, and she married the brother, and he died, and she 
married the brother, and he died, and she married the brother, 
and he died. That happened seven times. The lesson is, don't marry 
that woman, young man. Because you will die. It's not 
a good thing. They present a riddle to him, 
don't they? Well, in a sense, that's what 
verse 45 is. If David then calls Him Lord, 
how is He assigned? Answer me. Come up with the goods. Present your interpretation. 
Tell me what I'm supposed to conclude in terms of your ability 
to discuss the doctrine of Christ. The obvious implication from 
Psalm 110.1 is that he's both. He is David's son, he is David's 
Lord. He is both human and divine. As I said, theology calls this 
the hypostatic union. Hypostatic union simply refers 
to the two natures of Christ, human and divine, united in the 
one person. If you've got that, you've got 
a big piece, a big chunk of Christology down. He is one Christ. He's not 60-40. He's not 50-50. He's not 30-70. He's not a mix 
of this and a mix of that. He is fully human. He is fully 
God in one glorious person. Okay? They didn't get that. They 
didn't understand that. They couldn't answer Him. Luther 
says, concerning this text, Psalm 110.1, "'Sit,' says God to him, 
"'not at my feet, nor over my head, but next to me, as high 
as I sit.' But sitting next to God, what else is that than being 
also God?" See, that's what Psalm 110.1 means. Jesus sits at the 
right hand of God. That means Jesus occupies a position 
of dignity that is consistent with God. Luther goes on, for 
God is so jealous for His honor that as He set Himself, Isaiah 
42.8, He will give it to no other. And yet here, says the psalmist, 
sits one who is like Him. From this it follows that He 
must be God. Augustine, commenting on the 
whole reality that Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God, 
does so with reference to John 1.1 and John 1.14. Augustine 
says, and the Word was God. That's John 1.1. In the beginning 
was the Word, that's Jesus, and the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God. Augustine said, and the word 
was God, John 1.1, see how he is David's Lord. But because 
the word was made flesh, John 1.14, and the word became flesh 
and dwelt among us, Augustine says, see how he is David's son. So on the one hand, he's David's 
Lord. On the other hand, he's David's 
son. Philippians 2, verses 5 to 7, 
describes Jesus according to the form of God and according 
to the form of a bondservant. How can that be? Well, it's that 
reality called the hypostatic union. Those two natures in the 
one person, according to the form of God, according to the 
form of a bondservant. Now, these Pharisees, these rabbis, 
were not able to answer the question. Carson rightly notes that there 
was a Pharisee, there was a rabbi, no doubt in Jerusalem, or quite 
possibly in Jerusalem at this particular time, who would understand 
it, who after his conversion on the road to Damascus would 
understand it all too well, and who would pen Romans 1, 3, and 
4. Paul would write concerning his son Jesus Christ our Lord 
who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh and declared 
to be the Son of God with power according to the spirit of holiness 
by the resurrection from the dead. One commentator says Jesus 
has blazed the trail here that leads the church through the 
answers of the Gospel of John to the answers of the councils 
of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Chalcedon. For believers to say, 
or to suggest, or persons to say, well that's not fair to 
those Jews, because those Jews at the time of Jesus didn't have 
Nicaea, they didn't have Constantinople, they didn't have Chalcedon, but 
they had Psalm 110. And in Psalm 110.1, David's son 
is called David's Lord. Nicaea, Constantinople, and Chalcedon 
simply encapsulate what the Bible everywhere presents. Psalm 45, 
Jesus is called God. Isaiah 9, Jesus is called God. The Old Testament scriptures 
that the Jews supposedly receive and hold to, teach that Messiah 
would be divine. And they rejected that, so therefore 
they're going to reject Nicaea, Constantinople, and Chalcedon. 
Yes, it's fair. Yes, it's absolutely accurate. 
And yes, it's right to press those claims before them, because 
what is claimed in those creeds and confessions is simply what 
the Scripture sets forth, that He is the Son of David, and He 
is David's Lord. That's Psalm 110. Notice verse 
46. Someone came up with an illustration 
that I wished I would have used. Isaac said, when I mentioned 
about the Pharisee coming to Jesus and asking him about the 
great commandment, I fumbled through something and I don't 
think it was that clear, but Isaac said, it'd be like a toddler 
going to a Supreme Court justice and wanting to discuss issues 
of law. I wish I'd have said that, because that really fits. 
Imagine you're a three-year-old, well, one-year-old, two-year-old, 
it still sits in its own filth, going up to Justice Scalia in 
the United States Supreme Court and saying, I'd like to discuss 
with you the finer points concerning this law. You say, you don't 
want to do that. This scribe, this lawyer comes 
to Jesus and says, what is the great commandment? Well, here 
they're debating Christology with Christ. They're debating 
the application of a messianic promise with the Messiah. They're 
debating with somebody they are out of their league with. It's 
not out of their league because it's so hard to understand. It's 
not that they're out of their league because it's such a high 
and lofty argument that no one can get their mind around. I 
hope that if you're not a Christian here this morning, you will leave 
this morning not saying, man, that was so confusing. I've tried 
to define the terms, tried to identify Yahweh, tried to identify 
Adonai, the Father of the Son, tried to tell you what Christ 
means, tried to tell you what Messiah means, tried to tell 
you how he comes from the line of David and how he is the divine 
Son of God, tried to explain all that. So if you continue 
to go on and say, well, I just can't get it, it's so hard, it's 
so mysterious, it's so high, it's so lofty. Well, you know, 
it's been brought down as clear and simple as I can make it. 
So in the same sense here, it's not that it was so hard, it wasn't 
that they were so perplexed in terms of the basic answer, it's 
that they didn't have faith. They resisted the Messiah. They 
rejected the Messiah. They despised the Messiah. They 
had already plotted in their hearts His destruction. That's 
why they could not answer. It wasn't the intellectual argument, 
it was the faith commitment that they lacked. And that's why he 
silences his opponents, and no one was able to answer him a 
word. They couldn't answer him. They 
couldn't respond. And I would say to this question, 
but cumulatively, all of the debates they've had, he's able 
to silence them and refute them. The wickedness of these leaders 
is matched and bested by the wisdom of our Lord Jesus. As 
Osborne said, and I've already alluded to earlier, the debates 
are over and only Jesus is standing at the end. The leaders are figuratively 
under His feet. Don't miss that, brethren, and 
no one was able to answer Him a word. Who's standing in this 
exchange? Who's the victor in this exchange? 
Who's the one that has supremacy over the argument? It's Christ. 
And in light of Psalm 110.1, He has made them His footstool. Notice as well, he says, nor 
from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore. So it becomes 
public controversy. We saw in Matthew 26, the high 
priest asks him, are you the son of God? Yes, there's other 
questions that are presented to him. Yes, in Matthew 24, the 
disciples will say, look at the temple. And Jesus says, it's 
all going to be destroyed. They say, well, when's that going 
to be? And he answers that. Public controversy. Public confrontation. They're not going to do this 
anymore. They're not good at it. They're the toddler going 
up to the Chief Justice and arguing about civil law or criminal law. They can't do it. They're not 
going to ask him anymore. So what are they going to do? What will they do, brethren? 
Because they're going to silence him, aren't they? They are going 
to silence him once and for all. After 24, 25 comes 26. And in verses 3 and 4 we see 
these wicked, conniving, godless, wretched men taking steps to 
silence Him once and for all. They can't silence him through 
argument. They can't silence him through debate. They can't 
silence him by the way they ask their stupid questions, but they 
will silence him through execution. They will silence him through 
crucifixion. They will silence him by getting 
the mob to cry out, away with him, away with him, crucify him. 
Oh, they'll silence him, to be sure, insofar as they are able. But what Paul says, He was raised 
on the third day. He comes out of the tomb. They 
will never silence this Lord Christ. Listen to Spurgeon. They could not entrap or entangle 
him in his talk. If they would put him to silence, 
they must do it by putting him to death. And that explains for 
us the rest of Matthew's Gospel. Well, brethren, just a couple 
of thoughts before we close. In the first place, we see here 
the end of controversy. The end of controversy. A continual display of the wretchedness 
of these religious leaders is matched by a continual display 
of the wisdom of our Lord, the one whom Paul describes as the 
one in whom all the wisdom of God is hidden and bodily. All things are deposited in Christ 
in terms of wisdom, and Jesus silences them. The second thing 
I think we ought to appreciate from this passage, and again, 
I'm not trying to stretch our minds too much. We've learned 
a little bit about the doctrine of Christ, the two natures and 
the one person. There's going to be a test afterwards, 
and if you fail it, you can never come back, so make sure you get 
that in your head. Human, divine, one Christ. We ought to appreciate that the 
Lord Jesus tells us something about the triune God in this 
passage. You see, Jesus was a Trinitarian. 
The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational and fundamental 
to the Christian faith. In other words, you cannot be 
a Christian unless you affirm the Trinity. There is but one 
true and living God. But this God exists in three 
persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three 
are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory, but 
there is distinction among the persons. The Father is not the 
Son, the Son is not the Father, the Spirit is not the Father 
or the Son. There is a doctrine of the Trinity, and notice that 
Jesus alludes to, Jesus assumes it, rather, in this argument. 
David in the Spirit pens Psalm 110. It's a function of the Holy 
Spirit. He's the author of Scripture. 
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. 
Jesus assumes the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit 
at the time of David. Jesus assumes and says that it 
was by the Spirit that Psalm 110 came into being. And as well, 
Jesus highlights Yahweh, Father. Jesus highlights the second person 
of the Trinity, Adonai himself. The Christian doctrine of the 
Trinity is set forth. We see it back in Matthew 3. 
When Jesus is baptized, what happens? He comes up out of the 
water. And the Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes and alights 
upon him. The voice of the Father says, 
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Turin says, 
The ancients said that if you want to see the Trinity, to the 
Arians, go to the river Jordan. you will see Father, Son, and 
Spirit at the River Jordan. How does Jesus end the Gospel 
of Matthew? He says, Go, therefore, and make 
disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name singular 
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This isn't some 
obscure little thing that Christians debate in the privacy of their 
studies. This is biblical, fundamental, 
foundation Christian truth that you must believe in order to 
be saved. Jesus says as much in John 8, 
if you do not believe that I am, where He identifies Himself with 
Yahweh, you will die in your sins. Jesus isn't in the first 
place a religious teacher. Jesus wasn't a revolutionary. 
Jesus didn't come to sip tea with you and make your life better. 
Jesus came as the second person of the triune God to do what 
no man could ever do. He fulfills the law of God. He 
fulfills what the Father specified with perpetual, exact and entire 
obedience to that law. Jesus came to die on the cross 
as that perfect sacrifice, as that Lamb of God, that spotless, 
holy, harmless One that is able to atone for the sins of man. 
This Jesus is One that we need to reckon with. As well, I think 
the citation of Psalm 110 there is very important for all of 
us. We need to consider the psalm originates with the Holy Spirit. 
We need to consider that the psalm underscores the powerful 
reign of the Lord Christ. It's very easy for churches and 
for Christians to get discouraged. Do you ever get discouraged? Do you ever look at the news 
and say, man, what a mess? If you don't, you're not looking 
at the news, or you've got a different news service than I have. When 
I watch the news, I get to the point where that's it, I'm not 
going to look anymore. I can't look anymore. It's just discouraging. 
It's all bad. I realize that news in general 
doesn't highlight people that do what they're supposed to do. 
They go home and eat supper and go to bed early and get up the 
next morning and go to work. I realize the nature of news 
is not that, to tell us the normal and the ordinary. But man, it's 
a steady diet of bad, bad, bad, bad, bad news. Transgender this, 
this person's going to be that, this one's killed this one, this 
one's murdering this one. New laws to murder these people. 
I mean, it's just a mess, isn't it? What's the church need a 
fresh dose of? Yahweh said to Adonai, sit at 
my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool. This was 
indeed the battle cry of the New Testament church. Do you 
know that Psalm 110.1 is the most often cited or alluded to 
text in the New Testament? In other words, the New Testament 
oftentimes cites, that means a direct quotation, or alludes 
to, gives you the hint of it, or gives you the fragrance of 
it. The New Testament does that with 
many, many Old Testament texts. The most popular, by far, is 
Psalm 110.1. In other words, when the Roman Empire was breathing 
threats and hatred against the Christian believers, when unbelieving 
Israel was breathing threats and vengeance against the Christians, 
you know what they did? They encourage their hearts in 
the reality that Yahweh said to Adonai, sit at my right hand 
until I make your enemies your footstool. You see that text 
cited and alluded to over and over again. I think it's 37 times 
in the New Testament. That's amazing, isn't it? What 
do you think the New Testament authors want for us? They want 
us, that in the midst of these things, to encourage our souls 
with the reality that Jesus Christ is indeed sitting at the right 
hand of God, where he must reign till all of his enemies are made 
his footstool. But we shouldn't close our study without considering 
one other aspect of Psalm 110. While it's not quoted here, and 
only verse 1 is, we sang it. Even though we didn't read the 
passage today, we sang it. We sang Psalm 110. And what does 
verse 4 tell us about this king? Because that's what verse 1 is. 
Yahweh says to Adonai, sit at my right hand. That means that 
Adonai, Jesus, Messiah, Christ, is king. But he's a unique king 
because he does what not many other kings have done. Melchizedek 
was a king who did this as well. But Jesus, according to Psalm 
110.4, is going to be a priest. He's a king and a priest. It's 
pretty amazing, isn't it? He not only rules us, He not 
only defends us, He not only protects us, He not only legislates 
for us, but He has laid down His life for us. He is that King-Priest 
promised by David in Psalm 110. You say, well, here we don't 
really see that. You will in chapters 26 and 27. What's the 
focus and the spotlight in Matthew 26 and 27? It is on the priestly 
office of our Lord Jesus as He goes to the cross, as He bears 
our sin, as He suffers under the wrath and fury of God the 
Father, as He takes the penalty that is due us. He is functioning. He is operating. As that priest 
promised in Psalm 110, who is also a king, and as well-prophet, 
He is glorious and majestic and most excellent. And so for believers, 
when we press the implications of verse 42, and I ask you with 
our Lord, what do you think about the Christ? Do you say with the 
bride, He is altogether lovely and He is chief among ten thousand? 
Do you say as you should, I need to love Him with my heart, my 
soul and mind? Do you see Him as that one set 
forth in chapter 6, verse 33? Seek first. Seek first God and 
His kingdom and His righteousness, and then these things will be 
added to you. Christian professor, Christian 
believer, persons who identify with the Savior. Are you identifying 
with the Savior? Is He everything? Do you love 
Him? Do you worship Him? Do you praise 
Him? Do you adore Him? Is your life 
about Him? If he is the man, if he is David's 
son and David's Lord that's described here, then he's certainly the 
one that he's told that lawyer to respond to with this heartfelt 
love, with his whole soul love, with his whole mind love. Is 
that what you're giving to your king? Is that what you're giving 
to your Lord? Is that what indicates or characterizes, 
rather, your life? Is Christ all to you? Now, if 
you're like me, the answer's got to be a big, fat no. But 
I want it to be. Lord, help me. Cause me to see 
His beauty. Cause me to see His glory. Cause 
me to see His majesty. Cause me to see His infinite 
worth and His excellence. Cause me to want Him more than 
I want my sin. Cause me to want Him more than 
I want even legitimate things. Legitimate things can be sinful 
when they take priority over the One who demands that we love 
Him with our heart, our soul, our mind. Christian, what do 
you think about the Christ? Take this home. Think through 
it. Pray through it. Consider the 
ramifications. When you confess faith in Christ, 
brethren, you are giving yourselves to another. We see that in redemption. He redeems us from one master 
and brings us into the possession of another master, namely Himself. Are our lives characterized with 
the sort of discipleship that our beloved Jesus calls us to? Are we putting to death our sin? Are we living daily to Him? Are 
we as fathers bringing up our children in the training and 
admonition of the Lord? Are we as children who profess 
saving faith honoring our parents? Are we as husbands loving our 
wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her? Are 
we as wives being submissive to our husbands as the church 
is to the Lord? Or have we sucked in the secularism 
and the paganism of our day? Have we become Baal-worshippers 
and Molech-worshippers? Have we subscribed to the thought 
that I can do whatever I want and still have a saving interest 
in Jesus? Not according to Jesus. Not according 
to Jesus, because you are to seek Him first. You are to seek 
His kingdom. You are to seek His righteousness. 
You are to love Him with your heart, mind, and soul. You say, 
well, Butler, you're up there preaching away. But this is stuff 
we all got to work through. You all got to wrestle with. 
You've got to take it home, and instead of doing whatever it 
is you're going to do, typically on a Sunday afternoon, go into 
your place where you pray, go outside, look at the hills, look 
at the mountains, and ask the question, what do I think about 
the Christ? Would my children testify that 
I prize Him above everything? Does my wife know that I value 
Him supremely? Does the pagan I work with realize 
that I am sold out to the service of another? Brethren, these are 
the sorts of things that people of God have asked themselves 
throughout the history of the Church and things that we need 
to reckon with. What do you think about the Christ? 
And if you're not a believer here this morning, what do you 
think about the Christ? You need to see Him the way the 
Bible sets Him forth. His man, an altogether perfect 
man. A man who could do what we can 
never do. We're told to love God with all 
our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind. We get about a millisecond 
in and we're thinking about clouds. We're thinking about cats. We're 
supposed to love Him constantly, continuously. We forget Him. We turn our back to Him. We're 
told to love our neighbors as ourselves. Do we really do that? 
Is that indicative of your life as an unbeliever? Do you value, 
do you prize other image bearers? Are you in this for yourself? 
You have to think about this Christ, who is David's son. And 
as David's son, he always did what was demanded. He always 
did what the Father commanded. He even said, my meat, my food 
is to do the will of Him who sent me. Have you ever had that 
thought? Has that ever risen up in your 
mind or in your heart? That the very sustaining power 
that you need is to do the will of God? If you're like me, you'll 
have to say, no, absolutely not. You say with the Heidelberg Catechism, 
by nature I hate God, and by nature I hate man. I'm an atom, 
I'm dead, I have no spiritual life, no vitality, no desire, 
no nothing. Well, consider David's son. Perfect 
compliance to the law of God. Do you know that David's son 
never had a lustful look? Never had a lustful thought? 
Young men, take that home and consider it. Young women, take 
that home and consider it. Our blessed Christ never violated 
the seventh commandment. Our blessed Christ never got 
angry with somebody without cause. He never called them raka, or 
fool, or engaged in that sort of malice. He didn't break the 
sixth word. Our blessed Christ was always 
devoted to his Father. not only in his worship, but 
with reference to his name, with reference to his day. Our blessed 
Christ continued in subjection to his earthly parents. You know 
how many times people have said, you don't know what it's like 
to live in the situation I do. I've got these parents, or I've 
got this wife, or I've got this husband. And we base our obedience 
on whether or not they're worthy. Jesus continued in subjection 
to his earthly parents. Jesus said, pay taxes to Caesar. every jot and tittle of the law, 
our Jesus did. And as God, He's able to sustain. He's able to empower. He's able to go through, to take 
the wrath and the fury of His Father, and to pay the debt that 
we owe. So unbeliever, I'm going to ask 
you to think about this today too. I can't bind your conscience, 
I can't command you. Go home and for five minutes 
think about this. But verse 42, what do you think 
about the Christ? I hope you see Him in His beauty. I hope you see Him in His majesty. 
I hope you see Him as the God-man who alone is able to save you 
from your sins. And I hope that by the grace 
of God you would believe. You would look and you would 
live. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
the Word of God. We thank you for Matthew 22. 
We thank you for Psalm 110. We thank you that Jesus is the 
fulfillment of what David spoke those many years ago. We praise 
you that he sits enthroned at your right hand now where he 
does rule and where he does reign and he is making all of his enemies 
his footstool. We know as well that He brings 
salvation to all those who come to Him. All those who look to 
Him in faith, He will not cast out. I pray that today you would 
work in the hearts of sinners. I pray that you would cause them 
to turn and to live. And we pray these things through 
Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.