The Prophetic Context of Jesus - and Our Hope
When we carefully
consider Jesus’ exact view of Scriptural integrity within his bold use of
ancient prophetic statements and quotes, we might marvel at his faithful,
unerring grasp of present and future truths! Our ardent Kingdom hope as
biblical Christians is most certainly built on his dynamic, joyful
hope, as a passionate human being with his vision squarely focused on God
Himself (despite severe obstacles.). One might recall the beautiful
encouragement which Hebrews 12:1-3 provides (OGF): “Therefore, since we are
surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses [in reference to the magnificent
examples of faithful believers listed in Hebrews, chapter 11 – who are
currently asleep in death], let us also lay aside every weight and the sin
which so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance the race set
before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of faith.
For the joy set before him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider
him who has endured such hostility of sinners against himself, so that you
do not grow weary and give up.” In all such difficult trials, he stands above
all others as our supreme model, so that we may carefully emulate his resolve!
It is clear
that in the above passage in Hebrews 12:2, the words, “and has taken his
seat at the right hand of God” directly refer to Psalm 110:1 in the Hebrew
Bible. The First Testament translation presents Psalm 110:1 in the
following way, “Yahweh’s proclamation to my lord: ‘Sit at my right
until I make your enemies your footstool.’” From Hebrew Masoretic texts,
the first word “LORD” (according to many translations in English) in this verse
is correctly rendered here as “Yahweh”, the divine name of God Himself (used
over 6,800 times in the Hebrew Scriptures.) The JAV gives the following
rendition of this verse with the unpronounced tetragrammaton in place: “YHWH
declares to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your
enemies a footstool for your feet!” The New English Translation of the
Septuagint declares: “The Lord said unto my lord, ‘Sit on my
right until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’”
In all three
of these careful renderings stated above (and in other accurate translations –
such as NRSV and NET) the “my lord” is correctly represented with a
lower-cased “l”, instead of a capital “L.” That is mainly because the
consistent Hebrew vowel points indicate that the Hebrew word here is “adoni”
which in its 195 biblical uses always refers to a superior human (or
occasionally an angel.) The word here is not Adonai, which in its
449 Scriptural uses always refers to “the Lord God” Himself. The Greek
Septuagint is consistent with the documents in Hebrew. This verse cannot
be used honestly to promote the doctrine that God was somehow speaking to
Himself (perhaps, as a distinct “Person” within Him)!
The
November, 2022 issue of Focus on the Kingdom (p. 6) provides this
specific documentation under the title: Confirmation from current scholars
on adoni, “my lord” – “F. Brown, S.R. Driver, and C.A. Briggs
observe further that variations of pointing, particularly between adoni and
adonay are set forth to distinguish between human and divine referents,
respectively. In our analysis of all 774 occurrences of the adon root in
the Hebrew Bible, we have found this to be strikingly true in the case
of these two forms: adoni (see Psalm 110:1) almost always refers to a
human lord/master (in a handful of occurrences, the referent is an angelic
figure), while adonay (see Psalm 110:5) always refers to the
divine Lord.” – Murray Smith, Ian Vallancort, “Enthroned and Coming to Reign:
Jesus’s Eschatological Use of Psalm 110:1 in Mark 14:62,” Journal of
Biblical Literature, Vol. 141:3, 2022, p. 516-517.
So, when
Jesus significantly quoted Psalm 110:1, he obviously knew who he was as
the fully human Messiah, who could be tempted (Hebrews 4:15), while yet knowing
the powerful promise that he would be highly rewarded and exalted upon
persevering faithfully until his sacrificial death. As noted briefly at the
beginning of this presentation, he is our supreme example of staying joyful
in hope (“For the joy set before him”) despite cruel obstacles to be endured.
The first occasion
when Jesus boldly called attention to Psalm 110:1 in the Synoptic Gospels can
be perused in Mt. 22:41-46, Mk. 12:35-37, and Lk. 20:41-44, very near the end
of his ministry. The context of this event is so intriguing - as Jesus had just
dynamically answered some questions put to him, from mostly insincere
opponents (though not always). (1) He responded about paying taxes to Caesar,
and (2) the truth of the resurrection - with his bold (Mt. 22:29) rebuke, “You
are much mistaken! You do not know the Scriptures, or the power of God.” (This
was in response to the Sadducees – who did not believe in a future resurrection.)
Then, (3) Jesus identified (in Mt. and Mk.) the greatest of all commandments
(when he so clearly established his unitary monotheistic beliefs by quoting
Deut. 6:4 according to the meaningful dialogue in Mk. 12:28-34.) To me, it is
extremely significant that the discussion of the Shema (Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is one Lord) in Mark 12 is in the back-to-back
context with his bold quoting of Psalm 110:1 for the first time! Here then is
the record in Matthew 22:41-46 (OGF) of Jesus’ public question put to the
gathered crowd (including some Pharisees) after dealing masterfully with
the questions asked of him:
While the
Pharisees were gathered there, Jesus asked them a question. “What do you think
about the Messiah?” he asked. “Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they
replied. “So how is it that David by inspiration of the spirit calls him
‘lord’?” Jesus asked them. “David says, ‘The Lord said to my lord, sit at my
right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.’ If David called him lord,
how is he his son?” Nobody could give him any answer, and nobody from that time
on dared to ask him any more questions.
Several
factors should be abundantly clear in this dynamic record. (A) Jesus believed fervently
in the absolute integrity of the Hebrew Scriptures. On another occasion, in a
discussion about his Messianic, “Son of God” identity (John 10:29-39) Jesus
stated, “and the Scripture cannot be broken.” When already resurrected,
according to Luke 24:44, he spoke of the Hebrew Scriptures in this way: “that
everything which is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the
Psalms [the first book of the “Writings” – Ketuvim] must be fulfilled.”
(B) Naturally, this view of Scriptural precision would include his Mt. 22 use
of Psalm 110:1 when he declares that David called the Messiah “lord” – “by
inspiration of the spirit.” The precise distinctions we viewed earlier in
Psalm 110:1 about the use adoni [a superior human – in this case]
instead of Adonai [a reference to the Lord God] would have been
extremely vivid in Jesus’ conscience and his exact awareness. (C) Here in Mt.
22 Jesus wisely combined the concept of “Messiah” (Yahweh’s “anointed”
from Psalm 2:2) with the “my lord” (adoni) of Psalm 110:1. (D)
Jesus’ keen focus on Scriptural integrity went far beyond that of the crowds
(including the Pharisees present.) They correctly perceived a truth in 2nd
Samuel 7:12-13 about David’s son [or descendant] having his kingdom
established forever. However, unlike Jesus, they failed to see how this “son of
David” truth fit perfectly with the future status of the Messiah also
being David’s human “lord” (Psalm110:1), who would be exalted to YHWH’s right
hand, until the future subduing of his enemies!
Perhaps a
wider (but very brief) overview of Jesus’ previous ministry could be helpful in
appreciating his pivotal use of Psalm 110:1 as considered so far in Mt. 22, (also
in Mk. 12, and Lk. 20.) Since childhood Jesus was thoroughly dedicated to
learning and applying the truth of Scriptures (Luke 2:46-49), and he grew (2:52):
”Jesus kept advancing in wisdom and years, and in favor with God and people.” As
an adult (about 30 years old) he was very bold to begin declaring coming
Kingdom truths (alluding to Daniel’s future world government prophecy in
Dan. 2:44-45 - with Dan. 7:13-14 clearly in mind) and the dire need now for
repentance (or devotion to changed thinking and living). Jesus
spoke profusely about such priorities from the very outset of his ministry (Mk.
1:14-15, Mt. 4:17, 23, Lk. 4:43, Mt. 5:43-48). Nevertheless, he did not
generally reveal his Messianic role and identity in a public way until much
later. (There are very few exceptions, mostly in private conversations: for
example, with Nicodemus [John 3] and the Samaritan woman [John 4]). Jesus even
rebuked demons early on (Lk.4:41) so they would stop shouting out about his
Messianic identity. Meanwhile, future Kingdom realities and repentant living were
constantly heralded and taught in depth by Jesus, then the twelve, and a latter
group of seventy disciples.
Quite a bit
later, there was a dramatic change in Jesus’ overall message and his approach,
starting at Caesarea Philippi among the twelve (Mt. 16, Mk.8, Lk.9). He then
allowed exclusively, to the twelve themselves - the understanding of his
Messianic identity (after Peter’s confession), while charging them not to speak
about it to others (Mt. 16:20). He began speaking repeatedly to the twelve (Mt.
16, 17, 20, etc.) about his upcoming death and resurrection, though they failed
to really grasp the point. Three of the twelve were even exposed to a private
visionary experience (Mt. 17:1-9) to affirm Jesus’ Messianic role in the future
coming Kingdom. Even when Jesus first spoke publicly about the truth of Psalm
110:1 (as we viewed in Mt. 22:41-46), he did not directly announce his
Messianic identity to the crowds (though some, like the twelve, would have
known). In all this, Jesus never rescinded his basic gospel message about the
coming Kingdom and repentance, but he did wisely wait until the right time to
privately disclose specific details about his death and resurrection (further
components of the Gospel) to the twelve. Whether by speaking in parables or by
waiting until the right time to unveil certain truths, he did not “cast
pearls before swine.”
Likewise, in Mt. 22:41-46 (which we saw
already), Jesus’ timely display of Messiah as David’s exalted lord (adoni)
gives us a picture of his own, personal, joyful hope – based on his firm
belief in the integrity of the Scriptural declaration in Psalm 110:1. This
truth, furthermore, points to Messiah’s intermediate, victorious role after his
resurrection and ascension – to be seated at the right hand of God, until his
enemies are vanquished (at his powerful, future return).
A bit later,
when Jesus endured cruel mocking at his trial, he did not downplay his
Messianic identity at all! It was then time to exhibit his identity
publicly, even to enemies. His use of Psalm 110:1, (combining it masterfully with
Daniel 7:13) to challenge the unbelief of his angry opponents (Mt. 26:63-64,
Mk. 14:61-62, Lk.22:68-71) is quite impressive! We will view the Mark 14:61-62
(OGF) record:
But Jesus
remained silent and gave no reply. So the high priest asked him, “Are you the
Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus replied, “I am, and you will see
the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds
of heaven.”
Clearly the
title, “Son of Man” and the phrase, “Coming with the clouds of heaven” are from
Daniel 7:13, whereas the phrase, “Sitting on the right hand of Power [referring
to YHWH]” is from Psalm 110:1. Obviously, Jesus, the human Messiah (or “Son of
Man”), was willing to stake his very life on the integrity of Psalm 110:1 as carefully
connected with precise meaning to other vital Scriptures, with the “joy set
before him” of knowing (according to God’s promise) that he would be ultimately
resurrected, ascended, and seated at God’s right hand!
Jesus’ joyful
hope is thus so tightly linked to our hope as bona fide Christians, who invest
our hearts in God’s written promises in Scriptures. We know that as we stay
faithful, we are promised by God to be resurrected to Life of the Age to Come -
at Jesus’ glorious return: 1st Corinthians 15:22-23 and many other
passages.
The rest of
the new covenant Scriptures (after the historical time frame of the four
gospels) continue to speak of the central truth of Psalm 110:1, showing Jesus
to be already seated at God’s right hand after his ascension in Acts
1:9-11. In addition to an abundance of direct quotes, partial quotes, and
allusions to this prominent verse in Psalms, every N.T. reference to Jesus as
“lord” is, in a real sense, directly rooted in Jesus being the fully human
“lord” (adoni – used mostly of a superior human being) in Psalm 110:1, not
Adonai – which is used exclusively of the Lord God, (or YHWH
Himself.)
In addition
to the key, prominent uses of Psalm 110:1 which we have seen in Matthew, Mark,
and Luke, here are a few further notable references to this verse (but not at
all a complete list). Mark 16:19 (OGF) declares, “Then the lord Jesus, after he
had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right
hand of God.” On the day of Pentecost Peter commented (Acts 2:33a, 34): “Now
that he has been exalted to the right hand of God ….” “It was not David who ascended
into the heavens, but David himself said, ‘the Lord said to my lord, “Sit at My
right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ Hebrews 1:3b
says, “After he had purified us of our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high” and 1:13 states, “But to which of the angels did God ever say
at any time, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for
your feet?’” Hebrews 10:12b mentions that he, “Sat down at the right hand of
God, where he is now waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his
feet.”
Ephesians
1:20-23 (OGF) uses the Psalm 110:1 reality to display the following panoramic,
victorious view: “This power He used to raise the Messiah from the dead and
seat him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above every ruler,
authority, power, dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age
but also in the age to come. He put all things in subjection under his feet,
and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the
fullness of Him who fills all in all.” Ephesians even goes on to state the
following, in terms of our (as faithful believers) spiritual identification
with the ascended, seated Messiah in 2:6-7: “He raised us up with him and seated
us in heavenly places with Messiah Jesus. This is so that in the ages to come
He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness to us in
Messiah Jesus.” So, in a spiritual sense, we can live faithfully now as
God’s right-hand people, “seated in heavenly places” (while emulating
Jesus’ faith) until God’s kindness is fully revealed to us at the Kingdom’s
arrival on earth!
As I have
previously indicated, there are further passages to consider about the powerful
biblical understanding provided by Psalm 110:1.
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