More than a Son of David

While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand

until I put your enemies

under your feet.” ’

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

The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Mark 12:35–37

The Teachers of the Law taught that the Messiah would be a son of David. And in fact, that was true. But the scribes had so over-emphasized this one truth that it had become like that overgrown hedge that is currently obscuring the view of your home. This over-emphasized truth was preventing the Jews from having a clear view of the Messiah. The Messiah was standing right in front of them and they didn’t recognize Him, because they didn’t rightly understand what the Messiah was supposed to be. 

They thought the Messiah was just supposed to be a son of David and nothing more. So, they expected the Messiah to do “David” things. They expected Him to go out to war like David did, to defeat their enemies like David did, to set up an earthly kingdom like David did. In other words, they expected the Messiah to fight the Romans, defeat them, and then establish an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem.

Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 to show them that the Messiah is much more than just a son of David. King David called the Messiah his lord, so the Messiah must be superior to David. The Messiah would do something different than what David did. He wouldn’t establish an earthly kingdom like David; He'd establish a heavenly kingdom that would surpass David’s. In other words, Jesus didn’t come to fight and defeat Rome. He came to fight and defeat sin.

Many of us make the same mistake today. We invite Jesus into our lives expecting Him to be our earthly king. We expect Him to fight our earthly battles for us and make our everyday lives better. We want Him to make us rich and soothe our aching backs. We want Him to be an earthly king who is going to give us health and wealth right now! And that’s not what Jesus came to do.

Jesus never did that! Jesus healed the sick. But they all eventually got sick again and died. Jesus fed the hungry but He didn’t make any of them rich. Jesus called quite a few of His disciples away from successful businessed to become itinerant preachers. Jesus didn’t make any of His disciples rich. He made them poor! Jesus never preached a health and wealth gospel.

Jesus has always been much more concerned about our eternal circumstances than our current circumstances. He is much more concerned about our eternal prosperity than our earthly prosperity. Jesus came to save us from sin, not from the problems of every day life. He came to make us rich in Heaven, not rich on earth. He came to make sure we live forever in eternity, not to ease our every ache and pain now. Stop trying to turn Jesus into an earthly king! Look for Him to give you Heaven, not an easy life.

The Greatest Command

“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Mark 12:29–30

Did you know that God commands you to love Him? Yes, He commands you to obey Him. And He commands you to give to the poor. And He commands you to live a righteous life. But He also commands you to love Him.

In fact, Jesus says this is the greatest command. Think about that. The most important command in all of Scripture isn’t about what you do or don’t do. It’s about what you feel... about God. If God could only have you do one thing your entire life, it would be for you to love God. 

Why is that? Because it’s primary. When you were a kid, did you ever set dominoes up in a long line or maybe even a spiral to create a chain reaction? Do you remember doing that? If you were very careful to line them all up and if they were just the right distance apart and if you managed not to knock them over while you were setting them up, then once they were all set, all you had to do was knock over that first domino and it would create a chain reaction that caused all the other dominoes to fall into place as well.

That’s what loving God is like. It’s the first domino. If you love God, If you get your heart right, then everything else will fall into place. Proverbs 4:23 puts it this way. It says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Your heart is the wellspring of your whole life. Everything you do begins and ends there. Your life is directed by what you love and what you hate, what you set your heart on and what you take to heart.

That’s why this is the greatest commandment. It isn’t because God is desperate for love. It’s because He knows that you will follow what you love. If you love God, you will want to read your Bible. If you love God, you will want to pray. If you love God, you will want to obey all His other commands. He knows that if you can get this one thing right, then everything else will fall into place. If you can fall madly, passionately in love with God, then everything else in your spiritual life will eventually work itself out.

So, the question is this… Are you in love with God? God has no interest in being second place in your life. He commands you to love Him with all you’ve got. Return to your first love, today. Ask God to reveal Himself to you and to help you fall in love with Him all over again.

Giving God His Due

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

Mark 12:15b–17

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Jesus seems to reason that since the denarius bears Caesar’s image it belongs to Caesar. Caesar was the one who minted those coins, so the people ought to give back to him what belongs him…what he has a right to.*

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But then Jesus goes on to make a much bigger point. He not only says “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s” but also “and [give] to God what is God’s.” So, the bigger questions is this. Are you giving God His due?

You see, in the same way that the Roman coin bore the image of Caesar, you bear the image of God. You were made in His image, which means that you belong to Him. And going a step farther than that, we know that God is the Creator of all things. Which means that not only your body but your whole life and everything you own belongs to God and should be surrendered to Him.

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Are you living fully surrendered to God? If God were to tell you today to take something that belongs to you and give it to the church, or to missions, or to some needy person... would you do it? If God were to tell you to leave your job, leave your home and your friends and go to the mission field to reach one of the more than 3,000 people groups in the world today who have never heard the gospel, would you go? What if God told you to walk over to the next cubicle or the next farmer’s field or even to your next door neighbor and share the gospel with them, would you do it?

‌Are you giving God His due? Are you giving Him all the obedience you owe Him?

*Ross H. McLaren, “Mark,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1582.

W.o.W. Rewind: Big God

Nothing in this world makes my problems look smaller quicker than thinking about the greatness of God. When my gaze is lifted off the things of this world and I consider who He is, I am reminded of just how big God is. Compared to His greatness, my biggest problems are small potatoes. 

Recently this has brought me great comfort. I was feeling overwhelmed and frustrated in life. I had been spending too much time contemplating the enormity of my "to do" list and not nearly enough time contemplating the enormity of God. My perspective had gotten locked in on the mundane frustrations of this world. I had become consumed by my need to succeed. I failed to see the glory of God all around me in creation, crying out for me to lift my eyes. I was locked in a very unhappy way of living. But when I dedicated myself to return to Bible study and prayer, God did a wonderful thing. He revealed Himself to me again through His Word and through prayer, and once again I was amazed at how big and wonderful God is. How could I have forgotten for all this time!?

Perhaps you are locked in a small way of thinking today too? Here are some passages of Scripture designed to lift your gaze and place it back on God.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, you his servants; praise the name of the Lord. Let the name of the Lord be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised. The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people. He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 113)

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord. (Psalm 148)

A Day to Settle All Accounts

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.

Mark 12:6–9

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This is the climax of the the Parable of the Vineyard which Jesus told to warn the Pharisees about their coming judgment. In the parable, a man plants a vineyard and rents it out to some tenant farmers. But every time he sends a servant to collect fruit from their harvest they beat or kill the servant. So finally, the owner sends his son thinking the tenant farmers will respect him. But, ‌‌the tenant farmers, hungry for power and ownership of the vineyard, kill the son and cast Him out of the vineyard.

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Of course, the son in the parable represents Jesus qnd this story proves to be prophetic. These same religious leaders to whom Jesus is telling this parable would very soon succeed in killing the Son by having Jesus crucified. So, this parable functions as a warning to the religious leaders who are plotting to kill Jesus. Just like the tenant farmers, they will soon face a day of reckoning. They will be judged.

‌‌And for us, this parable is a warning as well. We too will face a day of reckoning... a day when our account with the Master will be settled. And just like in the parable, on that day when the Master comes back to enter into judgment with us, two things will matter: 1) What have you done with His Son? 2) And did you produce good fruit?

‌‌First and foremost every single one of us will be judged by what we have done with Jesus. If you show the same dishonor and hatred for Jesus as the tenants in this story, if you rebel against Him, if you reject Jesus and tread the blood of Christ under your feet, then you should not expect to receive mercy on the day of reckoning. But if you believe the Son and bow your knee to Him and seek forgiveness for your many sins from Him and make Him Lord of your life… then you will be spared judgment. You will be shown mercy on the day of reckoning.

But there is one other thing that will matter on that day of reckoning and that is the fruit of your life. Don’t get me wrong. You will be saved or condemned to Hell based on what you did with Jesus alone. Your actions do not save you, but they do reveal the nature of your heart. And so when the day of reckoning comes, your fruit will be inspected to see if it proves your salvation or your sinfulness. And for the Christian, your fruit, how you lived your life, will also determine your rewards in Heaven.

‌‌Are you ready to settle your account with the Master? If the day of reckoning were to come today- are you confident that you have honored the Son and produced good fruit with your life? If not, there’s still time! Repent and come to Jesus today. If you aren't quite sure how to do that, then read more below...

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The Gospel in a nutshell: We are all sinners. Every one of us has rejected God's way and gone our own way. We have all rebelled against the one true King. Our sin deserves punishment. In fact, so great a sin against so great a God deserves Hell. But God, because of His great love for us, wanted to offer us forgiving grace. For God to be just, our sin had to be punished though. So God, in His wisdom, took the punishment for our sin on Himself in Jesus. Jesus died to pay the price for your sins and then rose from the dead beating the power of sin over you. He ascended into heaven to prepare a place for those who believe in Him. So that now those who place their faith in Him can be forgiven and spend eternity in Heaven with their Savior. If you would like to do that today, here is what you need to do.

• A- Admit that you are a sinner and in need of God's grace (Romans 3:10 and 3:23).
• B- Believe that Jesus is God's Son, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, and that He was raised from the dead (Romans 6:23 and 5:8).
• C- Confess Jesus as Lord of your life. Turn from sin (from living life your way) and commit to live your life for God (Romans 10:9).