Sermon Text: Mark 12:35-40
Outline
Jesus is the Divine Messiah (vv. 35-37)
- The Christ is David’s son and therefore human (v. 35).
- The Christ is David’s Lord and therefore divine (vv. 36-37).
Jesus exercises his authority as the Divine Messiah by condemning false spirituality (vv. 38-40)
- Beware of those who put on a show (vv. 39-40).
- Beware of those to take advantage of others (v. 40).
- Beware of those who flaunt their false piety (v. 40).
Verses Referenced (sermon order):
Matt 22:41-42; 2 Sam 7:12-16; Jer 23:5-6; Ps 110:1
Context
Mark 11-16 covers Jesus’ final week (Passion Week). We’re still in Tuesday of that week. On Tuesday, Jesus’ authority was challenged by the Sanhedrin. Jesus responded with the parable of the tenants condemning Israel’s religious leaders. Jesus then answered questions about taxes, the resurrection, and the greatest commandment.
Summary
This is only a summary. Watch the sermon video (linked above) for more.
The last few weeks we have seen the Jewish religious leaders question Jesus’ authority. We’ve seen them pelt him with questions in order to try to damage his credibility. Today, we see Jesus go on the offensive.
Mark tells us in v. 37 “a great throng” of people were listening to Jesus. Matthew’s account notes that the Pharisees were gathered (Matt 22:41-42). Jesus questions the Pharisees about the identity of the Messiah and the Pharisees answer that the Messiah will be a descendent of David. The Pharisees are correct (see 2 Sam 7:12-16; Jer 23:5-6).
Everyone agreed that the Messiah would indeed be a descendant from the line of David and therefore the Messiah would be human. However, Jesus was teaching those present in the temple that day something they had perhaps never considered – that the Messiah would be more than a man.
Jesus’ question in v. 37 poses a dilemma about the Messiah’s identity and person. Jesus points them to Psalm 110, a messianic Psalm that was was attributed to David. Psalm 110:1 is the most referred to Old Testament verse in the New Testament and a foundational verse for Christology (the doctrine of Christ). In Psalm 110, David writes about a conversation between God the Father and God the Son (“The Lord said to my Lord”).
So Jesus asks, why does David call the Messiah Lord if the Messiah is David’s son? In a patriarchal society, honor is extended to the elder, not the younger. So why would David give Him this honor? During David’s reign in Israel, there was no higher human being on earth than David. No one outranked him. So why would David call this person Lord?
Jesus was not denying that the Messiah would come from David, but rather stressed that the Messiah is “Lord.” Thus, Jesus is answering the earlier question posed to Him about where he gets his authority (Mark 11:28). He is the Messiah that possesses the authority that David acknowledged to belong to the Messiah as Lord. Jesus is both David’s son [as his descendant] and David’s Lord [as the Son of God].
In Psalm 110, God gave authority to this Lord to sit at His right hand, which is a picture of shared rule on a throne. Thus, Jesus’ authority is that of the Messiah, which He shares with God himself because of course Jesus is God.
In this passage, Jesus turned these theologians on their heads and argued that David, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, penned words showing that the Messiah (the Christ) was David’s Lord and thus must be divine.
We have seen the Christ is David’s son and therefore human (v. 35). Now, we have seen the Christ is David’s Lord and therefore divine (vv. 36-37). We see in vv. 35-37 that Jesus, as the divine Messiah, has authority. If Mark has shown us anything in his Gospel it’s that Jesus has authority. Jesus has authority in his teaching and he has authority over nature, disease, the demonic, and even death itself.
My question to you is this: have you submitted to the authority of Jesus?
The story of Scripture is really this – God created everything very good (Gen 1:31). Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s good authority (Gen 3:1-7). Ever since, man has been born into sin (Ps 51:5; Rom 3:23). In our flesh, we rebel against God’s authority and sin against him. The good news of the gospel is that even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom 5:8). Jesus satisfied God’s wrath for our sin (2 Cor 5:21) and offers us eternal life if we will repent of our sin and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Someone who truly trusts in Jesus for salvation will live a life of obedience to Jesus and bow down to his authority. This is the problem of every lost person – they want to have authority over their own lives instead of bowing down to Jesus. I implore you, turn from your sin and follow Jesus today.
In vv. 35-37, Jesus proclaims himself to be the divine Messiah. In verses 38-40, Jesus exercises his authority as the divine Messiah. Jesus issues a scathing rebuke of the religious leaders and their hypocritical religion. Jesus’ message is more fully expressed in Matthew 23, where Jesus issues seven woes to the scribes and Pharisees. Here in Mark we only have three verses.
Jesus exercises his authority as the Divine Messiah by condemning false spirituality (38-40)
Jesus tells those listening, “Beware of the scribes” (v. 38).
First, Jesus said to beware of those who put on a show (vv. 39-40) by walking around in long robes, inviting greetings in the marketplace, and enjoying the best seats in the synagogues and at feasts.
The scribes wanted to be seen as spiritual. They were more concerned with what people thought of them than pleasing God with their lives. They loved being called, “Rabbi” and the special recognition they received in the marketplace. Finally, they loved the attention from sitting in the best seats. By sitting in these seats, they faced the congregation, which forced people to look at them. This made the Pharisees feel distinguished.
Second, Jesus warned of those who take advantage of others by devouring widows’ houses (v. 40). Because the scribes were the experts in the law they often served as estate planners for widows. The Old Testament was clear that widows and the poor were to be granted mercy and to be treated fairly – “love your neighbor as yourself” (Lev 19:18). Despite the clear teaching of the Old Testament, many of the scribes would use their position to convince poor widows to support the work of the temple or their own work rather than taking care of themselves.
Third, Jesus said to beware of those who flaunt their piety (v. 40). The Pharisees tried to flaunt their piety by praying long prayers. They didn’t love God, but desired to be seen as spiritual by the people.
Why should people beware of the scribes? Jesus says in v. 40 they will receive the greater condemnation. Jesus was telling the crowd if their religious practice and spirituality was like that of the scribes, then they would receive the same condemnation.
If your religious practice and your spirituality is like that of the scribes, then you will be condemned just like them.
Jesus knew that the Pharisees’ religious practice was hypocritical, insensitive to others, and self-seeking. Rather than devoting themselves to God, they were seeking the praise of men.
What about us? What motivates us?
- Why do you come to church? Do you seek to praise God and encourage others or do you come to fulfill a religious duty and want to be seen by others?
- Do you serve in the church out of a love for God or so that you will be praised by men?
- Do you hope the preacher will be faithful to Scripture or that he will tell you how good of a person you are and that you deserve prosperity and material blessings?
- When you attend church meals, do you seek to be an encouragement to others or do you only want to sit by the most important people?
- When you pray with others, do you genuinely pray to seek God or do you use big words and long prayers so that you will be seen as spiritual?
- When you post Bible verses to your social media, are you seeking to honor God and encourage others or are you wanting to be seen as spiritual?
The words of Jesus should challenge us this morning. We may have an impressive outward appearance, but nothing is hidden from Jesus (1 Sam 16:7). He knows the motives of our heart (Mark 2:8; John 2:24-25).
The choice is clear: you can put on a religious show, seek the applause of men, and be condemned to hell or you can submit to and worship Jesus, the divine Messiah who has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt 28:18) and spend eternity with him. Friends, there is no sitting on the fence with Jesus. You are either with him or against him.