The Gospel of Mark – Part 43

Questions and Observations- Part 2 – Mark 12:35-44

Mosaic Rockford – Dave Spooner – July 19th, 2020

Intro:

We are still in the Temple Mount with Jesus, His disciples, and the crowds. Jesus successfully answered the questions of the religious leaders who were trying to trick and trap Him. He answered so well that “no one dared to ask him any more questions” (Mark 12:34-35 ESV).Jesus continued to teach at the temple, and we hear Him ask a question of His own that was asked to bring clarification about the real identity of the Christ, who was the son of David. Jesus also made observations about the religious leaders and those who gave money at the temple.  From these questions and observations, we can rest assured about the eternal origin of Jesus, the trappings of religious leadership and the value God places on our giving.  

Question about the son of David

Mark 12:35-37 ESV

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.

Is the Christ just the “Son of David” or is He more than just the Son of David? Now it is true that the Christ was to be a “Son of David” because it was foretold that this was to be the case in multiple Old Testament Scriptures (Isa. 9:2-7, 11:1-9; Jer. 23:5-6, 30:9; 33:15,17,22; Ezek. 34:23-24, 37:24; Hos 3:5; Amos 9:11). And Jesus was indeed born from the line of David (Matt. 1:1-17; Luke 3:21-38). However, Jesus was more than just a “mere man.” His origin was not just “flesh and blood” but He was “born of God.” This was described to His mother Mary when the Angel of the Lord explained to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God” (Luke 1:35-36 ESV).Now Jesus at this point did not outright say that He was the Christ because people needed to come to their own conclusion about His true identity based on scripture and the evidence from His life. But in bringing this passage up from Psalm 110, He opened the door and set the stage that the Christ was way more than just a mere man or a descendant of David. Again, it is true that the Christ was to be a descendant of David, but He is much more than just his descendant. Jesus goes on to prove it using scripture. He quoted a passage from Psalm 110 which was written by David “in the Holy Spirit” – which gives further proof for the divine origin and inspiration of Scripture. David wrote, “The Lord said to my Lord.” So, David was saying that even though he was king, he himself had a King that was greater than he. So, the Christ, who was a physical descendant of David was far greater than David. David’s son was David’s King– how could that be?  It only could be this way in that the Christ, even though He was a physical son of David, had an origin that was greater and earlier than David himself. So, the Christ was indeed the son of David, but He was far greater than the Son of David, because David called Him “Lord” and was under Him.  Jesus was more than a “mere man” as some had said (How Jesus Became God – book) – He indeed has divine origin which was both foretold in scripture and fulfilled in His birth. Jesus is no “mere man” but is truly God in the flesh. John the Apostle lays this out so beautifully in the opening of his Gospel.   

John 1:1-4, 14 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men . . .14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only