Monday, April 2, 2007

/This week, we follow Jesus in His last week/

*Read:* Matthew 22:41-45 and wonder ...

*What do you think? *1. Why was there such confusion about the identity
of the Messiah (the Christ) in First Century Judaism? 2. What point is
Jesus making by quoting from the Psalm? 3. Why don't his opponents
continue to argue with him?

When the Pharisees gathered around Jesus, there was always tension.
There was always some kind of collision. They couldn't stand him. He
infuriated them. But they couldn't leave him alone. There was too much
at stake. They believed that God would someday send the Messiah.
Someday. But not now. And definitely not this man. Jesus did not fulfill
their concept of Messiah. To be fair to the Pharisees, Jesus did not
conform to anyone's expectation --- except that of the Hebrew prophets.
Everyone had their own agenda and preference. For the Pharisees, these
esteemed and learned religious leaders, they believed the Messiah would
eventually come to validate their position and bless their judgements.
They had worked hard to elevate themselves, to show themselves worthy of
special status. Jesus did not validate their self-

righteousness. Far worse, and most insulting, he demanded that they
relinquish their sense of entitlement, confess their need, and
acknowledge their sin. He wouldn't join their elite association and
assigned value to the "poor in spirit" instead. He spoke with the
assurance of God on these matters. He drove them crazy!

So, he asked them, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is
he?" Their answer is measured, cautious, orthodox. "He's the son of
David." True enough. He is of the lineage of David. That is affirmed in
the Old Testament Scriptures and again in the Gospels (see Matthew
Chapter One). And now he has them. Once again. If David is the ancestor
of the Messiah and the authority on the Messiah . . .. Jesus calls their
soured minds to consider a Psalm of David that seems to indicate a
status for the Messiah that is far beyond that of priest or prophet, an
identity that surely suggests these religious leaders must bow before
Messiah as a divine person. They had been challenging him repeatedly and
without ever really listening. But according to David himself in Psalm
110, David's son is also, at the same time, David's Lord. If the
Messiah, if the Christ is Lord to David, the most highly regarded of all
the kings of Israel, and if Jesus continues to prove himself and
fulfills all the requirements of the Christ (a man with all of the
messianic credentials, teaching with authority, performing miracles, a
man without sin, on his way to die on a cross for the sins of the nation
and the world, etc., etc.) . . . do you see where all of this is going?

Take another look at Jesus. What are your preconceptions? What are you
missing? Do you recognize him as Lord? As the one sent from God to
subdue every enemy that threatens God's good creation --- including your
guilt and shame, death and hell, the devil and every vestige of evil?
What do you see? Who is this Jesus?

/ Lord, I have some doubts, I have some questions. I have my own
expectations and you don't always fit into my views. But I'm willing to
re-consider this. I don't want to miss you. I probably shouldn't try to
dictate what you should do and how you should do it. Please help me
understand. And if I'm blind to you, open my eyes. If Jesus is your Son,
if he was more than a man, I have to know. Thanks for thinking of me. I
guess I'll say amen./

Doug Stevens, The Renewal Project &
Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church