Mat 22;41-46 41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: 44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? 45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
In our life, there are questions that would have helped us understand things deeply, and see things clearly. In our office, my job is to find solutions for business problems. I will be racking my brain over something, very confused. I will ask the boss. He will ask some questions, make me think, suddenly my brain bulb will light, and I will see the solution for that. What is one great question when we grasp the answer to that will completely change our life? What is one great question that sheds light on all the darkness in our life?
Today morning in January 2022, you may have some big questions in mind: When will this Covid end? When will I clear my debt? When will my income increase? When will our family prosper? When will my husband/wife change, or my children change, etc.? In Chapter 22, we saw the greatest question the Jews had when they came to Passover. Leaders (representatives of those people) thought the greatest question was political—”How far can the government interfere in our religion and how can the Roman government ask us to pay taxes in our own land?” Just like today, many in those days spent all their time and energy on political questions.
Then, there are people like the Sadducees today who think about what will happen after death, the teaching of the last days. An important question—just like today many spend time thinking about the last days teaching. Some are very passionate about dispensational teaching about the secret coming, seven years of tribulation, 1000 years reign; all their time is spent on debating this. Then there are self-righteous Bible experts who spend their time debating, “Which is the greatest commandment in the Bible?” so they can fulfill it and be righteous before God. They spend all their time on that.
All these are important, but each of us has a certain amount of mental power, of time, of energy, and no more. If we get stuck with any of the less important, we may completely miss the most important question. What is one question that we should give all our attention and energy? One question that can completely transform our life when we deeply focus on that, that will be greatly helpful. The real, not million, but billion dollar question!
That question comes in our passage. Verse 42: “What do you think about the Christ?” Upon this question hangs everything. We will see what a profound and penetrating question this is. One question that affects our life today and all eternity. This is a question that reveals what is in the human heart, and the right answer will bless your life and eternity. Nothing is more important than this question.
We cannot assume everyone knows the right answer to this. Muslims think He is a prophet. Many Christian liberals affected by Christian Science say that He was a mere man living out the divine ideal. Hindus Hare Krishnas believe He was another guru. Jehovah’s Witnesses claim that He is a created being known as Michael. Mormons call Him the spirit brother of Lucifer. Many, many people in church are not saved because they have not deeply meditated on this question. Many, many Christians get into a backslidden state because they don’t have right thoughts about Christ.
So the answer to the question cannot be taken lightly, or if ignored, there are the direst consequences. We will see in today’s passage Jesus Himself asking the greatest question. The people whom He asked failed to answer; they were terribly destroyed and are screaming in hell even now. May God the Holy Spirit help us to ask that question to our own hearts and transform us today as we look at the passage.
Sermon Title: Christ’s Billion Dollar Question – Greatest Question of All!
Context of the Question
We have seen in the Gospel of Matthew that for three years Jesus had done a monumental ministry: amazing miracles, feeding thousands of people, healing all diseases, casting out demons, healing all kinds of sickness, and raising people from the dead. Everyone in the nation was affected by His ministry. Even the blind man in John 9 said, “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard like things he did.” Pharisees tried to reduce His influence by saying He does this by the devil’s power, which is most stupid, because He repeatedly cast out demons, which is clear evidence His power didn’t come from the devil. Why did He do all this? To show to the nation of Israel that He was the promised Messiah.
It is interesting that Matthew records seven times in his gospel Jesus being called as Son of David by various people: a blind man, a Canaanite woman, and finally, during the last week of His life, He comes into Jerusalem, and the whole crowd praised him as the Son of David. He accepted the Messianic praises offered by the crowds. This is Passover week. Friday is Passover. He is the true Passover lamb. While every Jewish house at this time would have taken a lamb carefully and kept that separately, examining the lamb to ensure it was without blemish and perfect (maybe some blemish should have been overlooked initially, it was continually inspected from day to day), at this very time, the true Passover Lamb is going through the same kind of examination by different groups before He is offered up as the true Lamb of God on Calvary. The sharpest eyes were brought to examine, the hatred of leaders made extraordinarily keen to find some fault. All kinds of people tested him: He passed under the scrutiny of the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees, the Herodians, the Sadducees, and the lawyers. They tested Him in all parts, and tried Him from all points (political, theological, spiritual), yet they found no fault in Him. “They marveled, and left him.” They couldn’t find a fault. He is the perfect Passover Lamb.
They tried to discredit Him before the people. After all this, they realized if we say anymore to discredit Jesus, it will be they who will be discredited before the crowd. The more they tried to wean the crowds from him, they were only increasing His credibility and causing the crowd to be even more attached to Him. Mark after all this says the great multitude was hearing Him gladly.
Now after answering and silencing all their questions, now the Lord asks them a question. He goes on the offensive, attacking them. He does two things: in this chapter He completely discredits them as interpreters of Scripture, which they say they are experts of. Using His question, He shows them they don’t know the Scripture at all. Then in the next chapter, 23:1-36, He completely discredits them as spiritual leaders and teachers by highlighting their ungodly conduct, repeatedly crying, “Woe unto you, Pharisees, scribes, hypocrites.” Complete exposure. We see that next chapter. We see the Lord now no longer a passive receiver of questions; He now becomes an aggressive, offensive attacker and authoritatively, publicly exposes the sham, hypocrisy, and ungodliness of the religious leaders, and that in their own temple house. This is beyond what they can bear, and we will see this will lead to His urgent arrest and crucifixion.
See when He asks the question: Verse 41: “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them.” They are gathered together. They together as groups attacked a lonely man with repeated questions. Now, the lonely man will not ask one group individually, but when they are all together, all discussing, with all their mental energy together. He asks them just one question. It says they are together; no one is standing alone. Facing repeated failure, in their frustration, they are gathered together, “What do we do? He is unbeatable. We shot our best bullets, all came back and wounded us. All our minds together cannot find a fault in him.”
To that frustrated group, He asks this question. I see amazing compassion of Christ in this. Some say there is no relationship between this question and the previous ones. No, see the wisdom of Christ. He said the summary of the entire law is “love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength,” and He convicted them of their external religion, and that they are not loving God. Any man can love God like that only when he knows who Christ is, right, and believes, repents, and receives a new heart. After three years of proving Himself as the Messiah by His miracles, just three days before, remember the crowd welcoming Him into Jerusalem as what? Son of David, Hosanna. He Himself, riding upon a donkey, fulfilling the Zechariah prophecy, encouraged singing from Psalm 118, a Messianic Psalm: “Hosanna to the highest, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” The Pharisees were angered. So the whole matter of the Messiah as David’s son has been brought to the thinking of people in the temple at that time. Now He helps (maybe not all, some were hardened, but at least some Pharisees who were like the lawyer were open-minded) to see that He is Christ, and only by knowing Him can they fulfill the law. He makes them at this juncture face-to-face with the most important question. If they believed in their own Scriptures and answered honestly, they would see the truth and be saved. They questioned Him to entangle Him, but now He raises a question to open their eyes to see the truth and be saved.
He asks them a question about Christ indirectly. He is not saying, “What do you think about Me?” but indirectly from their own Scriptures makes them to see that He is Christ.
Christ’s Billion Dollar Question
Now what is Christ’s billion dollar question? That question that requires our deepest pondering:
Verse 42: “Saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ?’”
Remember this is the greatest billion dollar question. “You have asked Me several questions to entangle Me, but let Me ask you the most important one that will lead to your salvation. What do you think about Christ (the anointed one, the Messiah)?” This is a broad umbrella big question.
Christ’s 3 Sub-Questions
Then, He narrows and asks three sub-questions under this to help them answer this great billion dollar question.
1. First Sub-Question: Whose Son is He?
Verse 42: Firstly sub-question, “Whose son is he?” This is a penetrating but simple question. This is the first question in their catechism. Very easy. See their answer, a very rude answer: “They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’” English Bibles use italics for “The Son” meaning it is not there in the original. Their answer was rash, carelessly, “Of David.” The Lord asks them a question every little Jewish school kid would know. It is like coming to a proud PhD and asking him the first letter, so insulting, they would say. “A…” When Christ says, “What think ye of Christ?” they don’t even make a complete statement: “Of David.” Everyone knows. “You are insulting us; you are going to teach us the ABC of the Messiah.” “Of David.”
How did they know? The Old Testament again and again, many passages, mainly 2 Samuel 7:8-29, Psalm 89:3-9, Isaiah 9:2-7, Ezekiel 34:23, Jeremiah 23:5-6, and Psalm 132:11 (pilgrims going to Jerusalem sing this). They all knew God would raise one of His sons to sit on David’s throne. We can look at one verse: “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12–13).
Every Hebrew child knew the Messiah would come from the line of David—the greatest king in their history; the king against whom all other kings of Israel were measured. It was a conviction established in their hearts because there are so many Old Testament Scriptures. So anyone who claimed to be the Messiah has to prove his lineage from David.
Note here: If Jesus had not been in David’s line, you can be sure that would have been a major issue in the New Testament with these leaders. In the temple they kept records on the genealogy of everyone. In fact, the records were kept so well that everyone knew their genealogy. You couldn’t hold any civic responsibility in the nation unless your genealogy was known. You know well that they could have disqualified Jesus instantaneously from being the Messiah if they could have proven that He did not have a Davidic genealogy, right? They could have eliminated Him very fast. And you know well that they must have checked. If they could have disqualified Jesus on a non-Davidic line, they would have done it. The fact that they didn’t and never brought it up indicates that in fact He was from the line of David, therefore was qualified humanly to be the King of Israel. And if they had had a monarchy in those days, He would have been the king.
Note, as application: Never be bored of the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew and Luke. It is in those genealogies that the credibility of the Lord’s claim to Messianic identity is established. Matthew traces it from Joseph to prove his right as king; Luke traces from Mary. It comes together to indicate that this is indeed a Son of David; both his father and mother were in the Davidic family. Whatever way you see, both in natural lineage through Mary and legal terms through Joseph, He was the Son of David.
So based on the Old Testament, many verses, they say He is David’s son. Is that correct? It is half correct. You see, in their theology, Christ/Messiah is a man, an exalted man, specially anointed with the Spirit. He will be a warrior like David, overcome all political enemies of Israel, but He is completely the son of David. That is the entirety of their Messianic theology. They never really understood the fullness of what the Messiah’s role was. They thought His role was political. They thought His identity was human, and Jesus wants to take them to another understanding.
So firstly He asks this penetrating question, and they give a half-correct, inadequate answer. He makes them see there has to be more to the Messiah. David had so many sons, many descendants. How was one to be distinguished out from all of them? Distinguished above Solomon, Hezekiah, or other sons living at that time? I mean, if you’re just looking for a son of David, you’ve got a lot of folks to choose from.
Davidic descent is only one mark; there’s got to be another one. The Lord shows that distinction from Scriptures. So after the penetrating question, getting their half answer, He helps them see the divine mystery. The infinite reality—it’s incomprehensible and marvelous.
2. Second Sub-Question: How Does David Call Him “Lord”?
Verse 43: “He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him “Lord,” saying: Verse 44: “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?”
What a question! I can imagine the Pharisees with a smirk smile carelessly answered the first sub-question: “Whose son is Christ? Of David.” Now hearing the second sub-question, the smile vanished. In a masterful way, He shows their teaching about the Messiah is incomplete. If Christ is just only David’s son, how does David call him Lord? Where does he say Lord? Verse 44 He quotes the very important Messianic Psalm 110:1: “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?”
What is He saying? Notice it is David himself who wrote this Psalm. If your theology just says the Messiah will be only the son of David, listen to what David himself says. The LORD (all caps), the name which they didn’t speak, the most sacred name of God in all the Hebrew Scriptures—Yahweh. LORD (all caps), the fearful name of God, said to the small letter Lord, which means Adonai in Aramaic, Kurios in Greek. Yahweh said unto my Adonai, my sovereign, my Lord. David is recording that Jehovah is making a statement to the Messiah, whom David is calling Adonai. They all believe this is a Messianic Psalm. The scribes themselves taught this refers to Christ.
Here God Himself, the Yahweh of Israel, gives a statement to the Messiah, and David calls him Lord, Adonai. The word used for God in the Old Testament repeatedly. How can David call Him Lord if He is just a human, David’s son? Do you get the point? If the full theology of the identity of the Messiah is bound in David’s son only, how does David himself call this one my Lord, my Adonai, my sovereign? How can He be both sovereign and his son?
Think about it. This Psalm was written 1000s of years ago. David had acknowledged and confessed this future son to be Lord; how could He still be David’s son? Who ever heard of such a thing? Everyone recognizes that a father is always to be honored as the superior of his son. And everyone recognizes the great King David as the greatest of all the earthly kings. This implies He must be more than man, more than David’s son, right, someone eternally existent.
What a question! Do you see how He expands it? Moreover, look at with what exalted terms God spoke to the Messiah. “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?”
The Creator of the universe, great Jehovah, designates a position of rank for the Messiah that brings Him to His own right hand and puts Him in a co-equal place of power and authority with Himself. The right hand is the place of power and authority. “Sit on my right hand.” Equal glory is promised to the Messiah, superlative honor and sovereign power, the right hand of the throne of the Majesty. Not just once, “Be thou sitting,” a present imperative, continuous, take a continuous place of exaltation.
If this is not enough, as if to take their breath away, think of great Yahweh Himself not only assigning the greatest place to Him, but He makes an oath to Him. What? “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Your footstool: it’s that old oriental idea where the king puts his heel on the neck of the vanquished foe.
“I’ll subjugate everything under you.” Think of it. The great, fearful Jehovah makes an oath to this Messiah that He will make all His enemies His footstool. What grand glory! Whoever, how can in their wildest dream think of Great Yahweh doing this for a mere mortal human being? What a blasphemy, taking a human being and making him equal with Him, making him sit at the right hand, and Jehovah promising Him that He will make all enemies of this puny human being as His footstool. Do you see the force? Amazing.
This can never, never be a human being. This has to be someone divine, someone infinite, equal to God, right, virtually declaring His deity. How foolish can they be to have a theology of the Messiah where He is just the son of David coming from David’s line. This should take their breath away, and it did.
3. Third Sub-Question: How is He His Son?
He brings His third sub-question as a bomb to completely shatter them: Verse 45: “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”
His question, sounding loudly in their ears. There is nothing more important for a Jew than the Messiah. He shatters their theology about the Messiah. So Jesus says, if the Messiah is only David’s son (human), how do you explain this verse? David calls Him Lord, giving Him a deity title and gives Him equal authority, power, and says everything will be overcome under His feet.
What will they answer? Can they say, “This psalm doesn’t talk about the Messiah”? They all have repeatedly taught and believed Psalm 110 is a Messianic Psalm. It was a Messianic pronouncement. Can they say, “Maybe David made a mistake, translation error. Maybe David didn’t say that”? See how He states it in a way they cannot escape. Verse 43 again: “How then doth David”—watch this one—“in the Spirit call the Messiah Lord?” Very important. When David called the Messiah Lord, he was in the Spirit—wrote in the spirit, by divine inspiration, powerful operation of the Holy Spirit exerted upon the mind, judgment right down to the pen of the biblical writers.
He quotes from their own Bible in a manner in which there is no question about the words of the text, context, and meaning. They cannot argue. So by using this verse, the Lord is forcing the Pharisees to see the deity of the Messiah by three things: 1. He has to be pre-existent one for David to call Him Lord thousands of years ago before the Messiah was born. 2. He must be a divine person, to sit at the right hand of Jehovah, a place of equality, a position of the greatest possible honor and exaltation, and to share in Jehovah’s glory. God would never speak in this way to a mere created being. 3. The Messiah must also be recognized as God’s appointed Judge. “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
He is not only Son of David, but He is Son of God. So He makes them see the truth from their own Scriptures: their teaching about the Messiah is inadequate. He is not only a human political ruler, but He is God. He has come to do something beyond all they imagine. If, with that correction and understanding, they had just looked at Jesus, looked at His genealogy coming from David, and then looked at all He did, all His works. John said, “All things Jesus did are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” All the healings, all the miracles, all the raising of the dead, all the incredible words that He spoke, the teaching that He gave, supernatural knowledge—all of that was to demonstrate that He was the Son of God.
If they could have seen it. They could see He was the Son of David; genealogy proved that. They could also see that He was the Son of God; His manifest miraculous, supernatural nature proved that.
What is the Immediate Reaction?
Scribes and Pharisees: Verse 46: “And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.”
If Jesus’ words were not logical, or if He used wrong hermeneutics, or if the Scriptures didn’t say that, they would have argued. Jesus’ use of logic and Scripture was so accurately, it utterly shut their mouths. They stood breathless. The evidence was overwhelmingly clear. They didn’t dare answer Him a word.
They had one great, wonderful option: “Oh Jesus of Nazareth, our theology has been inadequate. We see you seem to know more about the Messiah. Can you explain who He is? Could it be the reason we have been against you is this inadequate understanding of who the Messiah is and what He will do? Maybe our anger is rooted in ignorance. You have asked us a simple question from a familiar passage, and we don’t have an answer. Jesus, please help us understand.” That could have been a great encouragement. If they had answered, that would have changed their life, and their eternity. It would have radically altered everything in their lives.
No, though the Scriptures were clear, and all evidence was there, “we don’t know the answer.” Their blind and proud hearts would not bring them to acknowledge their ignorance. “but we have made up our mind. Don’t confuse us with the facts,” so they shut their mouth. How sad?
They decided to answer Him by killing Him on the cross, and He will answer them again by rising from the dead! What a Savior! Praise His name!
What about the crowd? General public Mark 12:37: “And the common people heard Him gladly.”
They tried to wean people by discrediting Him with questions, but the way He answered and questioned them, more people were very attracted. The great multitude was hearing Him so delighted. There was something refreshing about Him, unlike hearing the preaching of the Pharisees, their legalistic preaching, traditional rules, all external rules, superficial twisted explanation of Scripture. But here is Jesus; His explanation and preaching are so clear and simple, but something so refreshing about the clear authoritative handling of God’s word. The great masses were listening to Him with delight, but remember this delight in hearing did not lead them to salvation, but very soon, like the wayside seed, they shouted with the leaders to crucify Him.
Applications
What lessons do we learn from this passage? Two lessons.
1. The Greatest Question: What Do You Think About the Christ?
The greatest question you and I can ask ourselves this morning is: “What do you think about the Christ?” Christ asks this question to you and me. This is the question that will lead to the greatest truth in our life. On this question depends your life and eternity.
See, the Pharisees were not saved and just maintained an external religion because they had a wrong or inadequate understanding of Christ, and their proud hearts refused to see their ignorance and correct themselves. Isn’t this the same problem we have? Today, those of you sitting here, let me tell you all the problems you and I have in our life are because of either a wrong or inadequate understanding of Christ. Our proud and arrogant hearts refuse to see the ignorance and humbly plead with Christ to learn from Him. Oh, we like the Pharisees’ proud answer: “We know all the answers to the catechism.”
May the Spirit of Christ at this moment in your life, ask in a penetrating way:
First, learn the great importance of thinking about Christ. “What think you about Christ?” Do you first of all think about Christ? Some think not of Him at all, He is not in all, not in any, of their thoughts; some think meanly, and have low thoughts. What are your thoughts about Christ? Thinking is such a difficult thing for us; that is why our meditation is a forgotten spiritual means. All church activities happen without any thoughts, right? We never give ourselves the trouble of thinking. Oh, worship service, meetings, go and attend, but as to thinking, that is out of the question. It is so easy to go through the motions, do those as rituals, do not mind how often, but they never think.
Man invents mechanical forms and modes in order to get away from the horrible necessity of thinking, but in so doing he destroys his soul. “What is a pastor for, but an invention to think for me, to do my religious thinking for me?” Christ says, “What think you about Christ?” If there is no thought in your religion, there is no life in it. Every man should do his own thinking, especially this greatest question, or else you cannot be saved.
This question is not only about Christ, but it is about our thoughts of Christ. “What think you of Christ?” It is not theoretical thoughts, academic understanding of Christ, mentally you agree, but in the deepest heart where the issues of life flow, what do you say about Christ? What are your thoughts about Him in the deepest heart?
We may accuse ourselves that we don’t pray, or read the Bible, but do we accuse that we don’t think about Christ? Our whole life depends on what you think of Christ there. If you don’t think properly of Him there, you will not speak properly, act properly, or live properly for Him. This is a searching inquiry.
The mind must exercise itself towards God, and if it does not, our worship is dead worship. Our Savior suggests to us that we must think, and think of Him—though it only deals with thoughts, it is entangled with every other spiritual subject. If you are not right here, you are right in nothing. The hymn says correctly— “You cannot be right in the rest, Unless you think rightly of HIM.”
Never a man or woman’s life went astray without first going wrong in his thoughts of Christ. If a man has a disease in the internal organs, the mere outward cream/medicine will not help; the inward parts must be set right. You have little thought power. You know the problem. You are using it for many unwanted thinking like politics, religion, worldly things (Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians). The main thing, at any rate, for the most of you to consider is—“What think you of Christ?”
Remember, if our views of Christ are wrong, our state is wrong, our life will be wrong, our actions wrong. If your present thinking is wrong, your future will be much more wrong. Repentance or change of mind starts with thinking right thoughts of God and Christ. So the question before us is the all-important question for you and me today that encompasses both time and eternity.
Christ asked some three sub-questions to correct their understanding. Now what sub-questions should I ask you to correct your understanding? I have listed many questions, maybe around 50. This is the spiritual treatment we need. I was thinking of the treatment for Vinod’s dad—he has a block in his heart, regular injection given to clear the block. In the same way, we have spiritual blocks. Allow these questions to act as medicines to clear mind blocks that are hindering your spiritual growth.
Let these question search you, and go right through your soul like a hurricane—“What think you of Christ?” I beseech you, each man, each woman, boy and girl for himself put the question to your own soul, “What think you of Christ?” I push home this demand with vehemence—I beseech each one of you to answer to this inquiry—“What think you about Christ?”
Most of us sit and want our children, husband, or wife to hear the sermon. Listen. That is not how you should hear this. I want you to hear and ask yourself, not ask others. Let there be personal application. Make heart-work of that essential question—“What think you of Christ?” If you would allow me to catechize you upon your spiritual state:
Do you think of God and man at the same time? Very God and very man. This is a foundational truth of Christianity. Do you think of Him as only just human like the Pharisees? Many, many people’s deepest problem is this: They have low thoughts of Christ because they don’t see Him as fully God and fully man. Yes, He is man who was born as you and me, thirsted, hungered, slept, became a servant of all, and suffered, was spit on His face, His beard plucked, a crown of thorns placed on Him, nailed to the cross, a spear driven to His side. He was fully man, suffered in the flesh for you and me.
But do you also believe that He is very God with all the attributes of God? Do you really in your inmost being think of Him as very God of God? Do you believe He is equal to God, He created everything, He upholds everything, and He has all authority in heaven and earth?
Do you believe Christ as God and fully man, with both natures together—unmixed and unmingled—in one Person? Do you understand how this marvelous blend is in Him? Bleeding on the cross and yet exalted on the throne—can you reconcile these two things in your mind? The crown of thorns and the crown of universal monarchy—have you seen how these two are united in His blessed person? Let this question run in your mind: Do I honestly reconcile these two in my mind? Many have this problem in mind, don’t state it openly.
The testimony that Jesus has both a fully human nature and a fully divine nature in His one, single person is not a trivial detail of faith. You and I cannot be saved unless that is true, and unless we put our faith in it! He cannot save us if He was just man; there is no infinite worth to His sacrifice. He cannot save us if He was just God, and cannot be a human substitute to fulfill all righteousness and atone for our sins by suffering as a human. The only way we can be saved by Him is that He has to be fully God and fully man.
“What think ye of Christ?” This is not a superficial question. We must answer this with our whole being. Do we say this in the deepest heart? Like I said last week, some of us can say mentally, theoretically, agree, that He is man and He is Sovereign Lord, but in our heart, from which flows all issues of life which affects our practical living, we may not believe He is the Son of God. That is the problem with most of us. Because if you really believe? If you really believe that, what is your response?
If you believe He is fully God and fully man, and realize why He became that and what He has done as God-man, He would be the most wondrous, attractive, person, and you will fall down and worship Him. What a wonder He is! He is the eternal Son of God; the second Person of the triune Godhead; the very King of Heaven, equal with God! And yet, in infinite love for you and me, He set His heavenly glory aside for a season, became a man, humbled Himself forever, took the nature of true humanity to Himself, tasted horrible sufferings of God’s wrath and death in our place on the cursed cross, and rose from the dead in power and glory. He did this for us! How we should love Him in return!
This explanation of Christ of Psalm 110 so enlightened the apostles in the epistles; they use it not less than six times; they use this Psalm in a peculiar way as it is fulfillment in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ (Acts 2:34, Hebrews 1:13, 1 Corinthians 15:25, Hebrews 10:13, 1 Peter 3:22). If this Son of God becoming man, and achieved and ascended, Yahweh, the eternal God Himself, lifted and has given Him the highest place in the universe, and sworn to Him: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? If we believe that, what highest place should we give Christ in our thoughts? Does He have this place in your heart and mind? Do you give the highest place for Him there? Do you see because He doesn’t have that place there, He doesn’t have it in your life?
What do you think of His death, Resurrection, ascension? Have you believed those and personally accepted that He did that for you? Have we tasted that He is gracious? Have we laid hold on Him by faith? Have we found by experience that He is precious to our souls? Can we truly say He is my Redeemer, and my Savior, my Shepherd, and my Friend?
Have you believed the whole Christ? The Man Christ, the God Christ. What do you think of His offices (Prophet, Priest, King)? The problem with many today, like the Pharisees, is they will take only half of Christ and their favorite Christ, and don’t think of the other part of Christ. Many, many problems arise from people believing Him half. Have you taken the full Christ? Is Christ your Savior and Lord of your life? Is He prophet, priest, and also king? Many just want Him prophet, priest, but not king. Is this not the problem in your life? You want Him to save you from your sins, hell, and teach you truth, but you don’t allow Him to rule your life. Why? Because of not thinking rightly about Him as Lord? Who has all authority in heaven and earth. Do you believe He has all authority in heaven and earth? Isn’t that the central teaching of Matthew? Do you see He has authority over your life? Is your life subject to Him in every way? Do you see He has authority to command you in everything? When you don’t subject your life to the authority of His word, you are rebelling and sinning.
Have you seen Him as Sovereign Lord? Do you see Him as having all authority in your life? Lord who should rule your life. You should subject your life to the authority of His word? Do you have that right understanding. If not, may the Lord bring you to look the question in the face before any other. Put all the rest in the background, and consider this—Have you thought rightly concerning God in Christ Jesus, the Savior of men?
See, the passage gloriously says Jehovah’s great promise is everything will be subjected to Him one day. Every person must one day bow before Him and confess that He is Lord (Philippians 2:8–11). Either in repentance or in condemnation. Though there is so much opposition, do you believe everything will subject to Him one day? Jehovah is working everything in the world to bring everything under the feet of Jesus. If so, how much should your life be subject to you? Do you think before doing anything: “I should subject to my Lord Christ,” or just live as a rebel, freely doing whatever your heart wants you to do? Why is there so much disobedience in your life? What injustice to His authority? Is it not all because you have not rightly thought about Christ as Sovereign Lord, just having half an understanding?
Are you sitting here as a failure with your besetting sin, saying, “I can never overcome this sin”? What do you think of Christ? Is it not because of not thinking rightly of Christ? Think of this. Jehovah has promised He will bring everything under Christ’s feet. If Christ is in your own soul, Christ in my own soul fighting with sin. Christ resisted by my depravity and corruption, and yet see this Jehovah promise: in your soul, He will bring everything under Christ. Christ is sure to reign and sit as King when all my sins are overcome and all my corruptions overthrown. It is a blessed change that will come when we think of Him like that in our struggle against sin. I exhort you to think of Him as Lord who has come to bring complete salvation in Him.
Is your future hope in Him? Look at the promise, Yahweh has taken an oath and decreed that He will subdue all enemies of Christ. Though there are so many enemies now, He will overcome and reign forever. Do you believe He will raise you from the dead and give you eternal inheritance? Do you truly from your heart believe that? Then where is the joy in your heart as a believer? The joy of hope?
As believers, what do you think of Christ? What is one main reason why you are not filled with joy unspeakable today morning? Is your sadness clearly not because of unworthy, low thoughts of Christ Jesus? If you knew more about your union with the living Savior, about the glorious salvation He has purchased, the perfection that is given to all His people through His blood and righteousness, surely your joy would overflow and your sadness would cease. If we permit low, groveling ideas of our Lord to dwell in our minds, our whole spiritual nature will decline in consequence. Narrow notions of the Redeemer narrow our love to Him and our service for His glory. Low thoughts of Christ will paralyze the strongest, but a great Savior, greatly loved, leads to great deeds.
Believers, ask these penetrating questions: “What think you of Christ?” Is it a pleasure to you to think of Christ? Do you so love Him, is He so comely in your esteem that you delight to think of Him? Do you frequently think of Christ, just as you often think of those you love?
If He says, “I am the bread of life, I am the vine, you are the branches, you can do nothing without Me,” do we think of that way? If so, really, how much we will abide in Him, see Him as so essential a part of life. Is your nature so changed that Christ has become essential food for your life and therefore you delight in Him? Has He become your food, and therefore you inevitably long for Him, and must do so because of new appetites and cravings within your nature? Do you think of Christ joyfully?
And do you naturally think of Christ just as we naturally think of food without being reminded of it, seeing we have to live upon it, and therefore inward appetite renders it impossible to forget? Have you a passion for Christ?
Do you think of Christ, desiring still nearer access, and a clearer view of Him, sighing out with sacred love-sickness, saying, “O that I were with Him where He is or that He were with me where I am”? Do you think of Him with admiration, wondering at the Altogether Lovely One? Do you think of Him with an ardent wish to be conformed to His image, saying, “Gracious Savior, make me like Yourself”?
Do you think of Him with practical love, so that you help His cause, the gospel, succor His poor people, proclaim His truth, aid His church, and pity sinners for whom He shed His blood? Do you so think of Christ as to speak well of Him and commend Him to the love of mankind?
Do thoughts of Jesus keep you back from sin and incite you to continue in the paths of holiness for His name’s sake?
“What think you of Christ?” Is He worthy of your actual, practical, diligent service, or is it to be all talk, and idle chat, and broken resolutions, and vain professions? “What think you of Christ?”
These are the kind of inquiries which try a man.
See Him to be lovely beyond all things, and let Him engross your heart, and fire your spirit, and He will make a man of you to the fullness of your manhood, so that you shall serve God to purpose. Let not Jesus be a shadow to you or your religion will be unsubstantial. Let Him not be just a name to you or your religion will be nominal. He must be the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, the all in all of your spirits. As He is God’s Beloved, so let Him be your Beloved. As He is Lord of lords, let Him be your Lord, and when any inquire of you, “What think you of Christ?” tell them, “He is all my salvation, and He is all my desire.”
Finally, learn people: you can happily go on telling yourself you are hearing sermons even from the mouth of Jesus. Mark said people heard gladly.
Great illustration: we may be under the greatest preaching yet not come to faith. Great crowds heard the teaching Him gladly. It is so simple and clear, in our language, not complex confusing teaching like the Pharisees. The same word is used when Herod heard gladly. They heard gladly, but the tide changed; the same crowd cried, “Crucify Him.”
I see most of us in our church do hear the word gladly. Oh, it is one thing to hear the word of God gladly, but it is another thing to abide in it and bear fruit. You may gladly hear the messages. Those who heard Him gladly, one day their heads will be under His feet, when He sits on the throne, till God makes His enemies a footstool under His feet.
One of the great plans for this year: you are all hearing gladly, how much of growth, fruit? You have to ask yourself. The main problem, can I say, is you are deceiving yourself by being hearers. You don’t stare, abide, and be blessed. You are like the wayside seed, but not the good heart, hear, accept, deeply think, holding fast and bear fruit.
If you want fruit this year, you have to do something different, practical. Please, please, two things: 1. All take notes when the sermon is preached; make note down points. 2. Every one of us should make a rule, listen to the audio sermon at least once in a week after attending Sunday. Do these two simple things. You will see much blessing.
Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore 