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Psalm Deeper Dive 7
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Psalms 110 & 118 | Jesus as Lord, King, & Priest | How do our lives reflect this?
Welcome back, everyone, to now episode seven of our Psalm podcast. We're continuing to dive deeper. Today we're getting back to some of the prophetic uh Jesus Psalms and looking at 110 and 118 and how those give us a picture of Jesus and how we can understand Jesus as Lord, priest, and king. And so we're going to start with 110, uh, which begins with an odd statement. The Lord said to my Lord, and so who are the two lords? When David is talking here, who are the two lords? How do we understand that?
SPEAKER_01Well, the first one is definitely God, uh, because you know it's the Lord in all capital letters, which is the translation of uh the personal name of God Yahweh that he reveals to Moses. And it's about 4,000 times they find it in the Old Testament. Uh, but then that the next one is the play, because you know, originally it was probably applied to the king uh who is God's deputy on earth. But of course, in the New Testament, it really, I mean, Jesus applies it to himself and and kind of raises for them, you know. Then you raise all this predictions in the Psalms as wait a minute, if he's not talking about David, he's not talking historically, then it's being applied messianically. And how do you connect that?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and Jesus is always so good at asking questions and getting people thinking. And so that particular reference is in Matthew 22, uh, 41 through 46, which says, Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? They said to him, the son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David in the Spirit calls him Lord? saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son? And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. So yeah, Jesus answers uh that, that it is more than what Jesus is.
SPEAKER_01More than what's going on in the eye.
SPEAKER_02And so, how does this help us understand Jesus first as Lord?
SPEAKER_00Well, I mean, it would help them understand Jesus as Lord in the sense that, I mean, they revered David and they were anticipating that, you know, some somebody was going to come from the line of David, and they had all these sort of expectations around who they would be or what that person would look like as a Messiah. And so um, what we're finding here is that Jesus is not, and how they would have heard this, Jesus is not less than, sort of in some way, David. He is more than David, which is a significant statement for them. I mean, he's giving them a clue um as to the nature of Jesus as God himself.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And then it continues uh after, you know, so that's the kind of in the Matthew, going back to 110. Um, it continues then to have a lot of military language. Um and look at, you know, he'll shatter the kings. And so how does we've we've talked about this several times, but I think it's important to reemphasize then how does this again help us understand that misunderstanding that people had when Jesus first comes on the scene?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, of the conquering Messiah. Yes, the one that was going to basically use violence and an earthly authority to establish his kingdom. Yeah. And and you know, the it is part of the whole predictions. It's separated, we find out, in Jesus from the suffering Messiah, which they didn't uh often associate with the messianic uh person to come, even though it's right there in Isaiah. It just was kind of, well, you know, you gotta have one of the two. You can't have hold both of them together uh until it's very much revealed that. And so um, so it just gets pushed into the future in the sense that he will come as the conquering Messiah uh to set up a non-earthly kingdom of God, which again you find way back. You know, Daniel places talk about this final kingdom that is above all the earthly ones. And so, I mean, you uh you you can have some sympathy to people not catching this.
SPEAKER_02Oh, for sure.
SPEAKER_01Even the disciples have trouble catching it.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Yeah. Well, and I think just in your mind, like when you're thinking Messiah and this kind of ruling and reign, like in your mind, you're not looking for someone hanging on a cross. Like that's not in your mind the conqueror of evil. Uh, and yet, uh, as Isaiah pointed out, like it it was a part of the prophecy and a very important part of the redemption story.
SPEAKER_01And you know, that underlying thing that's that i is through all of this, as we know, is that the number one problem of humans is not solved by politics, it's not by who's in the leadership role, it's the problem in our heart of struggling with sin and rebellion against God. So if the Messiah's got to solve our number one problem, it's not by conquering the Romans. No. It's by dealing with that deeper issue.
SPEAKER_00And it does, I mean, back to this point, it it does make a lot of sense that they would anticipate a military ruler and that they would long for one, right? They've been under Roman oppression for for some time. And so, and they, when you read the Old Testament, as they, you know, would have been doing, they're longing for the glory days to be restored, right? So as Jesus is coming, or, you know, as they anticipate the Messiah, they're thinking about somebody who's gonna help them relive the glory days. They want to enter back into that where they could, you know, they could run their own lives essentially. They had their own government, Rome wasn't dominating, that kind of thing. And so it doesn't make a lot of sense that they would uh misunderstand what's taking place here.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it would take the power of God for little Judy Judea to be able to whip the Roman Empire. And so it would be a great demonstration of God's power. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Um, also in this psalm, uh, we see uh you are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, uh, which also gets mentioned, I think, in Hebrews, right? Um but who is Melchizedek? So he appears on the scene first in Genesis 14, kind of out of nowhere, appears with bread and wine for Abraham, who then Abraham offers him a tenth. Um, so how do we understand this mysterious Melchizedek?
SPEAKER_00Can I can I just say first that Jordan has been so excited about Melchizedek and we talked about it the other week and she just couldn't wait till we get it?
SPEAKER_02That's the part where I said I was over the analytical and like to study this kind of stuff. Here we are.
SPEAKER_00Here we are. We're gonna leave we're gonna leave this one. I think it's wise for us to leave this one to the Old Testament scholars. Yeah, the Old Testament. Yeah, yeah. The insight on Melchizedek.
SPEAKER_02Let's hear your doctorate come on through here. Let's Melchizedek, Monster.
SPEAKER_01Well, the name means like my king is righteous, uh, and uh he is a mysterious figure. I I think Melchizedek makes a connection that's really important in that the Messiah, Jesus, plays both kingly and priestly roles. And, you know, if you go back to the Old Testament, the the priests are a separate tribe from the kings. You know, the kings, David comes from the tribe of Judah, the priests come from the tribe of Levi. But but even the kings, like you know, you go back, Solomon offers offerings and stuff, they do have this priestly role. And so the psalm kind of celebrates that. And it, in a sense, by going back to Abraham, it predates the 12 tribes because remember, they're like, you know, what great-grandkids of Abraham. Yeah. Uh, and so it's um, in a sense, it connects Jesus to a more fundamental level of priesthood than even being a descendant of Aaron or the Levites would do. Because his role is not only royal, it's very important that it's sacrificial.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01He's able to go into the Holy of Holies and offer the ultimate sacrifice, his own blood, read all about it in Hebrews, for us uh in a way um that, and he's fully qualified because it goes back to this kind of shadowy figure that even Abraham recognizes as a priest. And Melchizedek blesses Abraham, yeah. And you know, the greater blesses the lesser. So you kind of have this whole um do we need to know all of his identity to realize the role he plays? Well, good luck on finding it. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02He yeah, he just kind of appears and disappears.
SPEAKER_01And disappears. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Uh, and I think it it highlights then, as you were drawing, um, that when you look at the roles of the priest and offering these sacrifices, and there was just never enough that could be offered to really pay. Um, and that Jesus then is the ultimate priest offering a sacrifice that no previous priest could have ever offered. And the once for all. Yes. Yes. So yeah, I just think little things like him showing up with bread and wine, like that kind of stuff, I just think is so is so nifty.
SPEAKER_01Well, yeah. Uh you know, especially in a in an old testament setting where you do not have any other place well or any other uh ritual that uses bread and wine like like our our uh communion does.
SPEAKER_02I just think I think that's cool. So um so Psalm 110 really highlights um Jesus as Lord, but then also as we've been talking about this priestly aspect. But then Pastor Kennedy, as you've mentioned, Jesus is also our king. And so digging now into Psalm uh 118, um, first of all, I just have to make a note like how many times do you find yourself reading the Psalms? And then a song pops up like that. You're like, this is taken straight from the psalm. So when I when I read this one, I'm I'm going back to is that uh is that the old uh Michael W. Smith, like, is love into it? Now you're understanding like you're understanding why I play the drums and I don't sing. Um but yeah, so I I just think that's funny. The hymns, the the contemporary, it all like you can read so many psalms and and they pop into your head. But uh when we are looking at this one, uh there's all this kind of praise and and you know, your steadfast love, which I think is a reminder, just like God's patient, enduring love for us lasts forever. Um, but it also calls to mind some of the aspects that tie into Jesus, like the cornerstone. Um, so Psalm 118, 22, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. And then Jesus quotes in Matthew 21, he said, Jesus said to them, Have you never read in the scriptures, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone? This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. So what is the cornerstone first? So we can have a picture. Um, and there's a little debate, cornerstone, capstone, you can get into that. But just for people like what is a cornerstone, practically speaking.
SPEAKER_00I'll do the cornerstone. You can do the debate on the capstone. How about that? The cornerstone is, I mean, it's the first stone that you would set when you're building something, right? When you're building a house, something like that. And it provides the foundation, but it also provides direction for the house. So you set everything else when it comes to building that house based on the cornerstone. So that one's extremely important. You're setting the walls based on the cornerstone, you're you're doing everything based on that. And so it is the foundational piece. It is the first piece on which everything else for that house is really built. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And and kind of a more um modern idea argument about this is that the word could also mean like the capstone. And you know, when you're building an arch, it's that stone on the top that keeps it basically from falling apart, you know, that that holds it together. And the weight is kind of pushing on that. So it's the key one. And and I think, of course, you know, what they really have in common, and and some places seem to favor one and other the uh others places the other, because this pops up, you know, several times, is it's the most vital stone there.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_01It's it's it's the the one thing you can't do without and still have the building kind of idea, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And so then how does this play then into the rejected rejected part and particularly Jesus then as that piece that's rejected?
SPEAKER_00Well, do you want to read Acts four real quick? Yeah. As kind of maybe make that make that connection there, and then we can tease that out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So Acts four, um, starting in verse 10, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished and they recognized that they had been with Jesus.
SPEAKER_00So essentially, you know, the foundation of salvation is here. And the the people that in some ways like were best equipped to identify the cornerstone were unable to and really rejected the cornerstone. So they said, okay, Jesus, you know, um, or in in some sense, this is what they were doing. They were saying, you actually, according to God's plan, you set the direction, you are the foundation for salvation. No thanks. Like we're just gonna try to build everything else based on something else. And so Jesus essentially gets rejected that way. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and you know, this becomes important. I think we can do an analogy in our own life of you know, if somebody's trying to convince you to buy something or get you to believe something, but the people that are the experts on that say it's a fake, your your tendency would be to not trust it, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And and that's what they're saying of Jesus. You know, he's a he's a fake, he's a charlatan. The fact that you've got a psalm that predicts exactly that happening kind of undermines that whole idea that you should reject Jesus because he doesn't meet our criteria kind of thing, you know. And so it it becomes uh very important in that sense of saying, hey, God has chosen here in a way that the people miss. The people didn't choose. And and you know, the earthly kind of connection to this is you look at the choosing of Saul, he's tall, he's the lot follows him, he looks like a king, he you know, whips the enemies, and then David, who Jesse doesn't even bring him in because he's like, it can't be that son, and everybody's like, This guy? Yeah, but then who becomes the king that's after God's own heart? Yeah kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and the idea that this rejection is what ultimately then plays out to the death and resurrection that makes Jesus the cornerstone of our of our salvation. And um, so also in that line, though, is the and there is salvation in no one else, for there's no other name under heaven um given among men by which we must be saved. And I think this brings up a point that people, especially non-Christians, will struggle with, and then I think Christians struggle with how to respond, which is the exclusivity of Christianity, the idea that um Jesus is the way, the only way. And I think we have a hard time wrapping our minds around that and what we do with that. And you'll even hear um, you know, even people representing Christianity, uh, I think I won't remember which Pope, is it the current Pope that said all religions are pathways to heaven, um, which seems count, you know, countering the teaching right here that Jesus is the way. And so, how do we deal with what can sometimes come off as a pompous exclusivity of Jesus? How do we deal with that?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's not a it's not a statement that is saying we're right, everybody else is wrong, so just kind of deal with it. I don't think that's I think that's what you're getting at. And that's not that's not it, right? I think the point is um all of humanity needs saving. The only real way to experience salvation is through Jesus. Everything else is going to essentially fall short. And so it's it's actually more of probably an inclusive statement in the sense that if you start with all of humanity needing salvation, and Jesus is the one that that um can provide it, um, it is exclusive in some sense where you know other religions are not going to be that pathway, um but it is also inclusive in that it can reach anyone.
SPEAKER_01And you know, the the the kind of the traditional theological teaching when it comes to you know that that question that comes up well, what about the heathen, the non-Christian who's never heard about Jesus? Yeah, lived before the time of Jesus, lives in some remote place, doesn't know about Jesus, will they just be condemned, which doesn't seem fair because of that? Well, you know, the scripture says that God responds to people as according to the light that they have.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01And so the official really Christian teaching is that even if they did not know the story of Jesus and have a chance to believe in him, if they respond to God in the in the way that he asked them to, they're still saved through Jesus' sacrifice.
SPEAKER_03Right.
SPEAKER_01That there's a sense, just as the Old Testament people, the Old Testament heroes of faith, you know, we're told in numerous places they're gonna be there in heaven.
unknownUh-huh.
SPEAKER_01And they're saved through the sacrifice of Christ, even though he hasn't come yet. Um and and you know, you you get this argument, well, you know, Christianity's, you know, being obnoxious, they're being, as you know, Tyler said, you know, looking down on everybody because they say Jesus is the only way, so I'm not gonna participate in that. It's almost like saying, you know, you're you're lost at sea and there's a boat that comes and says, We want to rescue you. And they say, Well, I'm not gonna get in the boat unless you rescue those people that may have fallen out of a boat all the way across the ocean, you know. I mean, in many ways, it it's it's a non-argument um in the sense that you really need to take the salvation that's there. You know, you really need to reach out, and God's mercy, you know, God is reaching out to people through Christ everywhere.
SPEAKER_02And so Yeah. And so this psalm, um, you know, when we think of Jesus as the cornerstone, we think of Jesus then as king of Lord, of priests, when we kind of look at all of these, um, I think it needs to call us to action that, you know, do our lives live out like do we live out our lives in a way that people can recognize that Jesus is those things for us, that Jesus is Lord, that Jesus is king, that Jesus is priest. Um and so how can our lives demonstrate the difference between a belief that Jesus is Lord versus a belief that in Jesus as Lord? And we talked about this with youth. It's like the demons know who Jesus is. Um yet we would not count them as saved and trusting in him as Lord. And so what is the difference and how do we reflect that in our lives between just, yep, I I can see Jesus as Lord, King, and priest versus for me, I have I have accepted him in my life as Lord, King and Priest.
SPEAKER_01I I think it's the difference between intellectual knowing and making a decision. Uh it's between in my mind I know certain things, but I'm not committed to those things. But to really have faith in Christ is a commitment, it's an act of the will. It's something that says, I believe this enough to do something about it and to make it, you know, it it becomes important to my life, and therefore I I respond in that way. Uh and and what that does too is open us up to God's Holy Spirit that then works to transform us and guide us. And you know, because one of the big obstacles we have is that we can get filled with pride about things. I know the right answer to the question of the universe, and I'm Jesus' special little creature, and I get to, you know, this and that, and and there's there's a temptation with that. Um and so that obedience can actually sometimes I mean, we see it with the religious leaders in Jesus' time. Yeah, they they cut themselves off from God by their insistence that they know everything about God, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. And I think a question we could ask ourselves is like in my places of work or family or friends or whatever, um, if people find out I'm a Christian, would that surprise them? You know, like I think that's a telltale. So I was listening to a story.
SPEAKER_01Or even embarrass Jesus. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02I was listening to a story of a guy who would like, he's like, Oh, I'm a faithful Christian, and all of a sudden he's having a a discussion with a coworker and mentions it, and the coworker's response is, Oh, I thought you were an atheist. And that might be a sign for us that our lives are not demonstrating that particularly.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Yeah, no, that's right. And I think for everybody it's gonna be a little bit different, probably. So you think about the spectrum, you think about you know, people on one side who are who are almost really aggressive about it, and then you somebody on the other side who is really, really quiet about it. So you're given the example of being really quiet. But you can actually move uh, you know, on the extreme end of the other side where there's a sense in which people people can't s if if this is Jesus, I can't stand being around you. Right? And you don't want to do that when it's when it's you know, everything I do feels like it's being you know, I I'm being judged by you. And so therefore I can't, and you know, we can get into all that language of what that means, but I'm at least I'm I'm feeling Like you are being condescending toward me because I'm not whatever. And so um I think there's there is that middle ground as we've been talking about, kind of sorting out not being on either extreme, where our lives, you know, need to reflect that, but um need to integrate the fruit of the spirit as we do so, right? The kindness as we speak to people and all that kind of thing.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, it should represent it, but in a way that people can can tolerate and and want to then yeah, it's so it's like striking that balance of like we want our lives to reflect um the peace and contentment and uh hope that we have in Christ in a way though that makes people like, I want what that person has, you know, kind of a thing. Um, and figuring out how to strike that balance.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I like that both of you, you know, really talked about the fruit of the spirit, because I mean most of us would like to experience Christianity in somebody else through them showing the fruit of the spirit more than them just talking about stuff, right? But but we also, I mean, and and I know you you uh emphasize this too, Tyler, is that people need interpretation too. You know, it's it's um the vast majority of people have had some kind of experience of I would say God, the other, the ultimate. Most of them don't interpret it properly. Most of them don't interpret it to have implications for their life. And so, you know, we we can go to the point where it's just the spirit and and people that well they're just a wonderful person. You know, even even they're a wonderful person, I know they're a Christian, but you have to help them with words too. You know, um it's it's um people need guidance on figuring out what's going on and what their options are and how to understand. And and you do it gently, you do it, you know. Um I I always like that old expression of you're like a beggar that's hungry and telling other hungry beggars where they found food.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01Out of love, out of a desire to share something that's wonderful, not out of you gotta do this. And I'm gonna beat you on the head with it with my Bible.
SPEAKER_00Some people need help with boldness and some people need help with tact. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like on either end of that, right? Both are both are really important.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like 1 Peter 3.15, be prepared to give a defense for the hope you have, like you should be, but do it with gentleness and respect. So um, you know, figuring out how to uh to do those kinds of things. But um, and we talk about like with youth, um, the importance of also building relationship with people and tearing down some of those walls before we to start to have those conversations. And so we do a little process um that comes from Dare to Share called um ask, admire, admit. And so it's like just first like asking questions, getting to know people, um, admiring, like what is something that is, you know, like that you redeeming quality about them that you like and and you want to share with them, and then admitting that your own brokenness, which I think is a really key piece. Um, and you know, your brokenness, your struggles, the hard things that you've gone through, but how you were able to get that, uh, get through them. And then that kind of finally takes you to where you can like share the gospel and those kinds of things. And there's a famous quote, and I can't remember who said it, that was something like share the gospel and when necessary, use words. But I think that can be a little misguided because, like you're saying, Pastor Ken, like there there are words. Like we do have to share this, you know, idea that there is no name other than Jesus by which we're saved. So, how do we strike that balance? And I don't think we have all the answers, but just something we want to be mindful of as we walk our Christian journey. So um just wrapping up, you know, Jesus is Lord, Jesus is king, Jesus is priest, and yet uh he chose to become that rejected cornerstone. And so, how can we um take hold of that and and live that out that our lives um reflect that? So, any other thoughts from anyone?
SPEAKER_01No, I I I think I'm often reminded that we serve a Lord who won the victory through self-sacrifice and suffering. Yeah. And and you know, um I just had a conversation recently um with my son about the whole thing of suffering and how our God has the ability to take suffering, which we often hate, try to push away, try to escape, you know, sometimes think it's an argument against God. But he he redeems that suffering. He takes it and brings good things out of it. And and to me, one of the most incredible miracles that you see if you look around sometimes every day is God taking a really bad situation and bringing good out of it. And and that makes your suffering have a purpose. It's the difference between suffering for your kids because they're sick and suffering because somebody was just mean to you. You know, I mean, the one has a lot more meaning and it and you willingly, uh more willingly embrace it. And and I think, you know, that vision of Jesus that comes across, the cornerstone, the the rejected one, the you know, the one that brings his own blood into the sanctuary helps us to see how it gives meaning even to our losses in life. And God can take those and really do incredible things sometimes with them. The things that have been disasters in a human sense.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, there's a debate um between John Lennox, who's a wonderful Christian apologist, um, and Richard Dawkins, who's a pretty prolific atheist. And he is like basically, you know, how trivial that the God of the universe would want to become a human. Like, you really think, how petty are you to think that the God that you worship that created all this would want to be a lowly human and die for you? And yet the Christian aspect is like, how incredible, how just the profound love that God does step into our world and suffer in in a way that like is so tangibly relatable to us. Um, you know, that he sees it as trivial. But I think like I would see it as magnificent, you know, that God would love us so much as to do that. So anything else? All right. Thank you, everybody.