Matthew 22: The King and His Law (6)
Pray Psalm 142.5, 6.
I cried out to You, O LORD:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
Sing Psalm 142.5, 6.
Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth
Hear my cry, LORD, I am low! They are strong who seek my soul.
Jesus frees from every foe; He will keep and make me whole!
Refrain
LORD, You are my Refuge strong!
O receive my plaintive song.
Read Matthew 22.1-46; meditate on verses 41-46.
How would you answer Jesus’ question in v. 45?
Prepare.
1. What did Jesus ask the Pharisees?
2. How did they respond?
Meditate.
Jesus had a question of His own for the Pharisees. Or rather, two. First, Jesus asked them whose Son the Messiah was. They answered correctly: King David (v. 41). This we saw in chapter 21, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the Messiah Who was acknowledged by all as the Son of David, true heir to the throne of Israel, and the bringer of salvation (Matt. 21.9).
The Pharisees must have felt a bit smug at this point, showin’ off their Bible knowledge and all, that they knew full well the prophecies relating to the coming of David’s Son as king over Israel (cf. Ps. 132). Those stupid Sadducees might not know the Scriptures, but we sure do!
Jesus put the second question to them: Why did David, writing “in the Spirit”, call his Son “Lord”? And here he quoted from Psalm 110.1, a psalm of David. Then: “If David calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” The answer is, of course, that the Messiah is both—Son of David and David’s Lord—because (1) the Messiah is the Son of God as well as David’s Son, as we saw in Jesus’ genealogy (Matt. 1); and (2) David—like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 32)—is alive in his spirit and worshiping his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew says “no one was able to answer Him a word.” And just for good measure, the religious leaders decided to stop asking Him questions. To minimize their embarrassment before the multitudes, we might suppose.
I can’t help but wonder about that “no one was able to answer Him”. Were they truly not “able”, or were they simply not “willing”? Or were they not “able” because they were not “willing” to risk having to admit that Jesus is the Messiah? Whichever, we can be sure that their anger toward Jesus was rising, and they were beginning to understand that more drastic measures than trick questions would be required to silence Him.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Now that all the prophecies concerning Jesus the Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, Immanuel, the
Perfect Son of God have all been fulfilled, one wonders why this final statement in Chapter 22 is not the fixed response of all humanity, after the resurrection and ascension.
“And no one was able
to answer Him a word,
nor from that day on
did anyone dare question Him
anymore” (Matt. 22.46).
Why would you?
Furthermore, How dare you?
He. Is. Messiah. The One promised. Foretold. Foreshadowed. Appeared.
Always, everything, in every age, is a battle over this one issue.
I don’t care how you frame it; when you boil it down,
it is always the difference—a battle—between good and evil.
What will you do with Jesus?
Is He the Son of God or not?
If He is, then that truth changes everything.
Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 8.4 posed a question about a human king.
But I will pose it from the standpoint of Jesus, asking the same question:
“Where the Word of a King is,
there is power; and
who may say to Him,
‘What are You doing?’”
Who? What? Why?
Why would we ever doubt that Jesus is the Son of David,
and the Son of God? If we believe the Word of God is true,
then we must believe that He is Who He says He is.
Omnipresent. Omnipotent. Omniscient.
Always present.
Always powerful.
Always knowing.
“…and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16.18).
The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is His new creation by water and the Word:
from heav’n He came and sought her to be His holy bride;
with His Own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.
(Samuel J. Stone, 1866)
LORD and CHRIST.
“And the LORD shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
‘The LORD is One,’ and His Name One” (Zech. 14.9).
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13.8).
Reflect.
1. If you could ask Jesus one question, what would it be? Why that question?
2. If Jesus were to ask you one question, what would you want it to be? Why?
3. Some people just don’t want to believe in Jesus. How should we respond to them?
Thus you have heard that Christ is both David’s Son and David’s Lord: David’s Lord always, David’s Son in time. David’s Lord, born of the substance of His Father; David’s Son, born of the Virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit. Let us hold fast both. Augustine (354-430), Sermon 92.2-3
Pray Psalm 142.1-4, 7.
Praise the Father for Jesus our Messiah and Lord! Commit this day to serving Him in all you do.
Sing Psalm 142.1-4, 7.
Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth
With my voice, O LORD, I cry—hear my plea for mercy, LORD!
My complaint mounts up on high, bringing You my troubled word:
Refrain
LORD, You are my Refuge strong!
O receive my plaintive song!
When my spirit faints away, You my falt’ring pathway know;
where I take my journey they traps have hidden to my woe.
Refrain
LORD, look to my right and see: None takes notice of my plight.
Is there refuge left for me? Is my soul out of Your sight?
Refrain
Out of prison lead me, LORD; thanks and praise to You shall be.
Righteous men armed with Your Word will Your grace bestow on me.
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast continues readings from the book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column is focusing on how we can improve our powers of reasoning. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
