“While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, He asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” David himself calls Him ‘Lord’. How then can He be his son?””
Mark 12:35-37a
As Mark continues to describe the means that the Lord Jesus Christ used to bring His disciples to faith he takes us further into the teaching of our Lord. Mark has just presented us with a teacher of the law who is presented as a man who is “not far from the kingdom of God”. Mark immediately goes on to this question asked of the crowds, and perhaps of the deeply convicted teacher. It is a question raised by the teaching of the 110th Psalm. In this Psalm, which was understood to be about the coming Messiah a confusing piece of teaching is given. David is writing this Psalm about one of his descendants who was believed to be the Christ, the Hebrew Messiah. As a descendant of David this person is assumed to be inferior to David, but David addresses him as his Lord. How can this be? That David was speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore was writing Scripture was understood by all present in the Temple. What was not understood was how the Messiah could be both David’s descendant and his superior at the same time. It is this question which Jesus asks the crowd. The approach that Jesus takes here is to ask a question which will force those who sincerely want an answer to engage in an intense, Spirit directed study of God’s Word in order to discern God’s answer. James 1:5 tells us “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him.” This is the expectation that the Lord Jesus Christ has for everyone who truly wants to enter into the Kingdom of God.
This text tells us several things about the process by which we become disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- What is required is that we come to real faith in Christ as He is revealed to us in the Scriptures. The Lord convicted His hearers on this point. He asked them questions designed to force them to wrestle with what the Scriptures really taught. How often do find ourselves failing to take the teaching of Scripture seriously?
- He put His disciples in positions where their failure to live up to God’s standards would be exposed. He does the same to us. So often we fail to see the reality of our hardness of heart. Paul writes in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the Kingdom of God.” He writes “all” not “some”. The way into God’s Kingdom is always through real humility.
- The Discipleship process for Jesus’ followers was an intense and lengthy one. There was some much unbelief and hardness of heart to deal with. Can we expect that it will not be as difficult for us? If we are to bear fruit for Him then we must expect trials.
- He was with them through the whole process. Not even the atoning death on the cross could remove Him. On the third day He arose.
- At the heart of the process that Mark describes here is the cross. Jesus sets His face to obey His Father by going to the cross. The teaching of the Gospels is that we to must travel the way of the Cross if we are to be Disciples of Christ.