48:08

Link to the .pdf Transcript

Resource: Map of Jerusalem and the Temple Mount

SUMMARY KEYWORDS

Jesus, David, scribes, Messiah, people, God, Christ, Psalm, Lord, Son, verse, question, listening, save, morning, Scriptures, exposing, reign, Father, entertained

Table of Contents

Introduction.. - 1 -

1 Exposing the Problem... - 3 -

2. Exposing the Prophecy.. - 5 -
3. Exposing the People. - 10 -

The Gospel - 11 -

 

 

Introduction

Well, this morning, we're continuing in Mark chapter 12. We've been working our way through the Gospel of Mark. And the title of this sermon here this morning is Who is the Christ. 

 

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a Catholic guy whose business partner believes in the teachings of Islam. A Catholic and a Muslim are partnered together. And this Catholic guy said to me, I've talked with him about religion, and we get along because I believe he worships the same God. He just has a different name for him. I call him God, but he calls him Allah.

 

And my response to him was not to argue about the names of God. Which obviously, Allah is not the God of the Bible. We know that. But I asked this man, what does your friend what is your business partner do with Jesus? What does he believe about Jesus? And he paused for a moment.

 

And he said…well…he believes that Jesus was just a prophet. But he wasn't God's Son. And I said, well, then he doesn't believe in the God of the Bible. He was a little shocked by it, and a little taken back. But I said to him, Jesus said, even to the Jews in John chapter 10, that if God were their Father, they would love the Son. Which means if you don't know the Son, and who the Son is, that you don't know the Father. In fact, Jesus went on to tell the Jews that their father is who? Satan. Their father is Satan, the father of lies, because they were believing his lies.

 

Jesus said in John chapter 5:23, "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him."  You don't believe in the Son and who the Son is, you don't know, the Father. And so I told this Catholic man, I said to him, Muslims do not believe in God. They have their own false god. But they don't believe in the God of the Bible, because they don't believe in His Son. They deny His Son, they think that He was just a prophet, but that He was not God. And that's what it always comes back to. The most important question is, who is Jesus? Who is Jesus? And that's essentially the question that Jesus asked the religious leaders in our text here this morning.

 

Only Jesus is not specifically asking the question from a standpoint of who they think He is. But He's asking it from the standpoint of who they think the Messiah is, who is the Messiah?

 

So let's read our passage here this morning in Mark chapter 12. And follow along, as I read Mark chapter 12, beginning in verse 35, Mark 12:35.

 

 "And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”’ 37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. (Mark 12:35-37)

 

Now, as I said, the most important question is, who is Jesus? Who is Jesus? If you get that wrong, you can't be saved. It's impossible to be saved if you have a wrong view of Jesus. Because Jesus said, if you get that wrong, you don't know the Father. But here we see these Jews who are standing here with Jesus on the temple grounds. You have this crowd of people who are gathered around Him, you've got the religious leaders who are gathered around Him and you have the twelve. That's the group that Jesus is talking to. And the religious leaders, the Sanhedrin, have just tried to trap Jesus with their questions. But as we have studied the last couple of weeks, they were unsuccessful in it. They weren't able to trap Him.

 

As we saw last week at the end of verse 34, it says, "no one would venture to ask Him any more questions."  Jesus silenced this crowd, Jesus silenced the Sanhedrin. But Jesus is not done with them. Jesus has a question for them. Now, in Matthew's account, it says that the Pharisees were gathered there with Jesus, the Pharisees, the sect of the Sanhedrin.

 

Last week, we saw how one of the Pharisees -- specifically a scribe, a teacher, and an interpreter of the law, he was one of the experts in the law -- he asked Jesus about the greatest or the foremost commandment, which one is the greatest? These scribes and Pharisees are, they're still gathered around Jesus on the temple grounds here in Jerusalem.  (See the link to the temple grounds at the top of the transcript here.

 

Just to remind you, the scribes are the ones with the PhDs in theology. At least according to them, and to the people. They thought that they got it all right, they could interpret the law, they were the experts in the Scriptures, who were supposed to be the ones who were giving the right interpretation of the Scriptures to the people. That's who Jesus is encountering here, the PhDs in theology.

 

But here, Jesus is going to expose their lack of understanding not only of who He is, but also their lack of understanding of the Scriptures.  So, this morning, I'm going to give you a three point outline to help you see what Jesus is doing here in our passage. Three points this morning.

 

1 Exposing the Problem

1. Our first point, we will call Exposing the Problem. Exposing the problem. Now, if you were to look at Matthew's account, he actually helps us to understand what is going on here, and how this questioning is happening. So hold your finger in Mark and turn over with me to Matthew chapter 22. Matthew, chapter 22. I want us to read Matthew's account of this questioning here to help us understand what is going on to give us a fuller account of it. Matthew, chapter 22, verse 41. Now notice what it says there?

 

 "Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” (Matt 22:41-42)

 

So Matthew tells us that Jesus is the one who asked them this question. Jesus comes forth, and He says, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?

 

Now again, notice, Jesus doesn't say, Who do you think I am? Notice, but He says, What do you think about the Christ? It is "what do you think about the Messiah?" Do you have a theology about the Messiah? What do you guys think about Him?

 

He doesn't ask, Who do you think I am? Jesus did ask that to His disciples back in Mark chapter 8. And Peter responded as the spokesman for the disciples, and he said to Jesus, when Jesus asked, Who do you think I am? Peter responded and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." That was his response. You're the Messiah. You're the son of the living God. But Jesus here is not asking this crowd, and specifically these religious leaders who are gathered here about their thoughts about Him specifically. He asked his disciples that but that's not specifically what he's asking the crowd here. He's asking about the Christ. What do you think about the Messiah?

 

"The Christ" here is referring to the Messiah. They had their own teaching, and their own thoughts about the Messiah and who they thought the Messiah was. And where did the Jews get this teaching from? Where would the Jews, that crowd who's standing before Jesus, where would they get their thoughts about who the Messiah was? They would get it from the scribes. The experts in the law, which is why -- back over in our passage in Mark chapter 12, if you turn back over there with me, notice the question that Jesus asked there in verse 35.

 

 35 And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? (Mark 12:35)

 

You see, Matthew gives us that first question, Who do you think the Christ is? And they respond, He is the son of David.

 

Then we see here in Mark's account where Jesus says, How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? Now we have to pause here for a moment. We got to pause here for a moment and understand what the scribes taught about the Messiah. What did they think about the Christ? Well, the scribes taught that the Messiah would come and would be from the lineage of David, He would be from the line of David. And where would they get this from? Where would they get this from?

 

Turn over to 2 Samuel 7 with me, this is important for us to know, 2 Samuel 7. This is what we call the Davidic Covenant. In Second Samuel seven we read here as those scribes would have studied and would have known exactly what was taught here in 2 Samuel 7 and look at verse 8. And what it says there we'll start in verse 8.

 

8 “Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. 10 I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, 11 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you. 12 When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom..."  for how long? "forever." (2 Sam 8-13)

 

Forever. Notice, David's throne is going to be established forever. And who will sit on that throne? A son, not David. David won't. David's dead. We have his grave, he was buried. David is dead. So who is going to sit on that throne?

 

The Messiah is going to sit on David's throne and He is going to rule forever. And the scribes would have understood that. They would have known that. That a son of David, the Messiah would come and He would rule and reign on the throne of David over Israel, and His throne would be established forever. They would also get this teaching from Jeremiah 23, verses 5-6. Listen to what it says there.

 

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 “In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’" (Jer 23:5-6)

 

So the scribes would have known this, they would have understood this, they would have known that there was somebody that was coming from the line of David, who would come and sit on the throne of David and rule and reign forever. And they get that, that theology, that thinking, from these passages, 2 Samuel 7, Jeremiah 23, and many others in the Old Testament, but the scribes taught that the Messiah would be a man who had come from the line of David, the Messiah would be a man.

 

Now did Jesus meet that qualification? Did Jesus meet the qualification of someone who came from the line of David? Well, Matthew chapter 1, if you've been doing our yearly Bible reading, we just read through this in Matthew chapter 1. We read of the genealogy of Joseph there, who was the legal earthly father of Jesus. And it's traced from Abraham, through the line of David, through the line of David. Then if we were to go over to Luke chapter 3, we see the genealogy of Mary there, Mary, the mother of Jesus. And you can see there that it is traced through the line of David as well.

 

So was Jesus the Son of David? Yes, He was. He was the Son of David, because you trace his lineage, and it goes all the way back to David. Jesus comes from the line of David. And that's exactly what the scribes taught about the Messiah, that He would be one who would come from the line of David. But here's the thing. That was the only thing that they taught about the Messiah, that he would be a man, simply a man who would come from the line of David, who would sit on a throne on David's throne, and rule and reign. Their teaching about the Messiah was simply that He was just a man.

 

And so that is why when Jesus comes riding in on a donkey a few days earlier, remember we went through that the, what's called the triumphal entry, where Jesus comes riding into Jerusalem on Monday, we often call it Palm Sunday, but it was actually Monday when Jesus came riding in on the donkey. And what did the people do there? What did they yell? What did they say there? The people hailed that Jesus is the Son of David. They said, Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD (Mark 11:9)

 

Why would they say that? Why would they say Hosanna, to the Son of David, because they recognize and realize, as the scribes have taught that the Messiah is one who would come from the line of David. They recognize that. They realize that. The Messiah is coming from the lines of David. But remember what their thinking was about the Messiah. They wanted the Messiah to come and save them from who? From Rome. From Rome.

 

They were under, they were being oppressed by Rome. And so their thinking was, the Messiah would come, He's a man who comes from the line of David, and He's going to come and conquer Rome, and save us from the Romans. And so they were expecting one who was like David, that is, one who was a warrior king, David was a warrior.

 

Remember, that's why David could not build the temple. Why God said, you are not going to build the temple because you are a warrior. And so your son is going to do it. That was David, he was a warrior king. And that's what the people expected one like David, who would be a warrior king who would come and save them and then establish the kingdom. That's what they wanted. But again, to them, the Messiah was just a man, just a man and no more. Which raises a big problem because of what David had prophesied concerning the Messiah back in Psalm 110.

2. Exposing the Prophecy

Which leads to our second point this morning, Exposing the Prophecy. Exposing the Prophecy. Turn back to Mark, chapter 12. Mark chapter 12. Look at what it says in verse 36.

 

36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.”’ (Mark 12:36)

 

Now I know that we hammer expository preaching here, right? That's what we're about expository preaching, we want to exposit The Word. We want to see what the Word has to say, and bring that forward. We don't get to take our own thoughts and put them into the Word and then get it out. We pull the truths from the Word of God, and then we understand its meaning and then apply that meaning to our lives.

 

We can't just make up the meaning of a Bible verse. It's not how we do it, we must look at it in its context and see what it means so that we can rightly divide the Word of Truth. Where do we get that from? From Jesus, Jesus was an expositor. He was one who exposited The Truth of the Word. Jesus was an expository preacher. And He exposed the true meaning of the text, so that the people that are standing there before Him, those people, and specifically the scribes, who are the PhDs in theology, could really understand what's going on in this verse.

 

That's what He does here in Psalm 110, as He quotes Psalm 110 in verse 1, but notice what Jesus says in verse 36, at the beginning, He says, David himself said in the Holy Spirit, now notice, Jesus attributes Psalm 110 to who? To David, to David. And if you were to look over at Psalm 110, you would notice that it would begin with a little heading above Psalm 110 that would say, “A Psalm of David. It's not the bold, italicized words there.  Those are headings that interpreters or translators have put in there for you to help you understand what's going on in that Psalm. But right below that, you will see where it will say, a Psalm of David, or a Psalm of someone that there is actually in the Hebrew text that is inspired, inspired Word of God, that little heading there is important. God put that there.

 

And so that's there in their Hebrew text. And so these scribes as they go back to the Old Testament, and they're reading Psalm 110, and they see what it says there. The first words that would be read, there is a Psalm of David. So these scribes are sitting there, as Jesus is, is helping them to understand what this verse actually means the scribes are sitting there, and they would not have denied that David is the one who penned Psalm 110. But notice, it says in verse 36, Jesus continued on, and it says that

 David said, in the Holy Spirit, (Mark 12:36)

David said in the Holy Spirit, that is -- David penned this Psalm, Psalm 110, as he was moved along by the Holy Spirit. What Jesus is doing here is, He's affirming the inspiration of Scripture, the inspiration of Scripture.

 

Peter says in 2 Peter 1:21, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

 

David wrote Psalm 110 as he was moved along by the Holy Spirit, to write. Which means that the Scriptures that we have in our hands are inspired Scriptures. These are the very Words of God. The words that we have, are inspired. Notice this. The men are not inspired. The Word of God is inspired. David was not inspired. The authors of Scripture were not inspired. But what they wrote down the very words that they wrote down, their very writings were inspired. That's what we talk about when we talk about the inspiration of Scripture, that every Word in here is inspired by God, this is the very Word of God. That's how we can know that we can trust the Word of God that we hold in our hands. Because it's inspired. It's inspired, and we have the exact Words of God in our hands. That's what we hold in our hands when we have our Bibles.

 

It's exactly what God wanted to reveal to us. These words that David penned in Psalm 110, are put there by God. God wrote these. They're not just David's words, although they are David's words, and God used the mind of David to write them. They are exactly what God wanted to say. They're God's Words.

 

Well, Jesus then goes on to exposit this Psalm in front of the crowd and see how the scribes would answer this question. And what Jesus does here is He exposes their wrong view of the Messiah. Remember, they had their own interpretation and their own thoughts about who the Messiah was. But Jesus is going to expose their wrong view of the Messiah. How?

 

Notice what David wrote in Psalm 110:1, and what we have quoted for us in verse 36,

A Psalm of David.
110:1 The LORD says to my Lord:

“Sit at My right hand

Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”

 

Now this Psalm here is Psalm 110, is what is called a Messianic Psalm. It's a Messianic Psalm, meaning, although it was penned by David, David is referring to the future Messiah. We have Psalms like that. Psalm 23, Psalm 22,23 24, those are Messianic Psalms. That is… they were not specifically referring to David, but they're referring to the future Messiah.

 

Although there is there are parts of it that do relate to David, there's also a future sense in which they are referring to the Messiah. And so that's Psalm 110. It's a prophecy about the Messiah. And the scribes, and all of the Jews who are sitting there before Jesus, they would have viewed David as the highest authority in the land. They love David. They loved King David, they revered David. David had a special place with the Jews. And the scribes would have seen this as a messianic Psalm as well. They would have understood that yes, David was the one who penned it, but he's also speaking of a future Messiah.

 

And that's why they don't argue with Jesus about it referring to the Messiah. They're not arguing with Him. They know this Psalm, and they have a high regard for it. Notice in the Psalm, you have two words. Notice in that first line there in Psalm 110, that Jesus quotes, you have two words, Lord, the Lord said to my Lord, you got Lord there twice. And in the Greek, both of those words there are the words, kurios, which means Lord, or master.

 

In the Greek text, it's the same word both times. But in the Hebrew, those words are actually different words. The first word, Lord in the Hebrew is the word Yahweh, Yahweh. That is the name of God. It's the name of God that God revealed to Moses, I am who I am. Yahweh.    And so that's the first word Lord in the Hebrew text. The second word, Lord, there is the Hebrew word, Adonai. Adonai, which means Lord or master.

 

But notice how David refers to the second Lord there, Adonai. What does he say? That Adonai is my Lord. Yahweh said to my Adonai (to my Lord). Which means Yahweh (God) said to David's Lord (who would be someone that is greater than David, and who we know to be the Son of God, Jesus Christ?)

 

What did Yahweh say to Adonai? “sit at my right hand,” sit at my right hand. Now to sit at the right hand was a place of power, and authority. It's a place of power and authority. And for Yahweh to say to the Lord, sit at my right hand -- is to give Him equal power and equal authority. Which means that this Lord, this Adonai, here is who? God, He is God. Because He is sitting at the right hand of God, and He has equal power and equal authority to Yahweh. He is equal with Him, which means He must be God.

 

Which means that David's Lord is what? Deity, He is Deity. Listen to what Jesus will say a few days later during the trial with the high priest when the high priests asked Him, Are you the Christ? Are You the Messiah? Are you the One?  Jesus said, Mark 14:62

I am, and you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.

 

Peter, even on the day of Pentecost, in his first sermon that he preached, said this,

 

32 This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. (Acts 2:32-33)

 

Peter knows it. Peter says, Yahweh has exalted Christ, the Messiah, Jesus. He's been exalted to the right hand of God. And Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father, right now, He is sitting at the right hand of the Father. Why? Because He is God, because He is God.

 

So, Jesus is saying here, look, not only is the Messiah the Son of David, yes, He is a man, He's a human man. But He is also deity. He is God, co-equal with God. He is God, in the flesh.

 

Listen, it's not enough just to identify the Messiah as a man. You must also recognize that He is God. David knew this. And these scribes should have known this as well. They're the PhDs in theology. They know their Scriptures, at least they should have. You must realize and recognize that Jesus is God. It's not enough to say that Jesus is just a prophet. You must believe that He is God. And it says that he will sit at the right hand of the Father.

 

Until when? Until when the Father says to the Son, until I put your enemies beneath your feet. Jesus had a lot of enemies right there in front of Him, right? There, they're sitting there right in front of Him, enemies of Jesus. And He still has a lot of enemies today. A lot of people who are enemies of Christ, but the Father will put them beneath His feet, the Father will put them beneath His feet, which means to subject them underneath Him, and it's a picture of conquering. Christ will conquer all of His enemies. Yes, He is a warrior king, He's a conquering King who is coming again. And He will rule and reign over all. That ought to cause people to fear. It should cause us to fear. The Christ is coming again, not as Savior, but as judge. He's already come to save the world. And next time He comes, He's coming to bring judgment, as a warrior king, who is conquering all of His enemies.

 

So there is both a present and a future reality of this. The Christ is a conquering King, knowing that Christ has already won, right? We know the outcome. We know what Christ did on the cross, the death could not hold Him down. He was dead and buried, but He rose again, He's victorious. And He conquered all sin and death. He rules and He reigns, and He conquers right now.

 

But there's still a future aspect. For all sin will be defeated, and sin and death will no longer reign on this earth when He comes back to rule and reign. And so Christ will sit at the right hand of the Father until all of His enemies are defeated, until Yahweh puts His enemies beneath His feet. But Jesus isn't done with this exposition of this prophetic passage.

 

In verse 37, He asks, David himself calls Him, Lord. So in what sense is He his Son? And this is the question that would stump them. This is the question. If David calls the Messiah, my Lord, then in what way is the Messiah also his Son? That's the question that Jesus is asking. That is, how is the Messiah both the Lord of David and from the line of David?  Come on, guys. Answer. You know the Scriptures, right?

 

Now Jesus here is not denying the humanity of the Messiah, by questioning in what sense is He his son. He's not denying the humanity. Jesus wants to help them to see that both are true -- that the Messiah is both Lord (that is His deity), AND the son of David (which is His humanity.) Jesus is showing them both His deity and His humanity.

 

And what will they ultimately accuse Jesus of? Blasphemy. Blasphemy, because Jesus makes Himself equal with who? God. Why? Because He is God. And they will condemn Him, and bring an accusation against Him, of blasphemy.

 

What is their response? Well, Mark doesn't tell us, but Matthew does. Matthew says this,

 

No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on, ask Him another question.

 

He challenged their thinking, not just about who the Messiah was, but about who He was. About who He was. Because what did the people -- that crowd that was sitting there --what did they declare two days earlier? That He is the son of David. Hosanna, to the son of David, that He is the Messiah. And Jesus says, That's right. And the Messiah is both man and God. And here I am. Questions anybody?

 

What did He do? Silenced them. Silenced these religious leaders. And instead of rethinking their wrong interpretations of the Scriptures, they stayed silent, and they hardened their hearts. But they weren't the only ones who responded this way.

3. Exposing the People

Which leads to our final point, point number 3, Exposing the People. Exposing the People. Look at the end of verse 37. The large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. This is really sad. This is really sad. You might think that this sounds like a happy ending. They enjoyed listening to Jesus. Wow, good for them. I wish I was there listening to Jesus. They got to listen to Jesus and they enjoyed listening to his teachings. What a happy ending. But it's not a happy ending. This is a really, really sad ending. The people are there and they're watching this confrontation happen.

 

And it's not just this account here and our text this morning. But they've been watching and listening to Jesus get pounded with questions from the Pharisees and Herodians. And then from the Sadducees, and then from the scribes. And now they have seen Jesus teach on Psalm 110. And they've been listening to all the things that Jesus has been teaching. Think about all of the truth that they have heard up to this point, literally from the mouth of who? God, God Himself, who is standing right there in their midst.

 

They've heard truth, after truth, after truth...from the lips of Jesus Himself. And what was their reaction to all of this? Mark tells us they enjoyed listening to Jesus. They're entertained by Him. These people are entertained by Jesus. And while they probably enjoy listening to the scribes and the Pharisees teach before, well, now they're entertained by Jesus. Oh, we like to listen to the scribes. It was good to listen to them and hear all the things that they had to teach but wow, we got Jesus now. We got we got a new teacher in town we like to listen to Him.

 

One commentator says, “The teacher who never attended the right schools, confounded the greatest theologians in the land." The people are amused by this. They're amazed by it. The people loved it. Wow, look at this man who's taken down the scribes and the Pharisees. Wow, look at what He's done. And they enjoyed the entertainment that it brought them. But enjoying the teachings of Jesus won't save them. It won't save them. And it won't save anyone. And instead of falling down on their face before Jesus, and recognizing, as David did, that He is, Lord, that He is Lord overall. They just sat there and they were entertained by His teaching.

 

There are many people today who have the same attitude, who love to attend churches, and sit there and, and hear all these amazing truths that are being taught. Wow, I can't believe that, I've never read that before. And they're entertained by the teachings of Jesus. They go to church for entertainment, church is not for entertainment. Don't be entertained. That's not why we come. We come to hear from God Himself and to worship Him. That's why we go to church. That's why we read our Bibles...not to be entertained, but to hear from God Himself.

 

These people were entertained, though. What would these people finally do with Jesus? They had the question asked to them. Who is Jesus to you? What would they finally do? Turn over to Mark chapter 15 with me.

 

Mark chapter 15. Jesus is on trial. He's been arrested. Mark chapter 15 verse 11.

 

But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to ask him to release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” (Mark 15:11-12)

 

What shall I do with Jesus? That's his question to them. Here He is. Here's your King, here's your Messiah. What shall I do with Him? What are you people going to do with your Messiah? That's the question. Look at verse 13.

 

13 They shouted back, “Crucify Him!” 14 But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” (Mark 15:13-14)

 

What did they do with Jesus? No longer were they entertained by Jesus. No longer were they entertained by His teachings, but instead, now they're shouting for His death. And instead of repenting from their sins, and placing their faith in Him for salvation, alone, they turned on Him and they shouted, Crucify Him, crucify Him. They rejected Jesus.

 

The Gospel

 

Listen, if you're here this morning and you're an unbeliever, I have a question for you. Who do you say that Jesus is? Who do you say that Jesus is? Do you say that He's just a man? As the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Muslims do? You will spend eternity in hell. It's not enough, because Jesus is more than just a man. Yes, He is a man. But He's more than just a man. He is God incarnate who came to this earth to save sinners from their sin. And He calls you today to come to Him. To repent of your sin and put your faith in Him for salvation. You cannot save yourself. It is impossible. You're a sinner. Who has been separated from God because of your sin. But Jesus came to redeem lost sinners and to bring you to God. And He says, repent of your sin and trust in me. And if you do that this morning, you can receive the free gift of salvation that He offers to you.

 

Who do you say that Jesus is? My prayer for you -- if you are an unbeliever -- is that you would leave here this morning declaring that Jesus is Lord. And that He is Lord of your life. Come to Jesus today.

 

Church, I have a question for you. Who do you say that Jesus? Is He your Savior, then worship Him.  Is He your Lord and your Master? Then obey Him.  Is He your friend? Then love Him above all else.

 

Let's pray. Father, thank You. Thank You for Your Word that confronts us, that challenges us, that helps us to know more of You and who You are. We thank You for the words of Christ, that are truth. And Father, I pray that we would not just be entertained by the words of Christ. But that we would love the words of Christ, that we would meditate upon the words of Christ, that we would take the words of Christ, and plant them into our hearts, and that we would grow in our relationship with You.

 

Father, we thank You for Christ, who came to this earth, as a man, fully man and fully God, and He went to a cross to die for sinners like us. Father, we thank You that He did not stay dead, but that He rose again on the third day and that He sits at the right hand of You -- that He has all power and all authority because You have given Him all authority in heaven and on earth. Father, we await His arrival. And we pray as we read this morning in 1 Corinthians 16, Maranatha...Come, Lord Jesus. Take us to be with You. But until that time comes Father, I pray that You would help us to live obedient lives, surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, and that we would do all for Your glory and Your glory alone. We pray in Christ's name. Amen.

men.