THE TEMPLE WAR: The Lordship of Christ – part 2
075 THE TEMPLE WAR: The Lordship of Christ – part 2
Mark 12:35-37 (36-37)
September 27, 2026
We started this tremendous passage this morning.
It is yet another battle being fought in the temple.
This time it has to do with the Lordship of Christ.
The text began with:
#1 THE SCRIBE’S PROBLEMATIC DECLARATION
Mark 12:35
We saw in Matthew’s gospel
How Jesus had asked the Pharisees and scribes
Who they thought the Messiah was and they said “the son of David.”
Jesus then turned to the crowd to ask: “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?”
And we noted that this is in some ways a strange question by Jesus
Literally everyone knew that the Messiah would be David’s descendant.
· We read the promises of God to David.
· We read the prophecies of God about the Christ.
· We read how God had preserved the Davidic line throughout history.
It’s not like this was hidden information.
This is pretty obvious stuff.
Of course the Christ would be a descendant of David.
And yet, this is the very truth that Jesus seemed to challenge.
#2 DAVID’S PECULIAR DESIGNATION
Mark 12:36
The peculiar thing we noticed this morning is
The difference between the way the scribes identified the Christ
And the way David did.
· While the scribes called him “the son of David”
· “David himself” called him “Lord”
Clearly David understood something about the Christ
That the scribes of Jesus’ day did not.
Let’s talk about WHY for a second.
A very interesting phrase is given here by Jesus
When He says that David “in the Holy Spirit” wrote Psalm 110.
On one hand we could discuss the inspiration of Scripture.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
2 Peter 1:20-21 “But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
It is the unique reality that
· In one sense David, with all of his own insight, experience, emotion, etc.
Wrote what was in his heart to write.
· And at the same time it was the Holy Spirit who guided David to understand
and write exactly what He determined.
Inspiration is a mystery that we cannot understand,
But it is true none the less.
But we also love here to see that even in the Old Testament
The Holy Spirit was doing exactly what He does.
And that is revealing the truth about Christ.
He has not changed.
John 16:13-14 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.”
1 Peter 1:10-12 “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look.”
That is precisely what the Holy Spirit was doing for David.
· Just as He had done in Psalm 22 when the Spirit revealed the crucifixion to David.
· Just as He had done in Psalm 16 when the Spirit revealed the resurrection to David.
Here the Holy Spirit revealed to David the nature and reign of Christ.
So tying back to what we discussed THIS MORNING.
David knew that the Christ was “Lord”
Because the Holy Spirit revealed Him as “Lord” to David.
David wrote that “Yahweh said to my Adonai…”
There is no way David could have known
About the conversation or what it contained
If the Holy Spirit had not revealed that to him.
So you have the Holy Spirit here doing what He does
And that is revealing the glory of Christ.
Incidentally this ALSO EXPLAINS WHY
The Scribes could not see who Christ was.
THEY SAW NOTHING MORE THAN A HUMAN LINEAGE.
· To them the Messiah was NOT divine.
· He was merely a man, and a man like David.
· He was a man who would come and save the nation.
THEY KNEW NOTHING OF INDIVIDUAL SALVATION.
· They were looking for a human king; a human warrior; a human deliverer.
The reason they looked for nothing else
Is because they did not have the Holy Spirit.
They could not see the truth about Christ
Even though it was all the while right under their nose in Psalm 110.
THESE ARE LOST PEOPLE
Unfortunately in Jesus’ day they are the foremost spiritual authority.
THAT IS ACTUALLY TERRIFYING.
SO HERE JESUS IS REVEALING
· What no scribe had seen
· And the crowd had not understood.
WE SAW THIS MORNING
· Details about the person of the Christ.
TONIGHT
· Let’s look at some of the details regarding His reign.
All Jesus quotes is verse 1 of the Psalm.
“The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”
We have the time tonight:
TURN TO: PSALM 110
This is one of the most important Psalms in the Bible.
I’ve always reckoned Isaiah 6 to be the most referenced O.T. passage in the N.T.
However, many will tell you that Psalm 110
Is the most referenced passage of Scripture in the New Testament.
That is easily true in regard to the amount of text inspired by it.
One could attribute the entire book of Hebrews
To Psalm 110:1 and Psalm 110:3
OBVIOUSLY THIS ONE IS VERY IMPORTANT
There are 3 major declarations
David makes about this coming Christ.
This is what the Holy Spirit revealed about Him to David.
And we learn, that not only did David know Him,
But (as we said this morning) David put His trust in Him.
David was trusting that this coming Messiah
Would one day come and do for him what he could not do on his own.
David speaks of 3 facts about this coming Christ.
1) EXALTED KING (1-3)
We see this King who is exalted by God
To come and sit and God’s right hand while God destroys His enemies.
In verse 2
· God grants Him a scepter (crown) that He might rule
· Even in the midst of His enemies.
In verse 3
· We see how happy are His subjects
· Now displayed in holy array,
· Eagerly serving their King.
We’re going to come back to that in a moment,
For that is the reality we currently enjoy.
2) ENDURING PRIEST (4)
The writer of Hebrews particularly loves this verse.
It is the revelation that the Christ would not only be King, but also priest.
Like Melchizedek,
· He would be a priest based on his character, not his bloodline,
· And his inauguration as priest would also necessitate a change of law.
· His priesthood would have no documented end.
There is so much there that cannot be dealt with tonight,
Hebrews 7-8 will help straighten you out.
But we notice that it was revealed to David
That the Christ would not only reign as a King,
But He would also intercede as a Priest.
THIS IS DAVID’S HOPE.
1. One who would not only sit on his throne,
2. But also one who would intercede for his sin.
And finally:
3) EVENTUAL JUDGE (5-7)
Everything here is future tense, even for us.
We find the Christ destroying His enemies and ruling the nations.
· It is bound up here with all the millennial promises we so eagerly anticipate when Christ returns to reign upon the earth for a 1,000 years.
Now the Holy Spirit showed David all of that.
And when you look at that in total
It’s not hard to see why David
Had no interest in referring to the Christ as a mere “son”.
He might come from David’s genetic line,
· But he would be no mere “son”.
· He would be no subordinate;
· He would not even be an equal.
This is the exalted King, the enduring Priest, and eventual Judge.
So you understand why “Son” was too small a word for David to use.
· David called Him ADONAI
· David called Him “my Lord”
To see Him as nothing more than a descendant of David
Is to practically not see Him at all.
And while Jesus DOES NOT quote the entire Psalm,
He DOES give us the rest of verse 1.
He goes on to reveal what David learned and revealed.
That the Christ would be told by God “Sit at My right hand,”
· This is the ultimate seat of authority.
· This is the ultimate seat of honor.
· This is the one charged with carrying out the will of God.
(As a priest, this is the One with access to God.)
AND IF YOU’LL REMEMBER,
This was the chief point Peter would make about Jesus at Pentecost.
Acts 2:32-36 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. “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. “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Whereas Jesus quoted Psalms 110:1 to point out
David had a higher name for the Christ than they did.
Peter would emphasize the exaltation of the Christ
That He is seated at God’s right hand.
Peter went on to say that “God has made Him both Lord and Christ”
And there is that great name again…KURIOS
· He is not only CRISTOS (Christ),
· He is KURIOS (Lord),
Which we pointed out this morning was the same name the Jews used for God.
This Jesus is seated at God’s right hand.
· He is PRESENTLY enthroned.
· He is PRESENTLY reigning.
While we do wait for the appearance of Christ’s kingdom,
You should know that His kingdom
Is currently real and present and in absolute control.
· We eagerly wait for Christ’s return
· We eagerly await the appearing of His kingdom,
· We eagerly wait for Him to take up an earthly throne,
BUT WE ARE NOT WAITING FOR HIM TO REIGN.
He is reigning now.
He is sovereign now.
Everything that is occurring in this world
Is done under His sovereign hand and according to His sovereign will.
Now, I don’t understand it all, and neither do you.
· I don’t understand how evil men can continue to grow worse.
· I don’t understand why tragedies and evil can abound.
· I don’t understand why Islam can spread.
· I don’t understand why cancer can continue.
There’s a lot I don’t understand about what He is doing, and that’s ok.
I simply understand that He is reigning
And that He is actively working all things
According to His sovereign plan…even that which appears evil.
He is reigning in the heavens.
And just for a moment church, may I tell you to have confidence in that.
Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Romans 16:20 “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”
You can absolutely count on the reign of Christ.
· He will not be defeated.
· He will not forsake His own.
· He will cause all things to work for your good.
In this way we are able to embrace even our suffering and pain
Because we know that
· Just as the Father used the death of the Son for glory and salvation,
· So He will use our pain and suffering for glory as well.
CHRIST IS IN CHARGE RIGHT NOW.
There is no one thwarting Him.
There is no one with Him He has to get approval.
He is reigning.
And God assures us of that very thing,
Even when the world seeks to revolt against Him.
Psalms 2:6-9 “But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.” “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”
· That is the Psalm that tells us of how the kings of earth take their stand against God’s Christ and how God laughs at them.
IT’S A DONE DEAL.
· Christ is seated at God’s right hand.
· Christ is reigning.
And God is subduing His enemies under His feet.
1 Corinthians 15:22-26 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.”
Some have wondered
How we can say that He is currently putting His enemies under His feet.
The world seems as wicked and evil as ever.
But it should not be hard for you to understand His reign.
Read:
Romans 5:10 “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”
· Where you not an enemy of Christ?
· Did He not subdue your rebel heart to Himself?
And is He not currently continuing to subdue your fallen flesh under His Lordship?
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
It’s not at all hard to see how Christ is subduing His enemies,
We were all part of that group.
And He continues that work even today.
AND THEN ONE DAY,
When all of His elect are brought unto Him,
And each of them has their rebel heart subdued,
HE WILL RETURN AND CRUSH THE WICKED WITH HIS FEET.
Which is also what Jesus quoted from Psalm 110:1
“Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”
Daniel 2:44 “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever.”
Zechariah 14:9 “And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.”
Revelation 19:11-16 “And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
None of His enemies will stand against Him.
· He will judge them all.
· He will destroy them all.
Revelation 14 says their blood will run down the street
Up to the horses bridle for a distance of 100 miles.
THERE IS NO STOPPING CHRIST.
Or His glorious earthly reign…
Isaiah 11:1-10 “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.”
THIS IS THE POINT JESUS IS MAKING.
When the scribes think of the Christ,
· They think of nothing more than a human descendant of David
· Reigning for a few years over an earthly kingdom.
And that is selling Him so far short.
· He is no mere man, He is God.
· And He will reign from heaven until every foe is subdued
· Then He will return to the earth to destroy His enemies forever.
“DAVID’S SON” IS JUST NOT A BIG ENOUGH TITLE.
He is SO MUCH MORE than some gifted descendant of David.
SO AGAIN,
While their assessment of the Christ is technically right,
It is terribly insufficient.
The Christ is no mere man.
· He is David’s Lord.
· He is God.
· He is the reigning and ruling King of the universe.
· He is the returning one who will destroy His foes.
And when you learn that,
· It’s not so strange that David didn’t call Him “son”.
· It makes perfect sense why David called Him “my ADONAI”
THE LORD OF LORDS!
But David’s designation now brings us to the crowd.
#3 THE CROWD’S PRESENT DILEMMA
Mark 12:37
Jesus says, “David himself call Him ‘Lord’”
And certainly implied there would be the question:
· “Do you know better than David?”
· “Are you smarter than David?”
· “Are you closer to God than David?”
“so in what sense is He his son?”
“in what sense” is (PO-thin)
· It can speak of place – “from what condition”
· It can speak of origin – “from what author”
· It can speak of cause – “how can that be”
HOW CAN YOU SAY
· That One who is seated at God’s right hand is nothing more than David’s son?
· That One commissioned by God to rule over the nations is nothing more than David’s son?
· That One is called ADONAI by David is nothing more than David’s descendant?
“in what sense is He his son?”
What measurement are you using?
What is your criteria?
What comparison are you making?
· He looks like David?
· He acts like David?
In what way are you looking at the promised Christ and saying, “Oh yeah, He’s just like David!”
HE’S NOT LIKE DAVID AT ALL!
He is infinitely higher than David in every possible way.
You may not see that, but David surely did!
David reigned a small partial of land on earth for a small period of time.
He never ruled the world, he never totally destroyed his enemies.
THERE IS NO COMPARISON
Just like John the Baptist:
Matthew 3:11“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Just like Peter:
Luke 5:8 “But when Simon Peter saw that, he fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying, “Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man!”
Just like the Centurion:
Matthew 8:8 “But the centurion said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
Just like the entire region of the Gadarenes:
Luke 8:37 “And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat and returned.”
He is no mere man! He is Lord!
Jesus just asked them to describe the Christ,
And they chose “son of David”.
That’s about the least appropriate name they could have given Him.
BUT DO YOU KNOW SOMETHING…
· That’s the name they loved to give Him.
· That’s the chief name they designated on Jesus.
Matthew 15:22 “And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”
Matthew 21:9 “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
Mark 10:47 “When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
That’s the name they had been calling Jesus.
More specifically,
That’s the name they called Him
When He entered Jerusalem 2 days ago.
Matthew 21:9 “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!”
And now He’s standing in the temple and challenging that very name.
Is that really the best name to call the Christ?
Is that really the best name for Me?
He is here demanding to be known,
Not as David’s descendant, but at God’s reigning Christ.
He is ADONAI
He is KURIOS
And if they would listen to the Holy Spirit, like David did,
Then they wouldn’t refer to Him as some mere human.
They would rightly see Him as God,
The reigning sovereign over heaven and earth.
I know what the scribes call Me.
What are you going to call Me?
Anything less than “Lord” is totally insufficient.
Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
Acts 2:37-39 “Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
That is the absolute call.
· To confess Jesus as Lord, and to submit to Him as Lord.
· To confess Him as Lord, and to obey Him as Lord.
To give Him the words of your mouth,
But to also give Him the devotion of your heart.
To love Him with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
THAT IS THE DILEMMA JESUS JUST PUT THIS CROWD IN.
“David himself calls Him ‘Lord’”
What are you going to call Him?
AND THEN WE SEE THE TRAGEDY.
“And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.”
Yeah, that’s what Jesus wanted.
(not really)
As if He wanted people to walk past him on the way out of the temple and say,
· “Good sermon Teacher!”
· “I really enjoyed that!”
· “You really got me thinking!”
· “Do you have a website, I’d like to send that sermon to my brother-in-law”
That’s what Jesus wanted.
NOT – AT – ALL
He wanted them, that very moment,
To confess Him as Lord of their very lives.
· He wanted them to place their faith in Him as their sovereign savior and King.
· He wanted them to deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow.
· He wanted their heart’s devotion.
All they gave Him was a cordial smile and a thumbs up.
THAT ABOUT FITS OUR WORLD DOESN’T IT?
· Jesus doesn’t want a “thumbs up”.
· He doesn’t want a “like” on Facebook.
My kids actually tell me that when you respond with a “thumbs up” emoji
Or a one of those “ok” emojis that it is actually an insult.
It means, “I’m done talking to you.”
It means, “This conversation is over.”
So many people respond to Christ just like that.
They hear who He is and hear what He wants
And just give Him a “thumbs up” and walk away.
FRIEND HE WANTS YOUR HEART.
Will you give it to Him?
· Will you give Him your heart?
· Will you give Him your soul?
· Will you give Him your mind?
· Will you give Him your strength?
Will you bow your rebel heart to the King?
· Anything less is unacceptable.
He is no mere descendant of David.
· He is ADONAI
· He is KURIOS
· He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords
· He is God in human flesh
· He is the reigning sovereign King of the Universe
· He is coming
Tonight bow your head, bend your knee, and bow your heart to Him.
Matthew 16:13-17 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”