Psalm 110:1-7 (NIV) 1The LORD says to my lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”  2The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of your enemies!”  3Your troops will be willing on your day of battle. Arrayed in holy splendor, your young men will come to you like dew from the morning’s womb.  4The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”  5The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath.  6He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.  7He will drink from a brook along the way, and so he will lift his head high.

Matthew 22:41-46 (NIV) 41While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,  42“What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.  43He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,  44“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’  45If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”  46No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. 

Romans 1:1-4 (NIV) 1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—  2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures  3regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David. 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Apostle Paul, in today’s passage, identifies two ways that Jesus fulfills the role as Son. Jesus is the Son by flesh, descended from David, and Jesus is the Son by power through His resurrection. Paul then states that Jesus is “Christ our Lord”. This is significant language, because in three words Paul sums up all the Old Testament’s expectations and our current hope for salvation. As we have been learning, the Old Testament is pointing forward to the Messiah or the Christ - the anointed of God who will fulfill all the Old Testament covenants and prophesies. Paul uses the Davidic covenant to show that Jesus is the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. But, Paul also uses Jesus’ resurrection to show that the God-man is also Lord of all in power.  Jesus is the Christ our Lord - the Son of David and the Son of God. Jesus is the better Son.  

Jesus taught this as well. In our Matthew 22 passage, we read that Jesus silences the Pharisees with exactly this lesson. Jesus asks, “How can the Son of David be Lord of all?” The answer is what Paul makes clear: Jesus, who is God, was born as a man in the line of David and rose from the grave, reigning eternal.  

Today people continue to ask about the identity of Jesus. How do you respond? Is Jesus just an historical figure in the line of David and devoid of power to save? Is Jesus just a powerful religious figure, but detached from humanity? Or is Jesus the Christ your Lord? If this is your first time agreeing by faith that Jesus is the Christ your Lord, then contact one of the pastors to share this joyful news. If Jesus is your Lord, who needs to hear this Good News today?

Memory Verse: Romans 10:9 (NIV)
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.