September 10, 2024
I once did a study and even a sermon series on all the “revelatory questions” Jesus asked during His earthly ministry. His questions were pregnant with information. It was one of His many brilliant teaching techniques.
I also wonder if in certain cases He asked questions that were to be answered only by His followers after His ascension. One of those questions that He left dangling in front of the religious leaders of His day had to do with the mystery of David’s Psalm 110.
In the twentieth chapter of his Gospel, Dr. Luke records:
41 Then Jesus declared, “How can it be said that the Messiah is the Son of David? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
43 until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’
44 Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”
This question left even the greatest scholars of His time silent, and Jesus let it hang there unresolved.
However, because of the Scripture passages we are meditating on this week from the book of Acts, I believe that Jesus wasn’t just employing a teaching technique in this instance, but rather, in His amazing humility and grace, He was setting the stage for the events we read about in the second chapter of Acts.
At the time of the opening chapters of the book of Acts it's safe to assume that Peter was still wincing over his denial of the Lord weeks before. And after his emotional roller coaster ride of restoration by Jesus, his knees were still knocking together trying to discern how he was supposed to “feed” the sheep of Jesus like he promised. Also an additional complication is revealed later on in Acts when Luke tells us Peter and John were considered “uneducated” hicks from the Galilee region.
But then the fire of the Holy Spirit fell, and Peter was not just empowered to speak articulately, but he received some amazing downloads of revelation about Jesus from the Scriptures. Among those revelations was the answer to the question Jesus never answered plainly about who David was referring to in Psalm 110!
Acts 2:29 “Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that He would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Foreseeing this, David spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, nor did His body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, to which we are all witnesses.
33 Exalted, then, to the right hand of God, He has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand
35 until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’
36 Therefore let all Israel know with certainty that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ!”
Once again, we see the goodness of Jesus. Instead of revealing who He was and taking “center stage” by quoting and exegeting these and many other Scriptures during His initial earthly ministry, He waited for His followers to discover and reveal His true identity as His witnesses!
What a privilege that God gave to Peter. He filled him and the other 119 disciples with the Holy Spirit, gave him a supernatural download of Messianic revelation from the Psalms and then empowered him to preach a sermon so anointed that 3000 people repented of their sins, called on the name of the Lord to be saved, and were baptized in His name!
What kind of good works has God prepared for us to do? What kind of blessing awaits us as we continually yield to the Holy Spirit’s power and insight to be a witness to those God puts in our paths? Let’s find out, together!
PRN: Lord, how good You are! You entrust the most precious things to people like us. Your precious life-giving Gospel is in our hearts and in our mouths only because of your amazing grace. An angel could preach your message far better than any of us, but you choose to use flawed humans like us. So thank you, Holy Spirit, for opening the Scriptures to us to help us know Jesus and make Him known. Amen.
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