Sermon for Lord's Day January 8, 2023 Whose Son is he?

I would encourage you today as well, if you want to, go ahead and turn back over to Matthew chapter 22, our background text, which we're going to get to toward the end of the sermon of the message this morning, but Matthew chapter 22, verses 41 through 46, there really we're going to kind of make full circle understanding Scripture by Scripture, by comparing Scripture with Scripture.

And our intent and our aim was originally to try to preach from verse 41 down through verse 47 here in Luke's gospel, but there was too much gold to be mined in just those few verses that I didn't want to skim over those.

When we last left off in Luke's gospel, we left off with the Sadducees, if you'll remember, recall the mind, the Sadducees asking Jesus a question about the resurrection. Remember the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, yet they were asking Jesus about the resurrection to try to trip him up, so to speak.

And in our world today, I would say this, that there are still those who will try to bring stumbling blocks to understanding the word of God, who will try to bring hindrances to you as a Christian, to a believing member of the body of Christ, to cause you to doubt and to wonder, is Jesus Christ the son of David, is Jesus Christ the son of God?

And there are many, sadly, even in that place, in that position, who profess to know God and will say that they have a right to believe God to be a certain way, and they believe they have a right to believe God to possess certain characteristics that they themselves are uncharacteristic of what the Bible says about who God is.

So I want to say this, I said it a couple of weeks ago when we last left here, I want to say it again, we do not have the authority or the liberty to think freely about who God is. A God of your own making, a God of your own understanding, in biblical terms, is an idol.

We are not called to worship idols, for idols are dead things. But God is the true and the living God. So we do not have the authority or the liberty to think freely about who God is. We learned this in the catechism questions this morning, in question three and question.

Four.

What do the scriptures principally teach us? The scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God and what duty God requires of man. If you want to know what we are to think of God, don't go to the person down the street, don't come to me necessarily, don't come to the other elders necessarily.

If you want to know who God is, I encourage you to go to the book, for it is in the book that you will find who God is. You'll find his character, you'll find his nature, and you'll find his person. You'll find in question four of the catechism, what is God?

God is a spirit. And we are taught in the scriptures that they that worship God, Jesus himself said this, must worship God in spirit and in truth. Now the truth is the word of God. The spirit leads us and the spirit guides us into all truth and righteousness.

We cannot truly and rightly worship God outside of worshiping him in spirit and in truth. So I am so thankful today as the answer to that fourth question is, what is God? God is a spirit. He is infinite.

He is eternal. He is unchangeable. In his being, he's unchangeable in his being. He's unchangeable in his wisdom. He's unchangeable in his power, in his holiness, in his justice, in his goodness, and in the.

Truth.

And I believe it was Malachi who penned the words of the Lord down. I am the Lord and I change not. He is the same. Jesus Christ, the book of Hebrews, the writer of Hebrews wrote this. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forevermore.

So who God is, his character, his nature, his person, how he works, according to the counsel of his own will, so forth and so on, are God's prerogative. And we are not to call or to pull a Bobby Brown and sing, it's my prerogative.

My friend, when it comes to worship, it's God's prerogative. If you're going to be saved, you're going to be saved based on God's prerogative. And that is by and through the shed blood of his son, Jesus Christ.

For there is no other name given under heaven among men whereby you must be saved. Sounds, preacher, like you're trying to press home a point.

I am.

I repent today and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. So here in our text, we're picking up, remember, again, just context, the Sadducees had just basically been put in their place by Jesus. It's important to keep in mind.

It's important for us to know, to understand that after the Sadducees tried to trip Jesus up, the Pharisees were there nearby because we have in the text that Jesus addressed the Pharisees. Now, again, we're going to handle the first part of this address to the Pharisees this.

Morning.

Next week, we're going to address the second part from verse 46 to 47 there. But he begins to address the Pharisees and without a doubt, remembering this, that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were generally at odds with one another.

Remember, the Sadducees were a bit more conservative when it came to the scriptures. The Pharisees believed and held to oral interpretation or oral traditions carried the same weight as the scriptures themselves.

So the Pharisees really were likely, I mean, it's almost like you can see them over in the corner doing this. Jesus is putting it to the Sadducees. The Pharisees are thinking to them, get y 'all some of that.

And they were at odds generally. But the Sadducees and the Pharisees, when you look at the scripture, they were united in a common cause and that was to kill our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My friends, it doesn't matter what cause you're united under, if it's contrary to God and his purpose, his plan and his will, you are in a losing battle.

You might as well today go ahead and bow the knee, confess Jesus Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, because there will be a day where you will do it unwillingly, whether you want to or not, because every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory.

Of God the Father.

You, God will be glorified in your salvation or he will be glorified in your damnation either way, he will be glorified. So let's also keep in mind here as we as we look at the text, he said to them, right?

We're going to go over to Matthew here shortly in just a little bit, because that phrase that Luke uses here in verse 41, he said to them is somewhat vague, right? But he's speaking to the Pharisees. We know this from context.

So Jesus knows the thoughts and the intents of people's hearts. He knows the intents and the thoughts of your heart. He knows the intents and the thoughts of my heart. There is nothing that will be hidden from God.

But Jesus did not let this opportunity pass for which he would firmly and for which he would very publicly, as we're going to see next week, he would put the wicked acts and the wicked motivations of these Pharisees on display so that there would be no way anyone could misinterpret what Jesus was saying or who he was saying it to.

Beginning today, typically application for a message is left to the end of the sermon. I want to bring application first here today. You're taking notes. What is our application from this passage of scripture and from our background text in Matthew?

It's quite simply this. The application is this, that self-righteousness and self-reliance are contrary to God's word. And God's word teach us that we are to deny ourselves to trust in the perfect righteousness of Christ for our salvation and for our standing before God.

This is what you and I must understand and apply when we read the scriptures that God is holy, that God is righteous, that God is just and that we ain't, we ain't holy, we ain't righteous and we ain't just.

But he is and he alone is.

The Puritan said something like this. He said, never think concerning God's word and knowledge of God's word for this is what the Pharisees were, were the place that they were in and their self-reliance and their self-righteousness.

The Puritan said this, never think you have knowledge enough, never think that you've studied the word out for God safeguards our humility by keeping us in continual dependence on him for teaching and revelations of himself from the word.

Never in this world bringing any soul to the utmost of what is from the word to be made out and discovered plain language. You will never plumb the depths of the scriptures will never be to a place in this life.

And I'm going to and I'll go so far as to expand on that statement. People will say, we'll know it all when we get to heaven. No, we won't, because we won't be God. We'll understand it, but we won't know it all.

We won't have everything all figured out because we still won't be God. There is one God in eternity through which us as his people will be able for all eternity. We won't worry about that anyway. All we're going to be able to do is cry with the angels.

Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, for you have created all things and for your pleasure they are and were created. The Puritan said and often echoed Augustine's statement, which this is a fantastic statement.

Greg, no doubt you'll love this since you are a connoisseur of Augustine's work. Augustine said this, just as there are shallows in scripture where a lamb may wade, so there are depths in the scripture where elephants may swim.

I am thankful for the shallows in the scripture and I am thankful for the depths of the scripture. But never know, you can never out study and know more of the knowledge of God than you need to know. For what we have, we need in the scriptures.

So they went on to say this, all Christians, therefore, the Puritan said this, all Christians should therefore approach the study of the scripture knowing that they know but little and longing to learn more and looking to God himself to open to them his word.

This is why we are to be in the scriptures. Now, again, by application, these Pharisees were so self-righteous. They were so self-confident. They were so self-reliant. And we tend to lean over to one direction and say, shame on those Pharisees.

And before you know it, if you know the scripture, you find yourself being just like that Pharisee who was in the temple and praying how thankful he was that he wasn't like all these other people. Friends, listen, we are no better than those Pharisees.

We are self-righteous, self-reliant people, and we must remember that we are to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. And according to the word of God, he will exalt us in due time, according to his purpose, according to his holy will.

We are taught in the book of Romans in Romans chapter 12. If you want to note this passage, Romans chapter 12, verse 1, 2 and 3, I believe it is. This is what the word of God said. The apostle Paul is writing and he's to the practical application part of the book of Romans.

And he said, I beseech you, therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. The ESV actually uses the term, which is your spiritual worship.

That's a good phrase there. And then Paul goes on to say, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed. How? By the renewing of your mind. Now, how are our minds to be renewed? Again, this is practical application.

Our mind is renewed by the word of God. Our mind, our thoughts are to be shaped and formed by the scriptures. Our worldview is not the worldview of the philosophers. It's not the worldview of the politicians.

Our worldview is the worldview that God has set out here in his word. This is what we are to be studied in. This is what we are to be learned in. And Paul goes on to say in verse three, for by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you, don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.

But to think, he says, don't think this way, but think this way. Think with sober judgment. With a sober mind, with a clear mind, each according to the measure of faith that God.

Has assigned.

Now, there is no doubt in my mind that some of these Pharisees, their self-reliant, self-righteous attitudes began as innocent assumptions. Right. It may have started what seemed like an innocent thought.

Again, when the truth be told, when we look at it as it is in the scripture, some might even try to give a little bit of a curve to even Adam. Right. It may have seemed like an innocent thought.

No, it wasn't.

It was a self-righteous, self-reliant thought. Eve thought to herself, well, yes, it would be good for me to know good and evil like God. And then she gave to her husband. And so the curse of sin was passed upon all men.

So it may seem like the Pharisees' assumptions might have started out as innocent. And the assumption was, was simply this when it comes down to it. The assumption, the Pharisees' assumption was this, that in their own power and in their own strength, that they were able to keep that God's standard of righteousness that he gave in the law.

They began to think to themselves, well, I'm doing this much like that of the rich.

Ruler who came to Jesus.

All these have I kept from my youth up. It was good according to his standard. But Jesus said one thing that you lack, sell all that you have, give it to the poor.

And go. Right.

Jesus told him that. Now, it's likely, highly likely. And when I say highly likely, I'm undercutting my force of speech. I'm saying it is a fact that what they were doing was overestimating their own ability to overcome sin.

Now, this is the practice of many in churches today. There are many in churches today here at Ramona Baptist Church, myself at times, you at times, up and down the road, Christians all around us who we tend to overinflate ourselves and think that in and of ourselves, we can overcome sin.

We say, go ahead, throw sin at me, Satan. You're a dummy. That's the dumbest thing that you could ever say or think as a Christian, to assume that you can handle sin and temptation. For we are not to be reliant or dependent upon our own strength or our own power to overcome sin, but to depend and rely on the work that Jesus Christ has already done and what he has accomplished.

And when we do that, we find in the book of, I think it's 1st Peter or 2nd Peter's epistle, he uses this term, and you shall never fall. It doesn't mean you'll never sin. But my friend, when you are become dependent upon God and his Holy Spirit in your life as a believer and you cast self-righteousness, you cast self-reliance away from you, then my friend, you can be certain that you are built on a firm foundation, that you may fall from time to time, but the fall will not be as hard as it would be otherwise.

Ralph Robinson, another of the Puritans, said this concerning our view of.

Sin, if you would have it.

He said this, sin is the most loathsome disease in all the world and the most infectious. He said the smallpox, the pestilence, the leprosy, they are delightful, pleasant diseases in comparison to sin.

Sin pollutes everything it comes near. It pollutes the conscience. It pollutes the ordinances. It pollutes relations. It pollutes persons and it pollutes nations. If it were possible, Robin said, if it were possible that one drop of sin could enter heaven, it would turn heaven into hell.

It's compared in scripture to all loathsome things. It is compared to the plague of pestilence and leprosy. The leprosy of the law was the top of it. It's compared to poison, sin, speaking of sin. It's compared to the vomit of a dog.

It's called filthiness, abomination and lewdness. All things that are loathsome in the world are used in scripture to shadow out the loathsomeness of sin. This must be our view of sin, that it is heinous, that it is evil, that it is wicked.

And to remember that it is for sin which our Savior died. The book of Romans, again, Paul writing to them in Romans chapter three, this is what he says. Now, we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law so that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world may be accountable to God.

For by the works of the law, no human being will be justified in his sight since through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

For there is no distinction for all of sin and fall short of the glory of God and are.

Justified. How?

By his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness because in his divine forbearance, he passed over former sins and it was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he, Jesus, might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus Christ.

What these Pharisees and their self-reliant and self-righteous attitudes fail to understand and what we really, as Christian men and women today, have no excuse for not understanding is this, that our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness and that we dare not trust the sweetest frame, but we must wholly lean on Jesus' name.

Christian, today again, by way of application, I urge you today, stop striving in your own power to achieve that which Jesus Christ only can achieve in you and for that, by the way, for which Christ has already accomplished.

He has accomplished and paid the price and the penalty for sin. So, these Pharisees considered themselves to be good in and of themselves and their confidence and their hope in themselves turned out to be nothing short of their own damnation.

And I exhort you today, don't let self-righteousness be your end. Don't let self-reliance be your condemnation. Don't let confidence in you or your flesh be your damnation, but trust today in Christ.

It is good news today. It is good news to the Christian man and to the Christian woman that our hope and our confidence is in that finished work of Christ in him alone. And it is the blessed Holy Spirit of God that sanctifies us, that draws us continually to our Lord.

You can have the forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ today. Do not cast it aside as though it's some light thing, for it is the most precious and valuable thing that you will ever know. Thomas Brooks, again, another of the Puritans, said it like this concerning God's work of sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit sanctifying us.

He said this, bad men have their good moods, just like good men have their bad moods. He said a bad man may, under pains of conscience, under the smarting rod, under the approaches of death or the fears of hell, or, and he uses a term here I thought was intriguing, or when he is sermon sick, he may cry out to the Lord for grace, for righteousness and for holiness.

Friends, there are times when the preacher preaches the gospel message, when the truth is proclaimed, and it may be for a very short period of time that the individual who hears the sermon gets sermon sick.

Oh, they feel like they must run to Christ. But it is not out of a destitution of self-righteousness or self-confidence. It is because they just want the feeling to go away. Friend, just tears do not save a man.

Tears only do not save a woman. Tears only do not save a boy or a girl. I heard it said years ago, it takes more than tears, but it takes biblical, godly repentance that only the Holy Spirit can produce in the heart and in the mind of the individual in which he is working.

Brooks goes on to say this, it may be that these things happen, and he said, but he is the only, only the blessed man, only the blessed man that hungers and thirsts after righteousness.

At all times.

Heaven is for that man, and that man is for heaven. That man that hungers and thirsts in a right manner after the righteousness of justification, the justification that is found only in Christ, and the righteousness of sanctification that is produced in the believer by the Holy Ghost of God.

Oh, this is why, this is why it is so good for us to take to heart and to take to mind what Paul taught to the Colossian church. Sing to yourselves, sing to yourselves, one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual song, encouraging one another in the Lord.

Oh, it is good for us to do such things. This is why even when you can't sing, read and listen to music. If nobody's around, sing along with it. If somebody else is around, just sing solo. Solo, they can't hear you.

Listen, Augustus Toplady wrote a song. Many of us have sung it for years, but have you ever considered the words, rock of ages, cleft for me.

Let me hide myself in thee.

Let the water and the blood from thy wounded side, which flowed, be of sin the double cure. Save from wrath and make me pure. And then in the second verse, Toplady wrote these words. Not the labors of my hands can fulfill thy laws demands.

Could my zeal, no respite, no. Could my tears forever flow. All for sin could not atone. Thou must say, and thou alone. And then in that third verse, he said this.

Nothing in my hands I bring.

Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress. Helpless, I look to thee for grace. Foul to the fountain I fly. Wash me, Savior, or I die. And he said, when I draw this fleeting breath. When my eyes shall close in death.

When I soar to worlds unknown. And I see thee on thy throne. Rock of ages, cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee. Oh, may that be our song today. May it be the song of the believer. That our hope and our confidence is not in us and in our flesh.

But in our Lord and in our Savior, Jesus Christ. So that when we are tempted to set ourselves up as these Pharisees. That we are reminded that we are no better than them. But that our Savior has shown mercy.

He has shown grace. And he has shown love in giving us his law. So that we may recognize what sin is. And that we may know just exactly how sinful sin is. And that when we look to him, we see not only our great sin.

But we see a Savior who provides grace that is greater than our sin. So that when we look unto him, there is hope. There is peace in us. Here's our application. Deny yourself. Take up your cross. And follow Christ.

To the exposition of this short passage of scripture here. To the exposition of this. Notice Jesus asks these Pharisees questions. These questions, in just a cursory reading here. In just reading these four verses.

Seem like very vague questions. They seem very unclear. Jesus said, how can they say that the Christ is David's son? And then he gives an answer. For David himself says in the book of songs. The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand.

Until I make your enemies your footstool. And then Jesus asks another question. David thus calls him Lord. So how is he his son?

Big questions.

Vague questions seemingly. But they are very, very poignant. Again, we're understanding the fact. That the Pharisees were given to study the law of God. They were referred to as the lawyers. They were understood to be very learned in the word of God.

And so Jesus points them to what may be one of the most quoted passages of the Old Testament. In the New Testament throughout. And that is Psalm 110. But to understand this. So he's asking them about David.

We're asking ourselves this question. Who's speaking? Jesus.

Who's he speaking to?

The Pharisees. What is he asking them about? He's asking them about how the scriptures themselves. When they speak of the Messiah being David's son. How can this be? When the scriptures seemingly say something different.

So to understand this. Let's go to what God promised David. If you turn back to the Old Testament. To 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel chapter 7 and verse 8. So this is the Lord speaking to David.

Making this covenant with David. Beginning in verse 8. This is what the word of God says. Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant. Thus says the Lord of hosts. Who's speaking? Nathan is speaking to David.

Thus says the Lord of hosts. I took you from the pasture. From following the sheep. That you should be my prince. Over my people Israel. So the Lord is speaking to David. Reminding David that David didn't get to where he was.

By his own doing. He was just a shepherd. But God took him from keeping the sheep. And he made him a prince over his people Israel. He made him, that word prince is captain or leader. Over his people Israel.

And he said I've been with you wherever you went. And have cut off all your enemies before you. Who went with him always?

God.

Who cut off his enemies before him?

God.

And he said I will make for you a great name. Like the name of the great ones on the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel. And will plant them. So that they may dwell in their own place.

And be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more. As formerly from the time that I appointed judges. Over my people Israel. So what Nathan is speaking by the word of the Lord here to David.

Is that he says I will appoint a place for my people Israel. Israel where his chosen people. Israel is the church in the Old Testament. The church in the wilderness. And we're the church now. So he says and he's not pointing to a natural.

A natural utopia. By the way there will never be a natural utopia that we have here. Our hope is not in this world. I know you hear it often. But please hear it one more time. Our hope is not in this world.

We are looking for a day. When we will be in the new heavens and the new earth with our Lord. Where sin will not be an issue. Where death will not be a problem. But where the Lord himself will be the light of.

We won't have to worry about rainy days.

We won't have to worry about cold weather. We won't have to worry about weather that's too hot. Nothing will matter but the Lord himself. And what David is being pointed to here. Is a perfection of God's kingdom.

He says I appointed judges over my people Israel.

I'll give you rest from all your enemies.

Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. This is the word agon that's used here. That the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers.

Making him understand that he will die. He said I will raise up your offspring after you. Who shall come from your body. And I will establish his kingdom twofold. Solomon would follow after David. And would build the temple of the Lord.

But the temple of the Lord that Solomon builds. Is a temporary temple. There is a temple that God has built. That is eternal in the heavens. Not made with hands. Understanding this. He said when your days are fulfilled.

You lie down and your offspring after you will come from your body. I will establish his kingdom. Again temporarily speaking Solomon. Eternally speaking he's speaking of Christ. Christ that was coming.

He said I will raise your offspring after you. I will be to him a father. And he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity. I will discipline him with the rod of men. With the stripes of the sons of men.

But my steadfast love.

This is God speaking.

Will not depart from him. As I took it from Saul. Whom I put away from before you. Now we know of course. Christ never sinned. Neither was there guile found in his mouth. According to the scriptures. However he was punished.

And afflicted as though he had sinned. For our sins. In our place. In our stead.

Right.

What do the scriptures teach us? That God does not chastise bastard children. Children that are not his own. But he chastises his children. To the intent that there may be peace. That there may be comfort.

So it goes on here. And he says your house and your kingdom. Shall be made sure forever before me. And in accordance with all this vision. Nathan spoke to David.

So.

Let's pause here for just a moment. Let's consider these questions that the Lord asked him. He said what do you think of the Christ?

We'll see this.

What do you think of the Christ?

We'll see this in Matthew.

Whose son is he? And how can he be David's son? The Pharisees seemed to be okay. With the Messiah being David's son.

If we left it at that.

They couldn't argue with that. Or another way to put it. David's lineage. That's what when you read David's son.

Right?

We're speaking of David's lineage. The Pharisees had no trouble with that. But their problem was. In the fact that the Messiah. Was the only begotten son of God. Who was standing right in front of them.

That was their problem. And so Jesus gets to the heart. To the root. To the core of the matter. And he begins to ask them these questions. About who is the son of God? What do you think of the Christ?

Whose son is he? And going now. Back to Matthew. Back to Matthew. In the text. We see Matthew's gospel. Matthew's gospel was written. With the aim. With the express purpose. Of letting the Jewish people.

Understand and know. Beyond any shadow of any doubt. That Jesus Christ. Was the promised Messiah.

And he did it this way.

By starting out his gospel letter. In chapter 1. Verse 1. By saying this. This is the book of the genealogy. Of Jesus Christ. The son of David. The son of Abraham.

No doubt about it.

He made this plain. And he made this clear. In Luke chapter 1.

Again.

The Lord makes this clear. In Luke chapter 1. Verse 26 through 33. The word of God states this. In the sixth month. The angel Gabriel was sent from God. To a city of Galilee. Named Nazareth. To a virgin betrothed to a man.

Whose name was Joseph. Of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her. And he said. Greetings oh favored one. The Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at the saying.

And tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her. Do not be afraid Mary. For you have found favor with God.

And behold.

You will conceive in your womb.

And bear a son. And you will call his name Jesus.

He.

He will be great.

And he will be called.