Important Sermon on Christ as King

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Hey everybody I'm Pastor Jeff Durbin with Apologia Church. I want to thank you all so much for watching the content right here on Apologia Studios channel.

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What you're about to watch is a sermon, a message from Apologia Church's worship service and again I want to thank you all so much for watching, for liking, for commenting, for sharing the sermon itself.

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We truly believe that it's important for the Christian church to have an engagement in the public square with the

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Word of God. So we thank you so much for partnering with us to send this out across the world. I just wanted to say something before you actually watch this and that is that I'm not your pastor, though I'd love to be,

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I'm not your pastor and it's very important as you're watching this you know that it's

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God's design for individual Christians to be part of a local Christian church under the care of qualified faithful biblical elders.

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And so as much as we love all of you watching these sermons and we're thankful to God that God uses them to bless you, to encourage you.

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That is vitally important and actually a biblical command. And so as much as again as we love for your participation, your partnership and we are so thankful to God that He's using these in your lives.

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You can partner with us. And I want to say one last word about that. Do make sure that none of your giving and partnership towards Apologia Church interferes with your giving, your worship, your tithes, your offerings to a local body of believers in your area.

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So thank you again so much for watching these and sharing them. God bless you. Gospel according to Matthew chapter 20.

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Again, I know I keep repeating myself, but I want you to also get excited about what's coming.

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So just as you're opening your Bibles, encourage you all to anchor yourselves for the next couple of weeks, months in the gospel according to Matthew.

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Specifically, I mean, I know I mentioned to you one of the strategies of reading scripture that Dr.

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MacArthur taught my friend and shared with me a long, long time ago. And that's sort of been my strategy ever since because it has been so helpful and as to take a book of the

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Bible and read that book through every day, say for 30 days or even a week, read that same book over and over every day for say just even a week at a time.

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And you'll begin to see things and have a meditation upon the text that is new, it's lovely, it's powerful.

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You get a lot of really important insight and you begin to actually understand that book better than you really ever have before.

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But in particular, I want to encourage you all to read from Matthew chapter 20 through chapter 25 to get into the section that we're going to be unpacking to see how

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Matthew's bringing this work to a climax. Familiarize yourself with the language, with the hopes, with the background.

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So, we're in Matthew chapter 20 now, just finishing the last portion of the chapter, Kingdom of God series,

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Matthew chapter 20, verse 29. Matthew 20, 29. Hear now the words of the living and the true

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God. And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him.

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And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside. And when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out,

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Lord, have mercy on us, son of David. The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more,

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Lord, have mercy on us, son of David. And stopping, Jesus called them and said, what do you want me to do for you?

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They said to him, Lord, let our eyes be opened. And Jesus in pity touched their eyes and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.

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Thus far is the reading of God's holy word. Let's pray as a church. Father, we come before you,

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Lord, thankful for your love for us. Lord, the love that we stand in that we do not deserve.

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Lord, but you love us. God, we see even in the story before us, son of David, Jesus, son of David, David.

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David was known as the man after your own heart. He was loved by you in such a very special way.

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And Lord, we do ask, Lord, to be loved by you like you loved

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David. Lord, we know in his life there was victory and there was failure,

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Lord, but you were the everlasting God who kept covenant and keeps your covenant, your promises.

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And God, as we open this text, we need you, God, to teach us by your spirit.

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God, we pray that you would, Lord, of course, get the pastor out of the way. We pray that you teach us and instruct us.

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Lord, get us excited about your word in a way that we haven't before.

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We pray, God, that you'd help us to have a passion for understanding this incredible love letter that you've written to us, the story of your faithfulness and of your work in your world.

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We pray, God, that you would, by your spirit, illuminate this word before us. Help us to remember what you've taught us.

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Lord, convict us and challenge us, empower us. And I pray that you put this word boldly on our lips.

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God, I do pray, Lord, help me today as a pastor, as a teacher of your people.

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I pray that you'd help me to communicate the essential truths, Lord, that we have to know.

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Lord, I pray that you'd correct error in us as we approach this text, reshape our thinking and our view of the world and your kingdom through today's message.

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Cause me to decrease, Christ to increase. And we pray that in Jesus' name. Amen. So this is exciting because there's so much connected to this statement.

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Son of David. Now, it may not mean a lot to people who are new to the Bible. If you just opened your

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Bible and you started in Matthew, all this might not really hold any attachment for you.

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You may not have any understanding. What's so special about David? Why call Jesus the son of David?

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And why anticipate in calling him the son of David? Because that's not his name.

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His name is not David or anything like that. And so what were they anticipating in shouting to him, son of David?

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And they repeated again, son of David. Why are they emphasizing son of David so much?

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And again, if you're new to the Bible, you're just opening the Bible up and you start in Matthew, you don't really get the groundwork, the necessary foundation to understand why this moment is so significant.

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And let me ask this question as a start. Lynn, you don't have to answer out loud, but just, you know, think about this question.

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How many of you guys saw it? How many of you saw it when you had this little section from Matthew who's writing a gospel that is clearly slanted towards a

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Jewish understanding? Matthew who's quoting copiously from the Old Testament.

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He's giving you imagery and symbolism. Some of the stuff is overt and obvious, and some of the stuff is kind of in the background.

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Some of the stuff is direct quotation. But how many of you caught it in this little section from Matthew, a

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Jewish -oriented gospel where there's so much emphasis on the Old Testament and so much imagery and symbolism that a

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Jew would have immediately caught on to? How many of you caught it in this little section what Matthew is trying to show you?

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Now, this is a real event. Make no mistake about it. Matthew is giving you the historical narrative.

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He's telling you what Jesus said. He's telling you who Jesus was, where Jesus came from, where Jesus walked.

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He's letting you touch the dirt, smell the air. He's giving you the character. He's telling you who's around. You can connect

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Matthew's gospel with historical events happening around about them at the time. So, Matthew is, of course, giving you a real story.

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This actually happened. Jesus, son of David, healed the blind. But how many of you caught it, what

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Matthew was doing? Two sections. I'll just give you hints now and see if you did. I quote this passage often.

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It's one of my favorite passages to quote because I like to use it to emphasize what we so often miss today in 21st century evangelicalism in terms of the scope of the kingdom of God and the rule of Jesus in the world.

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Everybody here knows, if you've been attached to us for any length of time, that we are big believers in the victory of the kingdom of Jesus in the world.

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That Jesus is going to rule and reign in the world on His throne now, putting every enemy under His feet.

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And the very last enemy to be defeated, 1 Corinthians 15, is death. So, all enemies under the son of David's feet, and then the very last enemy is death.

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That's a totally victorious working of the kingdom of God. I quote the passage often.

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Two hints. One, son of David, and two, blindness, healing the blind.

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It's from the Old Testament, and Matthew is very much doing this on purpose. But again, this is real history.

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This actually happened. Let's open the text here and again go through it. And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed

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Him. Great crowds following Jesus this time. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside.

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And when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David.

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The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David.

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And stopping, Jesus called them and said, what do you want me to do for you? They said to Him, Lord, let our eyes be opened.

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And Jesus, in pity, touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed Him. It's powerful, but again, if we're just stepping into the

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New Testament with no understanding of the Old Testament, this doesn't hold a lot of deep, deep, like, onion layer meaning.

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It's powerful. Make no mistake about it. Here's Jesus. Some would describe as a wonder worker.

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He's not simply a wonder worker, but here's Jesus raising the dead, healing the blind, giving them sight.

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And they're hearing again, causing the lame to walk again. Jesus speaks into the life of a little dead girl.

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Says, little girl, arise. And she rises from the dead. He says, give her something to eat. She's probably hungry.

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Jesus calls into the tomb of a dead man, Lazarus. Lazarus come forth, and he comes forth.

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Now, of course, the reaction oftentimes in the first century is not what you'd maybe anticipate.

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Even at the tomb of Lazarus, it says that some believed and some didn't. Some doubted. So even with wonder working and all these miracles and the healing of the sick and the blind and all of this amazing stuff,

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Jesus Himself rising from the dead, people still doubting after they see Him alive from the dead.

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Is it just the wonder working? Is it just the powerful miracles? I'd say it's a lot more than that.

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And the sign of Jesus healing the blind is pointing to an even greater reality. But again, if you're just opening the

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Bible with no context, it's like walking into a movie halfway. No understanding of really the story, the background.

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Why is this character so bad? Why is everyone so opposed to this character? Imagine walking into Titanic at the very last few scenes.

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The ship is going down, and you see Jack in the water, and you wonder why, with all that space and that piece of wood, how come she doesn't just pull him up onto the wood, but beyond all that?

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You understand? You wonder, like, how'd this get to this place? Like, who screwed up? What happened? How did this amazing thing fall into the sea?

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I mean, this thing is supposed to be an unsinkable ship. I mean, we know a little bit of the history where somebody said not even

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God can sink this ship. Well, what if you walked into Forrest Gump halfway through?

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Probably very, very confusing. Who is this weird guy? What are these little parts and pieces of the story?

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He seems to be doing a lot as a really strange guy, interesting guy, lovely guy, but how come he is so loved by people?

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How come he's involving himself in all these things? Or how about walking into Star Wars? I mean the real

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Star Wars. We're not talking about episodes one, two, and three here. We're talking about four, five, and six.

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What if you walked into The Last Jedi? You're walking into episode six,

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The Last Jedi, and you're seeing Darth Vader and the Emperor, and you're seeing Luke and Han and Leia.

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You're seeing all this stuff, but really there's no understanding, like, why is Darth Vader the way that he is, and why are they trying to do this thing, and whose team are they on, and why is it so important?

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It's like walking into a movie halfway. You have to understand who's the character. Why is this important to this character?

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What's the goal of the story? What's the climax of the story? Where'd they all come from? Why are these things important to them?

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Who's the good guy? Who's the bad guy? We have to have context and story, and the reason

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I highlight this is to say this. These men, these blind men by the roadside, they know the story.

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They're not walking into the story midway. They're blind, and they've heard about Jesus.

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They know about the Messiah, but more importantly, they know the start of the story. They know where all this is coming from.

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They now are sensing the fulfillment all around them of all their hopes and dreams.

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Everything that they had been taught when they're in synagogue as little children, and they're singing the

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Psalms, and they're hearing these stories, and they're memorizing, and they're reciting. They're telling the victory tales of King David, but more than that, than just the victory tales of King David in a slingshot, and a rock, and a

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Goliath, and a Philistine falling down. They know that there were promises made to King David.

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They're hero King David. They're raised in the whole entire story.

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They know it, and now this is the time of the Messiah. They know what the Bible teaches about the timing of the

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Messiah. They're all anticipating the kingdom of God breaking into history, and David's son coming to assume his throne, and now they sense now here comes

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Jesus, the son of David, the Messiah. They know the background. They know the story, and that's why they know they have hope as they cry out to Jesus, the

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Messiah, the son of David, that he would heal them of their blindness because they had heard those stories in synagogue.

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They heard him around the dinner table, mom and dad telling them, David's son can heal you from blindness.

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They knew about the one who was going to assume the throne. They now have already seen the start of the movie.

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They've mastered it. They understand it, and now they find themselves sitting by the side of the road, and here comes the most important character of all time right before them, and so they cry out, son of David, have mercy on us, and even with everyone trying to shush them and quiet them down, they can't contain themselves.

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Son of David, have mercy on us. They know who he is. They know what they can ask for, and after Jesus heals them, they actually follow him, but we have to understand the men on the road.

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Why call him son of David, and why is that significant at all? Why would that have mattered at all that he's the son of David?

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Why not call him Jesus? Why not call him Messiah, but son of David twice, and then the healing of blindness?

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Well, to understand that, we've got to go back and understand the beginning of the movie. We've got to hear the start of the story and ask the question, who was

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David, and why are they calling Jesus the son of David, and why is there hope for them that this is the son of David?

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So we've got to get a little bit of a background, and there's so much to do. You know I'd love to take weeks on this, but I'm not going to do that.

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I just want to give you the overview today, particularly for those of us that are maybe new to the Bible and understanding who's

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David, and why is this significant? And I've got to tell you, I'm so excited about today's message, because it's powerful what

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God did here. So a couple things in the background of King David. This is some quick Bible facts about King David.

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Some of you may already know some of these, so bear with me. As a young man, David was a shepherd. He was anointed by Samuel to be king of Israel.

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Saul was king at the time, but the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and came upon David.

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1 Samuel chapter 16. One of King Saul's servants described David as, quote, a son of Jesse the

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Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing the harp, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and check it out, a handsome person, and the

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Lord is with him. So David was this spectacular leader and hero.

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Of course, he first is introduced to us as a lowly little shepherd boy, but God loves

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David, and he exalts him to the very top to lead the people of God and the armies of God against their enemies, and God just pours out abundant blessing upon David.

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He loves David. But David, did you know, in your Bible, in the Psalms, many of your

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Psalms, the songs that we sing to God, those were written by David.

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He was a poet. He was an artist. He was also great at speaking. He was apparently a beautiful man.

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He was not hard to look at. So he was a handsome guy, a great leader, a poet.

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He was a warrior. He has no problem taking down this gigantic Philistine, the enemy of God and of Israel.

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Everybody was afraid of this Philistine, and of course, as my friend Douglas Wilson says, while the rest of people are looking at Goliath saying, he's too big to fight,

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David is looking at Goliath saying, he's too big to miss. Right?

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So we know the stories of David. We can go all day on just really the amazing life of David, but of course, we also know about David's failures.

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David was overcome by the power and the authority that he had. He sees

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Bathsheba bathing on a rooftop, and he sends his men to go and get her, and he engages in adultery with a married woman as the king.

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Not only is David sort of hedging his bets with the enemies of God around Israel by marrying foreign wives, something

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God commands the kings not to engage in, in Deuteronomy 17, 17.

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God condemns polygamy and all of that syncretism of marrying off these foreign wives and bringing them in.

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David sins against God. He engages in that, but beyond even that sin, that corruption,

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David is so blinded by his position and his power and authority with all of his gifts that God has given to him, his looks, his speech, his artistry, his being a mighty man of war and valor.

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David is blinded by his lust. He sleeps with Bathsheba. He gets her pregnant, and he tries to find a way to sneak his way out of this.

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He does engage in righteous deception, by the way, at one point in his life, David does. When he finds himself at an enemy camp, he actually starts slobbering and drooling over himself, trying to look like a crazy person to hide himself from the enemy, and they end up not discovering who he is.

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But in this case with Bathsheba, it wasn't righteous deception. He brings Bathsheba's husband in.

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He tries to get him drunk, hoping that he'll sleep with his wife, and then, hey, we're fine. He'll just think that it was his child.

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Well, it doesn't work out for David, and so David ends up, you know the story, having Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, killed.

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So David is guilty of adultery and what? Murder. Adultery and murder.

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A man after God's own heart, so loved by God, guilty of adultery and murder.

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It is possible for God to restore and redeem anybody.

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When you see the story of one of the greatest heroes in the entire Bible, can you imagine this for a second?

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Think about this for a second. Here is Jesus, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, God in the flesh.

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God in the flesh. Holy God, righteous, blameless, no sin, and it wasn't an insult for them to say to him,

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Son of David, have mercy on us. That's called redemption. That is the God of redemption. I don't care what you have in your life.

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I don't care what your sins. We serve a God who loves sinners, and he redeems people.

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He restores them. He puts their feet on a rock. The fact that you can have a man that was involved in such great deception and wickedness, years later, now exalted as to the man after God's own heart, and seen as one of our biblical heroes, and the fact that Jesus is called

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Son of David, and it's not an insult. That is testimony to God's love,

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His power, and His ability to take anybody and to restore them.

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Son of David. Son of David. So a little bit more on David background.

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Samuel, sorry, among the best known events in David's youth is his slaying of the giant

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Goliath with a slingshot and a single stone, 1 Samuel 17. Samuel described

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David as follows, the Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and the

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Lord has commanded him to be commander over his people, 1 Samuel 13, 13 through 14.

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David was made king in place of Saul, 2 Samuel 5. David was 30 years old when he began to reign.

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30. He reigned for 40 years. Firstly in Hebron, he reigned over Judah for seven years and six months.

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Then in Jerusalem, he reigned 33 years over all Israel and Judah, 2 Samuel 5, 3 through 5.

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Thus, David united the kingdom. Of course, we know again about David's grievous sin of adultery, deceit, and murder.

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God said regarding David, Psalm 89, 3 through 4, I've made a covenant with my chosen.

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I have sworn to David my servant. I have sworn to David my servant. I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations.

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Note that one. The seed or descendant of David is none other than the seed of Abraham to whom

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God referred when he said to Abraham, quote, here it is, in your seed, all nations of the earth shall be blessed,

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Genesis 22, 18. This seed of Abraham would also be the seed of David and would sit upon David's throne forever.

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David's throne was the earthly equivalent of God's throne in heaven. Thus, Jesus is said to have sat on David's throne when he sat down on God's throne,

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Acts 2, 29 through 36, Revelation 3, 21. Jesus Christ is introduced in the

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New Testament as, quote, the son of David, Matthew 1, 1.

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Finally, David was a highly accomplished musician and songwriter. The Bible contains many psalms written about him, written by him, several of which contain prophecies about Jesus Christ.

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Example, Psalm 16, Acts 2, 25 through 28. So, there's the quick facts on David.

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Now, a little bit of archaeology that I think is a powerful thing for those of you guys that love the history. This is from Bible History Daily, written on 9 -10 -2018, so fairly recent.

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Here's from the biblical archaeology staff, the Telden's inscription, the first historical evidence of King David from the

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Bible. Few modern biblical archaeology discoveries have caused as much excitement as the

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Telden inscription, written on a 9th century BC stone slab, that furnished the first historical evidence of King David from the

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Bible, according to this. The Telden inscription, or, quote, House of David inscription, was discovered in 1993 at the site of Telden in northern

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Israel in an excavation directed by an Israeli archaeologist.

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The broken and fragmentary inscription commemorates the victory of an Armenian king over his two southern neighbors, the king of Israel and the king of the

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House of David. In the carefully incised text, written in neat Aramaic characters, the

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Armenian king boasts that he, under the divine guidance of the god Hadad, vanquished several thousand

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Israelite and Judahite horsemen and charioteers before personally dispatching both of his royal opponents.

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Unfortunately, the recovered fragments of the House of David inscription do not preserve the names of the specific kings involved in this brutal encounter, but most scholars believe the stele recounts a campaign of Hazael of Damascus, in which he defeated both

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Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah. What made the

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Telden inscription one of the most exciting biblical archaeology discoveries for scholars and the broader public was its unprecedented reference to, quote, the

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House of David. The stele's fragmented inscription, first read and translated by the renowned

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Joseph Naveh, proved that King David from the Bible was a genuine historical figure and not simply the fantastic literary creation of later biblical writers and editors.

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Perhaps more important, the stele set up by one of ancient Israel's fiercest enemies, more than a century after David's death, still recognized

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David as the founder of the kingdom of Judah. So there's some historical background there, some archaeological evidence in terms of King David.

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There's more to be discovered in terms of Old Testament archaeology and history there, some more stuff surrounding, but I think that's a powerful testimony to the corroborative evidence that we have outside the

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Bible that corroborates the evidence of what we have inside the Bible. And note that they refer specifically to King David.

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Now next, let's talk about prophecy. Now they say, Son of David, have mercy on us, and they refer to him again,

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Son of David. Why is this significant? Why did they see any significance to referring to him as Son of David?

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And for that, we must go to our Old Testament and look at the long -anticipated promise.

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So let's start around a text that we love to talk about at Apologia Church. So I'll give you the reference point real fast.

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Ezekiel 36. What's that talk about? Ezekiel 36. Say it out loud so we're working together as a church here.

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What's that? Someone said new covenant, so there's a new covenant promise in Ezekiel 36, long before Jesus comes.

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Ezekiel 36, a promise of the new covenant blessings. What sort of things are promised in God's new covenant?

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God says, not for your sake, not for your sake. You've profaned my name among all the nations, and God says for his own namesake, he's going to act.

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And what's he going to do with his people? He says he's going to sprinkle clean water on them so that they'll be clean.

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He says about their hearts, he's going to remove a heart of what? Stone and give a heart of flesh.

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So we go from hard hearts to God to soft, malleable hearts before God.

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And what's the center of all this? It's not our work. It's not what we do.

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It's God who says he's going to act for his own namesake, not for us.

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He says to his people, you've profaned my name. You've brought shame to my name.

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And he says, for my own namesake, I'm going to act. And he doesn't watch. This is what's powerful to me.

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He says, you've profaned my name. And he doesn't say, and so I'm going to destroy you, which he has every right to do.

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He doesn't say that. You've profaned my name, and now I'm going to give you justice. That's not what he's like.

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He doesn't just have justice. He also has mercy and loving kindness. And he says what?

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He says, sprinkle clean water, and I'll cleanse you from all your idols. You'll be clean.

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I'll remove a heart of stone and give a heart of flesh. And this is the powerful part. He says, I'll put my spirit within you and cause you to obey my statutes.

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Two, listen, two references to the new covenant speak about the internal power that God gives us in the new covenant by his spirit.

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Jeremiah 31, God says he takes his law, which is written on stone tablets, which by the way,

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David recovered from the enemies of God. They stole the ark of the covenant with the 10 commandments in them.

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David, King David, our warrior king and hero, gets them back, of course.

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We know that story. But God says in a new covenant, he's going to take that law that was on stone tablets outside of the people of God, exerting pressure on top of them.

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And in the new covenant, he's going to put that law on our inward parts inside of us.

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And then he says in Ezekiel 36, I'm going to put my spirit within you and cause you to obey my statutes.

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So I wanted you to anchor that real fast because you know Ezekiel 36. We talk about it so often.

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But between Ezekiel 36 is two prophecies concerning David, the shepherd of Israel, specifically pointing to Jesus.

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So in your Bible, Ezekiel, go to Ezekiel chapter 34. Ezekiel chapter 34, this is the promise of the shepherd of Israel.

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And I'm going to just sort of move through a few points here. So you start with me here at Ezekiel 34, verse 1.

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Just for context, we can't possibly do all of this, but I do want you to get enough context to see how powerful this is, and why when they say son of David, it's so meaningful.

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34, 1, the word of the Lord, the word of Yahweh came to me, son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel.

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Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds. Thus says the Lord God, ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep?

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You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. You slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.

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The weak, you've not strengthened. The sick, you've not healed. The injured, you've not bound up. The strayed, you've not brought back.

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The lost, you've not sought. And with force and harshness, you've ruled them.

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So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.

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My sheep were scattered. They wandered all over all the mountains on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth with none to search or seek for them.

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Now what's this talking about? Real sheep? So we're talking about real sheep?

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No, this is Zechariah 34. God's talking to the shepherds of Israel, and he's indicting the shepherds of Israel for not caring for his people, his flock.

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He's saying, you're supposed to shepherd my sheep, my people. You're making yourselves fat.

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You're not even going to chase down the lost sheep. You're bad shepherds.

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This is a condemnation, an indictment from God upon the shepherds of Israel, a condemnation passage that would have cut them.

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Do you realize how dangerous it would have been for this to be spoken in this time to the shepherds of Israel?

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This is not an easy task for these words to come from God to these false shepherds.

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Notice what God says, verse 7, therefore you shepherds hear the word of the Lord. As I live, declares the

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Lord God, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd.

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And because my shepherds have not searched for the sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep, therefore you shepherds hear the word of the

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Lord. Thus says the Lord God, behold, I'm against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep.

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No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I'll rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

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So, the context here is God's indictment upon the false shepherds, the poor shepherds of the people of God.

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And I want you to see here in Ezekiel 34, 23, as you move down. Ezekiel 34, 23.

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Well, start in verse 22. God says, I'll rescue my flock.

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They shall no longer be a prey, and I will judge between sheep and sheep, and I will set up over them one shepherd.

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Listen, listen, listen. And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant

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David, and he shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.

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And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David shall be prince among them.

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I am the Lord, I have spoken. Now, if you were to look at a timeline in history here, in terms of when

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Ezekiel is written, when this is coming to the people of God, David is long gone.

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David is long gone. He is dead. So, why is God talking about David? David's dead.

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How's David going to shepherd God's people? How's he going to care for the flock of God when he's dead?

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And the truth is, there's a beautiful symbolism here of God's promises to King David, to his seed, to raise up a seed from David that would sit on the messianic throne, that would rule the world, draw all the nations back to God, and to care for God's sheep.

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But notice the word there. I will set over them one shepherd, my servant

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David, and he shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.

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And I, the Lord, will be their God. And my servant David shall be prince among them. I'm the

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Lord, I have spoken. Another text. Just move over now. Skip 36, which you know, and move to 37.

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Of course, this is the famous portion of the dry bones. But I want you to see the passage.

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Make note of this. Why are they yelling, Son of David, Son of David, have mercy on us?

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Why was that significant? Because they know the promises. We're waiting for David's son,

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David, to sit on his throne, the Messiah himself, to shepherd the people of God.

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And here's another promise, Ezekiel 37. Note, again, I think it was Jim over here that said the new covenant.

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Note this. This is really important. Watch. Timing, prophetic significance, 34.

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Shepherd, King David, David's son on the throne. The new covenant promise and blessing.

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This is all surrounding God's new covenant blessings. Ezekiel 36, 15.

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Well, no, yes, sorry, 15. The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, take a stick and write on it for Judah and the people of Israel associated with him.

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Then take another stick and write on it for Joseph the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.

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And join them one to another into one stick that they may become one in your hands.

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And when your people say to you, will you not tell us what you mean by these? Say to them, here's the answer.

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Thus says the Lord God, behold, I'm about to take the stick of Joseph that's in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him.

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And I will join them with the stick of Judah and make them one stick that they may be one in my hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before your eyes, then say to them, thus says the

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Lord God, behold, I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone.

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I will gather them from all around and bring them to their own land. And I will make them one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel.

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And one king shall be king over them. Catch that. And one king shall be king over them all.

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And they shall be no longer two nations and no longer divided into two kingdoms.

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They should not defile themselves anymore with their idols and their detestable things or with any of their transgressions, but I will save them from all their backslidings in which they've sinned and I will cleanse them.

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And they should be my people and I'll be their God. And here it is. Verse 24. My servant, who?

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David. My servant David shall be king over them and they shall all have one what?

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Shepherd. David. Shepherd. King. They shall walk in my rules and they be careful to obey my statutes.

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Verse 26. No, let's keep going. 25. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob where your fathers lived.

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They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever. And David, my servant, shall be their prince forever.

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I will make a covenant of peace with them. It should be an everlasting covenant with them and I will set them in their land and multiply them and I will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore.

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So, what's the anticipation? The new covenant is coming. God's everlasting covenant.

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God's promise to save. New hearts. Law of God inside. And a shepherd, a king, a messiah, the son of David on his throne.

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There's the promise. But there's more. Promises and prophecies about the son of David.

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Go quickly to 2 Chronicles 21 .7. 2 Chronicles 21 .7.

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Here's another promise in terms of knowing the back story, the anticipation. Why was it significant?

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Son of David, have mercy on us. 2 Chronicles 21 .7. Here's what

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God says. Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David.

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And since he had promised, listen closely, to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

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So, we're seeing now the back story. Again, like I said, if you walk into a movie halfway through, you don't know the background of the characters.

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You don't know why the climax is significant in the story. You don't know why it's so important. You don't know why they're going the direction that they're going.

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You don't know what the anticipation is. You don't know the unanswered questions. But these men at the roadside understand if this is the son of David, this is the promised shepherd, this is the

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King of Israel, this is the one who can give sight to the blind, this one can care for my needs.

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Now, as you move into the New Testament, I want you to see it with your own eyes and not just be told so.

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Notice how the New Testament authors are picking up on this theme of David, of David, son of David.

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The story is connected to David. So, if you look in Matthew chapter 1 to everybody's favorite part to read in the

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Bible, and what's that? The genealogies. It's all of our favorite, right?

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Oh, I'm a daily Bible reading plan today. I'm in Matthew chapter 1. Oh boy, this will be fun.

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Or we try to read, we try to get our kids to read the Bible with us every day. Let's get to read the Bible together. Okay, let's start in Matthew chapter 1.

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You see your kids sort of drifting off after maybe the third verse, right? And you're trying to tell them, no, you don't understand.

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The Bible is actually really amazing. They're like, really? Is the whole thing like that, right?

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The genealogies. But you have to understand something. When you know that this story is connected to God's promises and to history, you see why these genealogies are the most significant and important aspects of the

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Gospels. Because if Jesus isn't connected to David, he's not our shepherd.

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He's not our king. He's not the Messiah. So, to have the genealogy of Jesus going back to David is the most essential part.

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So, two things. We did this at the beginning of Matthew. Let's see if you guys remember this briefly. Matthew is the genealogy of which parent?

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Joseph. So, we call this his royal line.

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Matthew is concerned with Jesus having the right to the throne of David. That line goes very specifically through particular people.

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But what's interesting, and I'm not going to do the whole sermon right now, I promise, though I'd love to. What's interesting here is there's actually a curse put on this line.

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In Matthew's genealogy, there is a curse put on the line in the Old Testament which nobody would have been able to figure out.

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God cursed the line of David and said that no one from this person's line will sit on the throne, physically descended.

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How do you have a royal person on the throne if the line is cursed? Answer, virgin birth.

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One is the royal line, the right to the throne, and in Luke 3 is Jesus' physical line through Mary where he misses the curse.

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So, Jesus gets both ways to the throne, physically through Mary, not inheriting the curse through Mary, and legally through his adopted father,

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Joseph, without inheriting the curse. But notice how it starts, Matthew chapter 1. The book of the genealogy of Jesus the

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Messiah. The what? Son of David, the son of Abraham.

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That's in Matthew chapter 1. As you move over to Luke chapter 3, Luke runs it backwards. Luke runs the genealogy backwards.

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In Luke chapter 3, it starts in verse 23. It says, Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about 30 years of age.

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Quick question, how old was David when he started ruling on his throne? Anyone?

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30. So, he's about 30 years old, being the son as was supposed of Joseph, the son of Heli, the son of...

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And you move down the line, and I want to show you verse 31. The son of Melia, the son of Menah, the son of Metathah, the son of Nathan, the son of who?

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The son of Jesse, and it moves all the way back to Adam, the son of God.

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Notice how all of this story is very particularly woven to get

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David, King David, into the story. Why? Because all of the prophecy, all the covenant is wrapped up in David, in Abraham, moving its way to Jesus.

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But I also want you to see how the apostle Paul talked in his day about Jesus. Notice this, watch.

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When the apostles wanted to buttress their point that Jesus is in fact the promised

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Messiah, the Savior of the world, they weave David into that story.

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They must do so, because there's where God's promises rest. To see how the apostle

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Paul did it, move in your Bible to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13.

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The apostle Paul in Acts 13 verse 13, it says this,

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Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga and Pamphylia.

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And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch and Pisidia.

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And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the law and the prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them saying,

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Brothers, if you have any word or encouragement for the people, say it. So, Paul stood up and motioning with his hands said,

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Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen. The God of this people,

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Israel, chose our fathers and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt.

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And with uplifted arm, he led them out of it. And for about 40 years, he put up with them in the wilderness.

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And after destroying seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance.

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All this took about 450 years. And after that, he gave them judges until Samuel the prophet.

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Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin for 40 years.

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When he removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said,

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I have found in David, the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will.

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Of this man's offspring, God has brought to Israel a savior,

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Jesus, here it is, as he promised. As he promised.

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So, you note, as the apostle Paul wants to buttress his story about Jesus as the

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Messiah, he fills in the story of David, the promises through David to Jesus.

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And just quickly, I'll point you to it. The apostle Peter did exactly the same thing as he preached.

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If you look at Peter's story, it's in Acts chapter two. So, just move backwards, reference it for later, if you like.

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In Acts chapter two, verse 14, Peter begins lifting up his voice.

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He tells them what they're seeing. It's a prophecy of what God was going to do in the last days.

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Quick note, not the last days of the end of the world, but the last days of the old covenant age.

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Very important. Peter here is not talking about the end of the world. He's talking about the last days of the old covenant.

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The new covenant had broken into history, and what they were seeing now with these signs and wonders was what

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God had predicted in Joel. Proof? Because he says here that what they're seeing right now is what was uttered through the prophet

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Joel, verse 16 of chapter two. In the last days, it should be God declares that our poor of my spirit and all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

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Now, here's all those promises there, but he says this, verse 22. He says, men of Israel, hear these words.

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Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know, this

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Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

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God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for him to be held by it, verse 25.

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For David says concerning him, I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken.

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Therefore, my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced. My flesh also will dwell in hope, for you will not abandon my soul to Hades or let your

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Holy One see corruption. You've made known to me the paths of life. You will make me full of gladness with your presence.

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Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he's both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

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Being therefore a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, watch, that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the

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Messiah, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.

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This Jesus, God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses.

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Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the

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Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, and here's what the most popular verse in the

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New Testament, from the Old Testament, written by King David, and here it is, the

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Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

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So watch, David is saying this about Jesus. Note how the entire

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Bible moves through this story of David and David's sons and God's covenant, new covenant blessings landing on Jesus.

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Peter and Paul saying the promises were to David, David's throne, that's the throne

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Jesus occupies. It's a powerful story, but I want to point you to what they say.

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Now watch, now you've got it, right? Now you get a little background. Now let's sit here for a second. Come back now,

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I want you to hear this, because this is really, really, I think, moving. David, son of David, son of David, have mercy on us.

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They are helpless. They are hurting. They cannot see. We cannot even begin to imagine what that's like.

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We cannot even begin to imagine what's that like. Think about it for a second.

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We live in a time today where people who are blind or suffering, of course, we still cannot grasp, fully fathom what that must be like to be blind, to not see, to only hear, smell, or taste, or touch, but not see.

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But even today, in today's time, people who are afflicted with blindness, they have all these amazing resources and tools today, all the technology we have to help them in their homes.

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They can live even on their own. I saw an amazing story about all the technology in a person's house who's blind, the bells and the sounds and all the ways that they can get help, all the different technological resources we have to get somebody to be able to move across the street, to be able to take transportation.

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We have means now, but in this day, a person who was stricken with blindness didn't have the access to the technology and the tools that we have today, or watch this, they didn't even have a culture and society that had been built up to the place where they saw people who are blind as in need of our love and affection and protection.

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They were even dismissive towards people who are blind and even not caring into the degree that people who have been affected by the gospel message are today.

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But here they are now, sitting at the road, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us, have mercy on us.

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What they know about him, think about this, what they know about him, they're sitting in synagogue long before Jesus and they're hearing

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Ezekiel 34. God is angry with the shepherds of Israel. He's angry with the shepherds who feed themselves but not his sheep.

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He's angry with the shepherds who don't even go chasing after the lost sheep. They don't even go after them.

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He's angry with these shepherds over his flock and God says this, I'm going to give you a shepherd, I'm going to give you a shepherd who will truly care for the people of God.

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I'm going to give you a son from David, he'll be the shepherd. He will sit on the throne and he will truly care for my people.

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They know in their heart and they're longing for it. God, I want that shepherd. God, I want your king.

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I want him on the throne and God, I need him. And isn't it amazing that one of the primary ways that we know

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Jesus from the Gospels is through the symbolism of the shepherd?

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What's Jesus' famous story about the sheep that goes wandering off away from the flock?

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And what does Jesus say about himself? What are we to learn from Jesus from that story about that wandering off sheep?

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What do we learn is that we have a shepherd who goes and leaves the 99 to go and chase down that one lost sheep.

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And I want you just to hear the words here in terms of the good shepherd. This is Jesus, that promised shepherd, the son of David.

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Everything they had hoped for from Ezekiel 34 to 37, now watch.

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Can you imagine knowing all that in synagogue as a child? Being in Jewish Juanus and hearing all the stories about Ezekiel and the shepherd and the sheep and all of God's anger and hostility towards the bad shepherds.

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And can you imagine now in this moment being in John 10 and sitting at the feet of Jesus. Jesus, the son of David, is right before you now.

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Everything you'd ever been told about this Messiah, and now you get to see his face. You get to touch him. And this is what he says.

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John 10 1, truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.

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But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the gatekeeper opens.

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The sheep hear his voice. And when he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out, when he has brought out all his own, he goes before them.

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And the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of a stranger, of strangers.

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This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, truly, truly,

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I say to you, I'm the door of the sheep. All who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.

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I'm the door. If anyone enters by me, he'll be saved, and he will go in and out and find pasture.

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The thief comes only to steal and to kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

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I am the good shepherd. Do you see it?

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See, this wasn't just all along as a Christian. You just came to this text. I came to the text. And we thought, well, this is just a beautiful story and symbol of Jesus as the good shepherd.

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But you never knew. You never thought that this is the continuation of the story. This is the third act in the play.

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This is the part of the play that now you're getting to that climax. Oh my goodness, this is everything we were asking

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God for. It's all the stories I heard when I was a little boy and a little girl. I remember being in synagogue, and the promise was that God was going to destroy these bad shepherds, and he was going to install that shepherd that we need who goes and chases that lost sheep.

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The one who can hear his voice, and they all follow him. The good shepherd who lays his life down for the sheep.

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That's the meaning of John 10. This isn't a random hodgepodge thing. This is a continuation of God's love letter, his story to us.

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This is the shepherd we wanted. I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

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He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees.

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And the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he's a hired hand and cares nothing about the sheep.

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It's going back to that story in Ezekiel 34 of these terrible shepherds. I'm the good shepherd.

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I know my own, and my own know me. Just as the Father knows me, and I know the

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Father, and I lay down my life for this sheep, and I have other sheep that are not of this fold,

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I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there'll be one flock, one shepherd.

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For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

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I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I've received from my

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Father. There's again a division among them, the Jews, because of these words. Many of them said, he is a demon, and he's insane.

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Why listen to him? Others said, these are not the words of one who is oppressed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?

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And of course, this is, I've got to read it. I know reading a lot of texts say, I got to read this, because if you can hang on to Ezekiel 34 and understand everything

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God said he was going to do in David's son, King David, the shepherd of Israel, the true shepherd, this will be beautiful.

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10 .22, at that time the feast of dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple and in the colonnade of Solomon.

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So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, how long will you keep us in suspense?

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If you're the Messiah, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe.

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The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

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My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

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I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

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My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the

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Father's hand. I and the Father are one. It's a double -fisted grip, Father, Son, together.

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Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice. They're like, tell us plainly. If you're the

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Messiah, if you're the Son of David, you're the Messiah, say it plainly. Jesus says, I told you.

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He did tell them, and he says, the reason you can't hear me is because you are not of my sheep.

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My sheep hear my voice, and they come. I lay my life down for the sheep.

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They know me. I know them. They're in my hand, and nothing can snatch them from my hand.

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They're in my Father's hand, and nothing can snatch from my Father's hand. Listen, it makes sense that many of us would be fearful that we'll lose our salvation.

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It makes sense that many of us be fearful that God will abandon us. Why? Because we've all experienced that.

01:02:43

People who love us abandon us. People who love us betray us. Maybe you've even had bad shepherds in your life.

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It makes sense that you'd be worried about a bad shepherd. If you know Ezekiel 34, you know the fearfulness of bad shepherds.

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God identifies it. But the glory of the gospel is that we have in Jesus the good shepherd who lays his life down for the sheep, and he never loses us, ever.

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That's the glory of this moment in the New Testament. We're walking into a story that was already underway.

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So, what's the focus of the story? Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us.

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Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us. Go back to Matthew 20, and I want to just highlight this last point.

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If you open your Bible from the very beginning to the very end, you see constant promises of the coming kingdom, the

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Messiah, the Son of David, the good shepherd of Israel. You see all these promises that the one who's going to rule on David's throne, who's going to inherit all those promises and blessings and continue covenant with God, Abraham's descendants as numerous as the stars.

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And you open Matthew chapter 1, you see Son of David. You open Matthew chapter 3, you see

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John the Baptist. First words out of his mouth are, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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That's the expected kingdom of God. Jesus in Matthew chapter 4, when he leaves the wilderness, first words out of Jesus' mouth, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

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And what does it say that Jesus is going round about preaching? The gospel of the what?

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The gospel of the kingdom. The story is the kingdom of God.

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That's the central aspect. Jesus, Son of David, on his throne, bringing the nations to God, bringing salvation, bringing

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God's law, bringing justice. Of course, you see in Matthew chapter 12, all of—you have to see it.

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Keep your finger in Matthew 20. You have to see it. We've already been here, so I'm just going to point you to it.

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Matthew chapter 12. I want you to see this and notice the depth and connection.

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Matthew chapter 12, verse 15.

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Jesus is aware of this, withdrew from there, and many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known.

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This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. Behold my servant whom

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I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I'll put my spirit upon him and he'll proclaim justice to the

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Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

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A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory and in his name the

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Gentiles will hope. What's that from? Anyone know? Anyone know that reference? I quote it often.

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Isaiah chapter 42. Notice the connection. Isaiah 42. Keep it in mind.

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Verse 22. Then a demon -oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him and he healed him so that the man spoke and saw and all the people were amazed.

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Look what they said. And said, can this be the what? Can this be the son of David?

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Notice the association of the kingdom of God casting out evil, healing the sick and the blind as that's the son of David.

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And of course you know the blasphemy here of the Pharisees who said, well yeah, he's casting out devils because he's in bed with the devil.

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He's bedfellows with them. That's how he's doing it. And Jesus, watch, watch, watch, watch. Jesus says, if I cast out demons by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God what?

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Has. Do you notice it? Son of David healing the blind. Son of David healing the blind.

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Kingdom of God. And Jesus says, can this be the son of David? If I cast out devils by the spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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Critical to see that Matthew is wrapping the entire story up together showing you this is the son of David.

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This is the promise deliverer. This is the one we're waiting for. But I want you to see this. I said at the very beginning.

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I said, when you read Matthew 20, we're finished here. I'm going to bring you back to the beginning of the message.

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At the beginning, what did I say? I said, when you read Matthew 20, did you see it?

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We got to start reading our Bibles in this way. We talk about all the time as Protestants, right? We say, sola scriptura.

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The scriptures alone are only infallible rule of faith and practice. Amen? Die for that.

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Die for that. That's how important that truth is. But the Reformation didn't just say sola scriptura.

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It also said tota scriptura. And that's all of scripture interprets scripture.

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Amen? We need as Christians to be able to understand our Bibles to the degree that we start noticing details, symbols, metaphors, things that are part of God's overarching story so that we can see the depth of the glory of the word of God.

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For example, Matthew 20, they say, son of David, son of David, have mercy on us.

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He says, what do you want me to do for you? They say, let us see again. And Jesus gives them what they want.

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They can see now and they start following Jesus. I mentioned to you, did you catch it?

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I said, do you hear it? I quoted to you all the time. Did you see it when you saw that instance?

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Did you know what Matthew was trying to do? And I want you to see it for yourself because Matthew already quoted it in Matthew 12 from Isaiah.

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Go to Isaiah 42 and let's finish there. Isaiah chapter 42.

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It's one of my favorite prophecies of Jesus because of the hope it gives us for the future.

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Here it is. Oh, I hope you guys are excited about, as excited about this as me, truly, because it is seriously awesome.

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Isaiah 42. Here's the verse. Start with verse one. I'm reading from the ESV. Behold, my servant whom

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I uphold, my chosen in whom my soul delights. I put my spirit upon him.

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He'll bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street.

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A bruised reed he will not break and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice.

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He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth and the coastlands wait for his law.

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Thus says the Lord God, that says God the Lord who stretched, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.

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I am the Lord. I have called you in righteousness. I'll take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations to open the what?

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Eyes that are blind to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.

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I am the Lord. That is my name. My glory I give to no other nor my praise to carved idols.

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Behold the former things have come to pass and new things I now declare. Before they spring forth

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I tell you of them. Do you catch it? The promise was that the Messiah was going to come into the world, sit on David's throne.

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He was going to bring forth justice on the earth. The coastlands were going to wait for his law.

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They anticipated Messiah's coming means that God is coming to bring of course salvation but justice in the earth and with Jesus's coming the sight given back to the blind was a sign to the people of God in Israel that this truly is

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David's son because they knew David's son on that throne would bring forth justice to the nations through his kingdom, through his reigning on the throne.

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He would take people out of darkness and he would remove blindness. Did you see it? They said son of David, son of David have mercy.

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What do you want me to do? I know from Isaiah 42 that David's son can give sight to blind people.

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Let me see again Jesus and Jesus gives them what they want. Do you see it? It wasn't just some miracle popping up or propping up the pastor or the preacher.

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This is not some healing service where the preacher's walking around and knocking people down.

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People are shaking and convulsing, losing their minds. This isn't a false shepherd lining his pockets through false healings and buds in his ears hearing his wife tell him stories about the person he's talking to with all these charlatans and con artists.

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This isn't just a simple healing to wow people. This was a sign pointing to the truth of who was standing right in front of them.

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Everything they asked God for, every promise he ever made about the son of David on the throne to bring salvation and redemption to the world was wrapped up in this little moment.

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Son of David, have mercy on me. What do you want me to do? Let me see because I know that the son of David can give sight to the blind.

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Do you see where their hope was? Son of David. Why does that matter? Because David's son, if it's truly

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David's son, he can let the blind see again. And do you see something else?

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If it is David's son, and if he does give recovery to the blind, he gives them their eyes again, then there's another part of that story, isn't there, in Isaiah 42?

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And what's that? It's not just the sight to the blind. It's not just taking people out of darkness. What else do we expect from the son of David on his throne?

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Because he's on his throne now. He's going to bring forth justice to the nations.

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People always ask, Pastor Jeff, how can you be so optimistic about the future? Don't you see the world?

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Don't you see all the difficulty we have around us? You see all the decay. You see all the depravity. You see all the sin. And my answer is this.

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I may see the brokenness all around me, but I know what this story says. I know what this tells me.

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I know what it says about the son of David. I know what it says about the good shepherd. I know what

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God's promises are for the one who is on his throne. And the way that David summarized it is the way the

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New Testament authors constantly summarize it. The Lord said unto my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make all your enemies a footstool for your feet.

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Where is history going? History is going the direction God says it's going, under the feet of Jesus.

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People say, how victorious do you think the world's going to be before Jesus returns? Well, the Bible says every enemy under Jesus' feet, and then finally death.

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What do you think that means? I think it means every enemy, and then finally death is destroyed.

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What do you think it means that God says he's going to bring forth justice on the earth to the Messiah? I think the Messiah is not going to grow faint or weary until he's established justice on the earth.

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That's what I think. And people say, well, what's my part in that? What do I get to do?

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Well, here's the answer. Jesus is the son of David. He's the king of Israel. He's the good shepherd. He's everything we ever asked

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God for and hoped for. He's on his throne now, and we are his bride.

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We are his church. We are his help meat. You and I, as the people of God, we work as Christ's help meat.

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As the son of David's on his throne, winning the world through his gospel, we act as his church, as his help meat, to work alongside the

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Savior to bring forth the kingdom of God on the earth. What's the prayer you're told to pray as a church?

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Your kingdom come. Your will be done. Where? On earth.

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How? As it is in heaven. That's the prayer. That's the hope. If Jesus gives sight to blind people on roadsides, that means that every promise made about the son of David is true, and you and I can hope in the one that God says is going to rescue and restore and redeem the world.

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There's our hope, and it's all shown to us in this little moment where you've got two unnamed dudes on a roadside crying out, son of David, have mercy on us.

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It was a sign with a greater reality pointing behind it. This is