By: Dale Weckbacher
Mark 12:37
David himself calls
him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him
gladly.
(ESV)
In what could be a script for a
Jerry Springer or reality show, the genealogy of Jesus can be confusing. In Psalm
110:1, David declares Christ as his Lord and yet scripture also tells us
that a descendant of David will sit on the throne of Israel for eternity, a
reference to the Christ being David’s son (Isaiah
9:1-7). It is this confusion
regarding His lineage that is the source behind Jesus’ question in Mark
12:37.
The resolution to this confusion
surrounding the lineage of Christ lies in the miracle of the virgin birth (Isaiah
7:14; Luke 1:26-38). The virgin
birth of Jesus means his only biological connection to humanity comes from His
mother’s side. The confusion is in the
supposition that Joseph was Jesus’ father (Luke
3:23). This would have made Jesus a
descendant of David. However, David’s
calling Jesus his Lord indicates there is more than just a familial
relationship here, resolved by the virgin birth that establishes a divine
lineage with Jesus being both human through a biological connection from his
mother and divine as the Son of God.
With Joseph’s decision to marry,
and not divorce Mary, when he discovered she was pregnant, Joseph was legally
adopting Jesus as his son (Matthew
1:18-25). This had the effect of
establishing Jesus as a descendent of David legally meaning Jesus as King of
Kings fulfills God’s promise of a descendant of David eternally on the throne in
Jerusalem. This is also why David could
claim Jesus as both his descendent eternally on the throne in Israel and as his
Lord as the Lamb of God forgiving sin.
The real question posed by Jesus
in Mark
12:35-37 is not a legal one, but one asking us whether we understand who
Jesus is and a question we all must answer.
The Greek word believes in John 3:16 is pisteuo which means to believe
or entrust. Its usage in scripture can
either indicate a secular or sacred belief depending upon the context of the
word’s usage. Used in a secular context,
the word indicates a self-serving belief that expects to receive something in
return. However, used in a sacred
context, the word indicates a belief in something emanating from God that one
can place their trust in, receiving eternal life as a benefit. The context of John
3:16 is a theological conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3) and
while it does promise the reward of eternal life for one’s belief in Jesus, the
sacred context indicates this is not the primary reason for one expressing a
belief in Jesus but instead a benefit received as one reaches out to Christ out
of love for the sacrifice He made to forgive their sins.
It is easy when reading John
3:16 to focus on the reward of eternal life but the sacred context of
the verse as part of a theological conversation requires viewing belief
mentioned in the verse as a deep belief that is not self-serving but a deep
belief in God. The verbs or action words
in this verse are loved, gave, and belief.
Focus on these words unlocks the deeper meaning of John
3:16,
1) Loved
– God loved humanity even though he could have rejected them for their
rebellion. The first mention in
scripture of the depth of this love is in Genesis
3:15 where God promised a savior to crush the head of the serpent that
deceived Adam and Eve. God could have
destroyed Adam and Eve for their rebellion but instead promises to provide a
savior to reconcile His relationship with humanity. David was looking forward to that
reconciliation when he declared the future Messiah as his Lord (Psalm
110:1). Believers today have the
benefit of hindsight and can look back at the finished work of Jesus on the cross
as a demonstration of the love of God towards humanity
2) Gave
– God loved humanity so much, He did the unbelievable, He gave humanity His
Son. This act of giving is what
differentiates Christianity from other religions for it does not require humanity
coming to God, but that God came to humanity.
This means that God became flesh (John
1:14) in the person of Jesus. While
this is unbelievable, the most unbelievable part is that God took our sins upon
Himself in the person of Jesus (2
Corinthians 5:21; Romans 5:8). However,
the story does not end there for Jesus resurrected from the dead in victory
over death and sits at the right hand of God as our advocate (1
John 2:1). When one’s belief in God
rises to the level of thankfulness and worship of our loving God that gave His
son to cover our sins, belief becomes transformational and nut just
transactional.
3) Believe
– Belief can either be transactional a belief focused on receiving some
self-serving benefit, or transformational or a belief based upon a
transformation in one’s life. This is
the level of belief mentioned in John
3:16 and something every believer in Christ should aspire to achieve.
Back to the question posed by
Jesus in Mark
12:35-37 regarding who’s son Jesus is, the answer is the Son of God through
the virgin birth and David’s descendant through adoption by Joseph, a descendant
of David. We too have become adopted
children of God through adoption due to the death burial and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. If you have not already
experienced adoption into the family of God, I encourage you to do so now by
praying with me.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my
sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe you died, spent
three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord
of my life.
You now have adoption into the
family of God. I encourage you now to allow
your belief in Jesus as your savior to go beyond a transactional belief with
the reward of eternal life to a deeper belief in God who loves us and gave His
Son as a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins so we can have a reconciliation
with God. May God bless everyone reading
this and join me in finding a deeper belief based upon the love and gracious
gift of salvation in Christ.
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