Jesus tells us who He is

Mark 12:35 –37 ³⁵ And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself said in the Holy Spirit,

‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’

³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

The first time you read this it doesn’t make any sense at all!

But in this passage Jesus tells us exactly who He is! This verse quotes from Psalm 110, a messianic psalm written by David, “by the Holy Spirit”. Messianic psalms are about the coming Messiah.

Psalm 110 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ² The Lord will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying, “Rule in the midst of Your enemies.” ³ Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Your youth are to You as the dew.

⁴ The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” ⁵ The Lord is at Your right hand; He will shatter kings in the day of His wrath. ⁶ He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses,
He will shatter the chief men over a broad country. ⁷ He will drink from the brook by the wayside; Therefore He will lift up His head.

In the parallel verses in Matthew to the Mark passage Jesus actually asks the people He’s teaching, “⁴² “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.”

The name Christ means Messiah and they expected the Messiah would be the son of David. (in David’s royal line.)

Jesus defines Himself in 5 key features from Psalm 110 and the Mark passage.

He’s an amazing teacher and a prophet. In verse 35 of Mark 12 He’s teaching in the temple. The best sentence of this passage says the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him. In a crowd this size many wouldn’t have been saved, but they enjoyed listening to Him because he was a marvelous teacher. Read Matthew 5, 6 and 7 to see some of His teachings.

In John 3:2 Nicodemus said, “We know you are a teacher from God.” In John 7:46 the crowd marveled at His wisdom and truth and understanding. Jesus was a great teacher.

In Isaiah 9:6 He’s the wonderful counselor. When you look for a counselor you look for two things: someone who understands what you are feeling and someone who can help you in your angst! Jesus created us. He knows everything about us, every concern we have, and He has every answer to our needs. He is wisdom and truth personified.

Next he is the anointed Christ. Again in verse 35 where it says “the Christ”, that means the Messiah, the anointed Savior. This relates to His function as a priest.

Look at Psalm 110:4 again, ⁴ The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

This Psalm is a conversation between God the Father and God the Son. The Father is answering His Son who is the messiah and priest. A priest insures the offering is pure and offers it to God. Look at how Hebrews 10:12-13 ties this together showing that Jesus is the priest talked about in Psalm 110:  ¹² but He, having offered one sacrifice for^]sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, ¹³ waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.

Jesus accomplished what none of us could ever hope to do on our own – by His sacrifice.

Hebrews 7:21-22 also refers to Psalm 110: ²¹ (for they indeed became priests without an oath, but He with an oath through the One who said to Him, “The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever’”); ²² so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

Jesus came as a priest in the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron who was corrupt. Melchizedek was both a king and a priest and eternal.

Next Jesus is the Son of David. This highlights that He is King. God promised that David’s royal line would continue forever. The Jews were always looking for the Son of David who would reestablish David’s rule on earth. The Romans were ruling Israel and Judah at this time. But the Son of David would fulfill God’s promise to David.

In this passage Jesus is saying I am the Christ and I am the Son of David. Jesus comes with credentials! In order to completely trust someone we have to know something about them. Their background. We can trust Jesus with our life. Our eternal life!

Fourth is He is the Lord of David. Here’s where the Jews had a problem. They could agree he was the Son of David, they were ready for Him to oppose the Romans and set up an earthly kingdom, but they didn’t necessarily want to serve Him!

In verse 36 it says, “David himself declares by the Holy Spirit”. David wrote his Psalms by the Holy Spirit. God wrote the Bible. He used men to do it, but it is everything God wants us to know. And what David says is The Lord said to my Lord (God the Father speaking to God the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit).

There’s an error today about the Trinity. The Trinity is 1 Godhead in 3 persons: with 3 distinct personalities and functions. The error is that He is 1 God who manifests Himself in different forms. That’s called modalism. So David is saying, “I have 2 Lords and my Lord Jesus is seated at the right hand of my Lord God. So Jesus is the Son of David and the Lord of David.

Hebrews 4:14-16 ¹⁴ Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus is seated on a throne of grace.

Finally Jesus is the Victorious Warrior. At the end of verse 36 it says, “until I put the enemies under His feet” Jesus is a victorious warrior! His victory is ensured forevermore.

2 Corinthians 2:14 ¹⁴ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.

He’s already won the battle, we just need to walk in His victory!