Well, as we turn our attention now to the preaching of God's Word, I ask you to turn with me in your Bibles to the Gospel of Matthew. This morning we'll be looking at chapter 22, verses 41 through 46. Matthew chapter 22, verses 41 through 46. You should be able to find this on page 1052 if you're using our Pew Bibles this morning. So hear now the word of God. Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? They said to him, Son of David. He said to them, How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son? No one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions." Let us once again Go before the Lord in prayer. Our gracious God, we do thank you for this text before us. And as we look at this dialogue between Jesus and the Pharisees, we pray, Lord, that by your spirit, you would be working mightily in each and every one of us. That you, Lord, would be molding and shaping us into the glorious image of Christ through these words this morning. And we pray, Lord, that you would be blessing us and blessing my mind and my mouth that it may think and speak clearly this morning. In the name of Jesus, we do pray. Amen. Well, as we look at these verses this morning, one thing that I want to bring to mind is just, it's really, these verses are a cause for celebration, a cause for rejoicing. Oftentimes when we have, whether it's a team that we're cheering for, The Oscars were just last week. Maybe it's our favorite actor or actress or movie that we're cheering for. When who we're cheering for has a victory, we rejoice. It's cause for celebration. When they are recognized and exalted for the work that they have done, it gives us a sense of pride and joy. And we can rejoice in that, regardless of what it is. When those that we are behind, when those that we support, When those that we love and we cherish are exalted and magnified in such a way, it gives us cause for rejoicing. Well, in these verses, as Jesus has this dialogue with the Pharisees, he's subtly glorifying himself, and he's bringing to mind the glory that he has as God the Son, as God himself, as the one who created heaven and earth, the one who has always existed and will always exist. He is glorifying and reminding us of the glory that He has as God. So as we look at these verses this morning, it's what I want to come away with as a reminder, something that we can take with us each day, a reminder to stop and just simply rejoice in the glory of Jesus. to realize where we stand in history, that these things have been accomplished. Jesus has been raised. He has been exalted. And He has been glorified, as we'll look at at the close, with the glory that He had with the Father before time began. And these verses this morning point us in that direction. So brothers and sinners, let us rejoice in the glorified Jesus. Now as we look at these verses, first of all, we'll be looking at the question that Jesus asked the Pharisees, who is the Christ? Who is the Christ? In verses 41 through 42, we read, Now, while the Pharisees were gathered together, and just a reminder of the context of these verses, this comes just after, first, the Pharisees sent their disciples to go and to question Jesus, then the Sadducees came and questioned Jesus, and then the Pharisees, seeing that Jesus handled the Sadducees really well, gathered together against Him to question Him on what is the greatest commandment. So now, in that context, while these Pharisees are still gathered together, Jesus here kind of flips the tables. He asks them a question. Who is the Christ? Whose son is he? Well, the Pharisees give a correct answer, and it doesn't From the text, it doesn't appear they even deliberate very much at all. It's just simple, oh yeah, the son of David. We know this one, Jesus. This is easy. Why don't you challenge us a little bit? Well, they get that from 2 Samuel 7, verses 1 through 17. That is where Jesus gets his title, the son of David. The context of that passage is, if you remember, David gets up one morning and he realizes that God is worshiped in a tent. He has an actual physical palace. There's some discrepancy there. He says, I want to build God a house worthy of His name. And God, through the prophet Nathan, goes to David and says, no, thank you for wanting to build me a house, but I don't need a house. And besides, your hands are full of blood. Your son, I instead will raise up for you a house. And your son will build me a house. Well, that prophecy of, from you will come one who sits on your throne, whose kingdom will endure forever, and he will build and establish my house, that was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. As Solomon did, in fact, build the temple of God, yet his reign came to an end, and shortly thereafter, the next generation, the kingdom was divided and split up, And from then on, it becomes a record of how kings stumbled and fell. It never fulfilled that prophecy of one who would come from David, who would sit on his father's throne for all of eternity. Well, that is the Messiah. That is the Christ. And what we see here by the Pharisees' reaction is, that was the understanding of what the Messiah would be. He was the one promised of old that would come, this victorious king that would redeem them, that would free them from oppression. and reign in righteousness and justice and truth upon the throne of His Father, David." And with all this behind the phrase, Son of David, You know, just a few verses back when Jesus made his triumphal entry, and then when he cleared out the temple, people were crying out, Son of David, Hosanna, Son of David. And there the Pharisees questioned him on it, because they understood what that phrase meant, that this was the Messiah that was prophesied to come, only he had this title. Well, Jesus in those instances, he didn't quiet the crowds, he didn't tell them, no, you shouldn't do that, don't call me that, that is incorrect. He receives it. He welcomes it. He even defends its use towards him. So as Jesus then asks them this question, who is the Christ? And they answer, the Son of David. That is correct. And as it points to a king who would come and redeem his people, the error and the short-sightedness that God's people had at this time was that it was going to be a real physical king that would come and deliver his people from a real, physical, oppressive governmental rule of the Roman Empire. But that is not what the Messiah was to come to do. He was come to free his people from oppression, but from the oppression of sin. From the oppression that every single one of us experiences or has experienced, the oppressive rule of power and sin. That is what Jesus has freed us from. And that is what the Messiah is to come. He is our King, the Son of David. So the Christ is the Chosen One of God to deliver His people from sin's oppression. Now, as they answer that question correctly, the Son of David, this moves us then into our second point. Who is the Christ really? In verses 43 to 45 of Matthew 22, Jesus hears their answer, and then he asks them another question. How is it, then, that David in the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, and I will put your enemies under your feet. Now, what Jesus is quoting there is the psalm that we will sing shortly after this sermon, Psalm 110. It opens with that phrase, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet. You see, even at the time of Jesus, Psalm 110 was viewed in a messianic way. It was viewed as one which prophesied the coming Messiah that they were longing for, that they were hoping for. But what Jesus points out here, and we'll get to a little bit later in this point, is they were missing the actual implications of what David had written and what he said. Now, as Jesus points out here, why then does David, if the Lord is his son, if this Messiah is his son, this anointed one is his son, why does he call him Lord? That's the question that Jesus asks. fathers, kings especially, did not call their children, their sons, Lord. That's the point that Jesus is raising here. If David, who is exalted as the pinnacle of the Israelite kingdom, of his rule and reign, how is it then that he calls this Messiah Lord when this Messiah is supposed to be his son? David isn't speaking of himself in some way of envisioning that God here is saying to him, as he can, you know, some weird vision of establishing he and his throne forever. No, it's someone greater than David. Now, as David, one thing this points out is that David wasn't only just a king, but he is also a prophet. He is a king and a prophet. And this is shown to us in Acts chapter 2, verses 25 through 36, where David there is called a prophet, and Jesus here uses the language, how is it then that David in the Spirit calls him Lord, saying. So Psalm 110 has this prophetic nature to it of looking at into the future when the Messiah would be enthroned in power. That is what Psalm 110 points to. But as Jesus raises this question of, you know, if the Messiah is the son of David, why does David refer to him in a sense of a superior? He's pointing out some things that we need to keep in mind. First of all, in his use of Psalm 110, Jesus is showing the validity and the authority that the Psalms actually possess. They're not just songs that were written long ago. These are actually the words of God that we have. in poetry form, the Holy Spirit writing songs for us. But also, as Jesus quotes this psalm, he also shows us that the doctrine that we have of the Trinity, of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, is not simply some New Testament idea. but it's shown throughout the Old Testament as well. We have there in Psalm 110, the Lord, the first Lord, being God the Father, saying to my Lord, being God the Son, the Messiah, all through the mediation of the Holy Spirit. But we also have for us in these verses the point that was missed, that Jesus is is expounding to them. The idea of the Messiah being what we call the God-man. He is 100% God and 100% man. The Messiah was not to be 50% God and 50% man. It wasn't 30% man and 70% God. He is 100% God and 100% a human being. It wasn't that God the Son from all of eternity left the realms of glory and just appeared to be a man and suffered and died for us. And it wasn't that there was this man Jesus that was born and that at some point the Holy Spirit came and made Him the Son of God. Jesus is 100% God and 100% man. It means that the eternal Son of God left the realms of glory, left His home, His heavenly abode, and He entered into the womb of the Virgin Mary. And He took from her DNA an egg and He made an actual physical human being And He is 100% God, 100% man. He has an actual physical body. He has an actual human soul. And He is 100% God. That is the subtle teaching that we sing in Psalm 110, written by David. The fact that the Messiah, who is the Son of David, He could call Him, My Lord, means that He was a superior. He was greater than David. In that instance, it could only be God Himself. So we see that the Messiah was pre-existent. He is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity. And yet at the same time, He can be called the Son of David because He was actually physically born of His lineage. It's an amazing and wondrous truth that is so subtly taught every time we sing that opening verse of Psalm 110. That Jesus Christ, God the Son, has always been. He has always existed. Now it is true, up until He was actually born, He didn't have a human body and a human soul. He retains that now to this day. But He is preexistent as the Son of God, the eternal Second Person of the Trinity. So whose Son is the Christ really? Well, as Jesus is pointing out, yes, there's a sense where He is the Son of David, but ultimately, He is the Son of God. He is the Son of God. The eternal Son of God. Now as Jesus asks this question, how then does David call Him Lord? We're really kind of left hanging. There's no answer given. Explicitly. But the silence of the Pharisees and the silence of the crowd clearly shows us that, especially of the Pharisees, that they knew what the answer was. They knew what the answer was. that the Messiah was the eternal Son of God and not just an ordinary human being. And in this singular verse, as Jesus gives his counter-question to their answer in verse 46, and this moves us into our third point, that no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. We have a phrase that silence can be deafening. It's the idea that a quietness comes over you, or over a crowd, that you can hear a pin drop. I want you to imagine this scene here, as Jesus gives his refutation, or gives his second question, and nobody can answer. No one was able to answer him a single word. They had nothing to say. And in this, what Jesus is doing is He's declaring His divinity. He's showing them that, I am the Messiah, the Son of David, and I have always been. I am the eternal Son of God, who is deserving of your worship and praise. And in the latter part of this verse, it says, Nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions. It's one of my favorite phrases in the Scriptures. I mean, they've tried repeatedly throughout the Gospels. Then finally, there comes a point where they realize, He answers all of our questions and He makes us look like fools when He does it. We're not going to ask Him anything else. But in that phrase, in this second portion of this verse, What we see here, pictured for us, is that ultimate day to come, when all of the enemies of God will be completely and finally silenced forever. At this point in his ministry, they didn't dare ask him any more questions. There will come a time when the enemies of God will be completely and totally silenced. We refer to this silence of God's enemies as His vindication. It's the idea in our modern times that maybe we can connect it to and illustrate it by thinking about examples in the news where someone who was wrongly convicted or wrongly accused of something is then found not guilty. In a situation where it's genuine that that person really, they're completely innocent and they were wrongly accused. but they are declared not guilty. There is, in that instance, a vindication of that individual. They are cleared. On a much greater scale, on the last day when Christ returns, God will vindicate Himself. All of the slander, the blasphemies, the out-of-rejections of His existence, Everything that is said or spoken or done against our beloved God will be shown to be the vile and the wicked and despicable things that they are. God will be vindicated in His glory. He'll be vindicated in His righteousness, in His holiness, in His love, in His justice, in His mercy, in His grace, in His righteousness. Everything that He is, He'll be completely vindicated. And He will do this Himself. He will silence His enemies. Our Lord Jesus will stand glorified before all the earth as its judge. And what I want to leave us with, with the comfort that that is, knowing that God will be vindicated. Knowing that God will be vindicated before all the earth. As we read accounts and stories of His people, His church, being brutally assaulted and persecuted, we can take comfort in knowing that that does not go unnoticed from our God. And any assault upon His bride is an assault upon Him, and He will be cleared, He will be glorified and stand vindicated in the face of His enemies. As we close this morning, I want to leave us with words that our Lord Jesus said in the Gospel of John 17, verses 1-5. If you happen to be unfamiliar with John 17, it's a moment where Jesus, God the Son, prays to His Father. We're given a beautiful glimpse of a heavenly dialogue And this is how Jesus begins this prayer. We read, When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." And then listen to these words. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. That's our Jesus. He wasn't just a man who was a wise teacher or a prophet. He wasn't just an innocent man accused of horrendous crimes and crucified. He is the eternal God, Creator of heaven and earth, who was glorified in the presence of His Father before the world existed. That is our Jesus. And as He emptied Himself of that glory for a relatively short period of time in the face of all of eternity, 30 years, He has been restored to that place of glory. And as He hung upon that cross for our sins, as He died and was buried, He was raised again and ascended upon high. This is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The glorious Jesus Christ. And let us, brothers and sisters, pause from time to time and remember that this is our Jesus. This is our Savior. As the world may rally against Him, belittle Him, ridicule Him, we know that He is the King of Kings. the one whom David would call Lord, the Messiah, our Creator, our Redeemer, the Eternal Son of God. So let us rejoice in the glorified Jesus. Amen. Our Lord and our God, we do thank you for this wonderful truth in Your Word this morning. That You, Lord, despite all that You suffered and the shame that You endured, You are glorified. And that You are not just someone who just came up and then all of a sudden was deemed to be the Son of God. But no, You are the eternal Son of God. You are the One through Whom everything, the universe, was created. You were glorified in the presence of God before the world existed. And Lord, may we pause and remember that as we see persecution against your church throughout the world, as we may face it at a rising level here in this country, may we remember at all times that our Savior is glorified. He is our Creator and our Redeemer. And as we'll sing about in Psalm 110, He is the one through whom He is bringing all of His enemies under His feet and riding victoriously over all who cry out, there is no God. Lord, may you bless us now and help us to remember this wonderful truth, and each day to pause and rejoice in our glorious, risen Savior, Jesus Christ. In whose name we pray, amen.