The Essential Jesus (Part 4): Psalms About a SaviorExemplo

Who's Talking?

PRAY: Lord, I ask that you would transform my discipline of reading the Bible into a time of meeting and hearing you.

READ: Psalm 110:1-7

REFLECT: I've always found Psalm 110 to be confusing. Who's doing the talking? It seems like there are two "Lords" (v. 1). What's the main point? It looks like a jumble of biblical allusions. Yet, the New Testament refers to this psalm more than any other. What's so important about these seven verses?

The first thing to notice is the psalm is built around two direct statements from God (vv. 1, 4); what follows each is David's commentary on what God has said. Next, it helps to consider what this psalm meant to its original hearers. Over the years, it would have been recited to honor the royal descendants of King David on various special occasions. From that perspective, the first section (vv. 1-3) affirms the king's power. God ("the LORD") is inviting the king ("my Lord") to sit next to him. The second section (vv. 4-7) affirms the king's unique spiritual leadership. Melchizedek (v. 4) was both king of Jerusalem and the "priest of God Most High" who blessed Abraham (Genesis 14:18-20).

The most significant thing about this psalm is how it points to the coming Messiah. Jesus affirmed this when he quoted these verses to challenge the religious leaders who doubted he was the Son of God (Matthew 22:41-45). They thought the Messiah would be merely a human descendant of David, but Jesus demonstrated, by referring to Psalm 110, that the Messiah would also be the divine Son of God. He then applied all of that symbolism to himself. In other words, Jesus was saying he was the Messiah, the human-divine Savior of the world. The apostle Peter emphasized this point in his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:29-36), as did the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 5:6;7:1-28).

Once we sort through the complexity of this short psalm, we are left with a simple fact: Jesus is the Son of God. And that's the essential message of the entire Bible.

APPLY: What are the most convincing proofs that Jesus was who he said he was, the Son of God and Savior of the world for you?

PRAY: Lord Jesus, there are many things about you I don't fully understand, but I know enough to believe that you love me, and I thank you for that.