But he said to them,
“How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the
Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make
your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his
son?” And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of
the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the
marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at
feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They
will receive the greater condemnation” (Luke 20:41-47).
Jesus confronted the scribes with a penetrating question… “How
can they say that the Christ is David’s son?” This query echoed a
question He asked His disciples at another time… “’Who do you say that I
am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’” (Matthew
16:15-16). Peter’s reply was met with Jesus’ promise to build His church on
the confession of true disciples that would publicly acknowledge Him as the
Christ… “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). In this encounter with the
scribes and in His warning to His disciples, Jesus added depth to our
understanding of the confession that exposes Our heart.
True disciples confess that Christ is God. As David’s Lord, Jesus was
acknowledged as Israel’s savior. The Spirit inspired Isaiah to declare that Israel’s
only savior would be God Himself… “I am the LORD, and besides me there is
no savior” (Isaiah 43:11). The Spirit used the same prophet to declare
God’s affirmation of Christ as divine… “The Lord himself will give you a
sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The Spirit moved Matthew to reaffirm the
divinity of Christ and to encourage us with the truth that in Christ, God put
on our skin and walked in our shoes… “Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel which means, God with us”
(Matthew 1:23). Maturing disciples confess in word and deed that in
Christ, God is with us.
True disciples confess that Christ is man. As David’s son or descendant,
Jesus met the requirements for being the Messiah… “Behold, the days are
coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and
righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will
dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is
our righteousness’” (Jeremiah 23:5-6). In Christ, all of God became all
of man. There is no greater example of humility… “Though he was in the
form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied
himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians
2:6-7). Diligent disciples imitate the humble, servant spirit of Christ
the man.
True disciples confess that Christ is in their heart. The Spirit
inspired Paul to teach that Christ lives in the heart of born again children of
God… “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our
hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). It is faith that
invites Christ into the heart… “That Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith” (Ephesians 3:17). There is outward evidence of this
inward faith. Jesus publicly exposed and rebuked the unbelieving hearts of the
scribes and added a warning for us. Jesus will publicly expose the true state
of our faith before His Father in heaven… “Everyone who acknowledges me
before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but
whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in
heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33). He taught that the true condition of
our faith is also revealed daily in our speech and behavior… “The good
person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person
out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart
his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). What do our attitude and action declare
to the onlooking world around us about our faith in the Son of David and God?
As we grow up into Christ, our maturing faith in the son of David and
the Son of God is revealed by…
The Confession that Exposes Our Heart.
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