If you'll find your Bibles and turn to Luke 20, verse 41. I'll give you just a moment to find that, and then we'll stand together to read God's Word. So Luke 20, verse 41. As you find that, if you'll stand with me as you're able for the reading of God's Word. I hear God's word as it's read to you. But Jesus said to them, how could 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? This is God's word for us this morning. You may be seated. Our God, would you show us Jesus today? We would see him and have faith in him. And so would you show us Jesus, we pray, in his name, amen. Well, what is the greatest human empire in human history? I'll give you a second to think about some options. What's the greatest empire that's ever existed? Your mind might go to Greece under Alexander the Great or the Great Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. But in terms of sheer numbers and landmass, we have to think of the British Empire, don't we? In 1913, Near the height of the empire, 412 million people lived under the control of this empire. That was 23% of the world's population at the time. The sun never set on the British Empire. At the peak in 1920, it covered an astonishing 13.71 million square miles. That's close to a quarter of the world's landmass. That's astonishing, isn't it? One-fourth of the world's population, one-fourth of the land mass ruled by one tiny island across the sea. And yet even this greatness, I mean, we instinctively know that this greatness, sure, like sheer size and numbers and power, but not great in every way. It was not even absolute in its authority, but it was also not always good or righteous. For the lands that it conquered, there might have been a semblance of absolute power, but it was not always just, not always righteous. It was, like any empire, it was tainted with sin and weakness and limitation. But what if there was a kingdom? What if there was a kingdom that actually did have absolute power, that laughed at the idea of one-fourth? That's the best we can muster on a human level, and we've never reached that again, arguably. What if there was a kingdom that was absolute in its authority, but also absolutely good? Absolute in sheer power and also absolute in sheer righteousness. What if there was a king who ruled that kingdom? and welcomed us in. Today we've come to see Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of David, and the Lord of all. Would you join me this morning as we see Christ as great David's greater son? We're gonna look at two aspects of his identity, and the call very simply will be to serve this Jesus, to serve this King and no other. And so let's look first at number one, the Son of David. Jesus Christ, the Son of David. You'll remember the context here. Over the last few weeks we've been looking at these passages where the leaders at the time are coming up to Jesus and trying to trap Him in His words. And each time He foils their plan. It wasn't a good plan, as we've said. Jesus, a very wise teacher, a wise rabbi, He thwarts them at every turn. He silences His opponents. And so now, as it were, Jesus begins to offer a rebuttal of his own. He asks his own question to them. And at the heart of the question, as we've said, Holy Week has begun. From here on out in the Gospel of Luke, we're heading toward the cross and into the resurrection and the ascension. Luke spends a lot of time here. And so for Jesus, the urgency is high. He has silenced his opponents. Now he's asking them a question. That question comes before you this morning, and the heart of it is, who do you say that I am? Who is Jesus to them, and who is he to you? And so he says in verse 41, here's his question to them. How could they say that the Christ is David's son? How could they say that Christ is David's son? Now remember that Christ just means Messiah or anointed one. The leaders of the time rightly had an expectation from reading their Old Testament that there would be one who would come, a chosen one, an anointed one. In the Old Testament, priests were anointed, kings were anointed, prophets were anointed. This is a prophet, priest, and king who would come for his people. And so he's appealing to something that they would agree with, that that Christ was supposed to be David's son. And Jesus is speaking to the leaders, to the crowds, and so he says, how do they say, the teachers, that the Messiah is to be the son of David? In other words, what What scriptures would they appeal to to say, we have an expectation that the coming one is a son of David? Well, they might look to 2 Samuel chapter 7, for instance, where God makes a covenant with David. This is a key passage. Let me just jump right in the middle of it around verse 8 or so. Moreover, the Lord declares to you, that is to David, that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. And I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son." It's interesting that son of God language is in the Old Testament and it is fulfilled in Christ. Or you'll know Isaiah chapter 9, for unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders. The son of David who would come. Jeremiah 30, Jeremiah 33, Jeremiah 23, Ezekiel 37, 24, my servant David shall be king over them, and they shall have one shepherd. Clearly then, their expectation isn't wrong. Jesus isn't saying, how is the Christ to be David's son? He's not saying, let me prove to you that he's not. He's starting with a premise that they would agree with. Hey, we all agree, right, that it's to be David's son, but his question continues. The question continues, how then, if you look in verse 44, David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son? In verse 42 and 43, he is quoting Psalm 110, which we'll look at in just a moment. But here, just catch what Jesus is doing. Okay, you say that the Messiah is a son of David, but here's a Psalm where David, the greatest king in all of Israel, calls him Lord. So is he David's son or is he David's Lord? Which one is it? He's putting both of these truths in front of them. and asking them to draw a conclusion. Who is this Messiah and therefore who is this Jesus who's speaking to them? And yet the New Testament authors are in agreement. Luke himself It makes clear in Luke chapter 1, as the angel speaks to Mary, he says, He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. That's that 2 Samuel language. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there will be no end. And again, we remember at Advent every year, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. The rulers were right about one thing, the Messiah to come was to be a son of David. Their answer was not incorrect, but it was incomplete. Jesus was indeed a son of David, but he was not merely a descendant of David. but so much more. And so we get to point number two. Jesus was the Son of David, indeed, the Son of David, but number two, He's Lord of all. Lord of all. How does Jesus make this point? He quotes from Psalm 110. If you would turn there, let me read for you Psalm 110. This psalm is the most quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament. Many authors in the New Testament turn to especially the first few verses, but you'll notice a few verses as we read through. There's something like 33 references that we could find in the New Testament. They loved this passage because it told something fundamental about who Jesus was. But let me read for you this psalm. A Psalm of David. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies. Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power. In holy garments from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. The Lord is sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The Lord is at your right hand. He will shatter kings on the day of His wrath. He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses. He will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. He will drink from the brook by the way. Therefore, He will lift up His head. You sense the sheer authority and power in this psalm. This is a kingship psalm where God Himself is vindicating that this Lord will come and have absolute power as it were. But how is Jesus using this here? You notice what Jesus is doing here. He quotes and says, "...the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand." It's interesting, Jesus seems to be quoting what we would call the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint. And certainly Luke seems to be doing the same. And just like in your English Bibles, if you look back in Luke chapter 20, there's actually a pun here. Puns are biblical, so on Father's Day, that's a good reminder. It's just indisputable. But here, the Lord said to my Lord. It's the same word in English, it's the same word in Greek, but it's not the same word in Hebrew. In Hebrew, there's three players here. There's the Lord, and if you noticed in your Old Testament, that's in all capitals probably in your Bible. This means that this is God's proper name, Yahweh, the God of Abraham and Jacob, the God who calls himself I Am. And so that's the Lord. And then there's David who's writing the psalm. And then there's David's Lord. So you notice three players, the God of Abraham, Yahweh. David himself, and then someone that David is calling his Lord. And so you see what Jesus is doing. Okay, the Lord, Yahweh, said to my David, my Lord, sit at my right hand. And with these three players, what's the logic that Jesus is using them? Verse 44, David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son? Jesus is doing what good rabbis of his day would do, and maybe you've had a good teacher who does this too. You state one truth, and then you state another truth, and on the face of it, they seem contradictory or there's a paradox, and yet that brings out a much deeper reality. Okay, the Messiah is to be a son of David. We agree with you, Jesus. Psalm 110, David says that he has a Lord that God is establishing. Okay, I agree with you, Jesus, but then how is this Lord to be David's son? Fathers don't tend to bow down to sons, and yet David says, that's my Lord, that's my King. I will bow down to that King and that Lord. Is the Christ David's son or David's Lord? And the answer, of course, is yes. The answer, of course, is yes, and yet Jesus doesn't explicitly say this answer. Again, like a good teacher, and indeed as he's preaching the word to the people, he doesn't give the answer. He's putting these both before them, saying, look at your scriptures, son of David, Lord of all. And he's saying, who is this Messiah to you? Or more poignantly, who am I to you? Who do you say that I am? And friend, I need to ask you this morning, who do you say that this Jesus is? Perhaps for you, you're even willing to admit, okay, I get it, Jesus lived, he was a human being. I'll even grant you that he was a son of David, that he was of the line of David, somewhere down the line, sure. Stranger things have happened. But if that's all, if that's the end of the story, then friend, I have to tell you that you have no hope, not yet. Because there's no king, no human political leader, no power in all of creation that can save you, that can do away with the sin and guilt that gnaws at your heart and weighs you down, that can protect you even in the face of death and suffering, that could be near you in every trial. Only this Jesus, the Son of David and the Lord of all, who is absolute in His power but also absolutely good, only this Jesus can save you. Only this Jesus can offer you actual hope, not wishful thinking. Maybe this one, maybe this leader, it's gonna be different. No, only this King can give you life and true hope, and only if you repent and believe in Him. Remember, His authority is absolute. There's no square inch in creation that's not His. And so the only answer is to repent and to believe, like David, to say, that's my Lord. I bow down to Him. I turn to Him for forgiveness and for my marching orders. Friend, do not reject the one to whom even great David bowed. Instead, find life at his feet and under his good and perfect rule. Because he's great David's greater son, son of David and Lord of all. You know, there's a legend in British folklore that King Arthur, right? You're probably somewhat familiar with the Arthurian legend. There's a legend that King Arthur one day, In Britain's greatest hour of need, when the time is right, King Arthur will come again and will set all things right, will drive out all false political leaders, and will set up a righteous and just kingdom. Now we know this is merely legend, but it points to the image of God, the longing that God has placed in each of our hearts for the one who would come. Ever since David, who himself was the greatest king of Israel, not perfect, full of sin, and yet full of repentance, and yet even David pales in comparison. Ever since David in the Old Testament, every time a king rose up, the people would think, is this the king? Are things gonna be set right? But they wouldn't even get as good as they were with David, let alone better. And so each ruler, each ruler, turning away from God, is this the one, is this the one? And that's continued into our day. Is this leader gonna bring us out of the mire? Will this election next year change things, really? Will this next ruler exercise their authority in a way that shows justice and mercy? But we know instinctively that only Jesus, son of David and Lord of all, the king who comes in a manger, the king who was lifted high but lifted high on a cross, the king who then was truly lifted high and sits at his father's side, the king who drives out demons and yet dines with sinners, the king who heals the sick and yet humbly washes feet, the king who silences false teachers and yet serves the downcast, the king who commands wind and waves and all of creation and yet comforts the afflicted. The same king, the same messiah who said, all authority in heaven and on earth is mine. He has absolute authority, absolute role, but he says in the same breath, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. Or the same king who will come back and conquer his enemies and gather his people and yet today gathers you at the king's table. in a humble table of bread and wine and tells you that you have a place at the king's table always if you belong to him. That's the king we serve. Would you serve this Jesus and no one else? Let's pray. God, we thank you for your word. We have come to see Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. And so may our hearts be fully his today. And we pray this in Jesus' name, amen.