Do you like puzzles? I do. I think it's fun to solve puzzles. But there are different kinds of puzzles, aren't there? There are jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, all kinds of puzzles. But did you know that the Bible has puzzles in it, too? Yes, it does. Some of these puzzles are easily solved. Some take a while to solve. And some we may not be able to solve now. But what kind of puzzles does the Bible have? The Bible has puzzles with words. And I thought that today we would work on solving one of those Bible puzzles. Would you like that? All right. Now, the Bible puzzle we're going to look at is a puzzle that the Lord Jesus Christ himself gave when he was here on earth. So let's look at it now and see if we can solve it. But first, we'll look at why Jesus gave this puzzle. Okay then. So why did Jesus give this puzzle? Well, just a day or so before Jesus died on the cross for our sins, Jesus was at the Lord's Temple in the city of Jerusalem. He was teaching the people about God. Now, there were two big groups of leaders of the Jews then. They were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. And many of these leaders didn't believe in Jesus. And that day the Sadducees had come to Jesus there at the temple, and they were asking him questions, trying to trick him. But of course they couldn't trick Jesus, could they? Of course not! And Jesus answered their questions so well, that finally the Sadducees didn't dare ask him any more questions. Well, when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had stopped the Sadducees, But the Pharisees decided that they would try to trick Jesus. I don't think that was very smart of them, do you? Anyway, so then the Pharisees went to Jesus and began asking him questions. After answering one of their questions, then Jesus asked the Pharisees a couple of questions. And these questions are the puzzle we're going to talk about today. So, what were the questions? Well, first Jesus asked the Pharisees, What do you think about the Christ, and whose son is Christ? Now, remember, Christ means Messiah, which means the Anointed One. The Jews were waiting for their Messiah, the one who would come and rescue them and be their king. But the Pharisees answered Jesus' question by saying, The Christ is the Son of David. And that's true. The Bible tells us that. We'll talk more about this in a minute. Then Jesus asked the Pharisees another question. He said, How is it, then, that King David, in one of his Psalms, when speaking by the Holy Spirit, calls the Christ Lord? Then Jesus quoted part of Psalm 110 to them. This was a psalm they all knew. A psalm that King David had written about a thousand years before. A psalm that everyone knew was talking about the Messiah, the Christ. And we have that psalm in our Bible. Now listen carefully, because at first it may sound sort of confusing. But when we get finished, it won't be confusing anymore. Remember, this is a puzzle. So then Jesus quoted a verse from that psalm. Jesus said, David said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. Now, you notice that the word Lord is used two times here in this verse, isn't it? The Lord said to my Lord. But in the Hebrew language that the psalm was first written in, these are two different words that were used for Lord. The first one, the Lord said, is from the Hebrew name of God, which in English is Jehovah. So that first time that the word Lord is used could only mean God, couldn't it? But the second time the word Lord is used, said to my Lord, simply means someone who is in charge. Whether it be God, or a king, or a boss, just someone in charge. And notice it says, to my lord. Who is this my? Well, King David is talking. So it's talking about King David's lord, David's boss, isn't it? So we might read this verse of David saying, God said to my boss. In other words, King David is writing that God spoke to King David's boss, isn't he? Now, remember, the Pharisees had just gotten through saying that the Messiah was David's son, hadn't they? And this psalm is also talking about the Messiah, isn't it? So then Jesus asked the Pharisees, If David called him Lord, boss, his boss, how can he be his son? In other words, how can David's boss also be David's son? Now that's a good question, isn't it? It's sort of a puzzle. After all, a king wouldn't call his own son his boss, would he? No, the king would be the boss. And a son isn't the boss of his father either, is he? Well, the Pharisees didn't say anything. They didn't answer Jesus at all. In fact, after that the Pharisees, like the Sadducees, didn't even dare ask Jesus any more questions. But that's the puzzle we're going to be looking at today. And again, what is the puzzle? Yes, it is. Why would King David call his own son his Lord, that is, his boss? So now let's see if we can figure out the answer to this puzzle. That should be fun, shouldn't it? Okay. We know that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, don't we? Why, Jesus was often called Jesus Christ, wasn't he? Christ isn't his last name. It's his title. Simply telling that Jesus is the Messiah. Yes. Jesus, the Son of God, is the Christ. And he came to earth as a human to save us from our sins. Jesus is all the way God and also all the way man, isn't he? Both God and man at the same time. Yes, Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah. And Psalm 110 was talking about the Christ. So of course, that verse in Psalm 110 has to be talking about Jesus, doesn't it? So let's go on. Well, the Bible tells us that the Messiah, the Christ, would be the son of David. That is, descended from King David. Hmm. Let's think about that. When Jesus left his throne in heaven and came to earth as a human to save us from our sins, was Jesus descended from King David? Yes, he was. But how? Well, remember the Bible carefully tells us that both Jesus' mother Mary and his stepfather Joseph were descended from King David. So that makes Jesus, when he came to earth, also descended from King David, doesn't it? In other words, Jesus is the great, great, great, great, great, great grandson of David. Remember in the Bible, son can also mean grandson or great grandson, or just a descendant, no matter how many greats there are. In fact, remember the two blind men who called out to Jesus, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on us. And remember when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem, and the people waved palm branches and shouted, Hosanna to the Son of David. Now, when Jesus was a man here on earth, he got hungry and tired just as any other man would. Jesus was really a man. Now, when Jesus was a man here on earth, he got hungry and tired, just as any other man would. Jesus was really a man, though he was still God at the same time. And he was a man who was descended from King David through his mother Mary, wasn't he? So he was truly the son, that is, the great-great-great-great-great grandson of David. But as I just said, Jesus is not only a man and descended from King David, but Jesus is also God, isn't he? Why, Jesus, God the Son, created the whole world thousands of years before David was even born, didn't he? So Jesus is both God and a man. Jesus was always God and will always be God, though now he is also a man. Yes, Jesus is all the way God and also all the way man, right? But back to our puzzle, and what was our puzzle? Yes, how can David's son also be his Lord, his boss? Well, David's son, his great-great-great-great-grandson was Jesus, and Jesus is also God, isn't he? Now, If your son is also God, then your son would certainly be your boss, wouldn't he? After all, God is like a boss to everyone, isn't he? Therefore, Jesus would be David's Lord, his boss, as well as his great-great-great-great grandson, wouldn't he? So, even though the Pharisees didn't solve this puzzle, we have just solved it, haven't we? Jesus is David's son through his mother Mary. And Jesus is also David's Lord, his boss, since Jesus is God. So we could read that verse in Psalm 110 as saying, God the Father said to God the Son, who is David's boss. We could say it that way, couldn't we? Yes, so we just did what the Pharisees didn't do. We solved the puzzle. Yes, you and I have come up with the answer to this Bible puzzle, haven't we? And it really wasn't too hard to do, or too confusing once we begin thinking carefully about it, was it? Again, God the Father said to God the Son, who is David's boss. That's the answer. What fun! But we aren't going to look at any more of them now. There are other puzzles in the Bible, too. Many of these puzzles can be answered simply by studying the Bible and thinking about it. But sometimes we can't answer some of them. Maybe later you will find the answers, or maybe you won't. But don't worry about that. There are lots of things in the Bible that are not puzzles, things that are very clear and that we can understand easily. Think about those things. But what is the most important question in the Bible that we should think about? Yes, the very most important question in the Bible is how can we have our sins forgiven and someday be with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, forever? And that question is not a puzzle because the Bible is very clear on the answer to that. So what is the answer to that question? How can we be saved from our sins, have our sins forgiven? Well, when a man asked the Apostle Paul that question, Paul simply answered, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, didn't he? And he was buried, but he was alive again three days later. And if we trust in the Lord Jesus, we will be saved, and we'll be able to go to heaven someday and be with Jesus. Puzzle solved. And then after we've trusted in Jesus, of course we should follow and obey Jesus, shouldn't we? After all, then he is our boss, our Lord, isn't he? And he's a good boss, too. I hope you enjoyed solving this Bible puzzle as much as I did. And what was the puzzle in his answer? It was how Jesus, the Christ, who is both God and a man, could be both David's Lord, David's boss, and David's son. Maybe some other time we can solve another puzzle together. Would you like that?