Matthew 22,34-46. 18. Trinity

Matthew 22,34-46           5121 

18. Trinitatis 063

Jairus, Matthew 9,18. German Unification Day

3. Oktober 2021

1. O Lord God, Heavenly Father: We are poor, miserable sinners; we know Your will, but cannot fulfill it because of the weakness of our flesh and blood, and because our enemy, the Devil, will not leave us in peace. Therefore we beseech You, send Your Holy Spirit in our hearts, so that, in steadfast faith, we may cling to Your Son Jesus Christ, find comfort in His passion and death, believe the forgiveness of sin through Him and in willing obedience to Your will lead holy lives on earth, until by Your grace, through a blessed death, we depart from this world of sorrow, and obtain eternal life.  Amen. (Veit Dietrich) 

2. »Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: „What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?“ They said to Him: „The 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 David calls Him Lord, then how is He his son?“« 

3. What do you make of the Christ? The scribes and Pharisees debated this question in Jesus’ day. Two thousand years later in the 21. century, people continue to discuss this very question: Who is the Christ, and what is He all about? The very reign of God orbits this very question.   

4. Whose son is the Christ? The Pharisees answered: the Christ is the son of David; that is, the Christ is a man. The Pharisees are correct, but their simple answer does not address that the Scriptures say more than that the Christ is the son of David. So Jesus, quotes Psalm 110,1 and asks them: why then does David call his son, who is the Christ, Lord? Why does David address his son as God? The Pharisees could not answer that second question. 

5. The answer to the question is in the Scriptures. The Christ is both the son of David and the Son of God; He is both man and God. Davidic sonship is important, but Divine Sonship is more important (Gibbs 1159). Jesus’ use of Psalm 110,1 indeed points out that the Christ is the son of David, but that this answer is not sufficient (Gibbs 1164). And in interpreting Psalm 110,1 as a Messianic psalm, Jesus is teaching that the Christ contradicts the expectations of many, particularly the Pharisees, in His day (Gibbs 1165). Jesus also teaches that the Christ embodies in surprising ways the roles and actions of God Himself (Gibbs 1165). 

6. Throughout His ministry, Jesus makes authoritative claims that many in His day would not about the Christ. Jesus takes the title Son of Man, a title that did not have many messianic connotations, and uses it as His chief title and as a messianic title. Jesus interprets Scripture with His own authority. The Christ has authority to forgive sins; the Christ has authority to heal on the Sabbath. The Christ interprets Exodus 3,6 to mean that God will raise the dead. And the Christ interprets Psalm 110,1 to be about Himself. In all this Jesus unfolds and interprets the plan of His Father in regards to His Son, the Christ. 

7. All of Scripture is summarized by this commandment: love God, and love your neighbor. God, in His love for us, His neighbor, sent the world His Christ. The great commandment is fulfilled in and by Jesus the Christ. This Christ is both the son of David and the Son of God. With the Old Testament we confess: hear O Israel, Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is one (Deuteronomy 6,4). With the New Testament we confess: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3,16). Jesus is the Christ and he fills Deuteronomy and John for us. 

8. „In citing Psalm 110:1, Jesus is claiming that God’s plan and God’s Son cannot be opposed forever with impunity. The rejection of the Son will itself be rejected, and God’s Son will be glorious and exalted in a way that is barely able to be imagined—for a man. The voice of the Father in Psalm 110:1 speaks to the Messiah, inviting him to the place of highest conceivable honor and repose and vindication, while his enemies are subjected and disgraced under his feet. Yes the builders will reject the stone (M 21:42), casting out the vineyard Owner’s Son and killing him (21:38). The Sun/Stone/Christ will be exalted, however, raised from the dead (see 16:21; 17:9, 23; 20:19) to assume the place of honor at God’s right hand that only he deserves to occupy by virtue of his obedient Sonship in the Father’s name, loving even his enemies with his sacrifice and self-offering. Jesus claims all of this and more when he challenges his opponents to comprehend how Psalm 110:1 reveals the truest identity and Sonship of the Christ“ (Gibbs 1166). 

9. In Jesus we see the manifestation of „God is love“ and „God is a loving God“. This love is grounded in real, harsh reality. Jesus really suffered; He was crucified in a rough cross; He truly died and was buried. Jesus endured these tribulations for the sake of the world and for you. We know that Jesus is love because He suffered in our place and He bore the punishment of our sins. Jesus took your spot so that God’s wrath would not strike you down. This, dear congregation, is God’s unconditional love. Jesus is risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of His Father. He is David’s son and God’s Son; He is our Messiah, our Christ and our Redeemer. He has paid for our sin and opened the gates of eternal life for us. This is most certainly true. 

10. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4,7).  Amen. 

11. Let us pray. O Lord, our Brother and our Friend; make known to us testament each time we receive Your body and blood in the bread and wine of the Sacrament of Your Lord’s Supper.  Amen. 

To God alone be the Glory 

Gode ealdore sy se cyneþrymm

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All Scriptural quotations are translations done by The Rev. Peter A. Bauernfeind using the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, 4. Edition © 1990 by the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart, and the Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestle-Aland 28. Revised Edition © 2012 by Deutsch Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart. 

ELKB. Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. www.bayern-evangelisch.de/www/index.php. Copyright © 2019 Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Bayern. 

VELKD. Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. www.velkd.de. Copyright © 2020 Vereinigte Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche Deutschlands. 

   Gibbs, Jeffrey A. Matthew 21:1 – 28:20. Copyright 2018 Concordia Publishing House.