A Shot to the Temple

In boxing and ultimate fighting, there is nothing as devastating as a shot to the temple.  A well-placed punch to the side of the forehead usually crumples your opponent into unconscious heap.  

Knock out.  Lights out.  

Here, Stephen concludes his testimony before the ruling Jewish council with a shot to the temple (Acts 7:44-53).  He reminds the Sanhedrin of their misplaced worship of the man-made temple.  

It was a knockout punch.

Stephen wraps up his Spirit-filled, sermon-on-the-fly before the Sanhedrin.  He's walked through the OT describing how Almighty God worked in and through an unending parade of misfits, murderers and malcontents to bring about salvation through Messiah Jesus (Acts 7:2-43).

They have originally charged Steve with slandering and blaspheming God, Moses, and the holy temple (Acts 6:11-14).  The high priest demanded that he answer these charges (i.e. "How do you plead?").  

Finally, in these verses, the church's soon-to-be first martyr answers his accusers.

Stephen once again reminds the council of the history of the temple.  He recalls, "Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness" (v44).  

Before the temple was the tabernacle.  Instead of a brick and mortar building, God camped in a tent among His people.  This was just the way He wanted it (Ex 25:8-9, 40).  

He commanded Moses EXACTLY how to put together this one of a kind, portable sanctuary-on-the-go.  God's Tent contained the Ark of the Covenant, the great reminder of God's everlasting promise to His people.

Moses built the tabernacle because God told Him to.  This is God at work.

Steve goes on to remind the Sanhedrin of the critical role the tabernacle played as God's people came rolling into the Promised Land.  

Joshua was God's handpicked successor to Moses.  He led the charge into this land of milk and honey.  

Notice the specific phrasing of the sentence.  "They dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers" (v45).  

The children of Israel played an active role, but it is God who drove out those living in the land (Josh 18:1; 23:9).

Just as God instructed Moses to build His tent, He also was the One who drove out the enemies of His people as they conquered the land.

Next, Steve recalls "the days of David" (v45-46).  He reminds his hostile audience that the great king was nothing until God showered him with grace.  

The phrase "found favor in the sight of God" can just as easily be translated as David "found grace in the sight of God."  That’s because the Greek word translated here is χαρις/charis, which can mean grace, kindness, mercy, goodwill, favor.  

God used King David only because He blessed him.  David did nothing on his own.  This no doubt includes the gracious promise the Lord made to David that one day his Descendant would sit on the throne of Israel forever (2Sam 7).  

That's what scholars call the Davidic Covenant.  Jesus is that direct Descendant and the fulfillment of that promise.

So let's recap.  God was the One who commanded Moses to build the tabernacle.  God was the One who drove out Israel's enemies in the Promised Land.  God was the One who placed David under His waterfall of blessing.  See a trend?

King David badly wanted to build Yahweh a permanent temple.  Instead, God chose his son Solomon for the project (v47).  The Scripture goes into great detail about this massive undertaking (1Ki 6; 8:17-21; 1Chr 22:7-10).

There's just one problem about temple building.  "The Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands" (v48).  

Solomon understood this irony of constructing a man-made temple for an uncontainable God.  

"Who is able to build Him a house, since heaven, even cannot contain Him?  Who am I to build a house for Him, except as a place to make offerings before Him?" (2Chr 2:6).

Stephen understood what Solomon did.  The temple might be great, but God is greater!  

He quotes Isaiah 66:1-2, where God Himself mocks the idea of trying to limit His presence to brick and mortar.  This is the same thing that Jesus shared with the Samaritan woman.  

Christ Himself announces that the time "is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth," not in any kind of a building (Jn 4:21-24).

Stephen finishes his sermon by swinging haymakers.  He accuses his accusers of being "stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit" (v51).  POW!!  

He says they have rejected God just like their fathers before them.  Israel was following in their fathers' sinful footsteps.  BANG!!

Stephen said that their fathers made sure they persecuted every prophet that God sent (v52).  They killed every last one of God's messengers who had announced "the coming of the Righteous One."  They batted 1.000.  CRUNCH!!

Steve has them on the ropes and goes for the knockout.  He finishes this wicked (and TRUTHFUL!) combination by accusing them of murdering Messiah.  KAPOW!!!!!!!

A shot to the temple.  From a standpoint of salvation, the Sanhedrin was out cold.  Stone cold.  All thanks to Stephen's Spirit-filled shot to the temple.

©2011

Jay Jennings 

A Dangerous Message

In Acts, Peter has just explained that the Holy Spirit is behind this fantastic display of foreign languages (Acts 2:14-21).  He goes on to tell the people just how active God was in the life and ministry of Jesus (Acts 2:22-24).  He even goes so far as to accuse his listeners of crucifying Him!

At this point, Pete makes the point that Jesus is the fulfillment of the long awaited Messiah.  And he does so by looking at the life of King David.  

First, he quotes Psalm 16:8-11.  He reassures us that David himself composed this psalm.  The king wrote, “For You will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let Your Holy One see corruption” (Ps 16:10; Acts 2:27).

Preacher Peter exposits and explains what David has written.  King David is dead (v29).  And he had been dead for almost 1,000 years.  As a matter of fact, they could still visit his tomb that very day.  

So there’s a problem here.  What David wrote in Psalm 16 could not be about David.  He was a great king, but let’s face facts, he died.

Pete reassures us that David was not only a king but a prophet as well (v30).  This explains the strong prophetic nature of the songs and poems he composed, especially those concerning the coming Messiah.  

Peter will quote three of them in this small stretch of his sermon (Ps 16; 132; 110). 

He goes on to remind his listeners of the phenomenal promise God made to King David, “Knowing that God had sworn an oath to him that he would set One of his descendants on his throne” (v30).  

Theologians call this the Davidic Covenant.  God promised David that someone in his direct lineage would be the King forever.  It’s found in 2 Samuel 7:11-16.  

There God tells David that he would indeed die and “lie down with your fathers” (2Sam 7:12).  Almighty God promises to “raise up your Offspring after you...and I will establish His kingdom forever” (2Sam 7:12-13).  

There is a very curious  reference in the midst of this amazing covenant.  “I will be to Him a Father, and He shall be to Me a Son” (2Sam 7:14).  Clearly a hint at incredible Father/Son relationship between the heavenly Father and Jesus Messiah.  

The result is God’s oath to David that “your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me.  Your throne shall be established forever” (2Sam 7:16).

This is what I’ve heard Pete Brisco of Bent Tree talk about.  The Old Testament is the New Testament contained.  The New Testament is the Old Testament explained.  

In other words, the OT contains the message of God’s incredible grace and the coming of Jesus.  It just isn’t fully laid out.  The NT explains the main message of the OT (Jesus!) as well as many of the tricky and ticklish passages.  

Contained.  Explained.  I think that is a GREAT way of thinking about the Bible.  That is what is going on as Peter preaches.  Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Pete explains and interprets the life of David.

Peter goes on to make the amazing claim that David actually “foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was not abandoned to Hades, no did His flesh see corruption” (v31).  

This goes so much farther than a promise from God.  Simon states that the king actually had some sort of vision of this long awaited Son of David rising from the grave.  This, says Pete, is the entire basis for what the king wrote in Psalm 16 and the only explanation.

Rocky brings it home at this point.  David saw and wrote about the Messiah.  This Messiah is indeed the very same Jesus whom “God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses” (v32).  

But God didn’t stop there, He exalted His Son and gave Him the ultimate honor of being seated “at the right hand of God” (v33).  This is Jesus’ place of divine privilege all through Scripture (Lk 22:69; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1 are just three examples).  

The first thing He did once He sat at His Dad’s right hand was to receive the Holy Spirit and pour it out on His followers.  Luke has penned several wonderful passages involving the Trinity.  This is yet one more.  

Once again, Peter explains to his audience that this incredible explosion of languages is the result of the work of God’s Spirit.

Reminding his listeners that it wasn’t David who had ascended but Jesus, he then cites Psalm 110:1 (v34-35).  This is the very same psalm Jesus quoted to confound the Pharisees (Lk 20:41-44).  

Peter simply says that King David could not have written about himself since he did not rise from the grave and head to heaven on a cloud.  He had to be talking about Jesus Messiah.  

Then Peter lands the plane.  Here’s the Big Point.  He wants every Jew to understand what he is about to say.  

Here’s The Fact that changes EVERYTHING!  “God has made Him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified” (v36).

God’s ultimate active work is in anointing Jesus to His divine role.  He is first Lord.  This simply means that Jesus is God.  He is fully divine and sovereignly in control.  

He is also Christ.  This is the Greek word (Christos) which means “anointed one” and is equivalent to  the Hebrew Messiah.  Peter connects these two very important ideas.  

Jesus is God.  Jesus is Messiah.  He is BOTH.

But he doesn’t stop there.  Once again, Pete makes sure his listeners understand that they have divine blood on their hands.  “This Jesus whom you crucified” (emphasis added).  

God had made Jesus both Lord and Christ.  The Jews rejected and crucified their divine Messiah.  Certainly not the most seeker sensitive message ever preached.  

But then again, the philosophy of many churches is to provide “a safe place to hear a dangerous message.”  

A safe and accessible place was provided by the Holy Spirit through the gift of many languages.  Peter then preached a VERY dangerous message.

©2011

Jay Jennings

Pieces of the Puzzle

My Puzzle Problem

Confession time. My wife and I have got a puzzle problem. Jigsaw puzzles to be exact. And the bigger, the better. 

It all started with a few of those 500-piece deals. Before we knew it, we’re putting together puzzles that have 1,000 and 2,000 pieces! We worked on one so big that it took not just two tables but two weeks to complete.

But there’s nothing like those closing moments when those final pieces click into place. After days when you’re totally convinced some are missing and some are from another puzzle, you become almost giddy fitting the last ones together.

Click.

A Picture of Grace

I’m guessing Jesus never put together a table-sized puzzle picture of beer bottles or breakfast cereals from His childhood. But all throughout the Gospels, we see Him putting the pieces together. Pieces of God’s amazing story of salvation.

Christ didn’t do it for Himself. He did it for others. He did it to show how everything God had done, is doing, and will do snaps together into an amazing picture of grace. And get this. When it’s finished, it’s a self-portrait of Jesus.

Tuesday at the Temple

That’s what we see in Mark 12:35-37. These three verses in the second Gospel show our Savior showing how the God who speaks to Moses from a burning bush, the promise of a Hero from heaven, a royal Descendant, and the lyrics of one of King David’s psalms fit together perfectly.

This all happens in the Tuesday before public execution on Friday in Jerusalem. We find Jesus in the temple courts. He’s just wrapped up five rounds of accusatory questions from the chief priests, scribes, elders, Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees (Mk 11:27-12:34).

Five up, Five down

Christ has taken on all comers and sent them packing. Like an ace pitcher on the mound, He’s sent everyone of them back to the dugout with a strikeout. 

Five up. Five down. 

Mark ends his description of that five-round rout by simply saying, “And after that, no one dared to ask Him any more questions” (Mk 12:34). Are we done here, boys? 

Back to Business

With His enemies speechless, Jesus gets back to business. Let’s see where were we. “Later, as Jesus was teaching in the temple” (v35). That’s what He was doing before He was so rudely interrupted (Mk 11:27).

A quick check in Matthew’s version of the story tells us this went down while the Pharisees are still standing right there…just after Jesus drops the mic on their question on the greatest of God’s commandments (Mt 22:41). 

That’s kind of a big deal since He’s going to talk about them. You see, a big chunk of these teachers are actually Pharisees.

The Hero from Heaven

Christ continues by tossing a question on the table? “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?” (v35).

Most NT translations of these verses will say “Christ” here instead of “Messiah” as the NLT does. What’s up with that? That’s because Christ (Gr. Χριστος/Christos) is the Greek word for Messiah. 

Messiah is the long-awaited and long-promised Hero from heaven. How long? Did you know that God mentions Him for the very first time right after our first parents go rogue in the Garden Eden (Gen 3:15)? 

Putting the Funk in Dysfunction

Anticipation of Messiah is THE Big Story of the Old Testament. It reaches a climax when God tells King David that one of his descendants would eventually rule and reign forever (2Sam 7:11-13).

But have you read about Dave and his crazy family? It’s a dumpster fire of adultery, incest, backstabbing, betrayal, sexual assault, and murder. We’re talking Jerry Springer kinda stuff. They totally put the funk in dysfunction!

Straight Lines and Crooked Sticks

Yet God uses them in a powerful way to bring about His purposes. What an awesome reminder that He can use anyone. Yup, anyone. That includes you and me. 

Oh He knows that we may have our issues. But, as the old saying goes, God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.

Could HE Be the One?

For thousands of years God’s people waited and watched for the One to come. And in Jesus’ day, it was common knowledge among the Jewish people that Messiah would eventually come from David’s family tree (Jn 7:42).

The radical Rabbi/Carpenter from the boondocks of Galilee had folks scratching their heads. Could HE be the One? In the front half of Mark’s bio of Jesus, there’s a truckload of speculation on just who He really is (Mk 1:1-8:26).

A Peek Behind the Curtain

Eventually the Lord gives His team a peek behind the curtain and lets them in on His true messianic identity (Mk 8:27-10:52). For the rest of the second Gospel, the Lord demonstrates that He’s not the kind of Messiah anyone is expecting (Mk 11-16).

That all comes to a climax when during what we on what we now call Palm Sunday, the first day of Passion Week. The huge crowd in Jerusalem goes bonkers when it clearly sees Jesus as the messianic Son of David. It was part of their cheers and chants on His ticker tape parade into town (Ml 11:10; Mt 21:9).

Inspired Lyrics

Fast forward back to Tuesday at the temple as another big crowd surrounds our Savior. He continues His examination of the Messiah’s identity with a look into one of David’s hit songs.

But before getting to the specific lyrics, Jesus points out something supernatural about the great king’s songwriting process. He tells the crowd, “For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit” (v36).

The Holy Ghost Writer

In other words, the king was truly inspired when he wrote the lyrics to his hit song. And when I say “inspired,” I mean with a capital “I.” As in inspired by the Holy Spirit. Yup, the Third Member of the Godhead.

That’s because God’s Spirit has inspired the human authors to write every single word in the 66 documents we call the Old and New Testament. Think of Him as the Holy Ghost writer ensuring God gets His message across.

Inspired by God

Paul puts it like this. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong with our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare His people to do every good work” (2Tim 3:16).

So who better to drop some knowledge on what God inspired through David than the Son of God and the Son of David? Buckle up, boys and girls. Jesus is about to do some good work with His take on the opening riff of Psalm 110.

The Top of the Org Chart

Christ continues, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit in the place of honor at My right hand, until I humble Your enemies under Your feet’” (v36). Lordy, it gets a kinda confusing when it comes to all this “Lord” and “Lord” stuff.

Let’s start with a definition of “Lord” (Gr. Κυριος/Kurios). It describes the person in charge, the boss, the owner, the one at the top of the org chart. Pretty easy to see why we say this about Jesus, isn’t it?

Lord of All or Not Lord at All

When we call Jesus our Lord, we’re admitting that we should do what He says. If we’re going to place our trust in what He’s DONE for us, we must trust in what He WILL DO for us. 

That means trusting in His leadership and obeying His commands. As the old saying goes, He’s either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

Two Lords

But why are there not one but two Lords here? Okay, hang with me. 

Throughout the Old Testament, God says His personal name is actually Yahweh (or actually YHWH, since these are the four consonants that make up the name in the original Hebrew). 

Transformer or Dinosaur?

Smarter folks than me call this name the Tetragrammaton. Sounds way more like one of the Transformers or a genetically modified dinosaur from the Jurassic Park franchise.

 

Yahweh is kinda hard to define, but it’s basically a form of the Hebrew verb “to be.” That’s where we get the idea of “I Am Who I Am” (Ex 3:14) or “I Will Be Who I Will Be.” You’ve probably heard of God as the Great I Am. This is where we get that.

A Biblical Word Swap

That’s all well and good but where does Lord come in? So glad you asked. When Hebrew scholars translated the Jewish Bible into Greek around 300 BC, they were so worried that they would misuse God’s name that they actually swapped it out for “Lord.” And that’s we see in just about every translation of the OT today.

The Second Lord

So what about the second “Lord” here in verse 36 and Psalm 110:1? You are SO smart and ask all the right questions! This is how the writers of the NT translated the Hebrew word “adonai” from the OT.

The meaning of adonai is almost identical to κυριος/kurios. Again, it’s the boss, the one in charge, or the master. When we understand that, it’s pretty easy to see how this second “Lord” got there, right? Still with me?

The Seat of Honor

Now put yourself in the sandals of a first century Jew hearing or reading the words of David’s psalm in the original Hebrew. They understand it to go a little something like this. “The Great I Am says to my Master.”

Yahweh invites David’s Boss to have a seat next to Him. “Sit in the place of honor at My right hand, until I humble Your enemies under Your feet” (v36). Think of your host inviting you to sit in their favorite chair.

Haters Gonna Lose

Check out the word translated “enemies” (Gr. εχθρος/echthros). It paints a picture of a bitter foe or hostile opposition. It comes from a root word describing hate.

Take a load off, Lord. Allow the Almighty to grab a stool for You. A stool that He’s going to make out of all those who hate You. Haters gonna hate. But haters of Jesus also gonna lose.

That just means that our Savior will eventually get the W over every single one of His enemies. Specifically, we’re talking about Satan, sin, and death. They’ll go down with a whimper while Christ kicks back with His messianic feet on them.

David’s Connection

It’s at this point where Jesus comes back to David’s connection to the Hero from Heaven. “Since David himself calls Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how Messiah be his son?” (v37). 

In other words, how can the king, the guy who’s the ultimate ruler of his world, call his own descendent his own boss? Unlike today, kids and grandkids didn’t tell grownups what to do back in the ancient world.

Jesus says the big idea is that David realized, under the influence of God’s Spirit, that one of his descendants would actually be the One in charge. Someone from his royal lineage would not only be king but THE Messiah!

The Crowd Explodes

Mark lets us know that the mass of people packed into the temple courts knows EXACTLY what Jesus is saying! “And the large crowd listened to Him with great delight” (v37).

I’m sorry but the translation of “great delight” just doesn’t cut it for me when we dive into the original language. This is the Greek word ‘ηδεως/hedeus, which comes from the same root word where we get “hedonism.”

So they don’t give the Son of God some polite golf clap. The crowd explodes when they realize what’s just happened! He leaves them buzzing with excitement. 

The Final Pieces

Our Savior puts the final pieces of the messianic puzzle into place and the crowd goes wild!! After centuries of waiting and wondering how all of these promises and prophecies would eventually come together, Jesus snaps them all together perfectly.

Click. 

It’s at this point in the story where you probably expect the people celebrate Jesus as the Christ. It’s one of those “and they all lived happily ever after” moments. I hate to disappoint you but that’s not how it goes.

A Few More Pieces

There’s just one problem. Friday is coming. In just three days, the same big crowd that is cheering for Him now as the Son of David and Messiah will demand His murder.

You see, there’s still a few more pieces of the puzzle to go. And the picture won’t be complete until Jesus comes strolling out of the cemetery on Sunday morning. 

Click.

©2020

Jay Jennings