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JESUS IS LORD
He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.” He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” ~ Matthew 13:24-30, 34-43
In this parable Jesus teaches us that while we’re living in this present world it’s not always easy to discern between the children of God and the children of the evil one. But there’s coming a time when the Son of Man will call for a separation. The wheat from the weeds, the sheep from the goats. The children of the Kingdom have their destiny, and the children of the wicked one have a very different destiny. So, what’s the distinguishing factor between the two? Or, what separates a child of God from a child of Satan? I believe the answer comes down to one sharp, concise point. It’s found in the following passage from Matthew:
“But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.” Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’? “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward." ~ Matthew 22:34-46
The distinguishing factor that separates a child of God from a child of Satan is found in the question Jesus raised to the Pharisees: “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” You may have never thought about it in such precise terms, but that’s really the whole ball game in a nutshell. The ultimate, all-important, destiny-deciding question is: What do you think of the Christ?
The religious leaders of the day were quick to answer that the Christ, the coming Messiah, would be the son “of David.” They believed the Messiah, the Anointed One, would be a human descendant from the line or seed of King David. Their answer was correct, but it was also incomplete. So Jesus does what he often did when dealing with various religious groups of his day, he turns to Scripture. Why so? Because Holy Scripture is the final authority for all matters of faith and life. It was the case 2,000 years ago, it’s still the case today. In order to expand their understanding of the Messiah, Jesus offers to the religious leaders of Israel a verse of Scripture from their beloved King David, from Psalm 110. In essence, Jesus response is, “Okay, if the Christ is the son of David, then riddle me this: How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’? “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
It’s not just a riddle and a question, but a challenge to their understanding of the Messiah. Why would King David address his son, a descendant of his, as “my Lord”? Is it proper protocol to refer to your son as your Lord? But if the Christ is David’s Lord, how can he be David’s son? There’s the rub. How can the Christ be both David’s Lord and David’s son? How is that possible? Notice their response. “No one was able to answer him a word.” Why were these religious scholars baffled? Surely, they were taught Psalm 110 is referring to the Messiah. “The Lord said to my Lord.” The first word for “Lord” is Yahweh or Jehovah, the glorious and fearful covenant name of God. The second word for “Lord” is a different word, Adonai, which is a title of respect used of those in authority, a person or even God. In this verse, Adonai applies to the one that King David calls “my Lord.” “The Lord said to my Lord.” “Yahweh said to my Adonai.” Who would the King of Israel refer to as “my Lord”?
Whoever this person is, He is Lord over King David and Yahweh speaks directly to him and bids him to sit at His right hand. At the right hand refers to receiving divine authority and power. Furthermore, Jehovah bids him to sit there “until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet,” which refers to having his enemies completely subdued under-foot in utter defeat and humiliation. So, who is this person who sits at the right hand of the Most High God, waiting for the time when his enemies are completely defeated? Whoever he is, King David of Israel calls him “my Adonai.”
But why were the religious leaders unable to solve the riddle? Comparing Scripture with Scripture, we see in Mark 12:36, Jesus says, “For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord.’ ” In Matthew it reads, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord.’ ”
We see that “David in the Spirit,” lines up with “David himself said in the Holy Spirit.” So, what’s the point? Jesus is highlighting the fact that when King David declares the Christ as “my Lord,” he is not speaking by his own authority. “The Lord said to my Lord” is not David speaking according to his own reasoning. This is a supernatural declaration that is inspired by the Holy Spirit. King David himself said – in the Holy Spirit – there is one who sits at the right hand of Yahweh, he is the Christ, and he is my Lord. Can a mere man occupy this exalted position at the right hand of Jehovah God? The implication is: The Christ is more than David’s son. He is not just human. David reveals this “in the Spirit.” See Matthew 16:13-17 for a similar revelation.
The Bible says the natural man, the man who does not fear God, the man who walks in the flesh, is not able to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-14). In Psalm 110, David is speaking “in the Spirit” and not according to human reasoning. If the Pharisees relied on their human reasoning to interpret Psalm 110, they would naturally equate the Messiah to a political/human deliverer. However, King David, in the Spirit, says the Messiah is indeed that – and so much more! He is also “my Lord.” The Messiah is not just his human descendant who will appear at some point in the future. To David, inspired and instructed by the Holy Spirit, the Messiah is his Adonai. The Pharisees had no answer to the riddle because for them, the Messiah being both David’s son and David’s Lord was not even a possibility. Yet Jesus gave them plenty of indicators all along that He was more than just a man. Ironically, one such indicator was the favorite title he used when referring to Himself: Son of Man.
Psalm 110 is a well-known messianic passage. Another popular passage that speaks of the coming Messiah is Daniel 7. While attending Columbia Bible College, I learned to pay special attention when a term is used, or when an incident happens, for the first time in the Bible. In Daniel 7, we find the first and only time God is called “ancient of days.” And even more insightful is Daniel 7 gives us the first reference to the coming Messiah as “son of man” or in some versions, “the son of man.”
Let’s take a look at verses 9, 13-14. The Pharisees would have been very familiar with these verses. The prophet Daniel says: “I watched until thrones were placed, and one who was ancient of days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire. ...I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dominion was given him, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which will not pass away, and his kingdom one that which will not be destroyed.”
According to this spectacular vision, a “son of man” comes with the clouds of the sky before the fiery throne of the ancient of days to receive dominion and glory in an everlasting kingdom! But is this the picture of a mere human ruler? In Daniel’s vision, “one like a son of man” will come “with the clouds of the sky.” Per his vision, “one like a son of man” will be served by “all the peoples, nations, and languages.” And this “one like a son of man” will have “an everlasting dominion” over a kingdom “which will not be destroyed.” Can this “one like a son of man” be just a son of David? He seems to be more. So it’s no small matter, that in the fullness of time, Jesus comes on the scene and takes for Himself the title … Son of Man!
Matthew 8:20, Jesus said of himself, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost.” Matthew 13:37, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” And Luke 22:48, But Jesus said to him, “Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
David, in the Spirit, speaks of the Messiah as “my Lord.” This implies the Christ is more than his son. Daniel shows us the son of man coming before the fiery throne of the Ancient of days with the clouds of the sky to receive an everlasting kingdom. And when Jesus shows up on the scene, again and again he refers to himself as the … Son of Man. Did the religious leaders miss that? Or did they see it, but just not accept it?
Theologian C.S. Lovett makes an interesting observation: “God supplies sufficient evidence for faith to operate, but not enough to convince the unbelieving mind.” I agree with Brother Lovett. I believe the religious leaders simply did not want to accept the physical and scriptural evidence that Jesus of Nazareth - this lowly carpenter from this little hick town - was indeed the Christ. How could this insignificant man possibly be our long-awaited Deliverer and Messiah?
However, it’s important to note that even though the religious leaders didn’t accept Jesus as Messiah, that does not mean they weren’t aware that He claimed to be the Christ. I reckon they knew full well what Jesus meant when he called himself the Son of Man. And with that as backstory, consider Matthew 26:62-68. This episode is just after Jesus is betrayed and arrested in Gethsemane. He’s taken before the elders, the council, and Caiaphas the high priest:
The high priest stood up and said to him, “Have you no answer? What is this that these testify against you?” But Jesus stayed silent. The high priest answered him, “I adjure you by the living God that you tell us whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him, “You have said so. Nevertheless, I tell you, after this you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of the sky.” Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard this blasphemy. What do you think?” They answered, “He is worthy of death!” Then they spat in his face and beat him with their fists, and some slapped him, saying, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you?”
It’s hard to ignore the strong and violent reaction of the religious leaders after Jesus mentioned the “Son of Man” and “sitting at the right hand of Power” and “coming on the clouds of the sky.” They freaked out! They knew full well what Jesus was saying and their anger towards him quickly degraded into spitting on him, beating him and mocking him. “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who hit you?”
There should be no doubt that the religious rulers understood Jesus was claiming to be the Christ. But since they rejected his Lordship, as far as they were concerned, Jesus was speaking blasphemy and was worthy of death. Yet, it was blasphemy – if Jesus is not divine!
Because of their narrow, one-dimensional, human-empowered interpretation of Scripture, the Pharisees had no way to knowing how the Christ could be both the son of David (human) and the Lord of David (divine). They failed to see that Psalm 110, Psalm 118, Daniel 7, and other OT messianic passages support a dual interpretation of the Christ as a political/human deliverer AND as a spiritual/divine deliverer. They were blind to this truth because they didn’t want to believe. Their hatred for our Lord caused spiritual blindness. I ask you, did these religious rulers love Jesus?
After the Christ raised his friend Lazarus from the dead, the word of this astounding miracle spread fast. Picking up at John 11:46-48, “But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, “What are we doing? For this man does many signs. If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation.”
Do you hear these blind, professional religious leaders? Instead of realizing the Messiah has come, and that Scripture is being fulfilled before their very eyes, they’re more concerned about losing their standing before the Romans! And we read in verse 53, “So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death.”
These religious charlatans had no love for the things of God. Instead of falling down in worship before their Messiah, they plotted to kill him! If they had loved God, they would have seen God in Jesus. They claimed to be walking in the light, but in their hearts they plotted murder. Sin and unbelief blinded them to the truth. Hate and Light don’t walk together (Amos 3:3).
The Spirit teaches, “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness even until now. He who loves his brother remains in the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” ~ 1 John 2:9-11
Let’s be candid. The Pharisees hated Jesus. They wanted to kill him. Galatians 4:29 tells us, “But as then, he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.” Those born of the flesh possess a peculiar animosity toward those born of the Spirit. And he who hates his brother is in the darkness! How can they possibly understand the mysterious unfolding of OT prophecy when they’re in the darkness, and walking in the darkness, and don’t know where they’re going? “In your light we will see light” (Psalm 36:9). Apart from His light, we stumble in the dark.
Their understanding was darkened because their hearts were darkened (see Jeremiah 17:9). Due to their restricted and uninspired interpretation of Scripture, they couldn’t possibly comprehend a divine-human Messiah, nor could they understand a first coming and a second coming of their Messiah. The first coming of the Christ was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world - the second coming of the Christ will be the Lion of the Tribe of Judah who judges the sins of the world (see John 1:29-34, Matthew 25:31-33, and Revelation 5:1-10).
After the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus, Peter is preaching in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. This is immediately after the disciples of Jesus received the outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit. Notice what Peter, “in the Holy Spirit,” says about the Christ to the same Jews who earlier demanded Jesus be crucified. Acts 2:32-40, “This Jesus God raised up, to which we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted by the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this, which you now see and hear. For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’ “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
[And notice their reaction.] “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call to himself.’ With many other words he testified, and exhorted them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation!’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized. There were added that day about three thousand souls.”
Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the Christ. “Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” I love how it reads in the King James Version: “Let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
And there’s the answer to the riddle. That same Jesus who was crucified is both Lord and Messiah. Jesus Christ is the unique God-man, David’s Lord and David’s son, the Lion and the Lamb, who sits at the right hand on high, waiting for the time when the Father makes his foes his footstool! Consider carefully the next two passages:
“Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory. But the Spirit says expressly that in later times some will fall away from the faith” (1 Timothy 3:16-4:1).
The Bible states that Christ Jesus, “who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, yes, the death of the cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him, and gave to him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6-11).
Holy Scripture predicts “in later times some will fall away from the faith.” Scripture also says there’s coming a day when EVERY individual in the universe, including those who’ve fallen from the faith, will bow their knee and confess “Jesus Christ is Lord.” Therefore, it’s not a question of will you do so. The question is: Will you do so as a child of God, or will you do so as a child of Satan? Which brings us back to the parable of the wheat and the weeds.
According to this insightful parable, in the not too distant future, Jesus - the Son of Man, will separate the children of his Kingdom from the children of the evil one. Do you know to which group you belong? Do you know for sure that you’re a child of his Kingdom? Or, are you under the impression that everyone is a child of God? According to the Bible, everyone is certainly a creation of God but not everyone is a spiritual “child of God,” at least not in the New Testament sense of the word (John 3:6-7). Let’s take into account the following three passages.
In Ephesians 2:1-2 we read, “You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience.” Then we have John 8:42, 44: Therefore Jesus said to them [the Pharisees], “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God…You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him…for he is a liar, and the father of lies.” And lastly, consider 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 KJV, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid [veiled] to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
So according to Holy Scripture, we are all born into this world - dead in transgressions and sins – our minds blinded by the god of this world – weeds destined for destruction. However, when the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shines upon us, if we – by faith – believe it, then God delivers us “out of the power of darkness” and “out of this present evil age,” and He translates “us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.” All praises to the Most High! See Colossians 1:12-14 and Galatians 1:3-5.
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, the gospel message is explained as: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” The apostle Paul said in Romans 1:16 KJV, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
The word “gospel” actually means good news? The glorious gospel of Christ is the good news that Jesus died for my sins and your sins, and that by believing in His finished work on the cross, we can be delivered from the powers of darkness and translated into the kingdom and family of God. That’s Good News indeed! That’s the glad tidings believers are compelled to share with the world. The truth that sets us free is found in the following verses from the Word of God:
Galatians 3:26, “For you are all children of God, through faith in Christ Jesus.” How did the folks in Galatia become children of God? Through faith in who?
John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world [at least not yet!], but that the world should be saved through him.”
1 John 5:10-12, “He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning his Son. The testimony is this, that God gave to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn’t have God’s Son doesn’t have the life.” God has given us eternal life, and this life is where? Is God a liar? Should we believe His testimony?
John 5:24, “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” Believers have already passed into life!
Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, that no one would boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works.”
Please don’t be misled into putting the cart before the horse. We are not saved by our good works. Words matters. Syntax matters. We are saved for good works, not by good works. To trust in your good works to save you means you are not trusting in God’s good grace to save you. God’s salvation is either by works or by grace, it can’t be both (see Romans 11:6). Our flesh desires to contribute to our access into the Kingdom. George Whitefield, the fiery evangelist during America’s First Great Awakening, would exclaim, “Works! Works! A man gets to heaven by works! I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand.” Jonathan Edwards, also from our First Great Awakening, declared, “You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.”
Titus 3:4-7, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior; that being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” What a powerful and important passage! You may want to read it again.
John 1:10-13, “He [Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own, and those who were his own didn’t receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become God’s children, to those who believe in his name: who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Our salvation is “of God.”
John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up in the last day.” The Father draws us and calls us to the cross of Christ (Acts 2:39).
In his helpful book, The Gospel According to Jesus, Bible teacher John MacArthur writes, “He is Lord, and those who refuse Him as Lord cannot use Him as Savior. Everyone who receives Him must surrender to His authority, for to say we receive Christ when in fact we reject His right to reign over us is utter absurdity. It is a futile attempt to hold onto sin with one hand and take Jesus with the other. What kind of salvation is it if we are left in bondage to sin? This, then, is the gospel we are to proclaim: That Jesus Christ, who is God incarnate, humbled Himself to die on our behalf. Thus He became the sinless sacrifice to pay the penalty of our guilt. He rose from the dead to declare with power that He is Lord over all, and he offers eternal life freely to sinners who will surrender to Him in humble, repentant faith. This gospel promises nothing to the haughty rebel, but for broken, penitent sinners, it graciously offers everything that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).”
Friend, there’s a reason JAH directed you to this site. Is it time for you to believe on the Christ? Are you ready to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior and your Lord? Today is the day of Salvation! Do you want to be translated into the Kingdom of God and delivered from the prince of darkness? Are you ready to take the next step? If your answer is yes, then the next step is the Romans Road to the Kingdom of God. The Romans Road to the Kingdom of God is a series of Bible verses, all taken from the New Testament book of Romans, that lead the way to the kingdom of God. If you wish to join me on the Romans Road to the Kingdom, just hover over the "Jesus is Lord" tab at the top. Then click the "Romans Road" subpage tab.