Psalm 110 "Our Divine King, Our Eternal Priest"

Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah.

! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah,

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meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen.

So, you probably know this, but this summer at Messiah, we're looking at Psalms each week.

And what I love about Psalms is they have a remarkable way of focusing us and, let us say,

distilling biblical truths down to their essence as prayer offered to God. And so today's Psalm,

Psalm 110, is a really important one, and it zeroes in on a really key question for us. And the question is

this. What kind of leader do we need? What kind of leader do we need? Like me, you are probably

bombarded with news of political division, leadership scandals. You probably heard a few this week.

And it becomes clear after a while that even the most well-intentioned human leaders cannot bring

lasting peace and cannot fix what is broken. And people turn to religion. And religious leaders are

limited and confused and often disappoint us. And so the question remains. This Psalm puts it right in

front of us. What kind of leader do we need? What kind of leader do we need? Psalm 110, you'll be happy to

know, gives an answer. And it reveals a leader who rules with power and justice, and a leader who

brings us into God's presence with mercy and grace, does both those things. So it's not just a king,

not just a priest, but a priest-king, a person who embodies these roles together, political leader,

religious leader, priest-king, together. Now, the Old Testament, it's not in this psalm, but the Old

Testament refers to this leader, this priest-king, as the Messiah. And Messiah means anointed one.

That's what the word means. It's a Hebrew word, means anointed one. Because if someone in the Old

Testament became a king or became a priest, what they would do is pour oil on their head.

They're anointed with oil. And that would sort of ordain them or induct them into that office.

And so that's the Messiah. That's the Old Testament Hebrew. In the New Testament, which is written in

Greek, they have a different word, a translation of Messiah. And that word is Christ. So when I was

teaching the Bible in the Arctic, I would always tell my students, you know, Christ isn't Jesus' last name.

So like if you had the first century equivalent of a phone book, you wanted to give him a call,

you wouldn't look under C. Christ is a title. And some modern Bible translations don't even say

Jesus Christ, they just say King Jesus, to put that really before us. And so Jesus Christ is to say

that Jesus of Nazareth embodies this promised priest king. Perfectly embodies that.

And so Jesus is the leader we need. And so let's look at Psalm 110 with that in mind, that Jesus embodies

these two roles, the divine king, the eternal priest, and that he, because he embodies those two roles,

is the leader we most need. So Psalm 110. We're going to begin with the first part of it. It's kind of

divided into two. And it's the two pillars of this Psalm, let's say, are two declarations that God makes

to the Messiah, the priest king. So here's the first thing God says to the Messiah, then we'll look at the

second thing. So I'll read it again, just so it's firm in our minds. So Psalm 110, 1 to 3, which I just

read, but we'll read it again. 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. All right, so let's look at that declaration God

makes. The Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand, and I'll make your enemies your footstool.

The Lord says to my Lord. Sounds weird in English. It sounds less weird in Hebrew.

I think I said this last week, but I'll say it again. When you see in the Bible, in the Old

Testament especially, that the word Lord written in all caps, capital L, capital O, capital R,

capital D, that's God's name. It's the name that God gave to Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked

God. Basically, who are you? Who's sending me? And God answered something like Yahweh or Yahweh,

which is essentially, I am who I am. And so whenever you see Lord in all caps, it's that name.

When you see Lord, capital L, lowercase O-R-D, that's a more general title. It's the Hebrew Adonai. It's a

title of respect and honor. So essentially, the Lord says to my Lord is the same thing as saying,

Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, says this to a powerful king. Okay, so picture God in his throne

room talking to a powerful, divinely chosen king. And even David, greater than David, because even David

calls this figure, this my Lord, okay? Greater than David. Now, what is the covenant God of Israel say

to the powerful king? It says, sit at my right hand. This is an ultimate position of shared authority.

Like even the visual of that, because if you look at, you imagine God sitting on a throne,

you can, you probably picture only God, but this image is not only, only God, the father. It's also

a powerful king beside him, sharing his authority right beside him. And so God is essentially saying

to that figure beside him, my honor, my power, it all belongs to this person here too.

Everything belongs to this person here too. And that's what happened to Jesus. So imagine,

40 days after this scene, this scene here, this is the resurrection, 40 days after that,

Jesus ascends to the father and he comes into the throne room of God the father. God is,

the father's on the throne and Jesus, even his resurrected body has nail wounds and thorn scars on his

brow and a spear mark in his side. And he goes to God's throne room, the father's.

And the father says, Jesus, my son, sit at my right hand, my honor and my authority belong to you.

And my friends, Jesus has been reigning from that position ever since.

He's been reigning as the divine king there ever since. So what does that mean? Well, it means,

we talked a little bit about being disillusioned with political leaders and religious leaders. It means

that when human powers fail, there's a king on the throne. And his reign, the reign of Jesus,

the Messiah is a present reality. We're waiting for it to be fully brought into our world, but it's a

present reality. Jesus reigns as king today. And this for me, and I hope for you, is a powerful source

of hope. Because it means that whatever storms life throws at you, you have an anchor. You have a king

who's reigning on high.

Shifting political tides, human leaders failing. You shouldn't be surprised. Our focus is we have a king.

We know the world's true king. Okay? Now that next bit. So the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand

until, here's the next bit, until I make your enemies your footstool.

So the picture here is you have a throne with a king on it, and there's a footstool in front of it

that the king puts his feet on. But with this imagery here, it's a picture of complete conquest

where the enemies become furniture. That's pretty defeated when you become a piece of furniture,

I think. So essentially God is saying that all who stand against my chosen king will be subdued.

God is saying there are no forces anywhere that can block what I'm doing through this king.

God is saying there are no forces anywhere that can block what I'm doing through this king.

My plans cannot be thwarted.

So we don't fight a losing battle. We serve a king whose victory is assured.

And so in any troubles that you experience,

of any kind,

keep your eyes

heavenward.

Remind yourself there is a king in charge. It might not always look like it

momentarily, but there is a king in charge.

Okay?

Now what about our role in all this?

Look at verse 3, just that line,

your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power.

See, if we belong to Jesus, we're not furniture.

We're not footstools.

We're willing participants.

We're like troops that are willingly engaged in this spiritual battle.

Now, you can see,

I've read through this now,

you can see in this psalm that

there's a lot of militaristic imagery.

And no surprise then that

Jesus' contemporaries expected a kind of military leader

to overthrow the occupiers

and set up an earthly kingdom.

Turns out

that the revolution

Jesus brings goes deeper than that.

doesn't just transform

political arrangements.

It actually transforms

the human heart from the inside out.

Through love,

through truth,

through mercy.

And as willing people,

as Christians,

who are being transformed

from the inside out,

we are to embody

these values of Jesus,

these kingdom values.

You know what the other thing is?

this king is the greatest servant of all.

There's no greater servant than the king,

King Jesus.

So he models this for us.

So, that's the first part.

A king,

Jesus,

the Messiah,

the Christ,

who's currently reigning

at the right hand of God,

the Father,

whose victory is assured,

and who we can trust in

when things look all topsy-turvy

in our lives

and in society at large.

He's our king.

Not only that,

and here's the second part,

he's also our eternal priest.

Divine king,

eternal priest.

So let's look at the second bit here.

Jesus is the eternal priest.

So, again,

remember I said

the pillars of this psalm

are declarations from God.

The first one is

that

word to the Messiah

said at my right hand.

That's the first one.

Here's the second one.

The Lord,

verse 4,

the Lord has sworn

and will not change his mind.

Now God speaks

to the Messiah.

You are a priest

forever

after the order

of Melchizedek.

Who on earth is that?

I'll tell you in a minute.

And then the rest.

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.

Before I say anything more,

I should say this.

The early Christians

were so convinced

that Psalm 110,

this Psalm here,

described Jesus so well

and so comprehensively

that they quoted

this passage

in the New Testament

more than any other

Old Testament passage.

It's all over.

Every major New Testament

writer quotes it.

It's all over the New Testament.

And if you go looking for it,

you'll find it everywhere.

So,

Divine King,

now we've got

the eternal priest.

Let's have a look at that.

Now,

I want to just

first tell you

how weird this is,

this Psalm.

Strange.

Why is it strange?

It's strange

because in Israel,

a priest

and a king

were entirely

different roles.

and they were

entirely different roles

that you dare not mix.

They're different roles

because Israel

comes from 12 tribes

and kings

always came

from the tribe

of Judah

and priests

always came

from the tribe

of Levi.

So,

you couldn't be both.

You've got to be

from one tribe

and if you're

from Levi,

you may be a priest

and if you're from Judah,

you may be a king

but you can't be both.

And so,

in that system,

that law system

in the Old Testament,

there was no room

for a priest king.

And so,

somebody reading this

would think,

wait a minute,

this isn't right.

A priest king?

How does that work?

Like,

even if you read

King Saul

in 1 Samuel,

he tried to,

he was a king

but he tried to do

priestly duties

and he was judged

for it.

They don't mix

in that system.

But,

but,

it's a different

kind of priesthood,

it's a different

kind of system.

And so,

in this different

kind of priesthood

and different

kind of system,

they mix.

In the Melchizedek

system,

they mix.

So,

let's talk a little bit

about this Melchizedek

person.

He's mentioned

really in two places

in the Old Testament,

Psalm 110,

right here.

And then,

way back at the

beginning,

in Genesis chapter 14,

Genesis 14 · chapter mention

like,

at the beginning

of the Bible almost,

Abraham

wins this great battle

and he's heading

back home

and he meets

this man

whose name

is Melchizedek

who comes

out of nowhere.

Comes out to meet him.

We've never met him

before.

We have no idea

who this is.

He's described

as the king

of Salem,

which is the old

name for

Jerusalem.

So,

he's the king

of Jerusalem

and he's described

as a priest

of God

Most High.

So,

this guy,

whoever he is,

is a priest king.

Both roles

are sort of

embodied in his

person.

He's a priest king.

So,

he comes out,

meets this

victorious Abraham.

He's got bread

and wine to offer

him.

He blesses

Abraham

and he receives

a tithe.

So,

10% of

Abraham's

food and

animals and

stuff.

Okay?

And then he

disappears.

And we don't

see him again

until Psalm 110.

10%.

And if all

you had was

the Old Testament,

you would just

think it's kind

of an odd guy

who pops up

and,

I don't know.

But see,

Hebrews

in the New

Testament

links it to

Jesus.

I'll tell you

about that in a

minute.

So,

I said Melchizedek's

a priest.

He's a priest

and a king.

I probably

should say

something

momentarily

here about

the Old

Testament

Levitical

system.

What does

that mean?

I said that

in the Old

Testament,

priests always

came from the

tribe of Levi.

They are

Levitical.

They come from

the tribe of

Levi.

And their job

is to offer

sacrifices in

the temple.

To bridge

this gap

between human

beings and

God.

That's what a

priest does.

A mediator.

So,

that's what

they would

do.

There's a real

problem,

though,

is that these

priests are all

too human.

They sin.

They corrupt,

some of them.

And they die.

They die.

So,

there's no

permanent

arrangement here

because you

have frail,

sinful,

mortal people

who are

priests.

So,

that system

cannot provide

a permanent,

flawless pathway

to God.

But see,

Jesus can.

Jesus can.

Jesus is a

priest king

in the order

of Melchizedek.

He's in a

different system,

and he's in a

system that

predates that

Levitical one.

And because he's

an eternal

priest,

not subject to

the same

limitations as

that other

priesthood system,

his sacrifice

is eternally

effective.

And that's

where it gets

really weird.

Because Jesus,

the priest king

from Melchizedek,

he doesn't

sacrifice animals.

He sacrifices

himself.

himself.

So,

imagine a

priest,

arrayed in

all the

vestments and

all that,

going into the

holy place of

the temple,

and not putting

an animal on

the altar,

but climbing on

there himself,

dying to

make a way

to God.

That's a

weird image,

but that is

the claim of

this passage,

and that is

the claim of

our faith,

that Christ is

not only the

great high priest,

but he's the

perfect sacrifice.

So,

as a perfect

priest,

offering a

perfect sacrifice,

he's a

perfect bridge.

Do you see?

As a perfect

priest,

offering a

perfect sacrifice,

he's a

perfect bridge

between us

and God.

I mentioned

a spiritual

hunger,

that we

all,

we've all

been disappointed

by,

I mean,

probably in

some way,

organized religion

or religious

leaders or

whatever,

but we have

a longing

in our

heart to

know God.

We all

do.

And the

message here

is Jesus

has done

that.

Open the

gates wide.

There's a

wonderful passage

in the New

Testament book

of Hebrews

where it

says,

come boldly,

come boldly

to the throne

of grace.

Jesus throws

those doors

wide open

and says,

come with me,

I'll bring

you to

God.

And that

changes

everything.

A perfect

priest,

a perfect

sacrifice

becomes a

perfect bridge

to bring

you and

me to

God.

It's a

wonderful

thing.

So,

we started

today with

that question

the psalm

puts to us,

Psalm 110.

The question

is,

what kind

of leader

can actually

help us?

What do

we need

in a leader?

And Psalm 110

gives the

answer,

which is,

we need a

divine king,

eternal priest,

we need someone

who can deliver

lasting peace,

who can fix

what is broken,

who can make

us whole,

who can bring

us to God

and make our

relationship

with God

right.

And Jesus,

my friends,

has done that.

He's our

divine king,

he's our

eternal priest,

and Hebrews

says that,

what is he

doing now?

He's continually

interceding for

us,

like he's

praying for

us to the

Father.

So just

think about

that,

you go about

your day,

maybe it's a

good day,

maybe it's a

bad day,

you've got

worries,

you've got

anxieties,

Jesus,

ascended to

the right

hand of

the Father,

is praying

for you and

for me,

is bringing

any concerns

that you have

on your

hearts and

minds to

the throne

of grace.

We're in

good hands,

we're in

really good

hands,

a perfect

priest and

a perfect

sacrifice makes

a perfect

bridge,

and we

have a

king who

rules in

righteousness,

it's a

wonderful thing.

I'll end

with this,

if you don't

know Jesus,

the priest

king yet,

I hope you

do,

I hope you

come to

know him,

ask questions,

and test it,

and see if

this Jesus

fulfills your

spiritual hunger.

I think

he will.

And not

just fulfill

your spiritual

hunger in a

way that he

adds a little

bit to your

life, you'll

discover as

you walk that

path with

Jesus, the

priest king,

you'll discover

that he's not

just like an

augmentation to

your life,

he's everything.

He's all you

need.

He's all you

need.

So we

can live with

confidence.

Our faith is

not like

shifting sands.

We have a

king that

reigns and a

priest that

intercedes.

We can live

with confidence.

We can live

in willing

obedience.

So we don't

just have to

sit here and

wait, we

can participate

in Christ's

victory.

We can

participate.

The victory

of God is

unfolding in

real time

right before

us.

Again, it

doesn't

always look

like it, but

it's happening.

So we can

live with

confidence, we

can live with

willing obedience,

we can live in

worship.

We can praise

and thank this

one who has

done for us

what we cannot

do for

ourselves.

He's done

it.

So come

to God.

How?

Through the

merits of our

great priest

king.

He will

not fail

you.

He will

get you

where you

want to

go.

Because he's

Jesus the

Christ, the

chosen one.

That's good

news.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.