A Life Changing Riddle
Mark 12:35-40
Message #48
What a day it’s been for Jesus. We’re in the middle of the Passion Week and this day has been grueling.
It began with religious leaders challenging the authority of Jesus
Then the parable of the “Wicked Farmers”
Then the “Taxes for Caesar” trap
Then “The Resurrection” trap
Then “The Greatest Commandment” question
All that in just the one day that we’ve been looking at, and it would seem like Jesus would’ve been done for that day. But he continues sharing eternal truth after eternal truth, and for our day – today – Jesus is going to share the most important eternal truth in a life-changing riddle.
Mark 12:35(a) (NLT)
35 Later (that same day), as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, . . .
After all the previous “interactions” with the religious leaders and Jesus is still there in the Temple Courts completely unfazed by all the attempted traps and attacks. And it seems like the religious leaders have retreated for the day, but only in order to come up with a better plan to take Jesus out (which they ultimately did).
But since they appear to be gone (for today) now Jesus can start the conversations and he can choose the teaching subjects, and at this point, Jesus chooses a riddle. And it’s a riddle that addresses what the religious leaders were obviously missing but it is also a riddle that points us to the main thing.
You’ve heard the saying, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Well, these people had just watched the religious leaders try to nit-pick Jesus to death, and so with a riddle, Jesus is going to gently turn us back to the main thing.
Maybe Jesus has left the “Upper Courts” of the Temple, and maybe he’s sitting on the southern steps where many of you have sat with us. And as we continue in Mark 12:35, we read,
Mark 12:35(b) (NLT)
35 . . . [Jesus] asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?
Why do those guys who just left (the Scribes) why do they claim that the Messiah is the son of David?
This is actually kind of a set-up question from Jesus, maybe in response to the “attempted” set-up questions the religious leaders had been throwing at him.
The reason it’s a set-up question is because everyone knew the answer. Everyone knew why the Religious Teachers claimed that the Messiah is the son of David because it’s written all over the Old Testament. At least ten times (bare minimum) the Old Testament clearly states the Messiah will be a descendant of King David.
So this was kind of a no-brainer question and everyone knew the answer – yeah the Messiah will be a descendant of King David.
So, in order to relate this riddle to our lives today, it would be like asking most people today (even in our declining Christian society), “Was Jesus a good teacher?” And most people would say, “Yeah, I think he was. He had some good things to say about how we should live.” That was this kind of question. It was a “yeah, of course” question.
But then the other shoe drops. And this no-brainer question becomes a life-changing question.
So now, Jesus is going to quote Psalm 110, and that is going to lead into his life-changing riddle.
Mark 12:36 (NLT)
36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Lord (God) said to my Lord, (Savior) Sit in the place of honor at my right hand (where the Bible says the Messiah will sit) until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ (what the Bible says will ultimately happen) - (that’s Psalm 110)
And then, here’s the riddle.
Mark 12:37(a) (NLT)
37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” . . .
It’s a riddle.
Have you ever heard this riddle?
A man and his son are in a terrible accident and are rushed to the hospital for surgery. Then the doctor comes in and looks at the boy and exclaims "I can't operate on this boy, he's my son!"
That is this kind of a riddle – it’s a “Who’s Who riddle.”
And Jesus desperately wants us to get the answer to this riddle because the answer to this riddle is eternally life-changing. Jesus is pointing you at something that will change your eternity.
Have you ever had the misconception that Jesus is a good teacher who started a good religion pretty much like other good teachers who have started other good religions?
And have you ever thought all good religions were basically the same because they were all started by good men (or women) who taught good ways to live?
If you have ever thought like that or you know someone who thinks like that, you have got to get the answer to this riddle. Because, if you get the answer to this riddle, that type of thinking that “All religions are basically the same” will have no place left in your life.
Now, I know a bunch of you know the answer to this riddle, but please bear with me and let me answer it for you. Again, the question is in Mark 12:37.
Mark 12:37 (NLT)
37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” . . .
The answer is… because Jesus is BOTH the Son of David and the Son of God. And if Jesus is the Son of David and also the Son of God, then our thinking (about Jesus) must radically change.
The Bible is the supernatural, miraculous, unparalleled living document that exists on this planet. There is no other religious document that compares at any science, at any level with the supernatural-ness, the miraculous-ness, the perfection of the Word of God. There’s nothing that compares to it. Whether your mind can accept this or not, the living Word of God says, the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the Son of David and IS the Son of God. He is one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God, at the same time. What Jesus is saying in this riddle is – God became a man.
The God who created everything that has ever been created, that God – became a man and the Bible says God became a man not just to teach good lessons about how to live. Jesus Christ came as God in the Flesh to pay the full penalty for our sins in our place on the cross and to offer us his own righteousness in order to make a way for us to live for eternity with God all by God’s grace and all through our faith alone in him.
Everything hinges on God becoming a man and us being offered, all by his grace and through our faith alone, for us to be so identified with what God and the Person of Jesus Christ did for us on the cross and in the resurrection, that what he did becomes what we’ve done. And so, when he enters into heaven, he’s our Pioneer into the throne room of God. We enter into heaven in him. It had to be that way. And to fulfill all the prophecies, and he had to be a man to take our place, Jesus was the Son of David.
Jesus Christ came as a descendant of David and as God in the Flesh and he certainly did not come just to start another religion. “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship.” Jesus Christ came to give you eternal life.
And if you will put your faith in the correct answer to this riddle, then it will change both your life in this world and your life in eternity. Because Jesus Christ will come in and take over your life, and fill you with his Holy Spirit and carry you until the day that you see him face-to-face, and then spend eternity with him!
Listen to how the very beginning of the Book of Romans puts it.
Romans 1:3–4 (NLT)
3 The (Gospel) Good News is about his Son (Jesus). In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,
4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
If you will embrace this in your heart, if you will put your full faith and trust in this truth, it will change your life here and it will give you eternal life with God in heaven.
The ultimate question of this life is this: what will you do with the answer to this riddle? How will you respond to the fact that Jesus the Messiah is both the Son of David and the Son of God? How will you respond to the fact that God became a man on your behalf to die in your place, to pay for your sins, to beat sin and death and the grave, and then to offer you his righteousness? To give you a grand entrance into an eternity with him? Every time I face death with someone – nothing else matters. And when you face death, nothing else will matter. The answer to the riddle is everything.
Jesus Christ is “The God-Man”
One hundred percent God – One hundred percent Man
In the Gospel of John – Jesus is called “The Word” (LOGOS). It means “God in Expression.”
Mark these verses.
John 1:1–4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word (Jesus) gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
That’s who Jesus Christ is. He is the Son of David and he is God. He is the Son of God. And even that phrase, Son of God, it means “The One Who’s Come to Us From God, from the Godhead.” It’s not a reference to birth or creation or anything else. He’s the member of the Godhead who was “Expressed to Us.” Jesus Christ is “God in the Flesh” and he is the answer to the riddle of your life.
The way you turn this riddle into a life-changing riddle is by believing – by putting your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
And John 3:16 – the most famous verse in the Bible – explains why Jesus came as God in the Flesh and it explains how Jesus changes your eternity.
John 3:16 (NLT)
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
That’s how much God loves. That’s the way in which God loves. And that’s how you can spend eternity in the benefit of God’s love.
The way you turn this riddle into a life-changing riddle is by believing – by putting your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. You understand who Jesus Christ is, and then you believe and receive who he is. It’s pretty simple. That’s why we call it the main thing. And whatever happens in your life, return to the main thing. Get back to the center.
Jesus Christ – God in the Flesh – gave himself for you, to make a way for you to have eternal life which you can freely receive by putting your full faith and trust in him AS your Savior and Lord.
And so, I’d like to just pause right now and pray with you. Would you pray with me right now that this riddle would become a life-changing riddle for you?
Where are you? Maybe you’re saying that to God. God is with you, the question is, where are you? Has your sin separated you from your God? Because Isaiah 59 says his arm is not short that he cannot heal, and his ear’s not heavy that he can’t hear, but your sins have separated you from him. It is everything. And when you are looking through death’s door, it will be everything. So, make it right – now. You pray… there is no “magic prayer” in the Bible. But God knows your heart, and you should pour your heart out to him right now.
And you can say, “Lord, Jesus, forgive me of my sins. I believe. I believe who you say you are. And receive you into my life, Lord, come into my life. Take over. Make me new, Lord. Cause me to be born again with your life, and your Spirit, and your righteousness. Lord I see you as God. Creator God, in the Flesh. And I pray you would make a place for me in eternity with you. Thank you for your grace. I put my faith in you. In your name, Jesus, amen."
If you have accepted Jesus for the first time, if you have said, “I get it! Jesus is actually God!” – if you just made a commitment to Christ, talk to us. Get ahold of us by phone, email, or online.
Now, we can read the second half of Mark 12:37.
Mark 12:37(b) (NLT)
37 . . . The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
And I pray that you have listened to the Words of Jesus with great delight today.
But we’re not quite done because Jesus follows this life-changing riddle with a warning and as sad as it sounds, it’s an important warning for us to hear today.
After you do embrace the life-changing truth that Jesus Christ IS the Son of God, Jesus wants you to beware of those who live like the religious leaders of his day.
Mark 12:38-40 (NLT)
38 Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! (the Scribes) For they like to parade around in flowing robes (they wore long white robes) and (they like to) receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. (the people would stand-up in the marketplace as the Scribes walked by)
39 And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.
(in the synagogue, everyone sat facing the chest with the Torah Scrolls – but the Scribes sat in front of the chest – so all the people would be looking at them)
(And at banquets it was important to have at least one Scribe seated next to the host)
40 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”
The dangers of man-driven religion are just as real today as they were in the day these words were spoken by Jesus.
Don’t get messed up or taken out by man’s religion. I’ve seen the enemy use a lot of things to try to keep people from truly knowing Jesus Christ, and the enemy has used man’s religion to do more than its share of turning people away from the true and simple “salvation message” that Jesus Christ died to save us for eternity.
The Son of God did not come to this earth to start just another religion. Don’t ever trade Jesus for religion.
Keep the main thing the main thing.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to this earth to offer you forgiveness for your sins and eternal life with him.
It began with religious leaders challenging the authority of Jesus
Then the parable of the “Wicked Farmers”
Then the “Taxes for Caesar” trap
Then “The Resurrection” trap
Then “The Greatest Commandment” question
All that in just the one day that we’ve been looking at, and it would seem like Jesus would’ve been done for that day. But he continues sharing eternal truth after eternal truth, and for our day – today – Jesus is going to share the most important eternal truth in a life-changing riddle.
Mark 12:35(a) (NLT)
35 Later (that same day), as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, . . .
After all the previous “interactions” with the religious leaders and Jesus is still there in the Temple Courts completely unfazed by all the attempted traps and attacks. And it seems like the religious leaders have retreated for the day, but only in order to come up with a better plan to take Jesus out (which they ultimately did).
But since they appear to be gone (for today) now Jesus can start the conversations and he can choose the teaching subjects, and at this point, Jesus chooses a riddle. And it’s a riddle that addresses what the religious leaders were obviously missing but it is also a riddle that points us to the main thing.
You’ve heard the saying, “Keep the main thing the main thing.” Well, these people had just watched the religious leaders try to nit-pick Jesus to death, and so with a riddle, Jesus is going to gently turn us back to the main thing.
Maybe Jesus has left the “Upper Courts” of the Temple, and maybe he’s sitting on the southern steps where many of you have sat with us. And as we continue in Mark 12:35, we read,
Mark 12:35(b) (NLT)
35 . . . [Jesus] asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David?
Why do those guys who just left (the Scribes) why do they claim that the Messiah is the son of David?
This is actually kind of a set-up question from Jesus, maybe in response to the “attempted” set-up questions the religious leaders had been throwing at him.
The reason it’s a set-up question is because everyone knew the answer. Everyone knew why the Religious Teachers claimed that the Messiah is the son of David because it’s written all over the Old Testament. At least ten times (bare minimum) the Old Testament clearly states the Messiah will be a descendant of King David.
So this was kind of a no-brainer question and everyone knew the answer – yeah the Messiah will be a descendant of King David.
So, in order to relate this riddle to our lives today, it would be like asking most people today (even in our declining Christian society), “Was Jesus a good teacher?” And most people would say, “Yeah, I think he was. He had some good things to say about how we should live.” That was this kind of question. It was a “yeah, of course” question.
But then the other shoe drops. And this no-brainer question becomes a life-changing question.
So now, Jesus is going to quote Psalm 110, and that is going to lead into his life-changing riddle.
Mark 12:36 (NLT)
36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The Lord (God) said to my Lord, (Savior) Sit in the place of honor at my right hand (where the Bible says the Messiah will sit) until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ (what the Bible says will ultimately happen) - (that’s Psalm 110)
And then, here’s the riddle.
Mark 12:37(a) (NLT)
37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” . . .
It’s a riddle.
Have you ever heard this riddle?
A man and his son are in a terrible accident and are rushed to the hospital for surgery. Then the doctor comes in and looks at the boy and exclaims "I can't operate on this boy, he's my son!"
That is this kind of a riddle – it’s a “Who’s Who riddle.”
And Jesus desperately wants us to get the answer to this riddle because the answer to this riddle is eternally life-changing. Jesus is pointing you at something that will change your eternity.
Have you ever had the misconception that Jesus is a good teacher who started a good religion pretty much like other good teachers who have started other good religions?
And have you ever thought all good religions were basically the same because they were all started by good men (or women) who taught good ways to live?
If you have ever thought like that or you know someone who thinks like that, you have got to get the answer to this riddle. Because, if you get the answer to this riddle, that type of thinking that “All religions are basically the same” will have no place left in your life.
Now, I know a bunch of you know the answer to this riddle, but please bear with me and let me answer it for you. Again, the question is in Mark 12:37.
Mark 12:37 (NLT)
37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” . . .
The answer is… because Jesus is BOTH the Son of David and the Son of God. And if Jesus is the Son of David and also the Son of God, then our thinking (about Jesus) must radically change.
The Bible is the supernatural, miraculous, unparalleled living document that exists on this planet. There is no other religious document that compares at any science, at any level with the supernatural-ness, the miraculous-ness, the perfection of the Word of God. There’s nothing that compares to it. Whether your mind can accept this or not, the living Word of God says, the Messiah, Jesus Christ is the Son of David and IS the Son of God. He is one hundred percent man and one hundred percent God, at the same time. What Jesus is saying in this riddle is – God became a man.
The God who created everything that has ever been created, that God – became a man and the Bible says God became a man not just to teach good lessons about how to live. Jesus Christ came as God in the Flesh to pay the full penalty for our sins in our place on the cross and to offer us his own righteousness in order to make a way for us to live for eternity with God all by God’s grace and all through our faith alone in him.
Everything hinges on God becoming a man and us being offered, all by his grace and through our faith alone, for us to be so identified with what God and the Person of Jesus Christ did for us on the cross and in the resurrection, that what he did becomes what we’ve done. And so, when he enters into heaven, he’s our Pioneer into the throne room of God. We enter into heaven in him. It had to be that way. And to fulfill all the prophecies, and he had to be a man to take our place, Jesus was the Son of David.
Jesus Christ came as a descendant of David and as God in the Flesh and he certainly did not come just to start another religion. “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship.” Jesus Christ came to give you eternal life.
And if you will put your faith in the correct answer to this riddle, then it will change both your life in this world and your life in eternity. Because Jesus Christ will come in and take over your life, and fill you with his Holy Spirit and carry you until the day that you see him face-to-face, and then spend eternity with him!
Listen to how the very beginning of the Book of Romans puts it.
Romans 1:3–4 (NLT)
3 The (Gospel) Good News is about his Son (Jesus). In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line,
4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.
If you will embrace this in your heart, if you will put your full faith and trust in this truth, it will change your life here and it will give you eternal life with God in heaven.
The ultimate question of this life is this: what will you do with the answer to this riddle? How will you respond to the fact that Jesus the Messiah is both the Son of David and the Son of God? How will you respond to the fact that God became a man on your behalf to die in your place, to pay for your sins, to beat sin and death and the grave, and then to offer you his righteousness? To give you a grand entrance into an eternity with him? Every time I face death with someone – nothing else matters. And when you face death, nothing else will matter. The answer to the riddle is everything.
Jesus Christ is “The God-Man”
One hundred percent God – One hundred percent Man
In the Gospel of John – Jesus is called “The Word” (LOGOS). It means “God in Expression.”
Mark these verses.
John 1:1–4 (NLT)
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
4 The Word (Jesus) gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone.
That’s who Jesus Christ is. He is the Son of David and he is God. He is the Son of God. And even that phrase, Son of God, it means “The One Who’s Come to Us From God, from the Godhead.” It’s not a reference to birth or creation or anything else. He’s the member of the Godhead who was “Expressed to Us.” Jesus Christ is “God in the Flesh” and he is the answer to the riddle of your life.
The way you turn this riddle into a life-changing riddle is by believing – by putting your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.
And John 3:16 – the most famous verse in the Bible – explains why Jesus came as God in the Flesh and it explains how Jesus changes your eternity.
John 3:16 (NLT)
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
That’s how much God loves. That’s the way in which God loves. And that’s how you can spend eternity in the benefit of God’s love.
The way you turn this riddle into a life-changing riddle is by believing – by putting your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. You understand who Jesus Christ is, and then you believe and receive who he is. It’s pretty simple. That’s why we call it the main thing. And whatever happens in your life, return to the main thing. Get back to the center.
Jesus Christ – God in the Flesh – gave himself for you, to make a way for you to have eternal life which you can freely receive by putting your full faith and trust in him AS your Savior and Lord.
And so, I’d like to just pause right now and pray with you. Would you pray with me right now that this riddle would become a life-changing riddle for you?
Where are you? Maybe you’re saying that to God. God is with you, the question is, where are you? Has your sin separated you from your God? Because Isaiah 59 says his arm is not short that he cannot heal, and his ear’s not heavy that he can’t hear, but your sins have separated you from him. It is everything. And when you are looking through death’s door, it will be everything. So, make it right – now. You pray… there is no “magic prayer” in the Bible. But God knows your heart, and you should pour your heart out to him right now.
And you can say, “Lord, Jesus, forgive me of my sins. I believe. I believe who you say you are. And receive you into my life, Lord, come into my life. Take over. Make me new, Lord. Cause me to be born again with your life, and your Spirit, and your righteousness. Lord I see you as God. Creator God, in the Flesh. And I pray you would make a place for me in eternity with you. Thank you for your grace. I put my faith in you. In your name, Jesus, amen."
If you have accepted Jesus for the first time, if you have said, “I get it! Jesus is actually God!” – if you just made a commitment to Christ, talk to us. Get ahold of us by phone, email, or online.
Now, we can read the second half of Mark 12:37.
Mark 12:37(b) (NLT)
37 . . . The large crowd listened to him with great delight.
And I pray that you have listened to the Words of Jesus with great delight today.
But we’re not quite done because Jesus follows this life-changing riddle with a warning and as sad as it sounds, it’s an important warning for us to hear today.
After you do embrace the life-changing truth that Jesus Christ IS the Son of God, Jesus wants you to beware of those who live like the religious leaders of his day.
Mark 12:38-40 (NLT)
38 Jesus also taught: “Beware of these teachers of religious law! (the Scribes) For they like to parade around in flowing robes (they wore long white robes) and (they like to) receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. (the people would stand-up in the marketplace as the Scribes walked by)
39 And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.
(in the synagogue, everyone sat facing the chest with the Torah Scrolls – but the Scribes sat in front of the chest – so all the people would be looking at them)
(And at banquets it was important to have at least one Scribe seated next to the host)
40 Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be more severely punished.”
The dangers of man-driven religion are just as real today as they were in the day these words were spoken by Jesus.
Don’t get messed up or taken out by man’s religion. I’ve seen the enemy use a lot of things to try to keep people from truly knowing Jesus Christ, and the enemy has used man’s religion to do more than its share of turning people away from the true and simple “salvation message” that Jesus Christ died to save us for eternity.
The Son of God did not come to this earth to start just another religion. Don’t ever trade Jesus for religion.
Keep the main thing the main thing.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God came to this earth to offer you forgiveness for your sins and eternal life with him.