Luke 20:42–43

It was now the Lord's turn to propose His question in order to bring out His own position. He asks the Pharisees to square the title Son of David with the title Lord, which David himself gave Him. And He ties this to the ascension of this same Christ, who goes up to sit at the right hand of God until God has made all His enemies His footstool and has established His throne in Zion. Now this was the whole of Christ's position at that moment. They were unable to answer Him, and no man dared ask Him any more questions. To understand that Psalm would have been to understand all God's ways with His Son — at the very moment they were going to reject Him.

The Lord Himself said that David wrote Psalm 110. He claimed inspiration for it when He said, "David himself said by the Holy Spirit" (Mark 12:36). In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in the Acts of the Apostles, we get the affirmation that David wrote this Psalm.

God gave the whole collection its title, "The Book of Psalms" (Luke 20:42). He also had them numbered for easier reference, as "the Second Psalm" (Acts 13:33). The Psalms are inspired, and their arrangement is Divine.

In the opening words of this psalm, the first "LORD" is in capital letters. When it is printed that way, it usually means Jehovah. So the verse could read, "Jehovah said to my Lord" — that is, Jehovah said to Christ… How could Jesus be both David's Son, and David's Lord? The answer is simple enough. As David's Lord, He was the Creator of David, for God created all things by His Son. But He was born of Mary, who came from the house and family line of David, so He was David's Son.

There is and could be but one answer. The Messiah, David's son, must have been a Divine Person to be David's Lord. This is the never-ending puzzle of unbelief, and then as now it is the stumbling block for the Jew… Without the Godhead of Jesus, real man though He is, Christianity is a delusion, a fraud, and an impossibility.

Toward the end of the chapter our Lord raises the great question of who He is. He also raises the position He was about to take — not on the throne of David, but on the throne of God… He humbled Himself as man in suffering, and as man He is exalted to the glory of God on high.

This first verse announces the coronation of Jesus, after He had accomplished redemption and risen from the dead… Jehovah righteously welcomes Him as the Conqueror of all our enemies, the One who triumphed over death, Satan, and the grave, and installs Him in the highest place of honour, power, and glory.

And the Lord Jesus Christ, rejected by man, is sitting at God's right hand as Man, waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. Meanwhile patient grace is at work, calling sinners to know the salvation He has accomplished.

There is and could be but one answer. The Messiah, David's son, must have been a Divine Person in order to be David's Lord — the endless riddle of unbelief, now as then the stumbling-stone to the Jew. Yet the Old Testament presents it as surely as the New does, if not as clearly or as often. It is essential to His proper dignity. It increases the grace of God beyond measure. And it is needed if there is to be an unbreakable rock of salvation, whether for an Israelite or for anyone else. Without the Godhead of Jesus — however truly man He is — Christianity is a delusion, a fraud, and an impossibility.

Towards the end of the chapter (v. 39-44) our Lord puts the great question of His own person, and of the position He was just about to take. That position was not on the throne of David, but on the throne of God. Was not He Himself, David's Son, owned as his Lord by David? The whole of Christianity depends on the person and position of Christ. Judaism lowers the person, and so does not see the position, or denies it. Christianity rests not on the work only, but on the glory of the person and place of Him who is glorified in God. He takes that place as man.

In the last Adam we have Him who was God humbling Himself, going down, becoming obedient to death — even the vilest death. Then we see that humbled One going back to the place of power at God's right hand, but as man as well as God. God highly exalted Him, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. He obeyed all through, in humiliation, and God exalts Him to be David's Lord. This took Him out of the line of Jewish promises, though of course as David's Son He had them.

Now He speaks to Him in resurrection, saying, "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool." Jehovah acknowledges Him as Lord and places Him at His right hand. But it is "until…" There is a prospect before Him. So the seat He takes, exalted as it is, holds only for a time — until that prospect becomes fact. The day of His poverty is over. The day of His patience is begun.

This means the rule of power, not of love — enemies conquered, not enemies reconciled… "When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet." These are quotations from Psalm 110. Taken together, they show Jesus undergoing death, then seated at God's right hand. There He waits for the time when God will put all things under His feet and make His enemies His footstool. The first of these expressions might perhaps mean gradual reconciliation. The second cannot possibly mean it. No language could state forcible conquest more strongly.

Is it not a sad and terrible thing that you have sent the Lord to the right hand of His Father, there to wait until His enemies are made His footstool? You will say, "He has gone there to help me, a poor sinner." Yes, but you have sent Him there too. You may see Him waiting on the need of poor sinners. But if you do not also see Him waiting until He comes out to judge His enemies at the end of the world, your view is very incomplete. His grace has put Him there as the High Priest of our confession; our enmity has put Him there as waiting for judgment.