Was Jesus Made Divine By Humans - Part 4

Considering Psalm 110 is a crucial matter in our discussion, as it predates all the prophets and the New Testament. It is referred to by many as THE Messianic Psalm, and is alluded to in the New Testament by Jesus as well as the other New Testament writers in that context.  Regardless of what the New Testament says, does this Psalm proclaim anything about the Messiah being a divine being? 

This will require us to get technical in this article, but, I assure you it will be worth the investigation. 

There are two sections of the Psalm as a whole that we will hone in on in this article. First is Psa 110:1  A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool."  The verse speaks of a time in the future, when the subject (my Lord)  will be sitting to the right of God (the Lord) and waiting till his enemies are subdued. 

There is no mistaking who the first Lord is here if you look to the original language, and scholars on both sides of the fence agree that this is YHWH - God that is speaking.  So, we can set that aside as settled and accepted. The question arises, as to who this second "Lord" mentioned in the sentence is. The other word translated “Lord" is ADONAI. In general without context, it can mean one who has rule or authority; one of high rank; one who has dominion; one who is the owner or possessor, etc. This word is applied frequently to a creature. It is applied to kings, princes, rulers, masters. What gives the word its ultimate meaning, is the context in which it occurs and used.  In this verse, it is a significant thing that ADONAI is spoken to by YHWH and invited to "sit at my right hand." So, God invites David's Lord or Master to sit at His right hand.  The fact that David himself (the King of Israel) refers to this one as "Lord" indicates that David clearly sees this individual as being above him. So, there is no problem this one is greater than he is. The question is, is this being divine or made divine in the context of this statement. It cannot be David, therefore, who is this?   The simple answer from the text is that the one whom David considered greater than himself was God.

It is interesting, that even the Jewish scholars of the time of Jesus, recognized this statement in the Psalm as referring to the Messiah or Mashiach. 

• It was also understood that this mashiach will be a great political leader descended from King David (Jer.23:5). 
• The mashiach is often referred to as "mashiach ben David" (mashiach, son of David). 
• He will be well-versed in Jewish law, and observant of its commandments (Isa.11:2-5), a charismatic leader, inspiring others to follow his example. 
• He will be a great judge, who makes righteous decisions (Jer.33:15), will bring about the political and spiritual redemption of the people (Isa.11:11-12; Jer.23:8; 30:3; Hos.3:4-5). 
• He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews and gentiles (Isa. 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1). 

It is in Psalm 110 that the context of the Psalm states that the "Lord" or Messiah is invited by God to sit at His right hand.  Even in ancient times more than today, to sit at the right hand of the ruler, was to be considered to be equal with the ruler. This is seen with Joseph in Egypt, who serves the Pharaoh, yet, bears in anything he does the signet power of the Pharaoh himself. In Psalm 110, to be invited to sit at God's right hand, is  to be considered equal with God and bearing the power of God.  This is borne out by Psa.110:5 where David states, "the Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath." What does this mean? Contextually, it means that the one whom God Himself has invited to sit at His right hand, is one who is equal to and bearing the power of God Himself.  Another interesting thing to notice in the Psalm is that vs. 1 is stated as "having happened!" even in David's time. Meaning that God determined this even at that time.

So, what does the Psalm state that we should look for, if we are to find one whom God would invite to sit at His right hand?

1. Someone GREATER than David, whom God considered in the Psalm to be a model for this statement in Psalms
2. That this one in Psa.110:1 is going to have the authority and power of God
3. This one in Psa.110:1 is also going to also be the Spiritual Leader as well as the King or ruler of the People of the world, Jew and Gentile.
4. The one whom David considered greater than himself. 
5. The one whom in the Psalm would be a Ruler or King FOREVER and the one who would be a Priest appointed by God FOREVER. 

We find that one, we have found the Messiah and we have found what God has appointed to be the one who would Sit at HIS right hand. 

And if that is whom God has chosen, then who are we to say no?

Jim

Finding Burning Bushes

 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.  And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 

Ex.3:2-4

Can you imagine the conversation?  Moses comes back to camp and tells everyone "Hey! I talked to God today and He was speaking out of a burning bush!"  Would you have believed him?  The bible narrative does not speak about this because there is no need to. It assumes that you already believe in God, and that for God to speak in this manner would not be something unbelievable.  The devil was as full of trickery then as he is now, so how do we know it is God speaking, versus last night's pizza?

The first litmus test for us, is does what is being said match what has already been taught? Gal.1:8, Paul reminds us, "But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."  so, the first litmus test is did God through the Old Testament, or Jesus in the gospels, or the apostles of Jesus in the New Testament already teach something on this?  It it isn't there -- DON'T BELIEVE IT! Simple - right? Well, not really, after all there is a LOT of stuff in these 66 books. But the test demands that it match what is already there, if it is going to be considered the word of God. How does God speak to us today?  "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." Heb.1:1,2

Now it is interesting, that when one believes this, that every corner, every instance, every breath contains the words of Jesus.  When you believe that God speaks through His Son, then when the Son speaks, you hear His voice (Jn.10:21). For the heart that believes, the Spirit literally "...he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.  (Jn.14:26)."  It is not hard for the believer to see Jesus and God everywhere and in literally everything. Why? Because what has changed within the person is their heart. It is no longer their own, but it is God's because of what God has done for them.  "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal.2:20)."  This does not make sense to someone who doesn't believe, because their heart has not changed. They do not see God because simply as Jesus stated it, "...these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  And these are the ones sown on rocky ground...(Mk.4:15,16)."

People who hear the voice of Christ and the voice of God are often seen as nuts, fanatics, "religious folk," and generally off the wall kind of people who are not in touch with reality. And people who see Christians like this are generally found in the parable of the Sower.  No root because Satan has take the grasp of it from them, choked out by cares of the world - its philosophies and rhetoric. They do not hear God's voice because they either do not believe there is a God, or they don't care enough to care about what He says.

But - for those who believe? God is EVERYWHERE!

Jim