Mark 12:35-40 | “A Sovereign Son and Selfish Scribes”

Context of Mark 12

We’re in the middle of seven conflict stories between Jesus and the religious leaders (11:27-12:40).  Jesus went to Jerusalem and the temple to confront the wicked and corrupt practices and leaders there.  He pronounced judgment on the temple, saying it would wither just like the fruitless fig tree.  He said that his authority to do what he was doing was linked to John’s baptism, where the Father declared him to be his beloved Son and filled him with his Spirit.  He told a parable about how the religious leaders, the tenants of God’s vineyard, are going to be judged because they killed God’s beloved Son, and the vineyard will be given to others.  He told them that they don’t understand the power of God or the Scriptures.  And he told them that loving God and loving neighbor was God’s greatest commandment.

By putting these seven encounters side-by-side, Mark is saying that Jesus went to the temple to replace it and its leaders.  It must be brought down and replaced with a new “building,” a new place where people can meet God, and with new leadership.  Through Jesus, God is going to build a new house where his presence will live.  Jesus will be the foundation of the house and the new leader of everyone who trusts in him.

Overview of Mark 12:35-40

In Mark 12:35-40, we come to the last two of the seven conflict stories between Jesus and the religious leaders.  These last two stories are Jesus teaching about the leaders, not to the leaders.     

Verses 35 and 38 say that he’s addressing the scribes.  Last week we saw that Jesus had a positive exchange with a scribe.  That encounter is the only time a scribe approaches Jesus positively and the only time Jesus engages a scribe positively.  In verses 35-40, it’s almost as if Mark course corrects to make it clear that the scribes hated and opposed Jesus, and that Jesus saw them for what they really were.   

In our text this morning, Jesus is doing two things in response.  First, he points out their bad theology.  Second, he points out their bad lifestyles.  He starts with theology because what we believe about God influences everything else.  As Jared said a couple weeks ago, theology matters.  What we think about God shapes what we think about everything else.  Our beliefs shape our behaviors.  For example, if I believe that God made every person in his image and that therefore every person has inherent dignity, then I’ll try to treat every person I meet with respect, no matter how different from me they may be.

The Bad Theology of the Scribes

In verses 35-37, we see the bad theology of the scribes, particularly as it related to the identity of the Messiah.  The scribes rightly believed that the Christ would be a son of David, but they didn’t understand how a son of David could also be the Lord of David.  They didn’t expect a Messiah who would also be God.

Jesus asks a question about the scribe’s view of the Messiah.  He’s essentially asking, “What do the scholars and the intellectuals of Israel think about the Messiah?  Why do they think that he’ll be a son of David?”

Who Was David?

Remember who David was.  He was the shepherd boy who became a warrior king.  He was the greatest military leader in Israel’s history.  He administered justice and extended Israel’s borders.  He instituted a public works program that reshaped life in Israel.  He was Israel’s most illustrious king.  The Jews thus regarded David’s reign as the Golden Age of Israel.

When David died, his kingdom passed to his son Solomon.  Despite Solomon’s great wisdom, the kingdom began to be tarnished under his rule.  After he died, the kingdom was split between Jeroboam and Rehoboam and the Golden Age began to turn to rust.  The decay continued for centuries as both the northern and southern kingdoms were mired in sin and corruption. 

This created a longing among the Jewish people for a return to the Golden Age of King David.  God actually gave them a promise that the house of David would be restored and the Davidic dynasty would last forever.  For generations, the Jewish people longed for this one who would come from David’s line to rescue and prosper them.  Their longing is like the longing we feel for Christmas morning.  Just as we long for the peace and joy and gifts and tranquility of that day, so Israel longed for a descendant of David to come and restore the nation to what it once was.

The Most Quoted Verse of the Old Testament

Jesus asks the people, “Why do the scribes think that the Messiah will come from David’s line?”  They could’ve answered from a number of Old Testament passages why the scribes taught this.  The simple answer was that they taught this because the Bible taught this. 

But Jesus was after something else, something deeper.  He quotes Psalm 110:1 in order to bring to their attention a key idea concerning the identity of the Messiah (v. 36).  Psalm 110 is the Old Testament text that is quoted or alluded to most often in the New Testament (33 times).  The New Testament writers understood how important this text was for understanding Jesus, probably because Jesus himself used the verse to describe himself. 

Jesus takes the people to Psalm 110:1 and says, “Notice what David, by the Holy Spirit, says about his son, the son you’re expecting as your Messiah.”  Jesus raises this question to point out that the scribes have missed something very important about the Messiah.  He’s asking the people to think about why David would describe one of his descendants as greater than himself.  How is one of David’s kids or grandkids or great-great-great-great grandkids his “Lord”?  How can one of David’s descendants be his master?

Let’s take Psalm 110:1 one piece at a time to see what Jesus is getting at.  First, it says, “The Lord said to my Lord.”  The first “Lord” from Psalm 110:1 is the Hebrew word for the personal name of God, “Yahweh.”  The second “Lord” in Psalm 110:1 is a different word, “Adonai,” meaning “the One who is absolutely sovereign.” 

So in Psalm 110:1, God is having a conversation with someone called Adonai.  Yahweh and Adonai are usually used to refer to the same person, as in Psalm 8:1, “O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.”  This literally says, “O Yahweh, our Adonai, how majestic is your name.”  Here the two words refer to the same person.

But in Psalm 110:1, Yahweh calls someone else Adonai, “Yahweh said to Adonai.”  David is not saying, “The Lord said to himself.”  He’s saying, “The Lord said to someone else.”  He’s clearly thinking of two different people. 

Who, then, is the Adonai that Yahweh is talking to?  Who is the Sovereign One who is Lord over king David?  In the Old Testament, the only person who’s sovereign over kings is God.  So it seems that God is speaking to someone else who carries the title for God.  Psalm 110:1 is alluding the divinity of the Messiah.

The Session of Jesus

The next part of Psalm 110:1 is what God says to David’s Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”  Yahweh says to Adonai, “Come sit next to me while I defeat all your enemies.”  God says to David’s Sovereign, “Have a seat next to me.”

When we think of Jesus’ life and work, we often focus on his birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and return.  We don’t often consider what he’s doing right now.  What is Jesus doing right now?  He’s sitting at the right hand of God.  This is often called the session of Jesus. 

When we say that our congress is in session, we mean that our representatives are assembled together in their seats and are doing the business of our country.  The word “session” comes from the Latin word sessio, which means “the act of sitting.”

The session of our Congress is not nearly as important as the session of Jesus.  After Jesus ascended to heaven, God said, “Have a seat at my right hand,” or “Be seated in the highest place of authority in the universe.”  This Psalm is prophesying what would happen when the Messiah was finished with his work on earth.  He’d be exalted and enthroned in heaven at God’s right hand. 

Implications of Jesus’ Session

The church has confessed this truth in the Apostles Creed for thousands of years.  Jesus “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God.”  This means everything for us.  It means that our ultimate allegiance is to King Jesus, not any government.  As Americans, we pride ourselves for living in a democracy.  But as Christians, we live in a kingdom under a king.

This truth shapes the way we think about what it means to be a Christian.  Being a Christian means confessing that “Jesus is Lord” (Rom. 10:9-10).  By definition, Christians are those who live under Christ.  Someone who says they believe in Jesus but doesn’t live under his rule in any noticeable way needs to rethink what they mean when they call themselves “Christian.”

Our King expects us to remain loyal to him while he’s away, just as Robin Hood remained loyal to King Richard while he was away.  Even if the whole world goes after Prince John, or if the Sheriff of Nottingham wants to take us out, or if we must forgo the comforts of this life and live in Sherwood Forest, we must never forsake our allegiance to our King.  He’s worthy of our everything.

We trust that he will, in time, return and make all things right.  When God is done defeating all his enemies, he will send him back to claim victory over all things.  All the sad things will become untrue.  All the painful things will be over.  All wounds will be healed.  All the redeemed will be resurrected with new bodies and will inherit a new world.  And the glory of King Jesus will be so great that there won’t be any need for a sun.  Are you ready for this day?

How Is David’s Son His Lord?

In Psalm 110:1, David shows us a conversation in which God invites David’s Lord to take a seat in the greatest seat in the universe.  But then in verse 37, Jesus asks the people a question based on this text.  In other words, how can David call one of his sons his sovereign?  How can David call one of his descendants as greater than himself?

In Jewish life, sons were always subordinate to their fathers.  The son was never greater than the father.  As great as the Messiah would be, if he was going to be David’s son, he could not be greater than David.  But David reverses his cultural norm and says that one of his sons will be his sovereign.  He will call one of his sons, “my Lord, my Adonai, my Sovereign One.”

This means that the Messiah, the Son of David, will also be the Sovereign of David.  He’ll be David’s Adonai.  He’ll be one with power and authority over David.  He’ll be one before whom even David must bow.  If King David will bow before him, what about us?

The people who listened to Jesus “heard him gladly” (v. 37b).  They believed that their Messiah would be great, but they’d never considered that he’d be this great.  They received this news with gladness, as all true believers do.  The Lordship of Jesus is good news to those who see him for who he is.  The good and benevolent rule of King Jesus brings joy to the hearts of those who live in perpetual tyranny and sadness.  He stomps out all his people’s enemies, ensuring their everlasting peace. 

The Bad Lifestyle of the Scribes

In the next section (vv. 38-40), Mark presents this amazing contrast between the one he’s just described and the religious leaders.  The ones who’re supposed to know this King look the least like him.  Thus, the people should “beware” of them.  This is strong language.  We use “beware” signs for things that can hurt or kill someone.  Jesus says that we should “beware” of people who claim to know God and yet haven’t submitted to his power and authority. 

Let’s not be too quick to condemn the scribes.  The things Jesus describes here are things we all struggle with.  How many of us have dressed merely to impress others?  How often do we use our clothing to shape our identity and image, to tell the world how awesome we are?  I like a nice shirt like the next person.  But if our clothes are drawing attention to ourselves rather than our Lord, we’re no better than the scribes (cf. 1 Pet. 3:3-4).

Jesus says the scribes “like greetings in the marketplaces” (v. 38).  How many times have we gone out just to be seen by others?  We crave the attention and affirmation of others, especially publically.  We love hearing our name mentioned publically.  I experienced this this week when I looked up my name in one of my professors books to see if he’d used my research.

Like the scribes, we also like “to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts” (v. 39).  Again, we crave public recognition.  We don’t necessarily want to be great, we just want to be seen as great.  This explains much of what you do on social media.  As Christians, this is an ironic way to live because we claim to be friends with the greatest person in the universe.  If Jesus is the greatest one, and we know him, wouldn’t we just want to point to him all the time?  Isn’t it silly that we live in ways to attract glory to ourselves when we actually know the one with all the glory?

Jesus says they “devour widows’ houses” (v. 40).  What does that mean?  The Bible says repeatedly that God has a special concern for widows and orphans.  They’re the most vulnerable in most societies and can be easily exploited.  The scribes were going to their houses and scamming them out of the little money they had.

Even today, widows often fall for scams because they’re frightened.  Even if it sounds expensive, if it promises a good return they’ll often fall for it.  This is one reason the prosperity gospel has gained traction through Christian television.  Many of the people watching TBN are widows.  Huckster televangelists are scamming them out of their money, promising a great return if they’ll “sow their seed in faith that God will multiply it.”   

The scribes would also “for a pretense make long prayers” (v. 40).  They wanted people to see how great and spiritual and godly they were during their public prayers.  This is a temptation I battle each week as I lead our church in prayer.  Jesus doesn’t say that long prayers are bad, just ones done out of “pretense.”  Prayers prayed for our glory, instead of God’s, are the problem. 

“They Will Receive a Greater Condemnation”

After blasting the scribes, Jesus concludes with what their fate will be (v. 40b).  As the teachers of the Bible, they had the responsibility to lead people into the truth and serve them humbly, but they’d not fulfilled their calling.  Because they were entrusted with the most important thing, their failure would result in the most severe punishment.  James says, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (3:1).  Those who speak for God are supposed to know what God wants, thus they’re held to a higher standard. 

There are different levels of God’s judgment in hell.  Jesus says that those like the scribes who pretend to know him and speak for him, yet are really in it for themselves, will have the “greater condemnation.”  Let that sink in for a moment.  The most religious will be the most punished.  God isn’t interested in how we look, how we sound, or who knows our name.  He’s interested in truth.  He’s interested in our hearts.  He’s only impressed with one person.  Those who claim to speak for him should seek to magnify the only name he has magnified, Jesus Christ. 

The contrast between the Son of David and the scribes couldn’t be sharper.  One came to humbly serve and is now glorified.  The others lived selfishly and were forgotten.

In verses 35-37, Jesus asks us, “What do you think about the Lordship of the Son of David?  What do you think about the sovereignty of Jesus Christ?”  In verses 38-40, he asks us, “Are you like the scribes?  Are you living for your glory or for the glory of the Son of David?”  May our lives look more like the sovereign Son and less like the selfish scribes.

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