An Everlasting King

                                                                   Sunday School Lesson
                                            

Lesson Scriptures: Psalms 110:1-4; Acts 2:22-24, 29-32
                                                                                             
Golden Text: “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalms 110:1).

INTRODUCTION.  The word king implies the existence of a kingdom.  In this week’s lesson our study concerns the everlasting King.  No earthly king has an everlasting kingdom, so this lesson is obviously not talking about the kings we normally think of.  The focus of our lesson is on the royal nature of Jesus the Messiah, the King.  He was promised to us a very long time ago as part of the covenant that God made with His people.  As we shall see, King David talked about the reality of this everlasting King many years before Jesus was born.
A PROPHETIC VIEW OF THE KING (Psalms 110:1-4). Psalms 110 is a messianic prophecy given by King David (see Luke 20:42).  It’s one of the most quoted psalms in the New Testament because of its clear references to the Messiah.  In Matthew 22:41-45, Jesus repeated the words of this verse and applied them to Himself.  Verse 1 looks forward to Christ’s final and total destruction of the wicked; verse 2 prophesies Christ’s reign on the earth; verses 3 and 4 tell of Christ’s priestly work for his people.      
A. The God-King’s exaltation (Psalms 110:1-2). 
1. (vs. 1).  This psalms begins with David saying “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”  David was in the Spirit, or inspired by the Holy Spirit when he recorded this conversation between two persons, “The Lord” and a person David called “my Lord.”  David said “The Lord said unto my Lord.”  The first use of the word “Lord” is all capitalized in the Bible which is a common way to translate “Yahweh” or Jehovah, the covenant name of God in the Old Testament.  Therefore the speaker here is God the Father---Yahweh.  The person God is talking to is identified by David as “my Lord.”  We know this to be the case because as king, David wouldn’t refer to any other person on earth as his lord.  God was speaking to the Messiah, the future King who would sit on David’s throne.  David said that “The Lord” (God the Father), instructed “my Lord” (the Lord, Jesus Christ, the Messiah) to “Sit thou at my right hand.”  God welcomed Jesus to take the seat at His “right hand” or right side which is the place of honor and authority.  No mere human being is qualified to sit at the right side of God in heaven.  However, the Son of God is qualified.  This scene takes place after Christ ascended into heaven (see John 20:17; Acts 1:9-11; 7:56; Revelation 3:21).  God further instructed Christ to sit at His right side “until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”  The symbol of a “footstool” came from the practice of ancient conquerors placing their feet on the necks of those they conquered (see Joshua 10:24; I Kings 5:3). The New testament church believed that Jesus not David, fulfilled this prophecy, both in ascending to the Father’s right hand and in ultimately subduing all His enemies (see Acts 2:34-35; Hebrews 1:3, 13).
2. (vs. 2).  God continues to say to Christ “The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.”  Whereas verse 1 describes where Christ is seated now and how He will defeat His enemies after the millennial reign, this verse refers to Christ’s rule during the millennial reign. The “rod” refers to a rod of judgment against one’s enemies (see Isaiah 11:4; Revelation 2:27: 19:15).  The phrase “The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength” pictures the Messiah subduing all enemies and ruling over them.  The rod or judgment of His strength is sent or extended “out of Zion.”  The name “Zion” has over time become another name for Jerusalem, the city of David (see II Samuel 5:7; I Kings 8:1; I Chronicles 11:5; II Chronicles 5:2).  When Messiah rules on earth it will be from Jerusalem or “Zion” which will be elevated in glory (see Psalms 2:6; Isaiah 2: 1-3; Zechariah 2:10-12; Zechariah 9:9).  From Jerusalem, Messiah’s rule will extend to the ends of the earth (see Psalms 2:7-9; Isaiah 2:4; Zechariah 8:22; 9:10).  The phrase, “rule thou in the midst of thine enemies” simply means that all of Messiah’s enemies will be forced to submit to Him as He rules in the midst of them.
B. The Priest-King’s dominion (Psalms 110:3-4).            
1. (vs. 3).  In this verse, God continues to say “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth.”  This verse has military overtones.  The phrase “Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power” can be translated as “Your troops will be willing on Your day of battle.”   It’s a picture of those who follow Messiah willingly giving themselves.  “The day of thy power” again can mean “the day of Your battle” and refers to the day the Messiah will gather His army for the battle of Armageddon.  Messiah’s army is different from any other army in that they will fight “in the beauties of holiness.”  This pictures Christ’s army purified and dressed in holy garments.  It signifies holiness or purity (see Revelation 3:4-5; 19:8, 14).  Being dressed in holy garments is essential for those who do battle for a Holy God.  The phrase “from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth” probably has the idea of “Your young warriors will come to you like the dew comes in the morning.”  In essence, these willing and holy warriors of Christ will be as dewdrops, fresh, vigorous, and of great numbers.
2. (vs. 4).  This verse says “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”  As David prophesied, this coming King, the Messiah would have an eternal priesthood.   He would be “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” and not after Aaron.  The priests all came from the family of Aaron in the tribe of Levi (see Numbers 3:10) long after the Bible introduces “Melchizedek.”  The Davidic kings came from the tribe of Judah, so the offices of king and priest were separate.  As a matter of fact, kings who took on priestly duties were severely punished (see I Samuel 13:8-13; II Chronicles 26:16-21).   Just as Melchizedek was a priest and king over Salem (the name for early Jerusalem), so Christ would serve in a dual role, King and Priest.  Here God swears that the coming Messiah would fulfill the pattern of priesthood set forth in Melchizedek, uniting the functions of both priest and king.  Note:  Melchizedek, which means king of righteousness, was a king of Salem during the days of Abraham and also “the priest of the most high God” (see Genesis 14:18).  All we know about him is that Abraham gave him tithes (see Genesis 14:19-20).  Melchizedek is a type of Christ the King-Priest.  The phrase “a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek” refers to the royal authority and unending duration of Christ’s high priesthood (see Hebrews 7:23-24).  The Aaronic priesthood was often interrupted by death.  God sealed this commitment to make Christ a Priest-King forever by making a solemn oath.  He said “The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent.”  In other words, God swore that His word would stand and He “will not repent” or change His mind which is the meaning of “repent.”  God swore that Messiah would be a Priest-King forever.  This could not have referred to David or any of his earthly descendents because they all eventually died.  But the Messiah, who is God, is eternal and can rule forever.
III. AN APOSTOLIC WITNESS OF THE KING (Acts 2:22-24, 29-32).  This portion of our lesson comes from Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was given to the early disciples in a special way (see Acts 2: 1-13).  Peter came forward to explain to the crowd what had happened and that the Holy Spirit’s coming was the fulfillment of prophecy (see Acts 2:14-21).  He quickly focused on Jesus and further addressed the crowd.
A. Jesus’ mighty deeds (Acts 2:22).  At this point, Peter said to the crowd “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know.”   The phrase “Ye men of Israel” includes both Jews who lived in Palestine or Israel as well as those who had come to the feast from abroad.  He called on them to listen to him closely as he pointed out that “Jesus of Nazareth” was “approved of God among you.”  In other words, God showed His approval of Jesus among those in and around Jerusalem.  God demonstrated His approval by “miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you.”  The word “miracles” places emphasis on God, the One who had the power behind Jesus’ miracles.  “Wonders” indicates that the people were amazed by His deeds.  “Signs” refers to the divine significance to which Messiah’s deeds pointed.  Peter went on to say that these deeds were all done right in the very “midst” of the people so they had firsthand knowledge.  This is the meaning of “as ye yourselves also know.”  Since many Jews in the crowd had firsthand knowledge of God’s approval of Jesus by His miraculous deeds, they were responsible for making the correct judgment about Jesus.
B. Jesus’ death and resurrection (Acts 2:23-24).
1. (vs. 23).  Peter continued to say, “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”  The phrase “Him, being delivered” means that Jesus was handed over to the Jews by God.  This was done “by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.”  In other words, it was in God’s plan and purpose to hand Jesus over to the Jewish leaders long before any of it took place which is the meaning of “foreknowledge of God.”  Everything that happened to Jesus was under God’s control.  However, those standing before Peter were guilty because as he said “ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.”  Many of the Jews listening to Peter took Jesus and delivered Him into “wicked hands” which is a reference to the Romans and by them Jesus was “crucified and slain.”  In other words the Romans hung Jesus on a cross and killed Him.  For sure, God supervises everything that happens, but just as sure, He holds those who do evil and have evil motives responsible for what they do.
2. (vs. 24).  Peter made it clear in this verse that evil wasn’t victorious over Christ.  He went on to say that this Jesus was the One “Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”  God raised Him from the dead “having loosed the pains of death” meaning that God freed Jesus from the agony of death.  God did this because “it was not possible that he should be holden of it.”  In other words, it was impossible for death to keep its hold on Jesus.  It was impossible for death to hold onto Him because of His deity---He was God in the flesh (see John 1:1, 14).
C. David’s prophetic words (Acts 2:29-30).  Verses 25-28 are not part of our printed text, but they lead into our remaining verses.  In those verses, Peter quoted David’s words from Psalms 16:8-11 to show that the resurrection was foreseen even by David.  Peter quoted Psalms 16:8-11 in verses 25-28 where David was speaking of joy at the Lord’s right hand, because He would not allow His Holy One, Christ, to see corruption (the decay of His body).   
1. (vs. 29).  In this verse Peter says “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.”  Peter wanted his listeners to know that when David wrote Psalms 16:8-11 he wasn’t talking about himself, because David was “both dead and buried” and remained that way. As Peter said “his sepulcher is with us unto this day.”  The word “sepulcher” refers to David’s tomb.  Everyone was aware that David’s tomb was right there in Jerusalem (see I Kings 2:10).  Since David was dead and buried, Peter’s point was that in Psalms 16:8-11, David must’ve been speaking prophetically about One who would die, but whose body would not remain in the grave long enough to decay.  David was well aware that at times the Holy Spirit spoke through him (see II Samuel 23:1-2).
2. (vs. 30).  Peter goes on to say “Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.”  As a prophet, David knew that God had sworn with an oath to him “that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.”  The phrase “the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,” refers to One of David’s descendents who would be the “Christ” whom God would “raise up…to sit on his (David’s) throne.”  This would be a reference to the Davidic covenant that promised that David’s throne would be established forever (see II Samuel 7:12-16).  David was actually prophesying the resurrection of Christ.
D. Jesus’ fulfillment of the prophecy (Acts 2:31-32). 
1. (vs. 31).  Peter continued to say of David that “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”   The phrase “He seeing this before” means that as a prophet David had looked into the future and “spake of the resurrection of Christ.”  David specifically prophesied that Christ’s “soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.”  The New Testament was written in Greek and the Greek word for “hell” in this verse is “hades” which is the same as the Hebrew word “sheol” in the original psalm.  All three words simply mean the place of the dead or the grave.  “Hell” does not refer to a place of torment in this verse.  If it did, then it would imply that after Jesus died He went to a place of torment, and of course He didn’t.  The phrase “neither his flesh did see corruption” means that Jesus’ body didn’t decay for He was raised bodily from the grave.  Note:  Even though Jesus’ resurrection body was glorified and not subject to the usual physical limitations (see Luke 24:31; John 20:19, 26), it was still a real body that could be touched (see Luke 24:37-43) but not flesh and blood as we are (see I Corinthians 15:35, 42-44, 49-50).  In His resurrection body, Jesus ascended into heaven, and in the same body He will return (see Acts 1:9-11).
2. (vs. 32).  Our final verse says “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.”  Peter, having made his point concluded that “This Jesus,” the One he had just spoken of “hath God raised up.”  Jesus of Nazareth, a carpenter’s son, the son of Mary and Joseph, the One whom the Romans crucified at the request of the Jewish leadership is the Messiah of whom David spoke, and God raised Him up as David’s prophecy said.  Peter concluded by saying “whereof we all are witnesses.”  In other words, all of Jesus’ disciples present that day with Peter could personally testify that they were witnesses of His resurrection (see Matthew 28:8-9; Mark 16:9-14; Luke 24:13-32; John 20:13-21, 26-29; 21:1 Acts 1:1-9; I Corinthians 15:3-8).
   
                         
IV. Conclusion.  It’s very sad that there are still people in our day of instantaneous communication who have not yet heard of our Messiah-King.  He has promised to return to the earth and set up His reign on earth in peace and prosperity.  When this King appears to receive us, it will be to an everlasting kingdom.  This means that it has no end.  It’s a simple truth, but one that is easy to overlook.  The world needs to know that there is a permanent and everlasting solution to every need.  The answer is found in Jesus, the everlasting King alone.