Messianic Perspectives

Guest (Female): The 110th Psalm is quoted or alluded to by Jesus, Matthew, Mark, Luke, Peter, Paul, and other New Testament writers, more than any other passage in the Old Testament. But this Psalm is also a source of great controversy. So is it really a Messianic prophecy or just wishful thinking? We'll find out today, right here on Messianic Perspectives.

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctively first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Our Bible teacher is Dr. Gary Hedrick, president of CJF Ministries in San Antonio, Texas. You can reach our offices by dialing 1-800-926-5397.

Gary's subject today is "The Truth About Psalm 110." And since this Psalm is the most often quoted Old Testament prophecy in the entire New Testament, that means if it can be discredited, the whole Messianic house of cards comes tumbling down. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. Now, with today's study, here is Dr. Gary Hedrick.

Dr. Gary Hedrick: All right, thank you. And welcome, listening friend, to another edition of Messianic Perspectives. It's good to have you with us today as we continue this series of studies on "The Truth About Psalm 110." This is a very important series of studies because, as we said last time, the 110th Psalm is the most frequently quoted Messianic prophecy in the entire New Testament.

Psalm 110 is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than any other passage of Old Testament scripture. We've gotten bogged down in verse one and defending it against the critics, and I think what we want to do today is just move on because this Psalm really is very capable of speaking for itself. In fact, we do it an injustice when all we do is try to defend it.

We need to let it talk for itself. It's well able to defend itself. It doesn't need me or anyone else to defend it. So, we're going to read through these seven verses, and I think you're going to see there is no question about it being Messianic. In fact, when we're done, you'll see that there is no one else in the world, whether in the past, the present, or the future, who fits this description. Jesus, our Messiah, is the only one with the qualifications to fulfill this wonderful sevenfold prophecy.

When we get to the seventh prophecy, way down there in verse seven, we're going to see that it's what the Rabbis call a *Remez*, or literally a hint. It's a meaning that is hidden just below the surface of a passage. The text gives you clues or hints, and then the Holy Spirit shows you the meaning. That will be the seventh prophecy. But before we get to prophecy number seven, we're going to go through the first six. So let's get started.

Now watch this. Number one: David says first of all his Lord has been exalted to sit at the right hand of God Himself. That's in the first part of verse one. The first Lord, speaking to the second Lord, says, "Sit thou at my right hand." So that means whoever this second Lord is, he is seated at the right hand of God in heaven.

Now, in modern life, we don't really have any precedent for this custom of placing someone on your right hand. But in ancient times, this was a well-known custom. The place on someone's right hand was considered the place of honor and blessing. And here in Psalm 110, we have David saying his Lord, the Messiah, is seated at God's right hand.

The Midrash on Psalm 18:36 confirms that the right hand of God is the rightful position of Israel's King Messiah. That's in Midrash Tehillim 29a. And the New Testament agrees. In his letter to the Philippians, the apostle Paul said that God has highly exalted the Messiah and given Him a name which is above every name (Philippians 2:9). In the letter to the Hebrews, we are told that Jesus has been set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).

So, who is this Lord whom God says will be seated at His right hand? He's the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, Adonai Yeshua HaMashiach. In fact, Jesus applied this term to Himself. In Matthew 26:64, when He stood before the Sanhedrin, the High Priest said, "I adjure you under oath, Jesus of Nazareth, by the living God, you tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God."

And what did Jesus say? He told him, "Yes, it is just as you say. I am indeed the Messiah. And I say to every one of you," and He was probably pointing at the members of the Sanhedrin, "I say to every one of you, the day is coming when you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven."

By the way, very few people understand the full significance of what happened there in Matthew 26. This episode in Matthew 26 was the defining moment in the national life of first-century Israel. This is one of the most dramatic and significant accounts in the entire Bible because this is where the rulers of the nation rejected their Messiah.

You see, what they should have done was they should have all fallen on their faces before their King Messiah and said, "Lord, what would You have us do? You are the fulfillment of the hope of all the ages, and we are Your humble servants. Tell us what You want us to do." That's what the Sanhedrin should have said. But they didn't.

Instead, they put Him on trial for blasphemy because they knew He was claiming to be the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And in their defense, let's make it very clear: it would have been blasphemy for someone to say the things that Jesus said and to make the claims that Jesus made, if he was not God.

For a mortal man to say the things Jesus said and to make the claims Jesus made would definitely have been blasphemy. In fact, C.S. Lewis, the great English scholar and professor at Cambridge University, said there are only three possibilities: either Jesus was a liar, or He was a lunatic, or He was and is Lord. No middle ground.

You can't say He was just a good man because good men don't go around claiming to be God. Do you understand that? You don't get off the hook by saying, "Okay, I'll admit He was a really nice guy. He did a lot of good things." Because if He was not God, but He went around claiming to be God, He was not a nice guy.

He was either a liar or He was stark raving mad. And in either case, He was very dangerous, and the Sanhedrin did the right thing by taking Him into custody and putting Him on trial. Because you see, in Jewish life, we have this thing called *Halacha*. *Halacha* is Jewish law. It's actually Jewish law as interpreted by the masters of the Talmud and later authorities.

It's very extensive and very complex. And according to *Halacha*, the Sanhedrin is the legal body of Am Yisrael, or the people of Israel. They are vested with the responsibility of formally recognizing the Messiah when He arrives. And by the way, if you need documentation for that, you'll find an excellent discussion of this in the late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's anti-missionary book entitled *The Real Messiah*. It's on page 93.

There's a lot of stuff in that book we don't like, but this discussion is very good. It's on page 93. That's why many Orthodox Jews think the Sanhedrin must be reconstituted before the Messiah comes, because even if He showed up today, there is no official body vested with the responsibility of receiving Him and recognizing Him and welcoming Him.

You see, most people don't know that. They don't understand that. They think this scene in Matthew 26 is just one more episode in the passion of the Messiah. But it's not. This is the episode, the defining moment in the life of first-century Israel, because her Messiah is standing there on the Temple Mount, just a stone's throw from the temple itself, standing there before the Sanhedrin.

And listen, we know this was a corrupt bunch. Even the Rabbis today, or at least most of them, will admit that the religious establishment in Jerusalem in the first century was corrupt. We know the people at Qumran had disassociated themselves from the Jerusalem religious establishment because they were so disgusted with it. But no matter how corrupt they were, they were still the Sanhedrin.

Just like sometimes we have a president that we think is corrupt, or a governor we think is corrupt, but he's still the president or he's still the governor, whether we like him or not. And this was the Sanhedrin, whether they were popular or not. So when Yeshua, or Jesus, stood there before the Sanhedrin, this was probably the single most important moment in the history of national Israel.

And when they asked Him if He is really the Messiah, He makes it very clear because, you see, this was the first time they had really asked, because He wasn't campaigning for the job. He never did campaign for the job. In fact, most of the time He told people not to tell anybody. He wasn't on a crusade to make the Sanhedrin recognize Him.

But here, when He stood before them and Caiaphas said, "Tell us if You are the Messiah, the Son of God," Jesus made it very, very clear so there would be no way they could misinterpret His meaning. So there could be no misunderstanding, He said, "Yes, it is just as you say. I am the Messiah. And not only am I the Messiah, but I say to every one of you, the day is coming when you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of God and coming in the clouds of heaven."

And you know what? Those men knew exactly what He meant. We know they did because of their reaction. The High Priest ripped his clothes and said, "He has spoken blasphemy!" So Jesus Himself referred to being seated at God's right hand. And that's the first prophecy here in Psalm 110. David says his Lord has been exalted to sit at the right hand of God Himself. The first Lord, speaking to the second Lord, says, "Sit thou at my right hand." That's number one. That's why Hebrews 1:3 says that our Lord is sitting at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Well, next time we'll talk about prophecy number two here in Psalm 110. There's a whole series of seven of them here in this Psalm. I hope you'll join us as we make our way through the list. Until then, this is your friend, Gary Hedrick, saying God bless you. Take care. Bye-bye.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. We've been listening to our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick, talking about "The Truth About Psalm 110." If you are interested in Bible prophecy, you'll be glad to know that our special offer this week is the CD of this current series of studies on "The Truth About Psalm 110" by our Bible teacher, Dr. Gary Hedrick.

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And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "The Truth About Psalm 110" right here on Messianic Perspectives.