#DailyDevotion The Most Quoted Old Testament Passage
Psalm 110 The LORD says to my Lord, “Sit at My right until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2From Zion the LORD will send out the scepter of Your power: “Rule in the middle of Your enemies.”
In both Matt. 22 and Mark 12 Jesus asks the Pharisees and the Scribes how the Messiah can be David’s descendant if He is David’s Lord. They are stumped. Now I think it is evident the Pharisees took this to be a Messianic prophecy. Now the first LORD is Yahweh. The second Lord is either “my Adon” or “Adonai.” The consonants are the same for each. Better Hebrew scholars than me say it must be “my Adon.” But I don’t see why that would be a problem for the Pharisees. Why could not David call the Messiah, his descendant, Lord? He is to sit on David’s throne forever. Solomon was David’s Lord when he ascended to David’s throne while David still lived. There is really only a tension here if Lord here is Adonai. Adonai is only used of God, the LORD, in the Old Testament. It is a divine name. Now if they admit Psalm 110 is a Messianic Psalm and David calls the Messiah, his descendant Adonai, he would be saying his descendant is God, Adonai.
The other possibility is if it is “my Lord” is where “my Lord” is sitting—at the right of the LORD. What does it mean to sit there? To sit at the right of the sovereign is to assume the full rights, privileges, power and authority of the sovereign, cf. Joseph as ruler in Egypt. No mere human can sit at the right of the LORD. Only one who is by nature God can sit at His right. So David’s descendant is fully man and fully God.
We can see this at Jesus’ trial when the high priest asks Jesus if He is the Messiah. Jesus replies in Mark 14, 62“I am,” Jesus said. “And you will all see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.” The Pharisees accuse Him of blasphemy. Since this is so, it is also apparent then they would denounce anyone claiming to be the Messiah since this would apply to them as well.
We should now look at the other New Testament passages which quote this passage. They all attest to the same thing. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God. Peter in Acts 2 quotes it, “34David didn’t go up to heaven, but he says: ‘The Lord says to my Lord, “Sit at My right 35until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 36“Then all the people of Israel should know it’s true that God made Him Lord and Christ — this Jesus Whom you crucified.” Stephen in Acts 6 says as they were stoning him, 56“Look!” he said, “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at God’s right hand.” Paul in Ephesians 1 confesses Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. The author of Hebrews mentions it in chapters 1, 10 and 12. He confesses Jesus is the fulfillment of this verse. Peter in his first epistle chapter three that, 22 “Who [Jesus] has gone to heaven and is at the right of God, where angels, rulers, and powers have been put under Him.”
Paul in 1 Cor. 15 says, “24Then the end will come when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has put an end to every other government, authority, and power, 25since He must rule as King until He puts all enemies under His feet. 26The last enemy He will get rid of is death. 27You see, He puts everything under His feet….” So Jesus is ruling right now at the right hand of God. He is ruling on behalf of His Church. He is in the process of putting down every enemy of His Church which includes not only fallen angelic beings but every government—including the USA and Israel. All things are put under His feet. This includes death, which is the last enemy He overcomes as He raises all His disciples to eternal life, to live and reign with Him forever. By faith we are seated with Him in the heavenly places. (Eph. 2) Then we shall see it with our own eyes and rejoice in it.
Heavenly Father, fulfill Your word and place all things under Jesus’ feet and as we are in Him, may we live and reign with Him forever. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.