Sit at My Right Hand

Luke 20:41-47, Key Verses 42, 43, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’

Have you heard about a new sport called “gravedigging contest”? Contests are judged on the appearance of the grave. So each gravedigger labor in the heat and calculate the precise measurement of each plot. The Sadducees were like gravediggers, for they did not know the living God. They were stuck in this age, digging into a nonsense question. In the previous passage, Jesus silenced them. Now another gravediggers, teachers of the law being impressed by Jesus said, “Well said, teacher!” Those days they were wrongly looking forward to a descendant of David who can defeat all Israel’s enemies and bring in a new kingdom of David to make Israel nation great again. Their view about the Son of David was political, trying to fit their own narrow nationalism. They could not see beyond their thought. How about their practical lives? Look at v 45-47. “While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” They were very sensitive to people’s recognition. They lived before people. Their religious establishment was their Lord for their glory in this world. They were different from David, who was a man after God’s own heart. Jesus told his disciples to beware of them. Especially the desire for prominence rather than selfless service; the desire for self seeking rather than seeking to promote the good of others. God was not pleased with them. Jesus was quite opposite from them. Jesus was a man of sorrows and sufferings. Jesus was a man of obedience to his Father until he would die soon on the cross. Jesus lived as a shepherd deciding to serve, rather than to be served. Jesus seemed to be a loser from their view. But Jesus will claim ultimate victory. To help them out, Jesus now quoted Ps 110, the theme of which is the ultimate victory of David’s Lord.

Part 1, My Lord Jesus is the Victor. Look at v 41-44. “Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The Lord said to my Lord. David was not referring to himself as “my lord.” God was not referring to himself either. God and David must’ve mentioned someone else of great importance:the messiah! In English, the same word "Lord" appears twice. But in Hebrew these are two different words. The first "Lord" is translated from "Yahweh," referring to the sacred name of God. The second "Lord" is translated from "Adonai," referring to the one who is absolutely sovereign. The people of Israel were warned against abusing the sacred name of God, Yahweh. So they invented it’s different titles, the supreme title of which was Adonai, meaning, the one who is sovereign over the kings of the world. So it means, “Yahweh said to my Adonai.” or, “The Lord, God the Father said to my Lord, the Messiah the Son, Jesus Christ.” Physically David is the ancestor of Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ was with God in the beginning. He is God and became flesh. Because teachers of law had shallow knowledge about Jesus Christ, they puzzled, “How did David call Jesus ‘Lord’? “How then can he be the Lord of David?” That was ridiculous! But Jesus having absolute ownership over the king David came to this world according to God’s promise through David. In Rev 1:8, Jesus says, “Before David was, I am. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6b)

The Lord said to my Lord! Here through this intimate conversation, I personally noticed love and trust relationship between God the Father and His Son. One day Jesus points out, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Jesus knew all that He needed to know. He came to know as much as his Father was pleased to reveal to him. The Father had shared with him as much about the mystery of redemption as Jesus needed to know. In Ge 1:26, God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over” Now Jesus would be crucified in a few days. Jesus had to submit to knowing partially like a human being. He had to obey without knowing all of the facts, and to walk by faith without having the whole picture. He cried on the cross, “Why do you forsake me?” He suffered as one who did not have all the answers. He had to ask God why. He became sin, and had been banished to utter darkness. That was a harsh reality that David’s Lord chose to do. He had to serve within the limitations of humankind. But he did not doubt God at all. Nor did he utter negative words. Nor did he confuse despite Satan’s accusation. He trusted His Father to the end. When he died, it is not the end of the story. God raised him up from the dead. God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Php 2) So Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father’s eternal throne. (Heb 8:1) Teachers of law must have studied hard God’s words. They must have known who Jesus is by now, because all the writings in the Scripture was about Jesus Christ. But their eyes were too blind to accept Jesus as their Lord, much less surrender themselves to Him.

“Who is my Lord?” has been a timeless question throughout history. In the early Christian era the world declared, “Caesar is the Lord.” But the Christians never compromised with their belief that only Jesus is their Lord, even though their lives were in great danger. In our times, people in authority, in the university, religion, pleasure seeking lifestyle, & under the name of democracy, try to get rid of Jesus as the Lord. Under the advanced technology culture, we’ve had many benefits. But people are addicted more on their phones, social media, and apps. Many believe that soon virtual reality will be the future of communicating and socializing, encapsulating the world. Silicon Valley think tank envisions that nanotechnology can make humans immortal by 2040. However it will reduce human dignity, and weaken our relationship with God. “Hot or not” becomes girl’s daily obsession by posting their sexy bodies. In this way our enemy, the Devil enslaves young people shrewdly. People consider material possessions and physical comfort as more important than anything else. Success is frequently defined by material gain. Happiness and relationships are 2ndary to income. We seem to lose ground due to the persistent invasion of our inner enemy through high tech and money centered value system. But it is not true! Still Jesus is the Lord in our culture and the most liberal state of CA. Heb 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” The whole world is in his hands like the Children’s song, “He’s got the whole wild world in His hands.” We know, in history any fads or trends followed by an enthusiastic group of people for a limited time period will come and go regardless of their popularity. No matter how great world leaders are, they all disappear from the stage of history in a matter of time. But whoever promotes evil practices must stand before the judgement seat of Jesus.

There are many believers who accept Jesus as their Saviour, but not as their Lord. They believe according to their desires and ideas for the gain in this world. We should firmly believe that He is the Lord of all people and the whole universe is His. Once we experience deeper relationship with the Lord, our living God, all material gain, pleasure seeking, and high tech turned out to be a sheer joke. Once we tap into infinite grace and love in the Lord, we experience contentment. Godliness with contentment is great gain! This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength (Isa 30:15) As for young people it’s important to find good meetings and churches. Yet, what matters the most is whether we know who the Lord is and commit our lives to him, entrusting our security, marriage, and all things in life to Him and live by faith in the Lord, our Lord and the Lord of all. Then the Lord will lead us in his best way for His purpose. Apostle Paul said in Rm 14:8, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” May it be our same confession of faith.

Part 2, Sit at my right hand. In this part let us think about what is the real difference in our daily lives when we know Jesus as our Lord and the Champion God chose? Please look at the key verse. The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. Take notice of the first command word, “sit”. In the OT, did you ever wonder the reason why the priests never sat down? There was no chair in the tabernacle or temple, because their work was never finished. But Jesus sat down, because His work is finished. Heb 10:11–14 reads, “Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” So Jesus does sit and expect His Father to bring all His defeated enemies under His feet, meaning that defeated enemies were brought back in chains and the victorious king would sit on his throne and put his feet on the backs of his defeated enemies as a sign of victory. Paul wrote this quotation repeatedly in 1Co 15. “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For God has put everything under his feet.” Eph 1:22,23 reads, “God also placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body.” God’s Word is the truth and He keeps His Word. God is telling us to have the same attitude as Jesus—to sit, while He makes our enemies a footstool for us. So with each passing day, we have all things, including the defeated enemies and all kinds of curses, being put under our feet. It is not one time transaction, but reliably repetitive pattern throughout history. In Gen 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Since Adam failed from love fellowship with the Lord, God promised to send Jesus to defeat the Satan. Despite all backsliding of his descendants, without fail God called one person Abraham to be an ancestor of faith for God’s redemption. When God chose a young boy David, God put all his enemies under his feet as well. (1Ki 5:3) When a general Joshua conquered the promised land, he dealt with defeated 5 kings by saying, “Come here and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks. Joshua said to them, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.” (Jos 10:24-25) In Rev 3:8-9, “You have kept my word and have not denied my name… I will make them come and fall down at your feet.” In fact this promise, Ps110:1 is the most frequently quoted v. in the New Testament.

“The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ God doesn’t say to us, “Wait until all your enemies have been destroyed, until every problem in your life has been resolved, then you can sit.” Rather he says, “Sit, that means to trust and rest assured first rather than being anxious until I make all your enemies your footstool.” What is our natural response when it comes to challenging problems? “Let me fix this situation first, and then I can relax” Our human nature is inclined toward worry. In our brain, fight/flight center oftenly hijacked a center of logic and reason. Likewise the devil loves to see human nature reign and have us believe that we can be sure when only things go well. But the problems never end! That is the problem. That’s why God says to us, “Seek first His Kingdom & His righteousness, all these things will be given to you as well.”

Sit at my right hand! Here the word “sit” is also the same meaning with “rest”. Heb 3:11 reads, So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’’ Here God called the promised land “My rest”. However, when the Israelites almost entered the promised land, they chose to believe the negative report of the 10 spies because of giants from the Anakites. (Num 13:33) Instead of focusing on God’s goodness and promise, the Israelites focused on their giant enemies and were fearful, anxious, and doubtful. But God in Deut 9 says, “But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly as the Lord has promised you.” Because God is bigger than any problem we have, God wants us to have faith. Caleb set a good example in keeping his faith more than 45 years. As we have faith in God, God works! God takes notice of one person like Caleb, beginning His mighty work and giving him the Hebron where the Anakites resided.

By faith we will rule with our King of kings, Lord of lords! Rev 3:21 says, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.” With this in mind, we only need to take up a kingly and queenly attitude and rest in Him. Further we never lose our 20/20 vision. Isa 54:1–2 says “Sing, barren woman, you who have never bore a child; burst into song, and shout for joy, you who were never labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has husband.” says the LORD. Enlarge the place of your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” Here the “barren woman” is a picture of someone who has not seen immediate outcomes. God never meant for us to be barren. God blessed man to be fruitful from the beginning. But the devil come and say to us, “A mother of many? Where is your Bible student?” Don’t listen to him. God wants us to trust Him before we see the fruit. So we rest in the midst of our problems and scarce fruit. Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” By trusting in Jesus’ words, we serve His world mission. How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news? Despite many rejection, we are engaged in fishing, 1 to 1 and disciple making ministry even in this Summer, for God guarantees victory.

Lately due to my broken conditions, especially with my son, Hope. He ran away after staying at men’s house more than 100 days and wandered again on the street for 50 days. Although he came back this week, I was down and I felt like helpless because of his chronic sickness. It was hard to be motivated when I felt that I was powerless. I withdrew to my cave and wanted to have my own space. But through meditating this passage, I realized that my negative thoughts, doubt, and confusion was not natural but came from Satan. I was still liable for downloading his accusation without resisting. I better take captive all my negative thoughts. I newly renewed my heart by accepting key verse. “The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ Although Jesus was weak to human eyes, he became the Lord sitting at the right hand of His Father in Heaven when He trusted and surrendered himself to His Father. I must look at myself from His point of view as His servant and His coheir sitting next to him. Instead of being in the doldrum, I must live a life by resurrection faith. I better imitate Jesus. I chose and accepted my mission life from my Lord Jesus through His Words of promise. So God will surely make all my enemies a footstool at my feet. Just God’s timing is not due yet. Just I have to trust in Him and follow His step. I should not be discouraged in the middle, for His victory is guaranteed by God. Today’s key verse is a powerful reminder of His victory. May the Lord help me to trust in Him and have attitude of “let go, let live, let God” rather than being anxious about anything. All I have to do is to believe my God and His Words of promise. God is in control. Control over others or things is not mine but it is my obsession. I don’t have to control small or big. Just let God! I pray and take life one step at a time. I confess, “God is good and God’s love never fails.” Now I learned how to be a successful father and a Bible teacher. It is to love my sons and Bible students with God’s love. I will rest in God’s love by believing that they will come back to God, although most of time it may pass my deadline. I am now grateful, even by the fact that I have an addict son, not because he is sick, but because I learn how to trust my Lord in any situation and be grateful always. I now come to trust my Lord more and more. From now on, my job is not to criticize them or control them, but bless and release them by resting myself in God’s love. Let us read the key word, “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.””

One word: Sit at my right hand