A Riddle

Introduction

Do you like riddles? A father and son were in a car accident where the father was killed. The ambulance brought the son to the hospital. He needed immediate surgery. In the operating room, a doctor came in and looked at the little boy and said I can’t operate on him he is my son. Who is the doctor? The mother. A riddle demonstrates the limitations of our minds. We hear the question and begin to imagine ways to answer that make sense logically and rationally. In many cases a riddle is a fun way to push us to think more deeply.

Jesus was a master at getting people to think and in our text he offers a riddle that perplexes his audience. They are perplexed but not offended. Look at the end of verse 37—The large crowd listened to him with delight. It means with great gladness. They listened to Jesus with rejoicing. We have come to receive a word from Jesus. Let us come with rejoicing and gladness and delight. God is here. He has joined us. He is sitting with us and next to us. Let your heart be glad and sing with joy.

Loving God & Neighbor

The triumphant entry into Jerusalem has heightened Messianic fever. In Jesus’ day, the anticipation that God would send his Messiah was increasing. God had promised that a descendant from David would come and restore the kingdom. During the exile in Babylon, the people anticipated the Messiah. They hung on the words of Jeremiah and Ezekiel that there would be a restoration and a new temple. A little over 150 years before the time of Jesus, the Maccabean kingdom existed. Some believed the leader of this kingdom, Judas Maccabees, was the Messiah. But with his death those thoughts died too. Rome’s entrenchment only deepened Messianic desires.

Jesus enters Jerusalem and anticipation is growing. Is Jesus the Messiah? Is he the one that we have been waiting for? Mark 11:10 certainly sounds like it: “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” Some are convinced that Jesus is the Messiah. He will be the one who will restore Jerusalem to its former greatness. He will overthrow Rome and reclaim the throne of David. And it is in this Messianic fervor that Jesus poses a riddle.

The teachers of the law say that the Messiah is David’s son. How can that be when David himself under the inspiration of God called the Messiah Lord not son? There had to be a birth for one to be the son of David. By this time, the lineage of Jesus was clearly known. According to John 8, the religious leaders knew that Joseph was not his biological father so the lineage of Jesus had to be traced through his mother and Mary was a descendant of David. So was Joseph but that is another story. Jesus was the son of David and yet Jesus appeals to David’s words in Psalm 110. This same psalm contains a reference to the Lord being from Melchizedek who as the Hebrew writer has no beginning or end (we know nothing of his origin or death; therefore the writer uses that to point to eternal). Just as Jesus will use Psalm 22 on the cross to stand for the entire psalm so here he using the first verse of Psalm 110 and we cannot ignore the rest.

His riddle? How can the son of David also be Lord? Speaking in his native language, Jesus would have used the word that means God. He didn’t use the word Messiah. People are looking for the Messiah. Jesus’ riddle like all good riddles forces people to think more deeply. Is the Messiah the son of David? Yes. But the Messiah is God. David said the Messiah is God. Jesus says, you think me the Messiah? I’m more than the Messiah. I am God in the flesh. I can be both son of David by human birth but I am also David’s God. And the people having never heard anything like this explode in joy. The Messiah has come.

Jesus warns the crowd that loving God doesn’t look like the Pharisees who are quick to call attention to themselves. And in a private moment with his disciples, Jesus says loving God looks like the widow who drops 2 small copper coins into the collection box. Mark helps his 1st century Gentile readers with a Roman conversion. Our translations convert to American money. A day’s wage was a denarius. What this woman put in would be worth about 1/64 of a denarius. We are talking about a pittance. But Jesus says she gave more than all the others. Why? She gave all she had.

What Does Commitment Look Like

Thoughts are revealed in behaviors. Even behaviors that are not understood have thoughts behind them. Some behaviors are so automatic that we no longer investigate them for accuracy. We call these habits. For instance, you probably drive to work on a certain path. You no longer even think about looking at alternatives. The habit of that path is ingrained. Most of our lives are habits formed and replicated without thinking much about them but there was a time that we thought and a behavior was formed.

So what does this have to do with Mark 12? Last week Frank reminded us that to say we love God and our neighbor requires awareness. It requires that we think about how our behaviors connect with our thoughts. Let’s look at the contrast that Jesus talks about. The religious folks are committed. Their thoughts are about how to be noticed and to be revered. They are committed to personal pride. They want to be complimented and seen for their religious fervor.

Contrast that with the widow. She wants to go to the temple for prayer. Women are required to stay in a particular area surrounding the temple. She is a godly woman. She isn’t there to “push” the boundaries. She’s there to worship her God. She wants to give. Allowances are made in the OT for widows and giving. In fact, widows are to be the recipients of financial care. But she looks throughout her house. So meager. She loves her God. Two copper coins. Not enough to live on. God will take care of her. God will provide. There had to be thought. There had to be awareness of what was getting ready to happen. If she hadn’t gone to the temple that day she wouldn’t have been missed. If she hadn’t given that day no one would condemn her. Thought leads to behavior.

Love God with all that you have. Think. What behaviors reveal that truth for you? To seek approval of others comes in both positive and negative ways. It’s one thing to seek spiritual approval but in most of life we work hard to get the approval of others to validate our existence and to feel some worth or value or to feel like we fit in. How is that different from the Pharisees? If you allow others to set the agenda for your identity then your awareness is self-focused rather than focused on God. This is not easy. Worrying about what others think can leave us feeling isolated if we disappoint or elated because we are surrounded by those who approve of us. I know approval from others is important, but we know the answer to the riddle. And knowing the answer brings us such joy and gladness.

Jesus is Lord. He is God. That thought leads to behaviors that reflect that truth. Our awareness turns to commitment. I brush my teeth the same way every time, but I still am aware of why I’m doing it. We have spiritual habits that have grown out of our awareness of who Jesus is. We give financially because we know who Jesus is. We help a neighbor because we know who Jesus is. We share life with co-workers because we know who Jesus is. We choose our entertainment carefully because we know who Jesus is. Our lives are lived with habits that formed from thoughts because we know who Jesus is. And knowing who Jesus is we listen with delight and gladness and joy.

Follow Jesus

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