What are you looking forward to in life? I guess that depends on how old you are and how wise and discerning you have become. But we all need something to look forward to, or our lives drift along and we eventually lose hope. The Jewish people always had something to look forward to and all through the Old Testament, during the good times and the bad, we read of the hope-filled theme of the coming Messiah.
Around the time of the birth of Jesus we read of an example of one such person. His name was Simeon, of whom it was said, was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. (Luke 2:25-26)
When Simeon saw the child, Jesus, with his parents, he recognized him as that promised Messiah and we read, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:28-32)
The Jewish people were not only looking forward to the coming Messiah but they were aware that their Scriptures revealed, prophetically, many of the events surrounding that history changing event. They knew what to look for, if they were willing, and Simeon was willing and recognized Him when He came.
But there were some who didn’t seem to have this same attitude and even became hostile when faced with the possibility that the Messiah had come. Somehow, He just didn’t fit into their plans or theology or expectations.
One such group were the religious leaders in Jerusalem, and so they often confronted Jesus. They were particularly upset one day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and received much adulation from the crowds, who believed this to be in fulfilment of the prophetic words concerning the Messiah of Zechariah 9:9 (Matt. 21:4). We read that the crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (Matthew 21: 9)
Later we read that 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. (Matthew 21:14-15)
Unbelievable! So why were they indignant? Among other things it was the title they were giving to Jesus, i.e., the Son of David. This title was believed by the Jews to be a title of the Messiah. The religious leaders obviously were not willing for this to be Jesus.
Jesus actually later confronts them concerning this being applied to Him by quoting Psalm 110. We read about it in Matthew 22 as follows:
41-42 As the Pharisees were regrouping, Jesus caught them off balance with his own test question: “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said, “David’s son.”
43-45 Jesus replied, “Well, if the Christ is David’s son, how do you explain that David, under inspiration, named Christ his ‘Master’?
God said to my Master,
“Sit here at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
“Now if David calls him ‘Master,’ how can he at the same time be his son?”
46 That stumped them, literalists that they were. Unwilling to risk losing face again in one of these public verbal exchanges, they quit asking questions for good. (Matt. 22:41-46 Message)
Sadly, with all their theological training, Jesus had to teach them from their own Scriptures that “God [was speaking] to David’s Lord, i.e., David’s superior – ultimately the Messiah. The purpose of the quotation [God said to my Master] was to show that the Messiah was more than a descendant of David – he was David’s Lord.” (NIV Study Bible) Sadly, they were not willing to recognize Him as the one David was speaking about.
Longman comments that “The authors of the NT recognize that this psalm finds its ultimate fulfilment in Jesus Christ. They read the psalm as if David is the prophetic voice that communicates the Lord’s oracle concerning David’s Lord, the eschatological Messiah, Jesus.” (# 30)
As Wilcock said, “To the early church, [Psalm 110] was full of treasures” (# 5) and no greater treasure than that it was all about Jesus!
Tehilim (Psalms) - "songs of praise". 