Ascension Day – Ruling in the Midst of Thine Enemies
Psalm 110:1 is quoted in part or in whole in many places in the New Testament – the first quote coming from Jesus Himself.
During Holy week Jesus is questioned closely by His opponents, (I suppose you could call them His “enemies”). The Sadducees and the Pharisees, would often oppose or try to trick Jesus with Scripture; But He knew it better than they did, being the Author. (Read Mark 12).
After that sparring over God’s Word, with The Word of God – Christ, (Jn. 1:14), Jesus turns the table and asks them a question quoting Psalm 110:1 (a Psalm which references the coronation of the Messiah). Jesus said, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The LORD SAID TO MY LORD, ‘SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND UNTIL I PUT THINE ENEMIES BENEATH MY FEET.’” David himself calls him ‘Lord’; and so in what sense is He his son?” (Mark 12:35 – 37)
His detractors were not “able to answer Him a word…” (Matthew 22:46b). Which by the way is the same response of the man in the parable of the wedding feast, who rejected the grace of proper attire, offered to him without cost (Matthew 22:12). Such will be the response of all of the “enemies of Christ” who rejected His Lordship.
“Enemies” is such a blunt and yet defining term. It gets to the heart of both the Gospel… and the response to the Gospel. When Jesus first used the word “enemy,” it was in the Sermon on the Mount: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Mt. 5:43,44) He went on to explain that the love of God is like the rain falling on both “the righteous and unrighteous.” And that if we are going to be like our Father in heaven, we need to love our enemies.
When Jesus was sparring with the Pharisees and Sadducees, He did not quote the next verse in context after the verse about being seated at the right hand of the Lord. Psalm 110:2 says this “The Lord will stretch forth Thy strong scepter from Zion saying ‘Rule in the midst of Thine enemies.’”
One question that should enter our mind about this rule is, “What sort of rule is that?” Looking at the Ministry of “The Word made flesh and dwelling among us…” (John 1:29), I would say that is both a gracious rule, and a patient rule.
In the Garden of Gethsemane as He was being arrested, Jesus had the opportunity to call upon 12 legions of angels for defense (and we note that one angel struck down 186,000 warriors, Isaiah 37). To reveal the power of the hidden — and yet revealed Word of God — Jesus said “I am” and knocked His enemies to the ground. Yet they kept coming!
“Ruling in the midst of Thine enemies…” Is patiently explaining that the Word of God has clearly revealed that Christ is the Messiah… Yet knowing full well your enemies will put you on the cross – arrogantly resisting the truth that they knew. [We do something similar every time we willfully sin.]
And from the cross what did Jesus say, “Father forgive them for they know not what they’re doing.”
“Ruling in the midst of Thine enemies…” is patiently telling a Roman governor, “You would have no power over me unless it was given to you…” (John 19:11a)
“Ruling in the midst of Thine enemies…” Is allowing both the tares and the wheat to grow up side-by-side together until the harvest. It is sending rain upon the righteous and unrighteous. It is allowing nations to rise up against each other in war, and natural disasters, pestilence, famine, and an escalation of evil to rattle the integrity of the earth and the tenuousness of man to have “dominion over it…”
“Ruling in the midst of Thine enemies…” means that just as Jesus suffered an unjust death — as did the innocent babes of Bethlehem in Herod’s murderous rage to destroy the infant King — evil would continue to rage as it resisted the authority, mercy, and patience of The King of kings… ruling in the midst of His enemies. This includes people unhinged from the law written in their hearts – who would have the broken logic that by shooting and murdering elementary children and their teachers, they might bring themselves… or others… some sort of bizarre vindication?!?
God has chosen in Christ to first rule by faith; and secondly to rule by the law and the sword – entrusted to governments, and people outside of His reign of grace. Both rules are less than perfect. The church still has its sinners… and the world has no saints – apart from those who are an extension of Christ’s kingdom of love – His Body the Church. We are now an extension of His reign, “in the midst of” what?.
The shootings in Texas or Buffalo or Paducah Kentucky (you may recall 25 years ago an LCMS 14-year-old teenager suffering from schizophrenia and depression, who had been bullied, shot several students had killed three classmates) are all urgent signs that both kingdoms – the left: Law/society and the right: Gospel/The Church, — must be hard at work either by governing or loving.
The story in Paducah Kentucky has always been powerful in my memory. I was able to call the pastor afterwards. After that discussion I was well aware of how easily the people of God can go prodigal. We are the “Body of Christ” – and as we all know, our body is “fearfully and wonderfully made,” and has many avenues and pathways of communication in order to care for itself and sustained health. We need to have those same pathways, avenues, and conduits of communication and love for one another – especially our youth. We also need to be communicating with our “enemies.”
You get the sense that the perpetrator in Texas had few of those connections with either the kingdom of the left or the right.
Ascension Thursday alludes to the time that there will be a perfect unity between the Law and Love. The Priest and King. Melchizedek “king of Salem and priest of the Most High God” (Genesis 14:18), is a picture or “type” of Jesus in the Old Testament. After the chaos of a nighttime battle, when Abram rescues Lot, Melchizedek emerges to offer up a victorious feast of bread and wine to Abram. In Psalm 110:4 Melchizedek is mentioned as a parallel – the same person – as the Ascended King, the Christ. [Read Hebrews 7 for more detail on this.]
So as we gather to worship Christ this evening, we have had the trauma of battle … Every day the battle between good and evil… Peace and chaos… Faith and unbelief… The sinners/saints in Christ will be offered the body of Christ in the bread. And the body of Christ the Church, will be offered the blood of Christ in the wine. We will commune with God and with one another. Heaven comes down to earth – Christ will rule over our hearts with forgiveness and fellowship. We celebrate as victors over our own failures… Knowing that we must persevere as Christ’s Body on earth, until the day when He will rule, no longer in the “midst of His enemies,” but instead only in the midst of His brethren and Saints.
You are invited once again to come to this meal of mercy – for strength for the journey ahead.