Psalm 110: Jesus, King and Priest

This month’s topic focuses on the prophecies that foretold of Jesus, His life, and His work.  One cannot fully understand who He was without a study of the Old Testament and particularly the Psalms.  They demonstrate that this plan of God’s was not a general idea brought to fruition but a very detailed plan, worked out in every aspect centuries before Jesus came into the world.  The Psalms give amazing details about Jesus’ life and death and the people and events surrounding Him. While not often thought of as a book of prophecy, the book of Psalms is full of prophecy from His birth to His betrayal, from His torture to His death, from His resurrection to His ascension to heaven, and from His world-wide reign to His coming again. Jesus Himself often quoted Old Testament scripture that spoke of Him and showed He was the fulfillment.

There are approximately 16 of the 150 Psalms that are classified as Messianic.  Many of the other Psalms, while not strictly Messianic, refer to Christ in some fashion. All these Psalms, written by various writers, relate much about His person, life, rejection, suffering, and resurrection. These Psalms were often quoted and further explained by many of the New Testament writers. Jesus Himself said, “all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me” (Luke 24:44). 

One such psalm is Psalm 110 which speaks to the person Christ would be. This remarkable psalm is one of the Old Testament portions most quoted in the New Testament. James Montgomery Boice, an American Reformed Christian theologian, counted 27 direct quotations or indirect allusions to Psalm 110 in the New Testament. 

The first verse of this psalm is one of the most quoted in the New Testament. “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.’” Here, David prophetically reveals the words of Jehovah to the Messiah, David’s Lord. Jesus, in a discussion with the Pharisees, affirmed His deity when He spoke of this verse.  Prior to this the crowds had been proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of David: “The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:8-11). What would make Jesus, who is physically a descendant of David, also be David’s Lord?  Jesus equates praising Him as the Descendant of David the same as calling Him “the Lord.”  Because He is deity, who came in the flesh, He is both David’s Lord as well as David’s descendant.  After His resurrection, He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God to reign and intercede for us until He returns.

“Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: Rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Thy people offer themselves willingly In the day of thy power, in holy array: Out of the womb of the morning Thou hast the dew of thy youth” (Psalm 110:2-3). These verses show Jesus on His throne with the scepter in His hand reigning now in His kingdom. Paul writes, “For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). He has all power and authority as He declares in Matthew 28:18, and salvation is in His name alone (Acts 4:12). He is our head as we see in Ephesians 1:18-23.  Even though many refuse to believe in Him or acknowledge Him, He continues to reign.  He does not force His rule on us, but we voluntarily accept it when we choose to obey His commands and become His children. We serve Him because we want to serve Him and because we love and respect Him.

“Jehovah hath sworn, and will not repent: Thou art a priest for ever After the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). Jesus is Priest as well as King.  This is unique because no one ever ruled as such under the Old Law.  The writer of Hebrews goes into great depth regarding the Priesthood of Jesus in chapters 5-7. Priests were from the tribe of Levi under the Old Law and kings (except for King Saul) were from the tribe of Judah. Jesus fulfills both roles as Ruler over us and our Priest and Intercessor: “Therefore, since we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16). Jesus is our Mediator giving us solid hope and an anchor for our lives because He knows all we go through and will provide help for us in time of need.

Psalms 110:5-7 says, “The Lord at thy right hand will strike through kings in the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations; He will fill the places with dead bodies; He will strike through the head in many countries. He will drink of the brook in the way: Therefore, will He lift up the head.” This foretells the length of Jesus' reign - until the day of final judgment and defeat of His enemies; those who have exalted themselves against the Lord will be “shattered” (or struck through) and “judged.” In the book of Revelation, John presents a very graphic description of that great day in chapter 19:11-16. We look forward to that time for, after the final judgment, there will be peace for the Lord’s righteous.

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,’” (Revelation 21:1-3). The choice for every man is being crushed beneath His foot, or being exalted to sit with Him on His throne. “He that overcomes, to him will I give to sit down with Me on My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father on His throne” (Revelation 3:21). 

So right now, Jesus is reigning, and He is crushing evil until sin and death and evil are finally defeated. When we look at the world today, it doesn’t seem that Jesus is reigning. It looks like evil is ascendant, and the world is out of control, and this thing is a mess, and where is God? That’s why we need Psalms like this in the Bible. It makes sense that the Psalm is about Jesus because Jesus works to defeat enemies for the sake of His children.  God assures us that the reign of the Son is secure. I like this phrase, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind (or repent).” This is His plan that the Son would reign, and no one has the power to make Him change His mind. Here’s your hope - the Messiah is reigning, and He will continue to reign and defeat what you can’t defeat. And when He has defeated everything that would defeat us, He will usher in his final kingdom of righteousness and peace forever. Now that’s worth choosing to follow Him.