Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

““Judah, your brothers will praise you.
    Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
    Your father’s sons will bow down before you.
Judah is a lion’s cub.
    From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He stooped down, he crouched as a lion,
    as a lioness.
    Who will rouse him up?
The scepter will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs.
    The obedience of the peoples will be to him.
Binding his foal to the vine,
    his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
he has washed his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
His eyes will be red with wine,
    his teeth white with milk.“
(Genesis 49:8-12)

“Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’? “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.”
(Matthew 20:25-28)

Israel’s (Jacob’s) blessing over Judah is one of the most Messianic prophesies of the Old Covenant. The obedience of the people will be his. This Messianic text adds to the credentials of the Messiah that He will RULE THEM. That He will GOVERN them.

In Matthew, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes all came to Jesus with questions or sh’eilah. These were questions about the Word posed to someone who was expected to give an authoritative answer. To someone who had the RIGHT to judge and decide on points of Law. They asked them in order to trap Him, but Jesus HAD the right to judge and decide Law. Jesus answered ALL their questions with superior wisdom. The Pharisees, who loved splitting hairs, got a hair legally and logically split. The Sadducees, who only acknowledged the Law of Moses as authoritative, got and answer rooted in Exodus 3:6. The scribes, who loved to lay on extra rules, got shown the two commands upon which ALL the other commands hang. Jesus showed His mastery of the central principles of the Word AND how they related to our behaviours. He proved Himself a worthy judge.

Summary

Jesus didn’t shy away from verbalizing His claim to be Messiah when it gave God glory (Matthew 16:13-20; John 4:7-26), but mostly He SHOWED He was Messiah through His behaviour and ministry (Matthew 11:4-6). Jesus INHABITED the role of Messiah, the Suffering Servant. He fulfilled ALL those prophesies. And since ONLY the Suffering Servant can be Messiah the Conquering King, Jesus WILL return and Jesus WILL fulfill that role as well. Not by talking a bunch or putting up billboards or creating social media accounts. But by INHABITING that role. Only JESUS can be Messiah and only JESUS will be. He IS who He IS and He always was, is, and will be.