The Lord says to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
(Psalm 110:1, 4)
“THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME“
Talk to any hardcore fan of any sport, and eventually you will get to the G.O.A.T. question: which player is the Greatest Of All Time? Is it Michael or Magic? Kobe or Lebron? This is particularly true of basketball and baseball, where the greatest players are required to be well-rounded, playing on both offense and defense. Baseball’s version of the G.O.A.T. question usually considers only “five-tool players” – players who can hit for average, hit for power, run, field and throw. Baseball’s G.O.A.T. might not be the greatest in each and every category, but he would have to be superior to everyone else in all of the areas combined.
So who is the G.O.A.T. in the story of the Bible?
Psalm 110 may not be the most familiar song in the book of psalms (think Psalm 23), and it certainly isn’t the longest (Psalm 119 wins, hands down), but it would have to be considered one of the most significant songs in that great collection. Scholars consider this psalm to be an Old Testament cornerstone for Christian theology, pointing to the fact that the song is quoted or alluded to more frequently than any other in the New Testament—by Peter, Paul, the writer of Hebrews, and even by Jesus himself. [Check it out] In each instances Psalm 110 offers an argument for the divinity and superiority of Jesus as our Messiah, High Priest and King.
Of course, not everyone reads Psalm 110 in this way. Jewish scholars believe that it is pointing, not forward to Jesus, but back to one of the other “greats” in the Bible; men like Abraham, or Moses, or David. Each of these heroes were amazing leaders in their own right, as prophets, deliverers and servants of the Most High God. Each one was God’s “right-hand man” (Ps. 110:1), God’s warrior (vs. 2-3), God’s priest (vs. 4).
So who is the G.O.A.T. being referred to here, in Psalm 110?
The writer of the book of Hebrews makes the case that Jesus is the G.O.A.T of Psalm 110, the G.O.A.T. of the Bible, and the G.O.A.T. of all human history. Hebrews presents a detailed argument that Jesus Christ is superior to God’s prophets, superior to God’s angels, superior to God’s greatest deliverer (Moses), God’s greatest warrior (Joshua), and God’s chosen priests (Levites). Jesus Christ is in a category by himself. He is God’s Son and heir; he is the creator and sustainer of the universe; he is the one who saves us from our sin; he is “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:2-3). He is a perfect and perpetual priest, “in the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4, Hebrews 7:17).
The writer of Hebrews concludes that Jesus Christ is not only a great five-tool player for God; he is superior in every way…he is in a category by himself…he is the Greatest Of All Time.
Some people think Jesus was a good man; some think he was a great teacher or an excellent moral example; some think he was a radical revolutionary; some even think he was great prophet and miracle worker. Jesus was, indeed, all of those things…but he is so much more than any of those things. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords…he is the Greatest Of All Time…he is the friend of sinners, the healer of nations, and the hope of the world. He was and is and always will be our Living Water. Stay thirsty for him!
Pastor Philip
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