HitchHiker’s bLOG – 2022.03.28

Please Let Me Apologize.

And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?”
And the great throng heard him gladly. Mark 12:35-37

The word “apologetics” is derived from a Greek word used several times in the New Testament: ἀπολογία (apologia). Its original use was to describe a speech of defense or an answer given in reply to an accusation or debated topic. In this passage, we are looking at multiple levels of apologetics.

The first level is in real-time, where Jesus is confronting confusion about the Messiah. Yes, the Anointed is said to come from King David’s genealogical line, but some seem to be leaning toward an earthly king who will deliver Israel from the clutches of Rome. Jesus is making it clear in his argument that even King David called him Lord because the Christ is a divine and a human deliver. He uses Psalm 110.1 to make his apology, once again utilizing the teaching tool known as “Remez,” using only the first line of a larger text invoking an apology to the people’s claim.

At level two, Peter utilizes Psalm 110:1 in his Pentecost apologetic (Acts 2:35), making the apology of the divinity of the Christ and his bodily resurrection. The Apostle likely heard Jesus say this many times, and Peter stayed on message, saying it repeatedly before crowds.

The third level is with Mark. Many scholars believe his Gospel speaks with the voice of Peter, so Mark as a teacher is sharing what he learned from his mentor; he stays on message. This makes sense as Mark’s churches would likely be questioning Jesus’ divine nature alongside his human nature and his resurrection, and Mark is apologizing.

These scriptural apologies are profoundly relevant to us in this post-Enlightenment culture where many call Jesus a great teacher and holy man, but not a god. Thank you, David Hume, Thomas Jefferson, the Jesus Project, and others, for your skepticism and rationalizations of the Infinite!

My friends, hold on to the 1st Century eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life, teachings, suffering, death, and resurrection, for he is still fully human and divine! And these witnesses are far more reliable than the postulators living sixteen or more centuries removed from an EVENT that changed our life, universe, and everything!