David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." ' (Mark 12:36)
The above verse is quoted by Jesus from Psalm 110:1. This verse found in the Old Testament is mostly quoted in the New Testament. The verses in Acts 2:34, 35, 1 Cor. 15:25, Heb. 1:13 also quoted the same verse. The phrases that are applied in the Apostle Creed are ‘My right hand’, “He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” The authors of the New Testament thought that the particular verse in the Psalm talk about Jesus Christ.
Did David really think about the Messiah in this Psalm? We have to give much effort in studying the Biblical and theological background in order to clarify this matter. We cannot deal with question at this moment; rather, first I would like to set a direction only. Though the particular verse in this Psalm does not directly mean the Messiah, there is the possibility of right interpretation of the authors of the New Testament.
This is important. The Old Testament, the Jewish unique history, is clearly the record of God’s revelation among the Jews. However, this God’s revelation and the Messianic mission have been extended not only to the Jews but also to the entire mankind in the world. It is evident that the early Christians had a unique experience with Jesus Christ. Through their unique experience with Jesus, the history of the Jews becomes the universal history of salvation in due course of time.
The word of David is not limited with his own. It might not be the word of God which was limited in the age of David. However, now it is connected to the universal Messiah and his salvation that goes beyond a person and a history. Likewise, history is opened to the end of the world. What meaning and impact will our speech and activity have in the end?
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