Psalm 2 was written by David about the Son of David (Acts 4:25–27). We read about the raging and plotting nations (Ps. 2:1–3), the Lord who sits enthroned and laughs at their vain plans (2:4–6), the Father’s words to the royal Son (2:7–9), and the closing warning to the rulers of the earth (2:10–12).
I want us to think about part of the Father’s words to the Son, the Davidic king. He says to the Son, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” (Ps. 2:8).
Heritage is about inheritance. The Son is the heir of the nations. He is a new Adam, whose dominion will be to the ends of the earth. This is the Father’s promise to the Son, who will be the Son of David—Messiah—to reign forever.
If Psalm 2:8 is a pledge to the Son of global dominion, then we can discern the deceptive words of Satan when he tempted Jesus in Matthew 4. The third and final temptation in that chapter took place like this: “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I give you, if you will fall down and worship me’” (Matt. 4:8–9).
Luke’s parallel account gives us this language from the devil to Jesus: “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will” (Luke 4:6).
What is the devil’s promise to Jesus? The kingdoms of their world and their glory. What is the condition? “If you will fall down and worship me,” the devil says (Matt. 4:9). Jesus rejects such false worship: “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’” (Matt. 4:10).
These temptations began with the language, “If you are the Son of God” (Matt. 4:3), which allows the theme of sonship to loom over the whole temptation scene. Here is the Davidic King facing temptations from the Evil One.
Let’s identify the lie in Satan’s words: the glory and kingdoms of the world do not belong to him and are not his to give. No Satanic ploy would fool Jesus. The Scriptures were clear, and Jesus believed them: the Son was heir of the nations by divine decree.
Jesus knew Psalm 2 and that Psalm 2 was about him. Consider his post-resurrection language that invokes the nations and the ends of the earth. In Matthew 28:18–20, we hear the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Disciple-making is a means of the Son manifesting dominion. The Good News is for the world. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus told his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The Father said to the Davidic king, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession” (Ps. 2:8), and we can see how Jesus’ words reveal his understanding about that psalm and the future. He calls for disciple-making and witness-bearing to extend to the ends of the earth. Why? Because he is the inheritor mentioned in Psalm 2, and he knows it. Jesus, the Son of God and Son of David, is heir of the nations.
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