Douglas Wilson

The Road Love Travels (Philippians #1)

Christ Church on April 30, 2023

INTRODUCTION

Philippi was a Roman colony that had been planted in Macedonia, northern Greece. It was settled as a place where Roman soldiers could retire. Paul wrote this letter while imprisoned somewhere, and various places have been suggested as possible locations. The mostly likely scenario is that he wrote this letter while imprisoned at Rome (around 62 A.D.). The references Caesar’s household, not to mention the praetorium, are consistent with this (Phil. 1:13; Phil. 4:22).

THE TEXT

“Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ. And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:1–11).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Some of Paul’s letters had a co-author, like this one with Timothy, and some, like Romans or Ephesians, had Paul as the sole author (v. 1). Paul and Timothy wrote this epistle as slaves of Christ, and they wrote to the saints at Philippi, together with the bishops and deacons (v. 1). This is followed by the standard salutation of grace and peace from the Father and Son. I believe the Spirit is not mentioned because He is that grace and peace (v. 2). Every time Paul thinks of the Philippians, he thanks God for them (v. 3). He rejoices before God in all his prayers for them (v. 4), rejoicing in their partaking (koinonia) in the gospel from the start down to the present (v. 5). Paul is confident that God is the kind of God who finishes whatever He starts (v. 6), and will do so down to the day of Christ. It is fitting for him to think this way because the Philippians were co-partakers (that word again) of his chains, and of his defense and confirmation of the gospel. God Himself can testify how much Paul loves the Philippians in the deep affection of Jesus Christ (v. 8). But however deep it all is, that is not enough for Paul . . . he wants their love to abound “more and more” in knowledge and all discernment (v. 9). This will enable them to approve what is excellent, and it will render them sincere and blameless until the day of Christ (v. 10). They will do this filled with the fruits of righteousness, brought into being by Jesus Christ, with the result that God receives glory and praise (v. 11).

WHERE THE ACTION IS

Notice how Paul and Timothy address the congregation of saints directly. The letter is written to “all the saints at Philippi”—that is where the action is. Paul does address the rulers in the church, but does so as an afterthought. He speaks to the congregation, and then adds the phrase “the bishops and deacons.” The word for bishop (episcopos) is being used here synonymously with presbyteros, or elder. Note the plural—this is not the solitary monarchical bishop of the second century. The church was governed by a session of men as elders or bishops, and also was served by a band of deacons. Nevertheless, Paul speaks directly to them all—their rulers are not their mediators.

DEEP AFFECTION

The AV refers to the love of Christ here with the phrase the “bowels of Jesus Christ.” This is more reflective of the original than the word affection does by itself (NKJV, ESV, NASB). Paul loves the Philippians with an intense love that Jesus Christ Himself churns up in his gut.

God does not love us because He is divine and that is technically His job. Too many Christians think of the love of God as something that is rarefied and disinterested and objective and theological, and totally, completely pure and detached. We tend to think that the love of God is so pure that it is scarcely even interested in us.

This is not even close to being biblical. God so loved the world that He gave . . . gave what? His only begotten Son (John 3:16). And when that love of God is ministered to us through our fellow saints, it flows through those personal channels in personally turbulent ways.

THE ROAD LOVE TRAVELS

With this said, it would be a grave mistake to think that the essence of love is sentimental turbulence. The thing that is turbulent about it is the opposition that genuine love always provokes. Love is a kayak in a stretch of white water.

Biblical love has a brain. It is intelligent. Notice the progression that we see in this passage. Paul has a profound love for the Philippians, and he is asking God that their love would abound. Abound in what? He wants their love to abound more and more in knowledge. And in discernment (v. 9). He is not looking for an emotional vat of sentimental goo. This knowledge and discernment will lead them to approve what is excellent (v. 10). This in turn will keep them sincere and without offense until the day of Christ. It will fill them up with the fruits of righteousness, and in a way that will glorify God (v. 11).

So notice love > knowledge/discernment > approval of excellence > sincerity/blamelessness > fruits of righteousness. This is not some emotional spasm. There is a direction to it because growth in love is a growing up into love. And this is only possible because growth into love is to grow up into our Lord Jesus Christ.

Cultural Revolution and the Sons of Issachar

Christ Church on April 16, 2023

INTRODUCTION

You have no doubt noticed that we live in tumultuous times. Many of you have learned that you should no longer say things like “now I have seen everything,” because that sentiment always seems to be refuted by events in the middle of next week. In our time, we have seen a number of transitions, in which a pattern of escalation can readily be seen. We began with certain cultural issues, of a very serious nature. There was the sexual revolution of the sixties, followed by its bloody reckoning in the 1973 Roe decision. A few years later, in a speech to the 1992 Republican National Convention, Pat Buchanan coined the phrase culture wars. And now, according to certain insightful observers, we are on the threshold of a cultural revolution, similar in outlook to what Mao launched in China in 1966.

How are we, as Christians, to understand and respond to all of this?

THE TEXT

“And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment” (1 Chronicles 12:32).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Our text is part of the record of how David consolidated his reign over all of Israel, during the time when the house of Saul was being combined with the house of David. Judah, David’s tribe, brought in 6800 warriors (v. 24). Simeon, from the north, contributed 7100 men (v. 25). Levites are mentioned (vv. 26-28), some warriors but others no doubt priests. Ephraim brought in a large number (20,800) and the half tribe of Manasseh did the same (18,000). But the really striking thing about this passage is what is said about the wise men of Issachar. There were two hundred of them (v. 34), and their brothers with them were under their authority. The thing they contributed, ranked up here with tens of thousands of skilled warriors, was the fact that they understood the situation and they had a plan. They were oriented, and they were ready for action.

SUMMARY OF OUR SITUATION

In his book on preaching, John Stott says that the preacher stands between two worlds, which is also the title of his book. The preacher must understand the text, and be able to state faithfully what that text is saying. Because it is the Word of God, the meaning of it does not twist or shift from age to age. “The words of the Lord are pure words: As silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.” (Psalm 12:6). The silver is always pure, and this silver is always silver.

But a preacher must also be a son of Issachar. He must be able to exegete the times, so that he can apply the constant Scriptures to an inconstant world. The challenge in exegeting the times is that men are slippery, and confused, and deceptive, and constantly changing. Man is unstable as water, and because he is a sinner, it is always dirty water.

There are secular thinkers who understand the times pretty well, but because they don’t have the Word, they are lost in the chaos, however accurately they might see the chaos. There are biblical preachers who understand the text of Scripture well, but who have no idea how it might ever apply to anything. They are like an arms expert who knows how to assemble and disassemble a rocket launcher in a factory somewhere, but who has no idea what to do with it on the field of battle.

The sons of Issachar were not like this. They understood the times, first thing, and they knew how the Word of God should inform the plan of action.

THE PERENNIAL TEMPTATION

Becoming a son of Issachar can at times be pretty lonesome. “Who’s that guy, going off about his ‘rant thing’ again?”

“This wisdom have I seen also under the sun, and it seemed great unto me: There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard. The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good” (Ecclesiastes 9:13–18).

In David’s time, such men were recognized and heeded. But David’s son Solomon recognized how easy it is to neglect, overlook, or forget such men. But that still doesn’t matter. Wisdom is still better than weapons of war. Wisdom is still better than strength. The city is still delivered, and so we should always remember the wisdom of Ronald Reagan’s desk plaque. “There is no limit to what a man can do or where he can go if he doesn’t mind who gets the credit.”

WHAT ISRAEL SHOULD DO

We of course are not the chosen nation the way Israel was. But we are a nation that has fallen steeply away from the faith we once professed, and we are under the severe chastisements of God for our apostasy. So under this heading, I am merely saying what this “Israel” should do.

Worship God: our culture is in the state it is in because of all the true worship rendered to false gods, and all the false worship rendered to the true God. We become like what we worship, and this is no less true of societies than it is of individuals (Ps. 115). Worship the Most High God as though He were the Most High God.
Tie family ties tighter: Love your wife. Respect your husband. Educate your children in the Lord. Be done with porn. Sit down at your dinner table together. Confess your familial sins, especially anger and bitterness (Luke 1:17). Sing. Read stories where the bad guys are defeated.
Read books that orient you: You may be distressed because you don’t think you are among the sons of Issachar. But nothing prevents you from reading books that the sons of Issachar write. As a starter pack, try Strange New World (Trueman), Christianity and Liberalism (Machen), Idols for Destruction (Schlossberg), Love Thy Body (Pearcey), and The God of Sex (Jones).
Review your doctrinal commitments: I would begin with your postmillennialism, then move on to the covenant, and then on to Calvinism. Get these truths, and the biblical basis for them, down into your bones.
Muster your courage: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: But the righteous are bold as a lion” (Proverbs 28:1). The church lockdowns and masking orders (and such) were simply a beta test, seeking to find out how soft the church was. The answer for them was “pretty soft.” And so you need to be prepared for the time when the church is ordered to meet just once a month in order to help “fight climate change.” You need to know beforehand that you are part of a church that will not comply.

Our Ancient Hope

Christ Church on April 9, 2023

INTRODUCTION

It is regrettably commonplace for expositors, even conservative ones, to state that the doctrine of the resurrection was not plainly taught in the Old Testament. But the event of Christ’s resurrection came in the middle of human history, and Paul calls this event the “hope of Israel” (Acts 28:20; cf. Acts 25:19). The resurrection of Christ from the dead caught everyone by surprise . . . but it should not have.

THE TEXT

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20–21).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Just as the death of Adam (Gen. 5:5) signaled the future death of us all, so also the resurrection of Christ is the first fruits of our general resurrection. Our foundational citizenship is in Heaven, and we look for the Lord Jesus Christ to come to us from there (v. 20). When He comes, on that day He will transform our vile bodies—some still alive, and others in the grave—and these bodies will be conformed to the pattern of His glorious body (v. 21). This will be done in accordance with the power that enables Christ to bring absolutely everything into subjection to Himself. This is the blessed hope, and this is what we look forward to—the telos of all human history.

NO NEW-FANGLED DOCTRINE

I began by lamenting the fact that so many dismiss the resurrection faith of the saints in the Old Testament. When the Lord Jesus shut down the Sadducees on this question, He did it with a rebuke that backhanded their ignorance of the (Old Testament) Scriptures. They did not know the Scriptures or the power of God (Matt. 22:29). Martha, a devout Jewish woman of the first century, knew that her brother Lazarus would rise in the resurrection on the last day (John 11:24). How could she know this? It would have to be from the Old Testament.

And consider this great confession of Job:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God: “Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25–27, NKJV).

The doctrine is not an obscure one.

“After two days will he revive us: In the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.” (Hosea 6:2).

“I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes” (Hosea 13:14, NKJV).

Isaiah says the same, and in a passage that Paul quotes in his defense of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:54-57):

“He will swallow up death in victory; And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: For the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah 25:8).

This is something that the people of God have known from the book of Genesis on (John 8:56; Mark 12:26). This has been our hope, from ancient times until now.

RESURRECTION POWER NOW

The transformation of our vile bodies will be complete when the Lord Jesus comes down from Heaven, but that is not when the transformation process starts. The transformation begins with regeneration. Our experience of Christ in our lives now is an experience of resurrection power in the here and now.

“For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him . . . Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:5–8, 11).

The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is dealing with you in your day-to-day striving against sin.

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you” (Romans 8:11).

THE OLD WORLD IS PREGNANT WITH A NEW WORLD

When Christ came out of the grave, He walked into an old world that had at that moment been made new in principle. When He went to the cross, He transformed death. When He was laid in the grave, He sanctified all of our future graves. And then when He rose from the dead, He entered into a world made new.

“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful” (Revelation 21:5).

But it was not His sovereign good will to transform everything by throwing a breaker. Something like that will have to wait until the Second Coming. The Second Coming is when the world, now pregnant with life, will give birth to that life. Until that time, until the due date, the world will grow continually heavier with this life, carrying in the womb of the world the glory of the coming world.

“For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now” (Romans 8:22).

And all of this is a manifestation of resurrection power. We see it in history, we see it in our own testimonies, we see it in the growth of the church throughout the world, and we see it by faith in the glorious day that is coming. Contrary to the grievous errors of the full preterists, the world is not going to be pregnant forever.

Death Defanged (Good Friday 2023)

Christ Church on April 7, 2023

The message of the cross of Christ would have no power or authority whatever apart from the profound vindication of that crucifixion that gloriously occurred three days later. The crucifixion makes no sense apart from that triumph of life over death, but with that vindication, the meaning of the cross itself comes into focus.

Because of this, as we tell the story, we find ourselves always going back to that blackest of moments, the time of the Lord’s anguished cry of dereliction. Paul tells the Corinthians that he had resolved to know nothing among them except Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2 ). He also says that every time we break bread and drink the wine of the new covenant, we are proclaiming His death until He comes again (1 Cor. 11:26 ). On top of that, the Lord Himself predicted that when He was lifted up on the cross, that all men would be drawn to Him. “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32 ). It is that death that exhibits that fascinating power. It is His death that has the authority to draw men to Himself.

So we do not talk about the cross all the time as though the resurrection never happened. Rather, we talk about the cross all the time because the resurrection has enabled us to talk about the cross all the time.

We do this in part because what the resurrection means for us is walking in newness of life (Rom. 6:4 )—but without a stark reckoning at the cross, we will have a tendency to thinkthat we are walking in newness of life when we have simply rearranged some of our old furniture. The cross is where deep repentance happens. The cross is where repentance goes down to the bone. The cross is what deals with the sin that was dealing with us.

And at the very center of this efficacious and powerful work, we find that the cross is God’s appointed instrument for the crucifixion of all envy. This is a truly pervasive sin, and throughout all human history, throughout our lives, but we often don’t recognize it in ourselves because it does most of its pernicious work out of our lizard brain.

“A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool’s wrath is heavier than them both. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; But who is able to stand before envy?”

Proverbs 27:3–4 (KJV)

Envy is a formidable sin, and the only thing that is powerful enough to dispatch it is the death of Christ on the cross. Because envy took Christ to the place where he died, Christ is the one who put envy itself to death.

Christ was sent to the cross because of envy, as Pilate plainly recognized.

“Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.”

Matthew 27:17–18 (KJV)

This envy meant that they wanted His power, His gifts, His authority, His charisma, and they couldn’t have any of it. He taught with authority, and not like the scribes, and this meant that the scribes were left alone in their own clouds of dust, teaching like scribes. And because envy is deadlier than covetousness, wanting not only to have what the other has, but also wanting to destroy the other’s enjoyment of it, the Lord clearly had to die. Because they couldn’t be like Jesus, it was necessary to kill Jesus.

But what they did not know is that God had placed a hidden trap for them in this. They did not know that the sin that drove them to strive for His crucifixion was the very same sin that was doomed by His crucifixion. If the rulers of this age . . .

Here is what the apostle Paul says about it:

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”

1 Corinthians 2:6–8 (KJV)

All their kingdoms, all their power, all their machinations, all their plots, all their strategies, all their conspiracies, depend upon envy. They run on envy. It is their natural fuel. And in the cross of Christ we see this sin of envy defanged and rendered helpless.

But how? How does this work? Envy only works because the self is constantly alive to self. Envy draws its motive power from the utter centrality of “me” in every human heart. And what invitation is given to us in the cross of Christ?

We are all invited to come and die.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?”

Romans 6:3 (KJV)

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Galatians 2:20 (KJV)

When Christ came out of the tomb on that glorious Resurrection Day, He walked out into a graveyard. When Mary Magdalene embraced Him, she did so in a graveyard. This is a metaphor for the whole world. Christ, the Incarnation of Life itself, walked into the world of the dead (Eph. 2:1-2 ). From that moment on, a message of new life in a creation has been preached in the great boneyard of our broken and sorry planet.

And this means that everyone you know falls into one of two categories. They are either dead, or they are among those who have died. And what happens the dead die? What happens to them could only happen through the cross of Christ. When the dead die, when the envy dies, the dead rise to life again, and follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Those footsteps are what we must walk in as we take up our cross daily in order to follow Christ. And because it is the path where the ego dies, it is the way of life.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen.

Crisis at the Temple (Palm Sunday 2023)

Christ Church on April 2, 2023

Introduction

The Triumphal Entry was an episode in the ministry of the Lord that had a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning was when the disciples came back to the Lord with the donkey and colt, placed their garments on them, and seated the Lord there (Matt. 21:6). The middle of this event was when Jesus entered the city, and Matthew says that the whole city was moved (v. 10). So this middle was the procession itself. The culmination of this Entry, the climax of the day, the crowning event of what happened, was the cleansing of the Temple (v. 12).

The Text

“And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased, And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there” (Matthew 21:8–17).

Summary of the Text

As I have reminded you often, this great multitude was not the same crowd that was calling for the Lord’s crucifixion a short time later. They spread garments and palm branches in the road (v. 8). Now the crowd ahead of Jesus, and coming up behind, were all crying out for the Son of David to save them, which is what Hosanna means (v. 9). They were also saying, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (Ps. 118:26), and “Hosanna in the highest.” When He entered the city, the whole place was shaken. Who is this (v. 10)? The crowd answered that it was “Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee” (v. 11). And then we come to the climax of the Entry. Jesus went into the Temple, expelled all the buyers and sellers, flipped the currency exchange tables, and the chairs of those who sold doves (v. 12). He said they had transformed the house of prayer for all nations into a thieves’ den (v. 13). Then some blind and lame people came, and He healed them (v. 14). When the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things He did, and the children who were still calling out “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were really displeased (v. 15). They sought to rebuke Jesus with the words of the children (v. 16), and Jesus answered them with the psalmist (Ps. 8:2). From there, Jesus returned to Bethany a few miles away (v. 17).

The Nature of the Event

Moderns are often misled by the fact that Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey. This seems to us the sort of mount that a pacifist would use. But throughout the Old Testament, it was a mount of nobility or royalty. Deborah spoke of it (Judg. 5:10), Jair, a judge in Israel, had 30 sons who rode on 30 donkeys (Judg. 4), and Abdon was similar, with his sons and grandsons riding them (Judg. 12:14), and the princes of Israel, David’s sons, fled from Absalom on mules (2 Sam. 13:29).

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zechariah 9:9).

Given this symbolism, and the prophecies concerning it, and what the people were shouting, Jesus was making an audacious claim to the be the King of Israel, the Messiah of God.

But these were not just words—it moved on to an authoritative action, one that challenged the economic center of Jerusalem.

An Authoritative Evaluation

The gospel of John tells us that Jesus had cleansed the Temple once before, at the beginning of His ministry (John 2:13-17). This was an event that declared that the House of God was diseased. Here in Matthew, the priest has now come a second time to inspect the House, and this time the house is to be dismantled (Lev. 14:44), not one stone left upon another.

Lord and Christ

If we are with the crowds of Palm Sunday, we are crying out, “Hosanna,” which means that we are calling for God to save us. That is our plea—Lord, save us.

But although this is used as a term of praise, it is not like Hallelujah, which simply means God be praised. Hosanna contains a petition, and the petition is for salvation, forgiveness, and deliverance. “Oh, Lord, hosanna, save us.” But from what?

Ultimately, this request is always for God to rescue us from ourselves. We are the ones with the problem, but it is also the case that we are the problem. We are the problem that all of us have.

But here is the difficulty. It is not possible to greet Him at the gates of the city with your palm branch, and then somehow to prevent Him from going up to the Temple and flipping over all of your tables. He is the Savior who interferes. He is the Lord Christ, and cannot be received in one of His offices and not in another.

He is the Son of David. Receive Him as such.