 If you've opened your Bibles, we're in chapter 20. We're gonna look at verses 39 through 47, and we're gonna look at questions and Jesus' answers to those questions here in this particular portion of scripture. And so let's begin reading together here in chapter 20 at verse 39. I'll read to verse 44 and we'll get into our study questions and answers. Luke writes, then some of the scribes answered and said, you have spoken well. But after that they dared not question him anymore. And he said to them, how can they say that the Christ is the son of David? Now David himself said in the book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore David calls him Lord. How is he then his son? Questions and answers. Now you see as we enter into our study tonight, we know that Lord Jesus Christ has had questions that have been posed to him. And we've seen that in chapter 20 in verses 19 through 26 here in chapter 20. We saw that he had been approached and a question had been asked of him concerning paying taxes. And then in verses 27 through 38, he had handled a question that related to the resurrection from the dead. And so as Jesus has been having questions asked of him he's about to ask a question himself. Now what is taking place in the response that Jesus is giving is his opponents are actually being put into position of becoming silent before him. In verse 40 it says after that they dared not question him anymore. And so they begin to become silent before him. They don't want to ask him any more questions and they're beginning to withdraw from him. Now the question has to be asked and that Jesus has answered their questions that they've asked and all and it's caused them to be silent. The question has to be asked, did they wise up? Did they awaken to the reality of the fact that he's much beyond them? And the answer to that question is no because when you see this particular question that Jesus is about to pose, you actually see it recorded in not only the Gospel of Luke but you also see it recorded in Mark's Gospel as well as Matthew. And so Matthew gives us some added insight into what takes place as Jesus has answered the questions that have been asked at him because in Matthew chapter 22 verse 41 it says the Pharisees were gathered together and then Jesus asked them. In other words, at this point Jesus is about to go on the offensive. He is now gonna ask a question and he's gonna turn the tables on those who are interrogating him. You see these people are now huddled together, they're off to the side, undoubtedly considering what they're about to do next and so Jesus actually begins at this point to confront them. And the reason that Jesus is going to confront them very simply put is because they have to come to a decision, they have to answer a question themselves. They need to come to a question concerning him and it's the most important question that any human being really has to ask of themselves and that is, is Jesus Christ the Messiah or is he not? Is Jesus Christ Messiah or is he somebody else? There are those and you know people like this, perhaps you were like this prior to coming to Christ. There are those who would say, well yeah, I believe there was a Jesus but you really don't know much about him. As a matter of fact, I'm in search of the historical Jesus. I really don't know much about him. Don't believe that the Bible actually is a document that I can trust in all. I do believe that there was one named Jesus at one point but don't know much about him. Others would say, well I do believe that there was one named Jesus and he was a prophet and others would say, well I do believe that there was one named Jesus of Nazareth and he was a miracle worker and there are others who would say, well I do believe that there was one called Jesus Christ. He was a great teacher and somebody else might say, well yes, there was somebody named Jesus Christ and indeed he was a miracle working person. I mean they can have a tremendous amount of opinions concerning him but Jesus is now asking the question just who is he? This isn't the first time he asked this kind of question. Question like this is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew when he asks the question, who do men say that I the Son of Man am? And so he wants to know people's response. He wants to know what they think concerning him and you know the response that took place there in Matthew chapter 16 when he asked that question, who do men say that I the Son of Man am? Some say that you're John, some say that you're Elijah, some say that you're Jeremiah or one of the prophets is the response. Yeah, people are speaking about you and yes indeed we have heard their opinions. These are some of the things that we've heard said about you and that's why Jesus would say but who do you say that I am? This is a similar kind of question. It's a question that really is intended to draw from those who are interrogating him a response from them. They need to be able to say who he really is and that's why Jesus asked this question. Jesus confronts them. This is a question they have to answer for themselves. This is a question that they need to come to some kind of conclusion about is he Messiah or is he not? Notice how he says here in verse 41, he says to them, how can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? David himself said in the book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. Therefore David calls him Lord, how is he then his son? And so Jesus is asking a question concerning Jesus Christ, is he the Son of David or really is he Messiah? How is it that the scribes are saying that the Christ is the Son of David? You see, they knew that Messiah would be from King David's lineage. They knew that because the Bible had made it very clear. If you take notes in 2 Samuel in chapter seven verses 12 and 13, the Bible says when your days are over and you rest with your fathers, and this was spoken to King David, I will raise up your seed to succeed you who will come from your own body and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. So David had been promised one who would rule forever from his lineage, from his seed. The Psalmist in Psalm 89 verses three and four says, you said, I have made a covenant with my chosen one. I have sworn to David, my servant. I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations. So they knew Messiah would be from King David's lineage. They knew that. They also knew that Jesus was referred to as Son of David. It happened often in his ministry. One example is found in Mark chapter 10 verses 46 and 47. It says they came to Jericho as he went out of Jericho with his disciples in a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. When he referred to Jesus Christ as son of David, he was calling him Messiah. And so one, David had a promise given in second Samuel chapter seven verses 12 and 13 that he would have a descendant who would rule forever. And that was, according to the psalmist, it would be the Messiah. Jesus himself is referred to as Son of David, which is a title of Messiah. So he's having them answer a simple question. Is he the son of David? He's saying to them, am I Messiah? That's what this question is all about. He's actually putting them in the position of having to answer for themselves just who Jesus Christ is. And it's a question we have to answer for ourselves too, isn't it? It's a question I had to answer for myself. Is he or is he not my Messiah? Is he or is he not the one whom God is sent to be savior of the world? Is he the anointed one of God? In the Hebrew, Yeshua HaMashiach, which means the anointed one. Jesus is the anointed one. Jehovah is salvation, the anointed one. Is he or is he not the one who is the Messiah, the anointed one? And that's the question that is being asked. So it points out, your own theologians are saying that Messiah is David's son. You see, when you cross-reference this with Mark chapter 12, verse 35, Jesus is saying, how is it then that your scribes say? So when he speaks of the scribes, the scribes are the religious theologians. So the experts in the Bible at that time, and he's saying, your religious experts, your theologians have declared that Messiah would come from the lineage of David, therefore, your Messiah is called the son of David. And seeing that they say Messiah is David's son, they need to ask the question concerning you. What do you think about me? You see, in verse 42, he says, David himself said in the book of Psalms, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. I want you to notice something here in your English translations. In verse 42, notice how it says, the Lord, L-O-R-D in capital letters, that speaks of Jehovah God. The Lord said to my Lord, L-O-R-D small letters is referring to Messiah in this particular context. Jehovah God said to my Messiah, this is what he's saying, sit at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. You'll see this in just a moment. But he's saying, David the Psalmist, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls Messiah his Lord. So, if Messiah is simply a man, why does David declare him to be his Lord? The Lord Jehovah said to my Lord, sit at my right hand is what he says. And so when he says, sit at my right hand, well, the right hand refers to a position that is co-equal in rank and authority. In Mark chapter 14, verses 61 through 64, it says that the high priest, well, speaking to Jesus, asked him, saying to him, are you the Christ, the son of the blessed? Jesus said, I am, and you will see the son of man sitting at the right hand of the power and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, what further need do we have of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy, what do you think? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. You've heard the blasphemy, what blasphemy? That I'll be seated at the right hand of God. And so they considered that to be blasphemous. And so when David is speaking here concerning Messiah and is calling the Messiah his Lord, it's something that Jesus is pointing to because in essence he's saying that he is the Lord, he is the Messiah, he is the Lord of David because he is the one who's been sent by God. That's the point he's making. Now notice in verse 43 how he says, till I make your enemies your footstools. In other words, the enemies of Messiah will be vanquished. All who reject Jesus Christ will lie helpless before him. Jesus is going to completely and forever triumph over those who reject him, including the ones that he is speaking to at that moment. The psalmist said something interesting in Psalm 2. In Psalm 2 verses 1 through 4, the question is asked why do the nations rage when the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away their cords from us. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh, the Lord shall hold them in derision. So the psalmist concludes in Psalm 2 verses 11 and 12 by simply saying, serve the Lord with fear, rejoice with trembling, kiss the sun, lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him. And so it's very simply put, you either receive him now and worship him now voluntarily or ultimately you worship him because you will be made to do so. I do so voluntarily. You see when the Lord through his word broke into my life by the gospel of Jesus Christ and I opened my heart to him, I now bow my knee voluntarily before the Lord and I do worship him as one of his, I'm his child in all. But ultimately every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And so that's the point he's making here. He's saying, listen, David refers to Messiah as his Lord. I wanna ask you whether or not you regard me as being your Lord. If you regard me as being your Lord, you'll be saved. But if you don't, then ultimately you're gonna be dealt with. And so that's what he goes on to say when he says in verse 44, therefore David calls him Lord. How is he then his son? In other words, Messiah is more than merely a physical descendant of David. Messiah is the Lord, the Son of God. The one vanquishing all enemies. And all he's saying here now is whoever rejects me rejects David's Lord. Now Mark tells us their response. It's found in Mark 12, 38. And it simply says this, the common people heard him gladly. They actually appreciated the things that he was saying. Interestingly enough, it's the ordinary people who most often respond to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It's the average people who do so. You know, in 1 Corinthians chapter one verses 26 through 29, now Paul said this. He said, you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty. And the base things of the world and the things which are despised, God has chosen. And the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are. That no flesh should glory in his presence. It's the average person who has a tendency of hearing the gospel and saying, that speaks to me and I really need Jesus Christ. The intellectuals, the wise, the mighty, those who have the advantages that people strive for have a tendency of replacing faith in God with faith in their own efforts. And they instead of trusting in the Lord, they trust in their own wealth. For them, money answers all things. And so that's how it works. But the average person, person who's saying, you know what, I can see life the way it really is, is open to hearing what Jesus can do in their life. That's how it was with me and I'm sure that's how it was with you. Just an ordinary person, somebody speaks to me and says to me something about the Lord and I have a curiosity because I see that there's been some transformations taking place in their life. And so I say, well, let me ask you, how things happen in you? How did things begin to change in you? And they say simply something like this. They say, well, you know what? I asked Christ to come into my life. I asked him to forgive me of my sins. I knew that I needed to get right with God and I prayed and I said, God, forgive me a sinner. And the Bible says that I can become the temple of the spirit of God and that God's spirit will dwell within me. And I gave up on religion and I opened my heart to Christ and I said, God, would you please do something? If there's anything you can do, please do it now. And the Lord entered in and transformed me and it's that simple. And I heard that testimony. I had friends who were getting saved and I got saved in the midst of a large revival that was taking place and when that happened, I can tell you now that what happened to them happened to me and it came not because I was an intellect, not because I had a lot of money, because I was neither. I didn't have anything other than a need and Jesus Christ met that need. But unfortunately, sometimes people don't see that and they get caught up with other things. And in this case, he's simply saying this, he's saying, listen, either you can receive me as your Lord or you're ultimately gonna have me as your judge. So what's it going to be? Am I Messiah or am I not? Question asked by the Lord Jesus Christ and the common people listened and heard him gladly. Now as this is taking place in verse 45, then in the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples, beware of the scribes who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues and the best places at feasts who devour widow's houses and for a pretense, make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation. How interesting that the Lord Jesus Christ in front of everybody begins to speak concerning the religious leadership of Israel. I want you to see this and this might give you some insight into the Lord Jesus Christ. He actually does this in front of the people that he's warning these people about. I mean, they're standing there at that time. The scribes are there and Jesus turns and begins to speak to the people and he says, I wanna warn you, watch out for these people. So what he's doing is he's actually moving from their teaching to their practice. And as he does so, he gives a warning and notice what he begins to do because he lists various things that reveal ungodliness and he begins by illustrating how these religious leaders try to garner praise for themselves. Notice what he says. He says, they desire to go around in long robes. False teachers desire attention from people, not honor from God. All the religious fervor is on the outside not originating on the inside. It's easy to beautify the exterior to some degree. Some are more successful than others, let's face it, but it's easy to work on the outside. That isn't that difficult. But what God wants to do is he wants to work on the inside. I was watching something on TV the other day. It was about some guy who had gone overboard using steroids because he was a power lifter in Holland. And I watched about 10 minutes or so of it and then changed it as I normally do. How many of those guys you'd hate to watch TV with? I just keep changing. But I watched this for a few minutes and as I was watching it, I thought it was interesting because they began to interview, it was kind of like a documentary. They were interviewing a former champion bodybuilder and the guy is older now. He was some champion back in 1972 and I don't remember his title, whatever it was. It was one of those marvelous titles that really reveal how humble they are like Mr. Universe or all world or whatever. I mean Mr. Earth, I don't know. But this guy had some enormous title and they showed pictures of him. He weighed 220 pounds at that time and he was very well cut and they showed pictures of him and they asked him a question. I thought this was interesting. They asked him a question because he being as powerful as he was, how'd you get there? And he says, I use steroids. And so he started talking about steroids. Now this was back in 1972 and he says I was using steroids. He said and the thing about steroids is this. And he begins to discuss it. He said it actually led to various things including cardiac arrest, you know, a stroke. And he begins to speak concerning this. But what I found was really interesting was this. He said when I began to inject myself or began to use steroids, he said the exterior, my exterior continued to grow. He says I was, by looking at me, this man had become a world champion. He says by looking at me on the outside, he said everything looked healthy. He said, but I was rotting on the inside. My body on the inside was rotting. But on the outside, I looked perfectly healthy. And that's a great picture of people. We can look good on the outside. We can have that appearance of having everything together, can't we? You can have friends or absolutely convinced that you have got it all together because you have self-control. You're able to just hold yourself together under all kinds of circumstances. And they look at you and they will definitely say, if anybody's got it together, you do. You're calm, you know, you get passionate over the right things. You can have that exterior, even a religious exterior, perhaps before you actually came face to face with Christ and got saved. You may have been that person that people would have said, I already thought you were a Christian. I didn't know you had a need. My dad, when I got saved, my dad got saved about three weeks, two or three weeks after I did. And I never really asked him too much about that. And years later, many years later, my dad was talking to me and he said, David, he said, let me tell you something about when I got saved. And I've told you the story of how that I had shared with my dad and my mom and how they had come to Christ and all, but I never really had asked him his perspective and it was this, he said this to me. He said, when you got saved, when you became a Christian, he said, I knew you needed something. He says, because you were messed up. He said, so I knew you needed something. He said, but what really pushed me over was your sister Madeline. I have a sister Madeline who's four years younger than me. I was 20 when I got saved. She was 16. My sister Madeline was one of the classic good girls. And she's just a great gal. She was a good girl. I mean, she married her first boyfriend. She wasn't wild. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't into partying. She wasn't into anything. She was a girl in high school who would actually not be asking to go out. She'd stay home. I can still remember putting curlers in her hair in this little pink robe and she'd have some popcorn and she would sit between my dad and my mom and watch TV eating popcorn with him on a Friday night. Now, how many 16-year-olds do that? I mean, aren't they begging for the car keys? Don't they wanna go out and party with their friends? You know, not Madeline. Madeline was nothing like that. She was just a classic great little girl. And so my dad said to me, you needed something. But when Madeline got saved, because he said, look, I knew I was better than you. He said, but, he says, but I was not better than your sister because your sister was good. And so he said, I figured, look, I'm better than him but I'm not better than her. So if she needs Jesus Christ, I must need him too. And that's kinda how it works. You know, you can have that outer appearance. You can have that classic good person and people trust you. They know that you're honest. They know that you're the kind of person that you're just everything that they're not and they can admire you. But there's an empty nine inside of you, is a rot that's inside and it's sin and you know it. And you know you're not altogether. You know there's an emptiness in you even if other people don't see it. They can look at your outside and they can say, you look like you've got it altogether but on the inside, you don't. But when you looked at the scribes, these were the people who wore their religion on the outside. They wore the long robes because those were indicator that they were very religious people. That actually was drawing attention because long flowing robes were normally worn at that time by either royalty or priests. And so when they would be wearing these robes, they were drawing attention to themselves by their garments. So Jesus would make it very clear that it's not the exterior at all. And yet we do have a clothing. There is something we are to be clothed with. Of course it's righteousness but in Colossians chapter three verse 12, Paul said as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Instead of having an exterior kind of look and there are quite a number of people who on the outside look pretty good. He says these qualities, this patience, this holiness, this righteousness, this godliness, these things, that's really what you should be clothed with. A second thing about these people that Jesus is pointing out is that they loved greetings in the marketplaces. In other words, they wanted public recognition of their prominence. They were people who liked to be admired and they liked the attention that they would receive. In Matthew 23 verse seven, Jesus said it like this. He said they love greetings in the marketplaces and to be called by men rabbi rabbi. They liked it, they liked having that attention. They liked being known. They wanted people to know who they were. In ministry, it's one of the temptations that a person can have, especially if they were a person who when they were young, nobody noticed and now that they become a pastor or serve somewhere and get to be well known, the attention can go to their head. There's no doubt about that. It can go right to your head because people actually know who you are. I have the weirdest things happen. It happens all the time. People may not know me by face. As a matter of fact, a lot of people don't. They know me by the radio. And there have been times, many times that I've gone out of state to do radio rallies. They've never seen me. It's not like there are pictures of David Rosales all over. And so I'll go out there into other states and I've done this in Illinois. I've done it in New York. I've done it in various places when I've gone to do radio rallies and I'll walk out and I can actually walk around the groups of people that are there. They don't know who I am. I just walk around them and everything and then they'll say, you know, we'd like to welcome Pastor David Rosales and I'll come walking up and then they'll look at me like, you don't look anything like I thought you'd look. I mean, that is the number one thing. So I normally stand up there and I'll say this. I'll say, okay, I don't look like you thought, right? Because my last name is, I'm a Mexican, my last name. So they're expecting something, you know? So I say, okay, so I don't look what you think I look like, right? And they always do the same thing. I'll say, okay, you thought that I was gonna be black hair, right? And you thought I was gonna have a black mustache, right? Darker complexion, right? And they're nodding their head. And you thought I was gonna be a little bit heavier, huh? Yeah. And you also thought that I was gonna be very ugly. I said, you haven't, I say, and I do this all the time. I say, you've got me mixed up with Rawl, you know? And I do it all the time, you know? It's quite fun. Rawl's not there, he doesn't know. And I tell him, you know, they say that I have a face that is fit for radio, you know? And so, you know, I tease with them and share with them. But the thing is, is sometimes people do want to have that attention, they do. They want to be known. They long to be known. I don't know if I should say this. It'll probably come off wrong when somebody may misunderstand. But at the same time, I'll say it anyway because I don't care. It's true. I have opportunities now. Forgive me if it sounds self-serving. It's an illustration. I have opportunities now. I speak at national conferences. I speak at the National Pastors Conference and things like that. But for a long time, I didn't. There are hundreds of pastors in all. And so, you know, I would sit at the table with people and they knew me through radio ministry and all, but they didn't know me face-to-face. Now it's a little bit different. But in the earlier days, they will give to you, every time they have a conference, you get a name badge. You have to put it on a lanyard around your neck and that's how you get in and out of meetings and that's how you get your meals and things. So you have to have your name badge, but I'm not into name badges. I never have been. I don't like them. I don't like them. And so, I remember walking in one time and I didn't have my name badge on. And one of the guys standing at the door says to me, Pastor David, you don't have your name badge on. I said, your name tag. I said, no. He said, you need to put on your badge. And I said, I don't need those stinky badges, you know? And he says, yes you do. Put on your badge, you know? Because I prefer the anonymity, to be honest with you. I prefer the ability to just sit down and visit as one of the guys. I like that. I like that in my church. I like that when, you know, I'll say it again because you know, I'll see somebody this week. Somebody will come up and, because it happens all the time. I'll be at the restaurant, at a restaurant, you happen just this money. It happens all the time. And people will walk up and say, hi, Pastor, how are you? And I may not know them, but they say, you don't know me, but I know you. I go to your church, you know? And I said, well, that's wonderful. I'll give you my bill in a minute. If you'd like to pay it, praise God, you know? I'll pray for you when I go home. You know, I, you know, I like coming into contact with and speaking to and sharing with people in our fellowship. But I like to do that. And other people, obviously, I like to do that as one of them, not as being anything more than them. That's what Jesus is talking about here. What he's talking about is these people like the attention. And some people do. They like the greetings. They like the titles. But a genuine believer does not seek out special attention or special titles. Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse one, speaking of himself and Apollo said, let a man so consider us as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. That's what we are. We're servants and stewards. He goes on to say they love the best seats in the synagogues. Now, when it says the best seats in the synagogues, those were the seats in the front. And it was in front of the raised platform. It's where prayers and readings would occur. And so when they were up there in the front, naturally it got attention from the congregation as they were ushered in, and then they'd be seated facing the people. And so they liked that. Again, a genuine believer doesn't seek personal glory from special attention. In John chapter three, verse 30, John the Baptist said something that I think is amazingly important. Speaking of Jesus, he must increase, I must decrease. It's always better to simply serve the Lord without desire for any special notice from other people. It's always better because from the Lord you receive your reward. He goes on to say they love the best places at the feast. They like the most prominent places at the feast. They like to be in that special place of honor. Once again, looking for people to see them and treat them as if they were really important. But that was a practice that is unworthy of a genuine believer. Remember when we were looking in chapter 14, verses seven through 11, do you remember how Jesus told a parable to those who were invited when he noted how they chose the best places, saying to them, when you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, less one more honorable than you be invited by him. And he who invited you and him, come and say to you, give place to this man. And then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you're invited, go and sit down in the lowest place so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, friend, go up higher. And then you'll have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted. That's the truth. Oh, is it? Many years ago now, and I'm thankful to be able to say many years ago now, 20 some years ago, Raul was doing some, Raul Rees was doing some ministry in Albuquerque. And I went with them, along with several other Calvary pastors. And I went along with Raul. I wanted to see how he did this particular ministry and all and so I joined him on his trip and all and we spent some time there 20 some years ago now. And we were there and he had rented an auditorium. Some of you are familiar with Albuquerque. It's called the Kiva Auditorium and there was an outreach there and so there we are. Now my family lives in New Mexico. And so my brother, Frankie, lives in New Mexico and my sisters live there and now my mom lives there. My family lives in New Mexico and they're all California transplants but they live and have lived there for many years now. And so Frankie was there and he had been going to Calvary Chapel, Albuquerque and Raul was speaking for them at the Kiva Auditorium. And so when we got there, I was seated there amongst the people in this particular auditorium and there were several hundred people and next to me was my nephew and my brother and his wife and all. As we were there, on my left side were some girls and all and they were younger women in their teens and all and they were talking and they said hi to me and I said hi to them and I was kind of seated there and just I was going to listen to Raul teach and then Raul comes out and Raul begins to introduce the people who came with him. So he says, oh, I'd like to let you know who's with me today. And so he says, you know, I brought my brother Xavier. Xavier was there and he says Xavier, can you stand? Xavier stands in waves and people give them that warm hello, and I'm sitting there going, oh, how cool is this? I'm going to stand up in a minute. And I'm saying, oh, and so he says to my brother-in-law, Gary Ruff is here, Gary, where are you? And then Gary stands up and waves, and then everybody gives him, and now I'm thinking these girls, when I stand up next to them, they're going to go, oh, I was thinking that. Boy, he's important. Raul didn't introduce me. He forgot I was there. And I'm not kidding when I say my heart, I don't know if it's the Lord or it was me, but I heard, ooh, you're so important, aren't you? I heard that. I did, I heard that in my heart. I laughed, but I was so embarrassed. I was so embarrassed. I said, oh, God, be merciful to me as sinner. I did want the attention. Oh, Lord, how subtle is that? Well, I understand this. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled. There's no doubt about it. He who humbles himself will be exalted. He goes on and he says they devour widow's houses and now notice, and for our pretense, make long prayers. They took an unfair advantage of widows. The widows may very well have been supporting them financially and it was kind of like this, if you give me a large gift, I'll say a long prayer for you, a series of prayers. And they took advantage of them. They devour widow's houses and for a pretense, made long prayers. Isaiah 56 verse 11, speaking of this kind of practice, says they are greedy dogs. They never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding. They all turn to their own way. Each seeks his own gain. And for this, they receive greater condemnation because they have greater responsibility. And that's what he says in verse 47, these will receive greater condemnation. Greatness in the kingdom of God is predicated on humble service to the Lord. That's the key to greatness. And Christians are to be humble as they seek the Lord and they give God all the glory for the things that God does through them. There's a story I like about two brothers and these two brothers grew up on a farm and one went away to college. He ended up earning a law degree. He became a partner in a prominent law firm in the state capital. The other brother stayed on the family farm. So one day the lawyer came and visited his brother who was still working on the farmer and he asked, why don't you go out and make a name for yourself and hold your head up high in the world like me? And the brother pointed and said, see that field of wheat over there? Look closely. Only the empty heads stand up. Those that are well filled always bow low. And I think that's a good point. Only the empty heads stand up. Now we can go on and glorify ourselves all we want but when you have something that God has given to you there's just a tendency of being humble before him. Jesus is speaking here and he's saying, listen, this is what you ought to be. Humble servants, serving me because you know I am Messiah, the son of David. And as you do so, you will be rewarded for doing so. But if you seek your own pleasure then you ultimately enter into everlasting condemnation. So watch out for the scribes he says, don't be like them.