Aspects of True Worship

All right, well, we are in the Gospel of Mark, specifically Mark chapter 12. For those of you who are new or haven’t been here in a while, we’ve been going through the Gospel of Mark, which is the shortest of the four gospels in the New Testament. We are currently in the chronology of Jesus Christ’s life, specifically the week of His crucifixion, often referred to as Holy Week or Passion Week. Christ has ridden into Jerusalem in the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, and now He is interacting in the temple courts on the Temple Mount with various groups of people.

What I find interesting, given that Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four, is that he often provides a very abbreviated look at the life of Christ. However, this particular occurrence, where Jesus is interacting on the Temple Mount, seems to receive a comparatively long amount of attention from Mark. This suggests it is a priority for him as he lays out the life of Christ. One of Mark’s goals in this gospel is to help us see the identity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the One who will usher in the promised Kingdom of God. When we say “Messiah,” we’re referring to the prophesied Anointed One foretold in the Old Testament, anointed by God to fulfill the covenants made with Abraham and David and to redeem His people from their sins. That’s the context we’re exploring.

So, we come to another interaction between Jesus and a group of people on the Temple Mount during the week of His crucifixion. Let’s begin in Mark 12, starting with verse 35. We’ll go all the way to the end of the chapter today, but I’ll read the first section now:

*Mark 12:35–37 (ESV): 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.*

This is another interaction, and prior to this, we’ve seen groups approaching Jesus with loaded questions, attempting to trap Him and get Him to say or do something that would turn the crowd against Him. Now, Jesus turns the tide, almost saying, “You want to ask questions? How about I ask you a question—one that might upset the crowds and turn them against you?” He addresses the scribes, and what we see in the two sections we’ll look at in Mark 12 is that true worship is a priority for Christ, even as the cross looms before Him. He deeply cares about worshiping God in spirit and truth.

The first area of worship He addresses is having a proper perspective on worship, specifically their understanding of the Messiah. Do they even know who He is? In other words, Jesus wants them to worship the real God, not a God of their own making or misunderstanding. He’s addressing the scribes’ reference to the Messiah as the “son of David.” While there is something special, even great, about the Messiah, terms like “son of David” often fail to fully capture His significance.

To be clear, Jesus isn’t contending that “son of David” is an inappropriate term for the Messiah. In fact, if we go back to the Old Testament, 2 Samuel chapter 7—a chapter you should have circled in your Bible—outlines what we call the Davidic Covenant. In this covenant, God promises David that He will raise up an offspring from his body who will establish his kingdom, and that David’s house and kingdom shall be made sure forever before God. The throne, God declares, shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:12–16). This covenant points to a descendant of David who will one day rule on his throne over an eternal, worldwide kingdom.

In the New Testament, the Gospel of Matthew begins with a genealogy tracing Jesus’ lineage through David back to Abraham, demonstrating that Jesus Christ is this promised descendant—the Messiah, the son of David. Similarly, in Luke’s birth narrative, which we hear every Christmas, details like Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem for the census because they are of the house and lineage of David (Luke 2:4) point to the same truth. Even the angels, announcing the birth to the shepherds, proclaim that in the city of David, a Savior has been born, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2:11). “Christ” is the Greek word for Messiah, identifying Jesus as the promised descendant of David.

Just days before the events we’re reading about in Mark’s gospel, during the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday, the crowds cheered Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, shouting praises like “Hosanna!” and calling Him “the son of David” and “the King” (Mark 11:9–10). They recognized Him as the fulfillment of God’s covenant with David, made thousands of years earlier.

However, Jesus is addressing an issue with the scribes, the religious leaders. While they understood that a descendant of David would rule over an eternal, worldwide kingdom, their understanding was deficient, leading to deficient worship. They grasped only part of what the Old Testament prophesied about the Davidic Covenant. Their view of the “son of David” was limited to human terms—a regular person, perhaps a military king like David, who would shake off Israel’s oppressors and re-establish her as a sovereign nation.

Jesus challenges this limited understanding, saying their view of the Messiah is too small. To make His point, He quotes Psalm 110:1, saying, “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.”’” The scribes would agree that David wrote this psalm under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, giving it the authority of God’s Word. In this psalm, David refers to the Messiah as “my Lord.” The first “Lord” (Hebrew: *Yahweh*) is God the Father, who says to “my Lord” (Hebrew: *Adonai*), the Messiah, “Sit at my right hand.”

Earthly fathers don’t typically refer to their sons as “lord.” This would be foreign to their cultural understanding. Jesus’ argument is that if David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls the Messiah “Lord,” then the Messiah cannot be merely a human descendant of David. He must be superior to David—someone David would call his master, with dominion and authority over him. This is a significant claim, given that David is the pinnacle king in Israel’s history, the standard for a ruler who glorifies God and cares for His people.

This is all about proper perspective. Mark’s gospel aims to help people recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the One ushering in God’s kingdom to save His people. To worship Him in truth, we must worship Him as He truly is, not restricted by a limited view of what kind of king God might send. This is why we spent time in our theology group earlier this year focusing on doctrines like the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, and Christ. We want to understand God as He has revealed Himself, not just what makes sense to us. Jesus is more than a mortal man, more than a teacher of how to live or love. He is the Savior, the fulfillment of God’s covenant with David—a descendant who reigns over creation from David’s throne for eternity. He is God incarnate, fully human and fully divine, able to suffer and die as a sinless man to atone for the sins of the world.

We discussed this in our equipping hour this morning, referencing Hebrews 10, where Jesus is described as the sufficient, single sacrifice, far superior to the millions of animal sacrifices under the Old Covenant. His work on the cross, just days away, is possible because He is fully man—able to be our substitute and shed His blood for our sins—and fully God—able to bear the full weight of God’s wrath against sin, rise from the dead, and be our sufficient sacrifice. When we worship, we must worship God as He truly is, not just the parts we pick and choose.

When Jesus asks the scribes, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David when David himself declares him Lord?” they must answer this question to continue rejecting His claims. If they acknowledge the Scriptures they hold dear, they must grapple with the Messiah’s true identity and worship Him rightly.

The next section is more practical and relatable. Let’s look at Mark 12:38–44:

*Mark 12:38–44 (ESV): And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”*

This section addresses true worship as worship driven by pure motives—worshiping for the right reasons. The scribes’ behavior is clear without diving into cultural details. They love wearing long robes, receiving greetings in the marketplaces, securing the best seats in the synagogues, and holding places of honor at feasts. They present themselves as righteous, holy men of God, but their motive is to gain public honor, respect, and praise. They carefully construct an image for personal benefit, not unlike how people today curate their lives on social media to project a certain image, expecting admiration in return.

Commentator William Lane calls this a “self-intoxication”—being drunk with the idea of oneself and craving public acknowledgment. Jesus addresses this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6), where He critiques those who pray loudly or make spectacles of their giving to be seen as righteous. Their goal is not true worship but to be perceived as holy for personal gain. Jesus is clear: this is sinful, worthy of greater condemnation. Righteousness with ulterior motives is not righteous at all—it’s rooted in pride, believing ourselves to be better than we are and seeking undeserved honor.

Jesus isn’t condemning all scribes but specifically those who behave this way. Their wickedness is compounded by their actions: they “devour widows’ houses” while covering it up with long prayers to appear holy. They exploit the poorest in society—those Scripture repeatedly calls us to care for (e.g., James 1:27)—manipulating them to fund their lavish lifestyles. Sadly, this isn’t new. Church history, even today, is littered with leaders demanding loyalty while hiding financial or moral misdeeds, preying on the vulnerable, and confessing only when caught.

True worship, by contrast, flows from humility. When we understand God’s holiness—sung about in songs like “Holy, Holy, Holy” (cf. Isaiah 6:3)—and our own sinfulness, we’re humbled. God’s love, demonstrated by sending His Son to die for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8), should make us the most humble, especially those in leadership who spend time in God’s Word and prayer.

The story of the widow’s offering illustrates this. Jesus observes people giving at the temple treasury. The rich put in large sums, while a poor widow gives two small copper coins, worth a penny. Yet, Jesus says she gave more because she gave all she had, out of her poverty, while the rich gave out of their abundance. He isn’t condemning the rich but highlighting that, in God’s economy, her sacrificial gift was greater.

This reflects the principle of loving God with *all*—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30). The widow gave all she had, demonstrating true worship. Scripture provides three principles for giving:

1. **Freely**: Giving should come from the heart, not under compulsion (2 Corinthians 9:7).

2. **Joyfully**: We should count it a privilege to contribute to God’s work with joy (2 Corinthians 9:7).

3. **Sacrificially**: Like David, who refused to offer what cost him nothing (2 Chronicles 21:24), our worship should involve giving up something valuable to us.

The widow’s offering, given without fanfare, contrasts sharply with the scribes’ ostentatious displays. Jesus praises her humble, sacrificial worship as the kind that honors God. When we grasp the significance of the cross—what God has done through His Son—worship should flow naturally. Yet, sin like pride and selfishness often takes root, requiring us to remind ourselves continually of God’s great gift of salvation, which enables us to give our all to Him.

Let’s pray:

*Dear Lord, we thank You for these practical lessons Jesus imparted, even as He prepared for the cross, knowing His crucifixion was days away. Yet, He carefully taught about true worship—worship rooted in a proper perspective of who You are and driven by pure motives. Help us dive deep into Your Word to deepen our understanding of You. May we never be satisfied with our current knowledge but always seek to go further. Free us from holding anything back, and may we worship You sacrificially, knowing You have given us so much. We ask this in Your name, Amen.*