Ps 2: All About Jesus
Ps 2: All About Jesus
Having looked at Jesus Baptism, that being his identification with his people, and the Temptation, that being his first official battle with Satan, with implications both for himself and his people, let us now look at Ps 2, which would certainly have been on Jesus mind as he was doing battle.
And why do I say that? On what basis?
Ps 2 is all about Jesus.
"Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine 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 bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Psa 2:1-12
He is "the anointed" of verse 2; note verse 3 is a plural "their," meaning at least the Father and the Son; he is "God's king" of verse 6; he is the speaker in verse 7 " I will relate what the LORD said to me;" he is "the Son" of verse 7; he is "the Son" of verse 12.
Ps 2 is quoted four (4) times in the New Testament: Act 4:25 and 13:33; Heb 1:5 and 5:5.
And the reference to ruling with a "rod of iron," that phrase is only used of Jesus, and that three (3) times in Rev: 2:27 and 12:5 and 19:15.
Ps 2 is all about Jesus!
The kings of the earth are motivated and lead by the Devil. They are in active rebellion against God; not WERE, but still ARE. They do not want God ruling over them, they want to cast off his restraints; his Law.
But God is laughing; he has set his king in heaven, not on earth, who is Jesus, who is right now at the right hand of God in heaven, waiting for the Last Day, which his Father has already fixed on the calendar of heaven, when he will return with his angels, in the clouds of glory, and take vengeance (yes, vengeance 2Th 1:8), judging all men (Mat 25) and ushering in the new heavens and the new earth (Rev 21:5 "behold I make all things new").
Jesus knew all this; he knew Ps 2 was about him, he is the one speaking in verse 7, and so he goes forth to battle Satan, fully assured of victory, for he is the anointed one, the one to whom God the Father made clear and specific promises.
I do not think anyone would question that the Lord Jesus is the anointed one, that he is the king, that he is the Son, and so we will not look at that. We will look at the promises which the Father made to the Lord Jesus, which would have motivated and encouraged him as he engaged the Devil in the wilderness.
The promises are:
1) That he, the Son, will be begotten of the Father.
2) That he, the Son, will inherit the nations, even to the uttermost parts of the earth.
3) That he, the Son, will break his enemies with a rod of iron, and dash them to pieces.
Promise #1: That he, the Son, will be begotten of the Father.
In Act 13:33, this statement is applied to the Lord Jesus in connection with his resurrection. This phrase has nothing to do with he being the eternal Son of God, what is called the "eternal generation of the Son," the one "eternally proceeding from the Father," who "was in the bosom of the Father from all eternity;" think Jhn 1.
"Begotten" means in the literal sense, a father begetting children, in a figurative sense, to bring forth, to display.
I parallel passage is Rom 1:3-4:
"Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:"
God declared to the Universe, that Jesus was his Son, the one spoken of in Ps 2, when he raised him from the dead; the vast majority of passages regarding the resurrection of Jesus clearly state that God the Father raised Jesus from the dead. That is why in Act 2:27 David records Jesus saying to the Father, that he Jesus was rejoicing, because he KNEW that his Father would "not leave my [his] soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine [me] Holy One to see corruption."
Jesus says to the Father, you will not allow my soul to stay in hell [in death].
In Ps 2:7, the Lord Jesus, the Son, tells us that in eternity past, the Father told him, I will publicly declare that you are my eternal, unique Son, when I raise you from the dead.
The Lord Jesus knowing that, because it was told him by the Father in eternity past, does not allow the Devil to de-rail him from the cross. The his death on the cross, and subsequently being raised from the dead by the Father, will be the means of his being publicly declared to the be Eternal Son of God.
Promise #2: That he, the Son, will inherit the nations, even to the uttermost parts of the earth.
This is the promise that the Lord Jesus kingdom there will have people from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation.
Jesus did not die for every single person who has ever, or will ever live; if that was true, he would be the saddest person in heaven for all eternity, for he the vast majority of people are not saved.
Rather he died for specific individuals among every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation; that is what phrases like "he died for all people," and "he died for all the people of the world," mean.
His kingdom is a global kingdom, extending to all people groups of the world. In heaven, there will be people from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation.
"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;" Rev 5:9
That is exactly what the Psalm says: Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
No group on earth will be excluded. And as a note, the Old Testament Jews, should have known that the gentiles, the heathen would be included, this Psalm clearly says so, and consider this from Isaiah:
"And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth." Isa 49:5-6
Here we again have the Lord Jesus telling us something the Father said to him: "and now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant,"
The Jews want to say this refers to them, the nation of Israel, but that cannot be; the servant cannot be Israel, for he (a single person !!) is to bring back Jacob; this is talking about another person: the Father prepares someone to bring back Jacob: the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
But to our point, that Jesus kingdom is a global kingdom, with people from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation in it, Jesus tells us, that God the Father said to him, Jesus: I will also give thee [you Jesus] for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
Can there be any clearer statement than that, that the gentiles will be included in the kingdom, the salvation of Jesus Christ, extending to the ends of the earth, to every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation? I don't think so!
The Father assured the Lord Jesus that his death would result in a world wide kingdom; the Lord Jesus knew that, and therefore would not allow the Devil to re-rail him from the cross.
For note, the scope of the Devil's offer was the kingdoms of the world, and all their riches and glory: it was earthly and temporal, but the Father promised Jesus a heavenly and eternal kingdom.
His inheritance is not "stuff," it is the souls of men and women, who would be from every kindred, tongue, tribe, and nation, thereby showing the total world-wide dominion of his kingdom, the efficacy of his death to all the world, not one group is passed by, so that no one can say, It was not for me.
He tasted death for every [kind of] man (Heb 2:9), ie for men and women of every color, language, ethnicity, etc.
And it is a kingdom which will not end, functioning in the new heavens and new earth, which will exist for all eternity.
"And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever." Dan 2:44
The kingdom of the Lord Jesus shall never be destroyed, it will break in pieces and consume (overtake and surpass) all the earthly kingdoms (think how the Roman Empire fell before the Christian Church in the first few centuries), and it will stand for ever.
"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Dan 7:13-14
Why would Jesus take earthly kingdoms, where moth and rust destroy, when he was promised an eternal kingdom, resplendent in light and holiness, which he receives directly from his Father, the Ancient of Days!
Promise #3: That he, the Son, will break his enemies with a rod of iron, and dash them to pieces.
Not only was the Lord Jesus promised an eternal, world-wide, heavenly kingdom, he was told that he would crush and destroy his enemies; and make no doubt about it, JESUS HAS ENEMIES! And I don't just mean Satan and the evil angels, there are people too who, granted are motivated by the Devil, are the active enemies of Jesus Christ, and are trying to thwart the advance of his gospel kingdom.
We think of meek and mild Jesus carrying a lamb, but this Psalm says he will dash his enemies with an iron rod, like someone smashing a clay pot: that is not a one time strike, it is a repeated action, he will go along striking til the pot is pulverized!
That is a picture, the reality is that God has a prison for un-repentant criminals and subverters of his kingdom: HELL.
It is a place of eternal, un-ending, fire and darkness and pain. A place where the demons will have free reign to torture people, giving full expression to their hateful and destroying nature.
"But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me." Luk 19:27
Jesus said that! It may have been said in a parable, but it means something!
"Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Mat 22:13
Jesus said that too!
And the following is NOT a parable:
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:" Mat 25:41
That is why in Psalm 2 it is said to the kings, and to everybody:
"Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him." Psa 2:10-12
Kiss the Son, bend the knee to him in repentance; humble yourself to him; STOP REBELLING.
Remember sins are crimes against the government of God, sins are the breaking of his Law, the Ten Commandments, sins are rebellion against God, BUT you can be forgiven.
Take the words of the Publican, and make them yours:
"And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luk 18:13-14
You too can be justified, declared righteous in God's eyes, by receiving the righteousness of Jesus Christ, imputed to you by faith, not earned by you.
BE WISE!
1 April 2026