Psalm 110 quoted in Hebrews

In my research I found books that highlighted the correlation structurally of Psalm 110 to Hebrews. One such book focused on the structure of the book of Hebrews analyzed with a focus on the use of Psalm 110 as a structural marker. Quotations and allusions from Psalm 110 were said to be throughout Hebrews following a specific pattern in each section. This pattern, the author suggested, is a well-organized midrash on Psalm 110 in the first twelve chapters of Hebrews.

Just so you know, a “Midrash (pl. midrashim) is a verse-by-verse rabbinic commentary on the Bible.”¹ And in their commentary on Hebrews, Osborne and Guthrie write:

When he “sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven,” he fulfilled Psalm 110:1, as his death is followed by his glorious exaltation and seat to the right hand of God and his throne. The humiliation followed by the exaltation of Jesus comes full circle here, and the victory and glory of Christ ensue. The rest of Hebrews could be called a midrashic expansion of the themes introduced here, namely that Jesus died for our sins and then entered his exaltation and reign of power at the right hand of God.

Several have recognized that Psalm 110:1 is at the heart of the organizational framework of this letter. It also occurs at Hebrews 1:13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2, mainly because this is the primary prophetic text in Scripture that predicted the future exaltation of God’s Messiah and set the stage for the twofold victory at the cross and then at the parousia (coming) of Christ. The “right hand of the Majesty in heaven” is the place of power and pictures Jesus as the conquering King, head of heaven’s armies. When he “sat down,” his work was finished, and he assumed his eternal place on the Bema or royal throne with his Father as the “Majesty in heaven.” When he returns, he will move from his heavenly throne to sit atop his white horse (Rev 19:11) as the conquering King. At that time, Psalm 110:1 tells us, God will make his enemies the footstool of his feet.

Grant R. Osborne and George H. Guthrie, Hebrews: Verse by Verse, Osborne New Testament Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2021), 28–29.

The following list of four references are direct quotes to specific prophecy from Psalm 110 as found in Hebrews:

To which of the angels did God ever say,

“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet” ? – Hebrews 1:13 NIV

Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, – Hebrews 8:1 NIV

But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, – Hebrews 10:12 NIV

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. – Hebrews 12:2 NIV

It would appear straight-forward from these repeated themes that Jesus, being seated with God the Father, is exalted there to reign with Him. This is different from His Davidic throne [click here to read my blog post on that issue]. But Jesus is exalted to the highest with God the Father. He will rule there for a session. But He is destined to return as the Messiah and begin His reign from Jerusalem in, we hope, the not-so-distant future. But none of the scriptures in the New Testament, including Acts 2 make the specific claim that Jesus is currently on His glorious throne, or His Davidic throne, which there are a few NT verses in the Gospels that show His “glorious throne” and “Davidic throne” to be one and the same. But this is yet to take place.

Also, per last week’s blogpost about Psalm 110 intertextually linked throughout the rest of the Old Testament, the full expectation of the Messiah’s reign and kingdom are not yet fulfilled. We expect a warrior King superior to any other who will crush His enemies and also act as a priest.

Oftentimes, I feel that I am more of a continuationist than Covenantalists. These Old Testament expectations have to be fulfilled [click here for last week’s blogpost on the OT references to Ps. 110]. Dr. Vlach summarizes,

Next, with his speech in Jerusalem, Peter quoted Psalm 110:1 to show his Jewish audience that Jesus is the resurrected Messiah now at the right hand of God. Acts 2:32–33a reads: “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God.” Like the above references in Matthew 22; Mark 12, and Luke 20, Peter’s use of Psalm 110:1 in Acts 2 indicates that Jesus is the referent of Psalm 110:1. So Peter’s use of Psalm 110:1 also indicates a case of direct literal prophetic fulfillment.

Then there are the three quotations of Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews. In Hebrews 1, the writer extols the superiority of Jesus over everything. Hebrews 1:3 says that when Jesus “made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Jesus is the direct fulfillment of the one who would sit at God’s right hand.

The writer then quotes Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews 1:13 to show that God never promised that angels would sit at His right hand. But God did promise this privilege to Jesus. This seems to be a case of application of a theological point, namely that a special man (i.e. Jesus), not angels, will sit at God’s right hand. The quotation of Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews 10:12 proves that Jesus is the High Priest who sat down at the right hand of God, “waiting” until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet. Thus, Jesus is at the right hand of God currently waiting for His kingdom reign to begin. Hebrews 10:12 also is a case of direct literal fulfillment of Psalm 110:1.

Psalm 110:1 also is alluded to in other NT verses. First Corinthians 15:25 says Jesus “must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” Ephesians 1:20 and Colossians 3:1 state that Jesus is currently at God’s right hand. Ephesians 1:22 says God has “put all things in subjection under His feet.” Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; and 12:2 state that Jesus is our high priest who, after the cross, sat down at the right hand of God.

Psalm 110 is important to the NT writers and persons. Jesus is the direct fulfillment of the one who was destined to have a session at the right hand of God for a time until God establishes Jesus’ kingdom reign upon the earth. As a result of His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus is currently at the right hand of God in heaven.

Michael J. Vlach, The Old in the New: Understanding How the New Testament Authors Quoted the Old Testament (Woodlands, TX; Sun Valley, CA: Kress Biblical Resources; Master’s Seminary Press, 2021), 176–177.

So to conclude, it is somewhat common to presume that if Christ is exalted to the highest, that this has to also entail His kingdom reign and Davidic throne now. So these things tend to get mashed together so as to suggest that the kingdom is spiritual and not as expected per the Old Testament. However, if you have a good definition of the Davidic throne and of the kingdom (click here for a definition of God’s Kingdom), then you can know that these things are still ahead, and Hebrews doesn’t in the least change that. Hebrews itself says that Christ is exalted to the right hand of the Father. There is nothing that says He is on His Davidic or glorious throne now.

The differences on these things between Covenantalists and Dispensationalists can be summed up in their root differences with regards to biblical interpretation. Honestly, their differences are not extreme, but subtle differences in respect to New Testament Priority and Analogy of the Faith tend to cause differences down the road. Simply put, I do not believe that either testament should be given priority over the other. I don’t play that game. When you read the Bible for the plain sense, from front to back, this is what you get. Sure it is complex and sophisticated, but this ancient literature is simply that. It takes serious study to connect the dots. You still read it with a front to back mentality, but it is no less complicated. So, my hermeneutic is straightforward, but it involves lots of study. There is no pass on finding other scriptures to make clear the unclear ones. Cross-referencing is crucial, but you don’t get to dismiss certain Old Testament scriptures that delineate these things.