Jesus as the Psalm 2 Royal Son of God
3/16/20261 hr 15 min
Psalms 1 & 2 E4 — The New Testament authors make both subtle and direct claims to Jesus’ divinity, almost exclusively by referencing Israel’s Scriptures. In Psalm 2, one of the most quoted passages from the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh responds to the conspiring, violent nations by installing a king (whom he calls his Son) in Israel. Jesus and the apostles frequently use Psalm 2 language to describe Jesus’ divine identity and unique relationship to God the Father. In this episode, Jon and Tim explore these references in Jesus’ baptism, transfiguration, and resurrection, while also considering how the Son of God shares his royal identity with his followers.
FULL SHOW NOTES
For chapter-by-chapter summaries, biblical words, referenced Scriptures, and reflection questions, check out the full show notes for this episode.
CHAPTERS
- Recap and Setup for the New Testament (0:00-9:23)
- Psalm 2 in Jesus’ Baptism (9:23-23:46)
- Psalm 2 in Jesus’ Transfiguration (23:46-40:24)
- Psalm 2 in Acts and Romans (40:24-59:50)
- Psalm 2 in Revelation (59:50-1:15:05)
PSALMS 1 & 2 BIBLEPROJECT TRANSLATION
View our full translation of Psalms 1 & 2.
REFERENCED RESOURCES
- The Birth of the Trinity: Jesus, God, and Spirit in New Testament and Early Christian Interpretations of the Old Testament by Matthew W. Bates
- Check out Tim’s extensive collection of recommended books here.
SHOW MUSIC
- “Spark” by Tesk
- “Jasmine” by King I Divine
- “Lounge” by Leavv & Nuncc
- “Filao” by Kissamilé
- BibleProject theme song by TENTS
SHOW CREDITS
Production of today’s episode is by Lindsey Ponder, producer, and Cooper Peltz, managing producer. Tyler Bailey is our supervising engineer, who also edited today’s episode and provided the sound design and mix. JB Witty writes the show notes. Our host and creative director is Jon Collins, and our lead scholar is Tim Mackie.
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJon Collins· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Welcome to BibleProject Podcast. For the last few weeks, Tim and I have been studying Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. We read each on their own, and then we read them side by side and saw how they spark off each other and connect us to the story of the whole Bible. Today, we're gonna zoom in on Psalm 2 and look at how Psalm 2 is extensively quoted in the New Testament. Now remember, Psalm 2 is the poem about the anointed king who God calls His son, who will inherit the whole world, and how rebel kings of the land are called to serve this king. And the first time Psalm 2 is quoted in the New Testament is during Jesus' baptism, when the sky rips open and God's voice from Heaven says, "You are my son."
Tim Mackie· Host0:49
He's hearing a phrase from the heavenly voice quoting the first few words of Psalm 2, and Jesus, immediately after this, goes out into the wilderness, passes the test that Israel and humanity failed, and then starts announcing the arrival of God's kingdom. So this voice is saying something of the Son, almost as it were of like, "It's go time. Go, Son. Go get 'em."
Jon Collins· Host1:14
Later in the Gospels, right before Jesus heads out to Jerusalem to be killed, He ascends a mountain with three of His disciples, and suddenly His face and clothes begin shining, revealing who He really is. And we hear the voice of the Father from Heaven again declaring,