41 While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They answered him, “David’s.”
43 He said to them, “Then how can David, guided by the Spirit, call him Lord? David says,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Take the honored position—the one next to me [God the Father] on the heavenly throne
until I put your enemies under your control.”’
45 If David calls him Lord, how can he be his son?”
46 No one could answer him, and from that time on no one dared to ask him another question.
Read Matthew 22:41-46 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
When I look closely at this event, the implications of what Jesus was pulling together are fascinating. After receiving all the challenges the Pharisees and religious leaders could think up, Jesus chooses to counter their questions with a question of His own – one that is answerable, but one that is not logically possible.
Of all the people to know the scriptures well, the Pharisees and religious leaders knew them the best, so when Jesus sets them up with a question: “Whose son is the Messiah?” the leaders are quick to answer “David’s son”. (v. 42)
For some of these leaders, this setup question probably seemed a little too easy, that is, until Jesus lays out the remaining details of His counter challenge: David calls the Messiah “Lord”, and that title is reserved for a ruler, master, or the owner of something.
Ultimately, the highest “Lord” is God, but in any one of these cases, sons are not masters, rulers, or owners of their parents or grandparents. In this regard, there is a paradox that is very difficult to answer, and probably impossible to understand.
Looking back onto this event, and onto what the gospel writers share about Jesus, we can find the answer to this question: A virgin birth. If Jesus gave up His divinity and was born as a human, this can make sense. If God the Father was His Father, and a descendant of David was His mother, then the Messiah can have coexisted prior to David, ruling with God, and also be one of David’s descendants.
However, even this is hard to grasp: Why would God (a Ruler/“Lord”) give up His position in heaven for a race of beings that were actively rebelling against Him?
The answer is that He loves them. He loves the human race – which includes you and me!
In the answer to Jesus’ counter-challenge to the religious leaders, He shares a huge truth about Himself, and about how God cares about each and every one of us!
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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