12/30

Matthew 22:45

⁴⁵If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?"

The religious leaders had failed to trap Jesus with their clever questions. Jesus then asked them a very straightforward question. Psalm 110 was a psalm that the Jews recognized as speaking of the coming Messiah. The psalm begins by asserting that the eternal God of Israel said to David's Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." Jesus asked how David could call a descendant of his, "Lord."

Jews knew that the prophets had said the Messiah was coming from the line of David. They considered a father to be greater than a son. Abraham was their great patriarch. His son, Isaac, was not quite as great. Isaac's son Israel was not quite as great as his father, and so on. The prophetic psalm seemed to clearly break that pattern. How could David's descendant be David's master?

This interchange put an end to the religious leaders' questioning of Jesus. They did not know what to say. If He was going to ask them questions, they were in trouble. Jesus was not playing their "gotya game." He was trying to help them see that God had come in the flesh. Jesus was David's Lord because He is the One that David worshiped. Jesus is one with God and chose to be incarnated in the womb of Mary to redeem mankind. I believe the religious leaders understood what Jesus was implying, for in a few days they would have Him arrested for claiming to be God.

Consider: Jesus is now at the right hand of God interceding for us. In God's perfect timing every enemy of truth will be under Jesus' feet. Jesus knew the suffering that lay before Him, but also the glory that would follow. Let us follow in His steps.