“The Messiah’s Sonship”
(Matthew 22:41-46)
Series: God’s Fulfilled Promise [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
August 2, 2020
The Passage
Matthew 22:41-46
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “David’s.”
43 He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’:
44 The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?
45 “If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how, then, can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.
Introductory Comments:
I believe that an effective parent should hope and dream that their children surpass them in terms of true success and impact upon the world. In fact, it brings a parent joy when you finally start to see your child excel and develop in areas where you have been pouring into them for years. I don’t know when you really start to see the full impact of all the investment you’ve made in your children, but I see some hope after about ten years. I trust that will continue. Well, sometimes the children far outshine those who came before them. That’s certainly my hope for my boys.
In today’s passage, we’re going to hear about King David of Israel. David was one of the greatest leaders that Israel ever saw. We know, also, that there were prophecies concerning one who would come after him who would be called the Son of David. While it’s true that David was a great king, we’re going to see that the Son of David far outshined David himself.
As we prepare to study this passage, let’s go to God in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
As most of you know, we’re continuing our series in Matthew. Today, we are concluding chapter 22. If you haven’t already, please find your way to Matthew 22:41-46.
As you’ll remember, Jesus was continually questioned by the Pharisees and the other religious leaders of the day.
Well, apparently Jesus was tired of being questioned by them. In today’s passage, Jesus decided to do the questioning. The question that He asks them is a dandy. It’s as if Jesus is saying, “You like tough questions? I’ll show you a tough question!”
So, let’s look at the passage. Look at Matthew 22:41-46:
41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “David’s.”
43 He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’:
44 The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?
45 “If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how, then, can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.
In this conversation, Jesus is questioning the Pharisees in order to make a point about who the Messiah is. The Pharisees easily take the bait and are completely unable to answer Jesus’ question. The wisdom and authority of Jesus are on display while the complete bewilderment of the Pharisees is on display.
Jesus first asks a basic question that any young Jewish person with any amount of religious training would be able to answer. Look at verse 42. Jesus asks, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
This is not a hard question. Every Jewish person knew that the Messiah would be the Son of David. That is, He would be the descendant of David.
The Pharisees are correct this time. They say at the end of verse 42, “David’s.” Finally, the Pharisees get something right!
After the Pharisees answer the question directly, Jesus asks another question, this one more perplexing to the Pharisees. Look at verse 43: He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’”
Well, Jesus is referring to a specific passage. This is from Psalm 110, which is what we call a “Messianic Psalm.” So, let’s look at this passage that Jesus references as He questions the Pharisees. Look at Psalm 110:1-4:
1 This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion. Rule over your surrounding enemies.
3 Your people will volunteer on your day of battle. In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you.
4 The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back: “You are a priest forever according to the pattern of Melchizedek.” [on screen]
There’s a lot in this psalm that we won’t cover because we’re focusing on Matthew today. However, for our purpose notice that Jesus brings out this psalm and throws the Pharisees into a confusion.
Well, let’s see how to bring clarity to this confusion. By the end of this, we’ll know about who Jesus, the Son of David, really is:
First, let’s acknowledge that . . .
I. The sonship of Jesus is not like other sons. [on screen]
First of all, as a reminder, when we say that the Messiah is the Son of David, we don’t mean that he’s the first generation, literal son of David. Rather, we mean that he is a descendant. So, we know that the Messiah will come from the line of David, and indeed, Jesus does come from the line of David.
To ask the Pharisees, these experts in Judaism, whose son the Messiah is would be like asking a children’s Sunday school class today which baby was born in a manger? It’s a simple elementary question!
The people revered David and couldn’t wait to see his descendant take the throne again to bring glory to Israel once again!
However, the Messiah is unlike any other descendant of David. Remember, the people expected the Messiah to be a mighty warrior who would accomplish great human accomplishments for the sake of Israel. They expected him to be very much like a son who became a new king who would follow in the footsteps of his great father. They excepted him to a mighty warrior like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. [show picture on screen]
However, this son would be different. David, as great as a king as he was, would actually look up to, or show respect to, his descendant. Normally, this was the opposite. Normally, in Jewish culture, fathers, grandfathers, and ancestors would be extremely respected and honored. In this case, though, David is speaking reverently about the One who is called his son.
We all hope and pray that our children will be better than us, or at least we should. However, the Son of David would far outshine the greatest human king that Israel had ever seen. He would not simply bring hope to Israel, He would bring hope to the world.
Church, we must realize that Jesus not only fulfilled the prophecies and showed Himself to be the Son of David, He far surpassed the expectations of the heir of David’s line. His sonship was not like other sons.
David refers to the Messiah in a superior sense because He is, indeed, superior to David. He is superior to all sons of kings. He is superior to all kings.
There’s something unique about this Son. There’s something unique about this King. The sonship of Jesus is not like other sons.
Not only that, . . .
II. The lordship of Jesus is not like other lords. [on screen]
This point is so closely related to the first that I couldn’t help but give away a little of point number two when discussing point number one.
Look again with me at verses 43-45:
43 He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’:
44 The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’?
45 “If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how, then, can he be his son?”
Now, in order to properly understand this point we have to understand some of the language being used here.
If you look at verse 44, which again is a quote from Psalm 110 verse 1, David says “Lord” twice. He says, “The Lord declared to my Lord” Well, if you go back to Psalm 110, verse 1, David uses two different words for “Lord.”
First, David used the word, Yahweh, indicated with small caps in most Bibles. It looks like this: Lord. [on screen]
Next, David used the word, Adonai, indicated with normal capitalization like this: Lord. [on screen] The word Adonai means “sovereign one.”
So, David is saying, “Yahweh said to my Adonai.”
Well, Yahweh is the personal name of God used in the Old Testament in the most reverent form. This is a variation of the name God gave to Himself at the burning bush when He spoke to Moses. You remember the burning bush, right? [show picture on screen]
Adonai, again meaning “sovereign one,” also is used in the Bible to refer to God, but in a different way than Yahweh. However, any time Adonai is used in the Bible it always refers to God.
There’s so much to unpack in this verse, including the fact that this verse underscores the reason for our belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see here that David is saying that God is speaking to God. Yahweh is speaking to Adonai. So, God the Father is speaking to God the Son.
However, we see further in this Messianic psalm that God is speaking to the Messiah, who in Psalm 110 is clearly referred to as Adonai, or God.
If you think this is a lot to wrap your mind around, now you know how the Pharisees felt!
Jesus took the Sadducees to Moses at the burning bush. He took the expert in the law from last week to Deuteronomy 6 (“The Shema”). He’s taking the Pharisees now to David and He’s showing them that the kingdom of God has come and He is God’s fulfilled promise.
Jesus is pointing the faces of the Pharisees towards the evidence that the Messiah is not like any other lord. The Messiah is in fact the Lord God, Adonai.
Notice, also, that Jesus draws attention to the fact that David didn’t haphazardly write this psalm. Look at verse 43 again: He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’”
When David wrote Psalm 110, he was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God. David is not merely writing as a poet or a psalmist. He is writing as a man being divinely used by God for His purposes. This is truth of all truth! This is trustworthy! This is divine!
Clearly, David himself, under the holy influence of God believed that the Messiah was more than just his descendant. David divinely points out that the Messiah is not only the Son of David, He is not only David’s Lord, He is David’s Adonai.
I love how the Life Application Study Bible says it, “The Pharisees knew that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, but they did not understand that he would be God himself.”
Normal lords, by nature of their position, carry a certain amount of authority. However, the Messiah is Lord God. He carries divine authority! He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were looking for a human lord who would do human things.
However, Jesus is letting them know that the lordship of Messiah is not like other lords.
Concluding Thoughts:
Alas, we learn that after all of this the Pharisees are thoroughly befuddled. They don’t know what to make of this.
Verse 46 says, “No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.”
They had a front-row seat to the deep wisdom and understanding of Jesus. They realized that he was not someone that they wanted to challenge on a spiritual or a mental level. Yet, they didn’t realize He was their Savior.
Despite the fact that Jesus is giving them a peek behind the curtain as to who He truly is, they still can’t see it. Indeed, it seems that they do not want to see it.
Church, we must desire to see who Jesus truly is! We must desire to soak up all that God’s Spirit has to share with us regarding the Son of David; the Lord of all!
Here’s the bottom line of all of this today:
Bottom Line: Jesus is God’s fulfilled promise: the Son of David and the Lord of all. [on screen]
(repeat)
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day couldn’t see it. Even though it was written about by David, even though the prophets spoke of it one day coming, even though Jesus perfectly fulfilled it, the Pharisees still went away confused and frustrated.
Listen, church: the answers you seek in your confusion are found in you discovering who Jesus really is. The peace that you seek in your frustration is found in the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Messiah.
The Pharisees couldn’t answer the question about the Son of David. The most important question for each of us to answer today is, “Who is the Messiah and why does that matter in my life?”
As we seek to bring this to a close, commit to challenge yourself in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Wrestle with the idea of Jesus’ messiahship. [on screen]
Who do you believe Jesus is?
Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah? If so, why does that matter in your life? If not, who is He?
Think through these questions this week.
2. Submit to Jesus’ messiahship. [on screen]
If you believe Jesus is Messiah, will you submit to Him?
Where is He calling you to submit?
Take action this week to submit to Him?
Closing:
Jesus’ sonship is different than other sons and His lordship is different than other lords.
Jesus is altogether different than anyone else in all creation. Indeed, He is above creation. He is, Himself, Creator!
Let us live in submission to that fact. Let us live in devotion and submission to Jesus the Messiah.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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