Mark 12:35-37 (NIV): While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
The teachers of the law taught very clearly that the Messiah (Greek: Christ) was the son, or descendant, of David. By this, they meant that he would be a great earthly king, descended from the line of King David. Their hopes were that when He came He would take over the rule of Israel, oust the Romans, and restore the nation of Israel to the freedom, military might, prestige, and wealth that it had during the reigns of David and Solomon.
Jesus’ argument did not deny that the Messiah was a physical descendant of David. That was actually God’s plan based on His promise to David that one of his descendants would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:16). And Jesus was a descendant of David, both on His earthly father’s side (Matthew 1:6-16), and on His mother’s side (Luke 3:23-31).
Jesus’ point was that, by limiting their expectations of the Messiah to an earthly Davidic king who would pick up the loose threads of the kingdom and reestablish Israel as a political, military, and economic power, they were expecting far less that what God had promised. The clues to who the Messiah would be are scattered throughout the history and prophecy of the Old Testament. Isaiah 9:6, for example, says that, among other things, the Messiah would be called Mighty God and Everlasting Father (or, perhaps, Father of Eternity), titles hardly suited to a mere earthly king. Also, in verse 7, Isaiah doesn’t say that this king’s dynasty would hold the throne forever, but that He Himself will reign forever.
Jesus’ choice of Psalm 110 pointed out yet another indicator that the Messiah was more than a mere descendant of David: David (speaking a prophecy by the Holy Spirit) calls the Messiah “my Lord,” a strange turn of phrase to use of one’s own descendant. Jesus used this well-known “Messianic Psalm” to show that, even according to David himself, the Messiah was more than a man, more than a king – He is the King of kings and Lord of lords, God in the flesh!
Father, it is interesting to think about David seeing so clearly the identity of the Messiah nearly a millennium before He was born, and worshiping Him in advance. But through Your Spirit it is no trick for You to reveal Your future plans to those who love You and follow You whole-heartedly. Help us, Lord, to never rely on our own intelligence or reason to try to understand Your great truths. Instead, help us to turn to You with open ears, open eyes, and open hearts. Amen.