David's Son, David's Lord

Scripture Reading

Luke 20:41–44 NIV84

41 Then Jesus said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’ 44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Introduction

This morning, we are looking at a section in Luke’s Gospel that may seem somewhat strange and out of place. Jesus poses a question to those around Him, and if you’re just doing a cursory reading of the passage, it may seem very strange. But the question itself is a critical one, and in fact would have been a powerful one in the context of what was happening to Jesus at this time.

It’s also going to be a powerful question for us, at least in terms of its implications. It’s another one of these questions that must lead us to consider what place Jesus has in our hearts and minds. In other words, who do you see Jesus as? How important and significant is Jesus, not only in your daily thoughts, but also as revealed by your daily actions.

Perhaps I could begin by asking this question: Which person today in your own life commands the most respect and honour for you. In other words, who is the most highly respected and honoured person in your life, and how would you respond to them if you came into their presence? Perhaps you don’t have someone - at least someone that you know and have met - that have that kind of power of respectability, but I’m quite certain that there are those who are highly esteemed in your mind that if you had to meet them, you’d be shaky at the knees.... unsure what to say… just because of the way in which you esteem them.

If there is something that I’d like you to consider from this study this morning, it’s that Jesus is far greater, and is worthy of far more honour and respect… If you are at a loss for words in front of “earthly greats” just by being in their presence, then so much more so by being in the presence of Christ… for the pure fact that He is so far exalted above any other, and He is worthy of our honour and worship.

Context

In setting the context (because the context is very important in seeing what is happening here) keep in mind that Jesus has just been confronted by various religious leaders in the temple courts.

It’s the time of the Passover, and the Jews are gathering in order to observe the Passover feast, as commanded by God. They are gathering in Jerusalem in large numbers. Keep in mind also that this will be the time where the final Passover Lamb will be slain - Jesus Christ will be put to death finally for the sins of all who would believe in Him. As such, we can know and understand that the tensions are running high!!

As the tensions build between the religious leaders and Jesus (well, at least from the side of the religious leaders) there have been some attempts to catch Jesus out with questions. The religious leaders have been trying to discredit him, and while they’re at it, they’ve been trying to find a way to have him put to death. That’s part of the motivation behind their questions.

And so there’s this real hostility in the midst of the people gathered for this festival.

The last two sections of Luke’s Gospel have outlined for us questions that were posed to Jesus in order to catch Him out in something that He might say. There was this effort to discredit Jesus, or to get Him to say something that would be detrimental to Him.

The first question was brought by the Pharisees. They questioned him about the paying of taxes. Their hope was to get him to answer either in support of the Roman government, which make him lose credibility with the Jewish people, or alternatively to answer in support of not paying taxes, which would have garnered further support with the people, but would have led to him being in big trouble with the Roman government.

And I suspect that they were hoping for that latter acocunt - that he would support the Jewish people, revolt against paying taxes. Because this would help them to have him put to death, which was only within the power and authority of the Roman government to do. The religious leaders didn’t actually have that authority.

The second question was brought by the Sadduccees. They didn’t believe in the resurrection. Theirs was more of a religious question, designed to discredit Jesus as a credible teacher / Rabbi. They thought that their conundrum question, based in the Mosaic Law and marriage requirements, would stump Jesus, and so discredit him. They were wrong.

In both instances!!! Both Pharisees and Sadducees received answers from Jesus that silenced them. They simply could not catch Him out, and in fact, they were made to look foolish on their part through His wisdom.

It’s in the context of these questions that were posed to Jesus that Jesus himself now brings a question to them. And the question will relate to who Jesus is, to His supreme authority. It is important to keep in mind another big question that had been asked to Jesus as He had entered into Jerusalem.

You recall that He had received this grand welcome as He made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey (a symbol of royal authority). But the first encounter having done this was in the temple courts, where Jesus drove the traders out of the temple. As he did that, and as He continued to preach and teach in the courts, He was asked the question: “By what authority are you doing these things?”

The question that Jesus will pose to these religious leaders goes to the heart of their own question.

His question is going to show to them that He is in fact the Son of God.

1. A Puzzling Introduction

We find the initial question of Jesus in verse 41:

Luke 20:41 NIV84

41 Then Jesus said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David?

This question is rooted in a common and dearly held belief among the Jewish people. You will recall that God had promised to put a king on the throne of David for ever. This was a promise that was given to David Himself through a Covenant established between God and David. 2 Samuel 7:12 shows us the promise that God made. The promise is given through Nathan the prophet, who was told by God to speak these words to David…

2 Samuel 7:9–12 NIV84

9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

2 Samuel 7:16 NIV84

16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

This Covenant promise given by God to David was one of the key promises in the Old Testament Scriptures that kept the people of Israel hope-filled. They were waiting for and longing for the Messiah that would come down and be seated on the throne of David. They knew that God’s promise was for this king to be a great deliverer for them.

In other words, this was a foundational truth of their theology and their worldview. They had not doubt about it whatsoever, and they were simply waiting for this one that was to come.

In this sense, the question that Jesus poses here is quite strange. He’s asking them how it is that they say the Christ (the Messiah) is the Son of David. The obvious answer is, God’s said it!!! I can just picture that as Jesus started out his question in this manner, the religious leaders must have had a quizzical look on their faces. Why are you asking this question?

Jesus then follows the question up with a quote from David…

2. A Profound Declaration

In verse 42-43 we read…

Luke 20:42–43 NIV84

42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” ’

Christ turns the attention of his listeners to the words of David Himself, this great King of Israel who was given the promise by God.

The quote that Jesus goes to is found in Psalm 110:1

Turn there in your Bibles

Psalm 110:1 NIV84

1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

Now, the person writing the Psalm was David. He was King at the time that he wrote this Psalm. He was the supreme ruler of Israel, and there was no one that was higher than him.

As you look at Psalm 110:1, you’ll notice that there are two seperate uses of the word, “Lord.”

The first use will be all captials in your Bible. This is done to show that the word in the original Hebrew is the word Yahweh, which is the covenant name for God.

The second word is just in normal letters, indicating that it is the word “Adonai.”

I appreciate the way that R.C. Sproul speaks to this distinction in the use of the word “Lord...”

A Walk with God: Luke (Luke 20:41–44)

In the Old Testament, Yahweh is the name of God, but his supreme title is ‘Adonai’ or ‘Sovereign One’. And so in this extraordinary passage we find David describing a conversation between God and the one who is David’s Lord. David is saying ‘God said to my Sovereign’, or ‘Yahweh said to my Adonai’—he is recognizing that there is one who has the name of God, Adonai, yet somehow must be distinguished from God, Yahweh.

What David is saying here is that his God - Yahweh - was speaking to his Lord - his Adonai.

But from the place of a king, this was striking.

We’ll see more of just how important that is in a moment. But for now, I want us to note what God says to this Lord (Adonai) of David.

God says to him: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”

I want to briefly point out from those words the weightiness of what God was conveying.

Firstly, God is saying to David’s Lord that he must sit at his right hand.

What did it mean to sit at the right hand of someone? The person who sat at the right hand of a ruler or leader was given authority. It implies the possession of the utmost confidence, power, and preeminence.

But we see further in these words that the authority of this king is derived from Yahweh who promises to extend his rule by putting all of his enemies under his feet. d

Luke (Luke 20:42–44)

The figure “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool” is that of an enemy lying in the dust so that the conqueror’s feet can be placed on his neck.

Joshua 10:24 NASB95

24 When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came near and put their feet on their necks.

Complete triumph over every foe is assured to David’s Lord.

And that assurance is given by Jehovah, the Covenant-keeping God.

That leads us to consider....

3. A Perplexing Riddle

This leads Jesus to present to His hearers his real question....

Luke 20:44 NIV84

44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

David calls the promised Messiah, the one that was promised to sit on his throne forever, Lord, and this is clearly portrayed in their very own Scriptures. But the real question that they must come to terms with is, why does David call him Lord?!

We need to realise that the force of this is probably lost on us in our society today, but it would have been very clear to the people to whom Jesus spoke.

We need to understand the society of the day in terms of their regard for fathers. The father was always more highly esteemed than a son. Any father would be respected more greatly than a son that would follow them. Again, R.C. Sproul is helpful here in terms of how he puts this:

A Walk with God: Luke Luke 20:41–44

This question may not seem all that difficult to us in the West but to Jesus’ contemporaries it was very baffling. They operated under the belief that the father is always greater than the son, and the grandfather greater than the grandson. This semitic belief was very strong with respect to the honour that was accorded to one’s parents and grandparents, so it would have been unthinkable to a Jew that Isaac could be greater than Abraham, since Abraham was the father of Isaac and Isaac depended upon Abraham for his very existence. Similarly, it would have been unthinkable that Jacob would be greater than Isaac, and so on down the line. So how could one who was a descendant of David be at the same time the Lord of David, the one who stood over David?

It’s for this reason that the question must have troubled the religious as they gave it some thought. How could David, this great King, who himself had a covenant with God, be calling a far-off descendant “Lord?”

We must also realise that King David was the greatest king that ruled over Israel. He was essentially the epitome of a king ruling. While Solomon was a great king, and was used by God in a powerful way, throughout the history of Israel, David really stood as the example (despite his own shortcomings).

1 Kings 11:6 NASB95

6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done.

2 Kings 16:2 NASB95

2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done.

We see here that David was really the standard of a King after God’s own heart, and the kings that came beyond him were really measured up to him.

That adds significant weight when David, this great king, speaks about his Lord that Yahweh has instituted. And this king comes after him?!

But there’s far more to the question posed by Jesus than merely a theological question that may be intriguing. The question that Jesus poses here is aimed at rightly, purely, appropriately, confronting them with His superiority. Jesus is pointing and directing the religious leaders to the fact that He is worthy of their praise and adoration. Why do I say this?

Think about the history of Jesus, and the manner in which He was addressed by people through His ministry in this world. Early on, Luke recorded for his readers that Jesus would be the Messiah that would sit on David’s throne. In Luke 1:31-32, the angel of the Lord that spoke to Mary said this:

Luke 1:31–32 NIV84

31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,

Luke’s readers know from the outset that Jesus was the promised son of David.

A little further on, in Luke 3, Luke traces the genealogy of Jesus, and in verse 31 in particular, he includes that Jesus descended through David.

But those instances are more for the readers of Luke’s letter.

But the religious leaders also had a clear sense that Jesus was at least being purported to be the promised Messiah, the one who would sit on David’s throne.

It actually came through in the account of Jesus healing blind Bartimaeus.

Luke 18:38–39 NIV84

38 He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

I don’t have a doubt that the religious leaders had heard the cry of Bartimaeus. And if he had cried this out, then certainly he had received news from others about Jesus being the promised Messiah to sit on David’s throne. This was the common belief of the people.

Add to that the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He came riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey - this a demonstration that he was a king.

Luke 19:35–40 NASB95

35 They brought it to Jesus, and they threw their coats on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. 37 As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, 38 shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” 40 But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

When Jesus would be crucified, the sign that was placed above his head on the cross was, “King of the Jews.”

John 19:21 NASB95

21 So the chief priests of the Jews were saying to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews’; but that He said, ‘I am King of the Jews.’ ”

You see, it was widespread knowledge that Jesus was claiming to be the king of the Jews, and that the people esteemed Jesus to be the king who was to sit on David’s throne.

Now, while the religious leaders hated the idea, and indeed they were opposed to the idea, they could hardly counter the crowds in this regard.

But what Jesus does here is that He takes them back to what David said in order to confront them with a very pertinent question. If David calls his descendent “Lord,” that what say you?!

This was nothing less than a declaration of His own majesty and superiority. Now, he didn’t say to them that He is Lord, and that even David called him Lord, and so therefore they must call him Lord. But through asking them this pertinent question, this is exactly what He was calling them to consider.

Now, I think we need to see beyond the mere fact that David was calling the coming Messiah “Lord” merely in the sense of showing a measure of honour. Rather, we see in these words a clear reference to Jesus being co-equal with God. Look back again at the words of Sproul:

A Walk with God: Luke Luke 20:41–44

In the Old Testament, Yahweh is the name of God, but his supreme title is ‘Adonai’ or ‘Sovereign One’. And so in this extraordinary passage we find David describing a conversation between God and the one who is David’s Lord. David is saying ‘God said to my Sovereign’, or ‘Yahweh said to my Adonai’—he is recognizing that there is one who has the name of God, Adonai, yet somehow must be distinguished from God, Yahweh. It is impossible to make any sense of this apart from the concept of the trinity and the concept of the incarnation, because here David is speaking about the Lord that God himself appoints to Lordship.

Now, think back also to the parable that Jesus had just recently told them, about the vineyard owner and the tenants. Jesus had made it abundantly clear to them that the workers were sent by the owners back to the vineyard to see what fruit was being produced, but they were beaten and thrown out. These stood for the prophets of God that were sent to the religious leaders of Israel.

But Jesus also said that the vineyard owner then sent his son, and thought that they would respect his son. The clear reference there was to Jesus himself. The religious leaders knew that this parable was spoken against them.

In this question that Jesus was posing to the religious leaders, He was calling them to consider Him, Jesus as both the Son of God, and the Lord of David, and therefore the Lord over their own lives.

And they despised Him for it!!!

One more point that I’d like to note is that these words of David would have implications beyond the death of Christ…

Acts 2:29–36 NASB95

29 “Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 “And so, because he was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that He was neither abandoned to Hades, nor did His flesh suffer decay. 32 “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses. 33 “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured forth this which you both see and hear. 34 “For it was not David who ascended into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, 35 Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” ’ 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Let us be clear on what Jesus was doing as he posed this question to his opponents. They had tried to have him arrested; tried to make him look foolish; tried to bring shame on him through questioning Him. He had answered them wisely at every point.

This was the time for Christ to ask the question. And the implications of the question were clear. How can David call His Son Lord?

The answer? Perhaps Revelation 22:16 gives the clearest picture in the words of Jesus himself...

Revelation 22:16 NASB95

16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

Jesus is the root of David, in that by Him and through Him, the second person of the Trinity, all things were created.

Jesus is the descendant of David, the promised Messiah.

He is Son of God, and He is Son of Man.

He is God the flesh!!

Application and Conclusion

As we consider these words of Jesus, there are some important implications for us in terms of how we respond, and how we should go out and live in light of these truths.

A.1. The Call to Humility

We’ve seen over these last few passages in Luke various questions aimed at challenging and confronting Jesus.

In our day, there are repeated questions by people who will not accept God, or will not accept the providential workings of God in their lives, and they bring barrage of questions, thinking that by their wisdom they can somehow put God in a corner and charge Him with wrongdoing… particularly in their circumstances.

When Job questioned the works of God, he found that his own wisdom was sorely lacking. This was particularly the case when God started asking Job some questions in return. Suddenly Job was reminded of his lack.

And so we need to think carefully about Christ, and about God, and about the extent to which we question God, lest He should start bringing some questions of His own.

Luke, Volumes 1 & 2 Answers to Questions

Martyn Lloyd-Jones goes so far as to define a Christian as a man whose mouth is shut:

You are not a Christian unless you have been made speechless! How do you know whether you are a Christian or not? It is that you “stop talking.” The trouble with the non-Christian is that he goes on talking.… People need to have their mouths shut, “stopped.” They are for ever talking about God, and criticizing God, and pontificating about what God should or should not do, and asking “Why does God allow this and that?” You do not begin to be a Christian until your mouth is shut, is stopped, and you are speechless and have nothing to say.

We do need to understand the context of his words. This is not to say that we can never ask any questions. But our posture before God, and before Jesus Christ our Lord must be one of deep humility.

Any questions that we have for God must be borne out of a deep trust in God, and sincerely seeking to understand God’s perfect wisdom where we lack the wisdom. This requires humility.

A.2. The Call to Decide

One Commentator writes this:

Luke Contemporary Significance

THIS TEXT FUNCTIONS as yet another call for reflection and decision about Jesus. As one who is both Son of David and his Lord, he should be honored with an allegiance worthy of a king. In those forms of Western culture where kings no longer function as genuine sovereigns, it is hard to appreciate the force of such texts. The image of a regal figure installed and worthy of honor is lost in a world of elected leaders. But Jesus’ presence in heaven at the side of his Father enables him to dispense divine blessings (Acts 2:30–36). It also enables him to be appointed “as judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42; 17:31). His rule does not emerge through congressional committee, nor does he serve at the whim of humanity. His commission comes from a higher call and functions at a permanent plane.

How would you respond to the call of Christ here?

We need to be convicted deep within ourselves that Jesus Christ is Lord, and His authority and power extend far beyond and above us. How do you see Jesus?

Do you recognise His power and authority over your own life?

I mean this not only in terms of your lips, and what you profess with your mouth, but rather through your actions and conduct. As you live your life, do you demonstrate through your life that Jesus is your Lord. This is not an easy question to answer… and we would do well to humbly ask God to search our hearts and to show us where we need to submit to Him.

A.3. The Call to Trust

Since Christ has been given such authority by God in heaven, we need to recognise that we have no hope of any good thing apart from trust in Him. I mentioned earlier in that quote that the Father enables the Son to dispense divine blessings. Jesus has the authority and power to do that.

The means of receiving these blessings from God is through the Son by the power and authority that He has.

Ephesians 1:3–14 NASB95

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Dear friends, apart from being in Christ, apart from participating in the grace that is in Him, we have nothing. We have no hope. Anything that we have in this world that is of any value is to be found in Jesus Christ alone.

The religious leaders of that day were looking to themselves and their own good deeds to save them, or to bring them esteem.

We are called to trust in Jesus, apart from whom we have nothing.

He is the One with authority and power. He is the one in whom are the blessings of God for His people.

Are you trusting in Him daily?

Are you living daily in humility and obedience before Him?