Matthew 22:41-46

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Introduction

Whose Son Is the Christ?

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44  “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

This week we reach the end of Matthew chapter 22.Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of chapter 21 with a crowd around him crying “Hosanna in the Highest!” Like Solomon, he rode in on a donkey’s colt, as a king would enter a city. The symbolism was obvious and intentional.
He entered the Temple driving out all who sold and bought in the Temple, overturning their tables of commerce, saying, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you make it a den of robbers.” Jesus was angry that Jerusalem’s marketplace had been brought inside the walls of the Temple Mount, that worship had become a means to make a profit.
Jesus creates a stir among Jerusalem’s religious leaders, so they challenge his authority. He answers them with parables and exposes their wicked intentions and hypocrisy. Then the Pharisees begin to put him to the test in front of the crowds, and they even employ their enemies to try and catch Jesus in his words. Their repeated challenges consume almost all of chapter 22, despite Jesus’ impeccable ability to answer confound their every attack.

Jesus goes on the offensive

But as we reach the final verses of chapter 22 it appears that the scribes and Pharisees have run out of ideas. So we see Jesus turn the tables on them, he goes on the offensive, he challenges them! He puts them to the test! This time he puts a question to them. We read, again, there in verses 41-42,

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

Now, at first, his question appears rather benign, in fact, everyone would have known the answer to it. And their answer is almost automatic,

They said to him, “The son of David.”

Christ from the line of David

Everyone knew that the Christ (or the Messiah) would come from the line of king David. In fact, it’s why Matthew spends so much time at the beginning of his book which most of us think of as just another “boring” genealogy, but that genealogy is essential to prove that Jesus is the Christ (or that Jesus is the Messiah). And when you read Matthew’s genealogy you’ll notice that king David takes on a central role to the list of names. He actually begins and ends the genealogy with David, in addition to him being listed among everyone else, because Matthew is making a point. Turn with me quickly to Matthew chapter 1, starting in verse 1,

1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Then in verse 6 we see him emphasized again, even though, this time, he’s only one among a long list of other names,

6 and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

And then Matthew bookends his genealogy with verse 17,

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

King David is not only listed among Jesus’ ancestors, but he’s explicitly mentioned by name five times! It’s hard to miss Matthew’s point.

OT witness to the Son of David

And Matthew’s drawing from a deep well of OT scriptures that made this emphatically clear, that the Messiah would be a Son of David. I’ll list just a few for you,
In 2 Samuel 7 when God makes a covenant with David he promises him in verse 16 that,

your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

In other words, your line will not be broken, but your throne will be established forever, that it will not end.
The prophet Isaiah wrote of a coming righteous branch in chapter 11, verse 1 of his book,

11 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,

and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.

Jesse was, of course, David’s father. Then in Jeremiah 23:5 we read,

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

And then, finally, in Jeremiah chapter 33, verse 17, we read,

17 “For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,

So the point is clear, and the testimony is overwhelming, that the Christ will come from the line of David, so, in one sense, it wasn’t a controversial question for Jesus to ask the Pharisees,

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

Christ, more than the Son of David

The answer was easy, he would be the Son of David. However, Jesus uses this question to draw them out. Yes, the Christ is the Son of David, but is that all? Is the Christ only described as the Son of David, or is there more to him? Well, Jesus intends to challenge them that, yes, there is indeed more, and this is why he drops Psalm 110 on them.
He’s going to use Psalm 110 to challenge their inadequate understanding of the Christ. It isn’t that their understanding of the Christ as the Son of David is incorrect, but to understand the Christ as only the Son David is woefully insufficient! The Messiah is not merely (or only) the Son of David, he’s much more than that. And to prove this Jesus quotes from Psalm 110 there in verse 43, read with me again,

43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,

44  “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I put your enemies under your feet” ’?

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

As I’ve pointed out many times before, the Jews had come to have a very narrow view of the Messiah. That the Messiah would be, primarily, a human conqueror, a king who would deliver them from their earthly oppressors. One who would restore the golden age of David’s reign, when they were once a formidable kingdom. In other words, their view of the Messiah was far too small, and far too earthly. Therefore, their view of the Messiah was earthly and limited. They didn’t expect, or think they needed a divine savior, so Jesus intends to challenge their thinking using Psalm 110. So, if you would, turn with me to Psalm 110.

Psalm 110

Psalm 110 is a royal psalm, a psalm that would have likely been sung at a king’s coronation. Much of it speaks of the God’s blessing toward his king, that the LORD would send forth from Zion his mighty scepter, that he would rule in the midst of his enemies, that the people would offer themselves freely. But the psalm is also known as a Messianic psalm, as it contains several prophetic components that the Israelites recognized as speaking about the coming Messiah, especially in certain verses, like the portion Jesus quotes from at the beginning.
And what’s particularly striking about this Psalm is that it’s the most quoted OT text in the NT. There are at least 20 references to it, from the Gospels, to Acts, to the Apostolic letters, like Corinthians and Hebrews. In fact, when you survey all of the NT quotations you get the impression that the NT could be summarized in a single statement, that Psalm 110 has come true! That Psalm 110 has been fulfilled! So the value and the importance of Psalm 110 to Jesus and the Apostles I don’t think can be overstated.
And what’s striking about the portion that Jesus quotes from is what David says there in verse 1,

1  The LORD says to my Lord:

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

So remember, Jesus is putting a question to the Pharisees, a question that asks, if the Christ is David’s son, then why does David call him Lord? If the Christ is David’s son, then how can he also be greater than, or superior to David? How can he also be David’s Lord? This is the challenge that Jesus puts toward the Pharisees.

Yahweh & Adonai

And what makes this particular verse challenging for them are the underlying Hebrew words that are translated as ‘lord’ there in verse 1. If you haven’t already noticed, most Bible translations put the first instance of the word ‘lord’ in all CAPS, while in the second instance, only the first letter is capitalized.
The reason for this is to indicate to the reader that there’s an underlying difference between these two words in the original Hebrew text. Whenever you see the word ‘LORD’ in all CAPS it means that God’s personal or covenant name is being used, which is Yahweh. The word ‘Yahweh’ literally means ‘I am’ in Hebrew. Now, when you see the word ‘Lord’ used with only the first letter capitalized it means that the Hebrew word ‘adonai’ is being used. And Adonai is simple a title used for God, which literally means ‘sovereign one’.
Therefore, the text literally reads, “Yahweh says to my Adonai: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.’” In other words, something is being attributed to the Messiah that is more than what the Pharisees could account for in their understanding of him. The text was sort of a conundrum for them. How could the Christ also be David’s Adonai? How could the Christ be David’s Lord?
Because, you see, the Jews didn’t have a category for how the Messiah could be greater than David, because they didn’t have a category for a son being superior, or greater, than his father, let alone greater than king David himself. So the question becomes, how can this be possible? Which is precisely why Jesus asks them,

“How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord,

In the Spirit

Jesus even presses them when he reminds them that David said this while “in the Spirit”. In other words, he’s reminding them that this text isn’t written merely by David alone, but by David who was inspired by the Spirit of God himself.
Now, using these two words (Yahweh and Adonai) isn’t unique to Psalm 110, for instance, in Psalm 8, verse 1, we read,

1  O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

However, back in Psalm 110 there’s a unique distinction made between Yahweh and Adonai. In verse 1 Yahweh is pictured as speaking to Adonai, who is David’s Lord. The psalmist isn’t merely describing Yahweh by calling him Adonai. There are three persons portrayed here, David, Yahweh, and Adonai. Adonai isn’t being used to describe Yahweh but in this case Adonai is distinct from him. He’s another person altogether, and he’s called by Yahweh’s divine title. This is highly problematic if your conception of the Christ that he’s merely the Son of David.

Sit at my right hand

And what’s also problematic for the Pharisees is what Yahweh says to Adonai,

“Sit at my right hand,

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

In the ancient world, to sit at the right hand of another was a mark of honor. Therefore, it’s the highest of honors for Yahweh (God himself) to invite Christ (who’s portrayed here as Adonai) to sit at his right hand.
In 1 Kings 2:19 when King Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, approached him he had a seat brought in for her to sit at his right hand. And you may recall, when we were back in Matthew chapter 20, and Jesus is dealing with his disciple’s worldly desires to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, that John and James’s mother approached Jesus and asked him,

“Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

And we rightly cringe at that text because we can see just how presumptuous it was for John’s mother to ask Jesus the question, I mean, who does she think she is - right? So we can see just how significant it is for Yahweh to say to David’s Adonai to sit as his right hand! Just like Jesus said to John’s mother,

“You do not know what you are asking.

undoubtedly, the Pharisees would have thought the same thing of anyone who thought they could sit at the right hand of God! This is no small thing.
So the significance of Psalm 110 is that to sit at God’s right hand is unthinkable for any human, yet David tells us that it’s reserved for the Messiah, David’s Lord (David’s sovereign one).

Jesus seated at the right hand of God

And so we see this idea of the Christ being seated at the right hand of God played out throughout the NT and fulfilled by Jesus himself. Not only does Jesus quote Psalm 110 here, but in chapter 26 he throws it in their face again. Turn with me to Matthew 26, starting in verse 63. Now, at this point in the story, Jesus is brought before the high priest, delivered over to be condemned. And the chief priest begins to question him, but there in verse 63 we’re told,

63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” 65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy.

In other words, Jesus is saying I am the one from in Psalm 110, the one who will sit at the Yahweh’s right hand!

Peter’s sermon

Then turn with me to Acts chapter 2, starting in verse 29. This is Peter’s famous sermon on the day of Pentecost, and I want you to see how he closes his message,

29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

35  until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Stephen stoned

Then later in chapter 7, one of the church’s first deacons, Stephen, is stoned to death for preaching Christ, but just before his death Luke writes that,

55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him

He who is at the Father’s side

And when you begin meditating on these things, this imagery of Jesus sitting at the right hand of God, and marveling at his divine nature, portrayed even as early as Psalm 110, you can’t help but think of John’s Gospel. In the first chapter he famously speaks of Jesus like this,

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

No one was able to answer him

Now, the Pharisees missed all of this, in fact, they were blind to it. The idea that the Christ could be anything other than the Son of David was outright foreign to them, which is why they couldn’t comprehend the implications of Psalm 110, they hadn’t accounted for it in their theology. It’s why Matthew says there in verse 46 that,

no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

It’s also why they accused Jesus of blaspheme, and ultimately had him put to death. They would kill Jesus for being who David prophesied him to be. And in a very real sense Jesus sealed his fate when he used this psalm.

Conclusion

I have no doubt they understood what Jesus was saying, and he wasn’t only challenging their deficient view of the Christ. In his Parable of the Tenants, just a few verses earlier, it was clear that Jesus had made himself out to be the master’s son. And I’m sure they eventually got the subtle intention behind his question to them in verse 42,

“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”

That he’s not only the Son of David, but the very Son of God. That if he is David’s Lord, then whose son is he really? In fact, in Matthew 26 when the high priest was interrogating Jesus, we read,

And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.”

and

64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Prayer

Lord, we marvel at your word. We marvel at Jesus. To look back and see your plan of salvation unfold in the person of your Son. That no scheme of man could thwart your intentions. It gives us confidence despite any circumstances that we may face. Help us to be heavenly-minded, to no lose sight of your purposes even now.
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