39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
41 But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
43 until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
44 David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
Section Overview
Jesus has passed the test when questions have been asked of him, and the scribes remark on his ability to answer questions well. No one asks him any more questions, but Jesus asks a question of them about the nature of the Messiah, asking how the Messiah could be both David’s son and his Lord. The Messiah is clearly David’s Lord, for David calls him such in Psalm 110:1. No answer is given by the religious leaders, showing that they do not know the answer. Jesus himself does not provide the answer either, but it is quite clear from the Gospel as a whole that we do not have an either-or here. Jesus is both David’s son and his Lord!
Section Outline
V. Death and Resurrection in Jerusalem (19:28–24:53) . . .
B. Controversy between Jesus and Leaders (20:1–21:4) . . .
5. Jesus Confounds the Religious Leaders (20:39–44)
Response
We confess that Jesus is the Son of Man and the Son of God, the son of David, the Messiah, fully human. At the same time, we also confess that he is fully divine, that he sits at God’s right hand and reigns over the world. Prophecy is fulfilled, as we saw above, in the coming of Jesus as the son of David, the Messiah and King of Israel. What is not as clear in the OT (but see Isa. 9:6) is that the ultimate King of Israel will also be divine, that he will be, as the Nicene Creed says, “the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father.” Here is the remarkable thing about the Christian faith: we teach that only a man, a perfect man, could save us. But at the same time we also teach that only God could save us—and in Jesus the Messiah we see one who is both God and Man. Our salvation is a Trinitarian work. The Father sends, the Son goes and accomplishes our salvation, and the Spirit applies the great work of salvation to our hearts. We might watch many movies about invasions from other worlds, but the incarnation is the greatest invasion imaginable. But it is not really an invasion; it is an intervention, and we owe our salvation and hope to this great work on our behalf.