The title of this essay alludes to an often-asked question, “What does the Bible mean when David says, “The LORD says to my Lord,” in Psalm 110:1? How is Jesus a descendant of David, when Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ father? The Bible clarifies that Joseph and Mary were from Bethlehem, the “City of David”, where David’s descendants had settled/lived. John 7:42, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” Luke 2:4, “So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David.”
Matthew’s genealogy goes from Abraham to Jesus, in Matthew 1:1-17. Matthew 1:1, “This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham”
Matthew 1:16-17, “Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah. So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations.”
With these things in view, consider the conversation that Jesus has with some Pharisees (religious leaders in Jerusalem during Jesus’ day.) Matthew 22:41-46, “Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET “‘? “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.”
In His conversation with the Pharisees, Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, “The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” Two words need to be expounded upon more carefully; LORD and Lord. The first, LORD, is, “Yehovah,” (Jehovah: the existing One) and refers to God. This word LORD refers to essence; His divinity. Here, LORD specifically speaks of the Heavenly Father. The second word in view, Lord, is, “Adonay,” and is a title, “my lord” or “my master” which can be said of God or man. It does not denote one’s essence. Here, Lord specifically speaks of Jesus, the second person in the Trinity. This doesn’t mean that Jesus isn’t divine in His essence. Certainly not! Calling Jesus Lord (“Adonay”) simply shows that Jesus is one’s master.
So, with these two words in view, an easier way to understand Psalm 110:1 is to insert the following in parenthesis, “The LORD (“God”, specifically here denoting the first person in the Trinity, the Father) says to my Lord (“Master”, specifically here denoting the second person in the Trinity, the Messiah, Jesus): “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.” In this Psalm, King David is speaking prophetically, about the eventual Messiah to come, who is Jesus. Jesus, as God, has eternally existed in the fulness of the Godhead; but it was Jesus as God-man that, after His resurrection and ascension, sits at the right hand of the Father.
So, referring back to Matthew’s gospel, what Jesus was trying to get the Pharisees to admit to is that Jesus is both God and man. That’s the main point of Jesus’ question to them. The Pharisees refused to acknowledge that Jesus was God in the flesh. David was able to call the second person in the Trinity, “Lord”, in the sense that the Lord is the eternal God and also David’s Savior and Master. But, the Scriptures are equally valid when they say that Jesus is not just the second person in the Trinity that David called Lord, but that Jesus is also David’s descendant in the human sense. This is true because Jesus is God incarnate, or God in human form, and when Jesus was born of Mary, He satisfies the prophecy of being a descendant of David.
Historically, Psalm 110 was assumed by the Jews to refer to a Davidic figure that would reign with God’s authority and crush Israel’s enemies. Jesus challenges how this passage is viewed. Using the title “Lord” was important to Jews, as Jewish sons would address their fathers as Lord, but never vice versa. Therefore, Jesus uses the Psalmist’s words to pose a mystery about Himself as the son of David. Jesus pins down the very truth the Pharisees and scribes had missed about Him; that He is both God and man!
“Who is Christ? Who is the Messiah? Whose son, is He?” These are the most important questions every man is asked! In the gospels we see that Jesus was often challenged by the Pharisees with deep theological questions, as the Pharisees hoped to stump Jesus and somehow expose Him as a fraud. Their questions were lofty and deep, which suited Jesus’ office and character. Now though, Jesus puts a question to the Pharisees that should have been suitable for their field of expertise, which was knowing the Scriptures and understanding who the Messiah would be.
Instead of Jesus being shamed, His wisdom exposed and shamed the so-called “experts” in the Scriptures. By stumping the Pharisees, Jesus addresses at least two critical issues. First, the crowd is shown the ignorance of their religious leaders; showing that the Pharisees ought not to be trusted as spiritual authorities. Second, the religious leaders themselves are shown that they need to address their innermost need, which was to rightly identify Jesus as Savior.
Isaiah’s prophecies about the coming Messiah might have complicated the Jews understanding of what to look for, since the Messiah was said to be, “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…”, while also being “a man or sorrows, acquainted with grief, with no stately form or attractiveness…”, Isaiah 9:6, 53:2-3. According to the Pharisee’s human reason, they hoped for the more agreeable prophecies, the one’s focused on a majestic conqueror. Messianic prophecies present a duality in them, and Jesus points out one specifically here in His question; “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?”
Though the Pharisees were ignorant, their greater problem was their pride and egotism which prevented them from being open to learn.
Let’s draw out a few other points from Jesus’ exchange with the Pharisees in Matthew 22:42-46 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying, ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET”‘? “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.”
“How does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord’,” David was able to say this prophetic statement while under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
“THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD” – The Father speaks to David’s Lord, Jesus. Jesus would be a son of David in lineage, yet something much greater, also divine God! David knew that his eventual offspring, though born of the flesh, would have a higher nature, one far superior to his own.
“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND.” Sitting denotes rest and rule, having conquered death and sin and risen from the grave. At the Father’s right hand denotes honor, power, and authority.
“UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET.” Eventually, all of God’s enemies will be subdued. This also serves to be a strongly condemning statement to the Pharisees.
“No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.” The silence of the Pharisees was evidence they understood what Jesus was speaking, otherwise they would have objected. They find themselves trapped by the dilemma of their stubbornness/pride. They either have to acknowledge the deity of the Messiah, or confess their ignorance. The choose it best to just stay silent then to reveal more so that they are fools. The bottom line – many are convinced that are not converted!