Lord & Messiah (Matthew 22:41-46)
Do you need a savior? It is popular in our day to think that we don't need a savior. We live so comfortably and securely that we feel self-sustained. But the Jewish people in the first century were looking for a savior. They were dominated by the Romans and wanted to break free. The idea of a Messiah carries with it one who would save God's people from their enemies and lead them in battle.
When you think of the term Messiah, what comes to mind? I know that "anointed one" probably wasn't on your list, but it should have been. That's what the word means. It was transliterated instead of translated, meaning that they kept the Jewish word sound instead of translating its meaning. In Greek, the word Christ was transliterated. So, when we say "Jesus Christ," we are actually saying "Jesus Anointed" or "Jesus Messiah." The kings of Israel were labeled as the "anointed ones," beginning with Saul. David eventually replaced him as king/anointed one. So the idea of Messiah, Christ, or anointed one goes back to the very first kings of Israel.
Matthew has tried to make it clear that Jesus is the Messiah. The beginning of Jesus' life is full of prophecies being fulfilled in Jesus. All along the way, we have seen Jesus promise salvation and eternal life to those who believe in him. He claims to be the savior they have been looking for, but he's not like they were expecting. This morning's text explains why he's not what they were expecting.
Jesus' Questions
Matthew 22:41--46 (ESV) --- 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.
As we read this text, we notice that the Pharisees are once again gathered together. These are the teachers of the law who have tried to trip Jesus up repeatedly. Now, Jesus decides to ask them a question about the Christ. Interestingly, none of their questions have revolved around the Christ. They asked about Roman taxation and the greatest commandment in the law, but they have not asked about his beliefs on what the Christ would be like. Why not? Do they think they have that figured out? Are they 100% sure about what they are looking for?
Consider that they have already decided that the Messiah would be a certain way, and they know that he cannot be like Jesus. That's why they are trying to disprove him instead of verifying that he is the Messiah.
Question 1
Jesus' first question is an easy one. It is easy because the Jews have been looking for a descendant of David to rule again ever since Jerusalem was destroyed in 586BC. He asks them whose son the Messiah would be. You may have caught on to this idea throughout the book of Matthew. The book started with the genealogy of Jesus, going from Abraham to David to Jesus. Multiple times, we have heard people cry out, "Jesus, Son of David." David was the great king of Israel who saved them from their enemies and gave the people a kingdom full of peace and prosperity, for the most part. Everyone knew that the new Messiah would be the son of David. It was prophesied on multiple occasions.
Isaiah 11:1 (ESV) --- 1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Isaiah 11:10 (ESV) --- 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples---of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Jeremiah 23:5 (ESV) --- 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.
Micah 5:2 (ESV) --- 2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
Ezekiel 37:24 (ESV) --- 24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes.
But the Pharisees are missing a part of the answer. They only saw a half of the truth about the Messiah. So Jesus asks them another question to open up their minds.
Question 2
The second question from Jesus is interesting because no one answers it. Jesus doesn't even answer this question. This is the ultimate mic drop. Jesus says, "If he's David's son, why does David call him his Lord?" It's almost as though Jesus is questioning the idea that the Messiah would be the son of David. What is Jesus doing here?
Jesus' question reveals that there is more to the Messiah than the fact that he is the son of David. The Jews did not fully grasp the greatness of the Messiah. They thought this would be another man who would show himself worthy of taking the throne according to their criteria. If we were to think of a savior, wouldn't we come up with someone like Captain America? He would be the strongest, brightest, and bravest of all, and he would have to be good-looking. They also believed that he would agree with them and add to their teachings. He would not take away or destroy what they have constructed. He would destroy Rome, their Goliath.
But Jesus comes in with a totally different character, pedigree, and mission from what they were expecting. The truth is that he is not head and shoulders above everyone else. He is not an obvious choice for kingship according to their standards, and he goes against what they commonly do and teach. He appears to think of himself as more significant than David, Moses, and Abraham. People are talking about him like he is the Son of God. This rubs them the wrong way. It's just not fitting for a man to be considered the Son of God. That's what Caesar thought about himself, and he was obviously wrong.
Son of God
But when we look at the Old Testament, specifically Psalm 110, we see that David calls someone Lord over him. He says, "The Lord," referring to God, "said to my Lord," referring to someone other than God or David. As we continue through the Psalm, it becomes evident that David is the king of Israel when he writes it. He is the king of all the surrounding lands at that time. He has no Lord over him. But the Jews understood this text to be talking about the future Messiah. He will be a ruler over all of his enemies, and they will be made a footstool for his feet. He will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. That’s impressive, but the same thing was said about David. The terminology sounds a lot like Psalm 2, where David said, "The Lord said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'"
Psalm 2:7--9 (ESV) --- 7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
David was promised this same power and control, but now one David calls "Lord" is coming to bring wrath upon the kings of the earth. This also reminds me of 2 Samuel 7, where God promises to establish David's son on his throne forever. He says, "He will be a son to me."
How could the future Messiah be David's Son and David's Lord? He could do that because he is more God's son than David was. David was more like an adopted son of God, but Jesus became God's son in a more significant way.
Jesus Is God
He wasn't just chosen. He was created for this. The gospel accounts tell us that Jesus was born of a virgin. He was not only human. He was also born of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:18--20 (ESV) --- 18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
I find it fascinating throughout the Messianic language in the Old Testament that God declares that he will save his people. Then, Isaiah foretells that this Messiah will be given the name Emmanuel (God with us). He would be called "Mighty God" and "Everlasting Father" (Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7). Usually following those statements about God saving his people, he says that he will set up David to rule forever (Jer 33:10-26, Eze 34). There is no distinction between what God will do and what the Messiah will do because they work in harmony.
So the Jews were wrong about the Messiah. They spent all of that time studying, but they failed to see that God would come down in the form of man and become the son of David. Jesus claims to be both the son of David and the son of God. He makes a subtle statement in this text about it, but the rest of the New Testament is full of bold proclamations that Jesus is indeed the son of God. He is called the Son of God on multiple occasions, and he never denies it. He calls himself the son of man and the son of God.
Many people think that Jesus is a good person or a great teacher. But they don't believe that he is the son of God. How can those two things co-exist? If he claims to be the Son of God and he is not, doesn't that make him crazy? Isn't that the proudest and most ridiculous thing someone could claim about themselves? If it's not true, he is a fraud and a deceiver. He is not the greatest man to ever live. But we know that it is true. How?
Romans 1:1--5 (ESV) --- 1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,
This text in Romans tells us that he was descended from David, but he was also "declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead." Jesus is the Son of God because no one could do the miracles that Jesus did, and no one could refute the fact that Jesus did those miracles. Jesus is the Son of God because his words shed light on the true meaning of God's word. But, more than those two things, Jesus is declared to be the Son of God because God raised him from the dead to make him our eternal king, Messiah, or Christ. Call him what you want, but he is it. Over 500 people were eye-witnesses of his death and resurrection (1 Cor 15:1-11). God proved that he is who he said he is.
Philippians 2:5--11 (ESV) --- 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
In Philippians, we see that Jesus was in the form of God before descending to earth and taking on the form of man. Now, God has exalted him above all so that all would serve him. This means that Jesus is not just another prophet. It also means that he is not just a good person, as many people believe today. If he claimed to be God, which he did, he is either God or a fraud.
What's The Message?
As we study this text, we might be tempted to plow on through this and move on. But stop and think about the significance of this truth. Jesus is not just the son of David. He is the Son of God. They were waiting for someone who looked like them, talked like them, and acted like them to be selected as the next anointed one over Israel and the whole world. They wanted a savior that was human, like them, to help with their human problems. But, like David, Jesus didn't fit into the mold of a king.
The primary message of this section is that the Jews failed to see the deeper things of God. The truth was in their Bibles all along, but they couldn't see it. Their understanding was too shallow. They failed to read Psalm 110 and ask, "How can the Messiah be the son of David and David's Lord?" If they asked that, they might have understood that their assumptions about the Messiah were false. It's crucial to ask the question even if you don't understand it, and it's better to realize the holes in your understanding to remain humble. These Jews did neither, and they missed the one they were looking for.
God was giving them a savior who was better than they had imagined, but he wasn't going to save them from Roman oppression. He was here to save them from their sin. He was here to ensure that they could experience eternal life with God and be truly reconciled. But they thought they were already reconciled in their own righteousness, so they missed it.
What About Us?
The Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah for the same reason many people do not accept Jesus today. They look past Jesus because they don't understand who Jesus really is or how evil they have become. Think about the way we have always been taught to look at the Old Testament. For the longest time, I would read the Old Testament as though it were a straightforward narrative about people. We would read to gather and learn a bunch of facts about Abraham, Moses, Josuah, David, and other men of faith. But the goal should be to see what God is doing in their lives. We aren't supposed to be as impressed by these people as we are in awe of God who worked through these men and women of faith.
One of the reasons people reject Jesus is because they simply don't know the scriptures. They don't see the promises that are a part of God's plan or understand the repeated failure of mankind to measure up to what God has called them to be. It's scary to think about how much we can overlook because we read God's word in a shallow way. The Jews were completely wrong about what the Messiah would do. What are we wrong about? What doctrinal stand have we failed to study deeply? Jesus stumped the religious leaders by asking a simple question. We should ask the difficult questions, spend more time in the scriptures, and grow in faith to follow Jesus.
Also, notice that the Jews were faced with a difficult question and did not change their view to line up with the obvious answer. If Jesus is the Messiah, and the Messiah is the Lord of David, why wouldn't everyone submit to him? This points to a significant heart problem that could be inside of us. Jesus took on the lowly human state out of love for us. He wanted us to understand what God is truly like. Do we see it, or are we too proud and too self-absorbed to understand?
God came down to earth to be the savior we needed, not the savior we wanted. He lived with the weakness of a human body to show us that he understands and sympathizes with our weaknesses. He also gave us a complete understanding of how righteous and pure God is and what God wants from us.
Conclusion
The Pharisees want to discredit Jesus, but they should be spending their time re-evaluating their understanding of the scriptures. Like many people today, they are satisfied with a shallow understanding of the Old Testament. They don't want to see and understand who God is. Consequently, they are unable to detect how Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature. If they wanted to know, they could have done a little research to verify that he was the Son of David. But the fact that he was the Son of God should have been evident through the miracles he was performing. The problem isn't that Jesus couldn't prove who he was. The problem is that they didn't want to see it. They thought they only needed a savior from Roman oppression when they really needed a savior from the wrath of God against sinners. God did not forgive their sin through their own righteousness. They thought too much of themselves. They needed what we need, the blood of Christ. But they would rather go on believing what they had always believed than turn and submit to the truth. What about you? Will you believe and submit to the Son of God?