It's Jesus' turn to ask the Pharisees some questions.
41 Then Jesus presented them with a question. "Why is it," He asked, "that the Messiah is said to be the son of David? 42 For David himself wrote in the book of Psalms:
'The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at My right hand 43 until I humble Your enemies, making them a footstool under Your feet.'
44 Since David called the Messiah 'Lord,' how can the Messiah be his son?"
The leaders in the temple were trying to find a way to get rid of Jesus, they thought that they needed to do something to get him to slip up and do something wrong, they were "Putting Out Some Traps" to try and catch Jesus but he gave the perfect answer to every question that they threw at him.
After Jesus answers their questions he turns the tables on them, according to the account of these events in Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus asked them two questions:
Question number one: “What do you think about the Messiah, whose son is he?”
Every Israelite knew the answer to that question. For hundreds of years they have been waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, they thought that they knew everything about the Messiah and that they would certainly know when he comes but somehow most of them didn't.There are hundreds of prophecies about the Messiah that were made hundreds of years before he was born. They knew that prophecy predicted that:
- The Messiah would be a descendant of David
- He would be born of a virgin
- He would be called out from Egypt after hiding from Herod
- The children would be killed by Herod
- A messenger would precede the Messiah's arrival
- Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah (John 4:25-26)
- Jesus made himself equal with God (John 5:17-18)
- Jesus said that he had seen God, which no one else could do (John 6:46)
- Jesus forgave sins, which only God had the authority to do (Mark 2:5-11)
- Jesus affirmed Peter's statement that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Matthew 16:15-17)
- Jesus told the high priest that he is the Messiah and Son of God (Mark 14:61-62)
Question number two: "Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 and asks them the question that they can't answer, it would be ridiculous for King David to call any of his sons "Lord," a new king would never be given that esteem by the old king. The people knew that this Psalm referred to the Messiah. David was referring to somebody greater than himself, somebody with a greater mission to accomplish.The king described in Psalm 110:1-7 that David calls Lord, is a king that sits at the right hand of God, he is a king that rules over all other rulers, an everlasting priest and the judge of the nations.
| The final proof |
|---|
| Romans 1:2-4 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. |
The Jewish leaders couldn't deny that Jesus was back, the disciples were empowered because he was back, Saul of Tarsus changed from a devout Jew to being a Christ follower because he was back. In fact thousands of people converted immediately while Jesus was back on earth for forty days as he spent time proving that he was not a ghost but that he was the same person that they had crucified.
Nobody could decide to be a phoney and try and imitate the Messiah and the prophecies that his life, death and resurrection fulfilled. I just pray that each reader of this column has the ability to see the plain truth better than the citizens of Jerusalem did. Who Is Jesus? You must decide.
