Christian Living

DAVID'S SON

by Luella Campbell
01/14/13
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DAVID'S SON

"Then He put a question to them, ‘How is it that they say that the Messiah is David's son?

In the book of Psalms, David clearly says, "God says to my Master, 'Sit here at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.'"

"David designates the Messiah as 'my Master' -- so how can the Messiah also be his son?'" Luke 20:41-44 (The Message).

That got them!

This was no trick question. The one thing that stuck in the throats of His religious opponents was that Jesus, an obviously perfectly ordinary human being, whom they rejected because to them He was only the son of Joseph and Mary, was claiming to be the Son of God. That was blasphemy, and blasphemy was punishable by death.

Had the claim come from anyone else, they would have had every reason to have him tried and executed, but from Jesus...that was another story. They had all the evidence they needed but they refused to examine it objectively. Jesus was a man; He was claiming to be God; He must die.

Their questions were designed to trick Him into incriminating Himself either by contradicting Moses or teaching something treasonable against Rome. Jesus was too smart to be outwitted by these religious 'experts' who were actually ignorant of the truths concealed in their 'Law'.

So He asked them a question, one that would get them to the crux of their issue with Him. 'Who are you?' they kept asking. Moses, David...these were the heroes of their religion. What they said went. What they failed to realise was that Moses and David wrote about Him and what they said accurately presented Him.

David's statement, quoted from Psalm 110:1, highlights two of Jesus' qualifications which they refused to believe and which, incidentally, are still rejected by some sects today. Two phrases are glaringly contradictory -- 'my (David's) Master' and 'his (David's) son.' That was a teaser for the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and one which focuses on one of the central truths of our faith.

The Bible clearly teaches that Messiah was fully God and fully man. He is both David's Master and his son. He is God and He is man of the lineage of David, Israel's greatest king and the model of kingship in the Old Testament. Therefore Jesus is the rightful king of Israel even though the religious leaders refused to acknowledge Him.

In His own masterful question, Jesus' answer to their persistent interrogation, 'Who are you?' was always the same. 'The evidence is right in front of you. You decide.' This is the question that everyone must answer for themselves. Our eternal destiny depends on it. 'Who do you say that I am?' Even if we ignore the question, we have still answered it. Whether willingly or reluctantly, this will be our final response:

"And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death --

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess

that Jesus is Lord

to the glory of God the Father."

Philippians 2:8-11 (NIV).

Guess what! Even the devil himself will bow on that day, and that will seal his final doom and the doom of those who refused to acknowledge that Jesus is Lord! That was their choice.

What's yours?