Mark 12:35-40 (NKJV) Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
(Matt. 22:41–46; Luke 20:41–44)
35 Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’
37 Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”
And the common people heard Him gladly.
Beware of the Scribes
(Matt. 23:1–7; Luke 20:45–47)
38 Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, 39 the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
V35 “Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?”
Jesus was giving a discourse in Jerusalem. This was what was recorded. He asks anyone who is there, ““How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?” This part of the question would pose no problem. Compare Psalm 2:7.
(Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible) “First Samuel presents Israel’s first two kings, Saul and David. These kings of Israel foreshadow Israel’s true King, Jesus Christ. Jesus is in the lineage of David and is called Son of David, a term that is equivalent to Messiah. Samuel’s model of priest, prophet, and political leader foreshadows Jesus’ role as prophet, priest, and king. First Samuel includes the first mention of a person being called the anointed of Yahweh. This is significant because the word Messiah means “anointed one.”
V36 “For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
This is quoted from Psalm 110:1.
This part of Jesus’s teaching would get their attention, especially the Scribes and Pharisees. A principle is conveyed here: “The authors of the Bible and prophets, including David, were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew this; shouldn’t we be?”
The part that Jesus was emphasizing is this: “The LORD said to my Lord.” LORD is Yahweh, God’s name, who gave a message to David’s Lord. Who is David’s lord? Isn’t the king the highest authority in Israel? David acknowledges that he was under the authority of “my Lord.” This lord is none other than the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
To us today, we understand it to mean this—God the Father is speaking to God the Son (Jesus). God the Son sits next to God the Father on the right side of the Father’s throne. The Father speaks to the Son, “Sit next to me until I make your enemies be your footstool (submissive).”
We understand from this: 1) God the Father is the ultimate authority, 2) He has a son, who we know to be Jesus, 3) Jesus sits at the Father’s right hand until all the Son’s enemies have been subdued.
Some comments:
J. C. Ryle:
“We know, from our Lord’s own words in another place, that the Old Testament Scriptures “testify of Christ.” (John 5:39.) They were intended to teach men about Christ, by types, and figures, and prophecy, till He Himself should appear on earth. We should always keep this in mind, in reading the Old Testament, but never so much as in reading the Psalms. Christ is undoubtedly to be found in every part of the Law and the Prophets, but nowhere is He so much to be found, as in the book of Psalms. His experience and sufferings at His first coming into the world—His future glory, and His final triumph at His second coming—are the chief subjects of many a passage in that wonderful part of God’s word. It is a true saying, that we should look for Christ quite as much as David, in reading the Psalms.”
Wuest Word Studies:
“Both the scribes and the people believed that the Jewish Messiah would come from the royal line of David. David was human, so would the Messiah be human. Thus, He would be David’s son. Our Lord reminds His hearers that David calls the Messiah his Lord (Psalm 110:1). That is, He recognizes Him as Deity, the Jehovah of the Old Testament. The difficulty our Lord puts before His listeners and at the same time tosses into the lap of the Pharisees is as to how, since Messiah is Jehovah, deity, He can also be human. At once the incarnation is brought before them. One of the charges brought against the Lord Jesus was that He called God His (His private, unique) Father, making Himself equal with God, thus deity (John 5:18). Thus, the Jewish leaders rejected the teaching of the incarnation and Jesus’ claim to deity. It is well to notice our Lord’s testimony to the divine inspiration of David, also the recognition by David of the two other Persons of the Trinity, the Father saying to the Son, “Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.” Thus, we have the Trinity mentioned in an Old Testament setting in verse 36.
V37 “Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son? And the common people heard Him gladly.”
How can Messiah be David’s son and yet David’s lord?
Comments:
(Holman Commentary) “Jesus quoted from Psalm 110. The Jews considered this a psalm of David and a messianic psalm. David was considered the highest authority on earth by the Jews. How, then, could he refer to his descendant as “my Lord”? Was David saying that there was an authority higher than him? The answer, of course, was that David recognized that his sovereignty was of the earth. But the sovereignty of the Messiah, who would be from his lineage, was of God. The crowd was delighted with Jesus’ teaching. They recognized that Jesus taught with authority. He did not fear the crowds or the teachers, which was more than could be said for his opponents.”
(Deffinbaugh): “Psalm 110 confronts the Israelite with a very perplexing problem, a problem which is central and foundational to the Israelite leaders’ rejection of Jesus as the Christ. The Psalm clearly teaches both the humanity of Messiah (a son of David) and His deity (David’s Lord). This was the fundamental problem which the leaders of Israel had with Jesus. If you could sum up the grievance of the Jewish leaders with Jesus, I believe it would be this: ALTHOUGH JESUS WAS MERELY A MAN (in the eyes of the Jews who rejected Him), HE HAD THE AUDACITY TO ACT LIKE GOD.”
V38 “Then He said to them in His teaching, “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces…”
This will not make the scribes pleased. But Jesus isn’t into making people feel good. He speaks the truth, and the scribes do not like that. The scribes are a show without substance. They are a shadow and illusion.
Isaiah 29:13 (EHV) The Lord says: These people approach me with their words, and they honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is nothing but commandments taught by men.
They love the glory but are not interested in giving true glory to God alone.
Herod Agrippa I learned a lesson the hard way. He did not give glory to God (Acts 12:20).
V39 “…the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts…”
They seek admiration.
V40 “…who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”
They are covetous and have a show of piety. They take and sell belongings from widows through various devious methods. They don’t care; they lust. Their prayers are words without sincerity and only for the praise of people. Note, they receive a greater, more severe judgment.
We learn:
- Jesus taught the Scriptures in its plain, normal sense.
- Jesus often taught by asking questions.
- Jesus warns about the scribes’ fake humility and religious show.
Questions:
- Do you interpret the Bible in its plain, normal sense?
- Are we fakes with no substance of real Christianity in our hearts?
- Are your prayers sincere?