David's Lord
"What do you think about the Messiah?... How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'?"
—Matthew 22:42–43, quoting Psalm 110:1
Young cedar sapling growing from a weathered basalt cliff beneath blue sky.
Some people leave a mark on history that is never forgotten.
David was one of those people.
If you had asked almost any Jewish person in Jesus' day who Israel's greatest king was, the answer would almost certainly have been David. He was the shepherd who became king, the young man who faced Goliath with nothing but a sling and his trust in God, the writer of many of the Psalms, and the man Scripture describes as being after God's own heart.
David was not a perfect man. He made serious mistakes, and the Bible does not hide them. Yet whenever he fell, he turned back to God with humility and repentance. Through every triumph and every failure, David loved the Lord, and the Lord made him a remarkable promise: one of his descendants would reign forever.
For generations, God's people waited for that promised King.
Then one day, Jesus asked a question that stopped even the most learned religious leaders.
"What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is He?"
They answered without hesitation,
"The son of David."
Then Jesus asked another question and answered it by quoting David himself.
"How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls Him 'Lord'? For he says, 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at My right hand until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.' If David calls Him 'Lord,' how can He be his son?"
—Matthew 22:42–45, quoting Psalm 110:1
Throughout this book we have been asking the same question.
Why did Jesus choose this Scripture?
He could have quoted many passages about the coming Messiah. Instead, He chose one written by David himself.
The religious leaders knew that the Messiah would come from David's family. They were waiting for another great king, another leader who would restore Israel's glory. Jesus did not disagree that the Messiah would be David's descendant. Instead, He invited them to think more deeply.
If David called the Messiah "my Lord," then the Messiah had to be greater than David.
Jesus was gently revealing that the promised King would be more than a descendant of David.
He would be David's Lord.
I have always found that conversation beautiful because Jesus was not trying to embarrass anyone. He wasn't showing how much more He knew than the religious leaders. He was opening the Scriptures once again, inviting them to see something they had overlooked. The answer had been there all along, waiting to be discovered.
As I have reflected on David over the years, another thought has often come to mind.
Scripture tells us that David was a man after God's own heart. What a remarkable description of a human life. David loved God deeply, wrote songs of praise that still encourage us today, and longed to walk in His ways.
If God delighted in David, how much greater must His delight have been in Jesus.
David pointed people toward God.
Jesus perfectly revealed the Father.
David cared for sheep on the hills of Bethlehem.
Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd.
David wrote about trusting the Lord.
Jesus trusted His Father completely, even when the path led to the cross.
The similarities are beautiful, but the differences are even greater.
David was God's servant.
Jesus is God's beloved Son.
At the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, the Father spoke from heaven.
"This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."
—Matthew 3:17
Those words were spoken again on the mountain where Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James, and John.
"This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!"
—Matthew 17:5
I sometimes wonder what David would have thought if he could have stood beside those disciples and heard the Father's voice.
The king who loved God so deeply would surely have rejoiced to see the promised Messiah finally revealed.
Perhaps that is one of the reasons Jesus loved quoting David's Psalms. David's songs were filled with hope, trust, praise, and longing for God's Kingdom. Again and again, they pointed beyond David's own life toward Someone greater who was still to come.
The more I read the Gospels, the more I notice that Jesus never sought glory for Himself apart from His Father. Everything He did reflected the Father's love, wisdom, and compassion. Even when He revealed His identity, He did so by opening the Scriptures rather than drawing attention to Himself.
That tells us something beautiful about both the Father and the Son.
The Father delights in His Son.
The Son delights in revealing His Father.
Their hearts are perfectly united in love, purpose, and truth.
As we continue following Jesus through the Scriptures, we will discover that David was not the only prophet who saw glimpses of the coming Messiah. Again and again, Jesus returned to the Psalms and the Prophets, showing that the Father's plan had been quietly unfolding long before Bethlehem.
The more we learn to read the Scriptures as Jesus did, the more clearly we begin to see Him—not only as David's Son, but as David's Lord, the beloved Son who came to reveal His Father's heart and invite us home.
