The God Man

“A Question for the Questioners”

(Matthew 22:41-46, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 20, 2008)

Matthew 22:41-46 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.

Introduction – He who comes after me…

In the opening chapter of John’s gospel, a saying of John the Baptist is referred to concerning Jesus Christ. John said, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’” The meaning of that statement becomes obvious after the truth of Jesus Christ, particularly His divine eternal nature, has been more fully revealed. At the time when John spoke these words they must have been a great riddle. John says two things that seem to be inconsistent. Jesus came after him. Jesus was before him. These statements are both true. In His birth and public ministry, Jesus comes after John. John was baptizing in the wilderness before Jesus had been noticed by almost anyone. On the other hand, Jesus was before John. Jesus is the Son of God through whom all things were created. He is the great I AM. In His divine nature He existed eternally before John.

In this 22^nd chapter of Matthew’s gospel we encounter a similar riddle about Jesus, this time from His own lips. In His final days before the cross, the Pharisees and the Sadducees ask questions to test Jesus, with the hope that He will fall into some trap. They have been very unsuccessful in their efforts. He has not been taken away by the authorities. He has not been rejected by the crowds. He has not been exposed as a failure. Interestingly, within a few short days all these things will happen. Through the help of Judas, Jesus will soon be taken away by people with swords and clubs. Though the religious rulers were once concerned about the crowds because they had seemed to consider Jesus as a prophet and a king, these rulers will suddenly go to the crowds and will be surprisingly successful in stirring up people against Jesus. Finally, as He is left to die on the cross, it will seem to everyone that He is a failure. At this moment, days before His death, none of these three things seem likely, but they will happen according to God’s plan and schedule. Jesus will willingly submit to these indignities for our sake.

What do you think about the Christ? (41-42)

Before any of that happens, the round of questioning in Matthew 22 ends with a question from Jesus, a question that exposes the mystery of who this Suffering Servant is, this amazing man who cannot be trapped or stumped by His enemies, but who is heading to His death nonetheless. Jesus uses a word here that we have not heard in Matthew’s gospel since the 16^th chapter, when Peter made a most amazing declaration. That word is “Christ.” In that earlier chapter, Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” Peter said, “You are the Christ.” It was immediately clear from the discussion that followed that Peter did not understand much about what the Christ would do. The disciples had much to learn. Perhaps that was why He told them not to reveal His identity. There was no point in being known as the Christ, when people did not have accurate expectations about a coming Savior.

Christ means anointed one. It comes from Greek, the language of the New Testament, but the idea was not only a New Testament concept. The Hebrew equivalent of this word is the source of the word “Messiah.” “Christ” and “Messiah” are the same word but from different languages. They both mean “The Anointed One.” They were the words that came to be used to speak of an expected hero who would save God’s people.

Something anointed in the Bible had oil poured over it. The oil often symbolized the Holy Spirit, and the object or person who was anointed with oil was consecrated or set apart for God’s holy purpose. Priests and kings were anointed with oil. Priests came from the tribe of Levi. Levi was the third son of Israel. On the other hand, like King David and His descendants, kings came from the tribe of Judah, Israel’s fourth son. God promised David that one of his sons would reign forever, but there was no way that someone could be both priest and king. A person could not be a member of two tribes. As time went on in the history of God’s Word, we begin to have hints of an Anointed One who will be both priest and King. Psalm 2 uses the word “Christ” or “Messiah.” The expected “Son of God” of Psalm 2 will be a great King who will judge the nations. Psalm 110 seems to talk about the same figure. He is the mighty scepter who rules, but in Psalm 110 He is also a priest. What is intriguing is that this Priest/King who is full of the Holy Spirit is not descended from Levi. The Psalm announces that this “Lord” will be a “priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” Melchizedek is a mysterious figure who shows up in the time of Abraham. Where did He come from? We have no idea. We do know that Abraham gave him a tithe of the spoils of war. Abraham was somehow acknowledging that this Melchizedek was above Him, though Abraham was God’s key man at that time. This Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High, but He was also the King of Salem which means “peace.” Melchizedek literally means “King of Righteousness.” Who could make sense of all of this? Jesus could. “What do you think about the Christ?” That is what He began to ask them just days before the cross.

Whose son is he? (42)

“Whose son is he?” We all know that the Christ is the Son of God. This came about through a miraculous conception that was announced in Luke’s gospel. The fruit of Mary’s womb would be the Son of the Most High. In Matthew’s gospel, quoting Isaiah 7, an angel tells Joseph that Mary will be the virgin who conceives and bears a Son, and that this Son will be God with us, which is what “Immanuel” means. We are all so used to the Christmas story that we may have the wrong impression that everyone knew about the circumstances of Jesus’ birth. People did not know about the choirs of angels. They did not know what happened to the shepherds. They did not even know that Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem. They assumed He was born in Galilee, where he grew up.

We know that they did not know these things because in John’s gospel, we read about the controversies that came about during the ministry of Jesus, and it was clear that there was no general knowledge about His birth in Bethlehem. This is what John 7:40-42 says: “When they heard these words, some of the people said, ‘This really is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘This is the Christ.’ But some said, ‘Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?’” Jesus was from Bethlehem. We know the story of the Roman census, but they did not.

Notice that there was an expectation of a great prophet who would come. The people were saying, “This is the Prophet.” Others said, “This is the Christ.” While there certainly was much confusion about the coming Messiah, there were passages in the Bible that not only supported the fact that the Anointed One would be a priest and a king, but also that He would be a prophet. Moses had said in Deuteronomy 18:15, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers- it is to him you shall listen.” Like kings and priests, prophets were also anointed, but not with oil. They were anointed with the Holy Spirit.” Do you see how complex the question of the Christ really was? Only Jesus fulfilled all the expectations of who the Christ would be?

The son of David (42)

In Jesus’ question to the Pharisees, He deals with just one piece of this complexity. “Whose son is he?” They thought that they knew the answer. Everyone expected that the Messiah was to be the Son of David. God had made an overwhelming promise to David when that king had wanted to build a house for God. God said, “You build a house for Me? I am going to build a house for you?” David was talking about a great temple, but God was referring to an everlasting dynasty. We read in 2 Samuel 7:12-13, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” This was partially fulfilled by David’s son Solomon building the temple, but that did not explain the “forever” part. As time went by there became a very settled expectation that there would one day come a Messiah who would be this Son of David. This was still very firmly a part of Jewish hopes in the time of Jesus, though no descendant of David had ruled for 600 years! “Whose son is he?” They answered Him without any hesitation. “The son of David.”

David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord (43-44)

They were right. The Messiah would be a descendant of David. The problem is that in Psalm 110 David himself called this Messiah figure his Lord. How could one of his descendants be his Lord? Sons are supposed to submit to their fathers. Fathers don’t greet their sons by calling them lords. Why is David calling the Messiah, who is his descendant, Lord? Furthermore, the words that David wrote, Jesus says, were written in the Spirit. Therefore, it is God who is saying that the Messiah will be David’s Lord. Not only that, what does it mean in the psalm when we read that The Lord Jehovah God is saying something to David’s Lord? There is only one Lord God. Is He talking to Himself? How can the Lord tell David’s Lord to sit at His right hand until He makes His enemies His footstool?

David’s son and David’s Lord (45-46)

The answer is directly in front of them in person. Here is David’s Son going to the cross. Here also is David’s Lord. Here is the Jesus who is going to the cross for sinful people. He is one person of the Triune Godhead. Two natures exist within that one person, for He is fully God and fully man. According to His human genealogy He is a son of David, born in Bethlehem. But the baby who was born in a manger is also Immanuel, the eternal Son of God, and most decidedly David’s Lord. He came to die for David. He came to die for You. The Pharisees gave up on their questions that day before they really found the answer, and He was right there before their eyes.

Questions for meditation and discussion:

1. Why did the Pharisees continue to bother with Jesus? Why didn’t they just ignore Him?

2. Consider the complexity of the second person of the Godhead. Whose Son is He?

3. What insights come to us from a full consideration of Psalm 110 in light of the New Testament?

4. What was the result of this interchange about Psalm 110? What should the Pharisees have said or done here?