Matthew 22:41-46

 ⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 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 then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? ⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Commentary

Vs. 41-42 ⁴¹ While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”

Having answered the Pharisees lawyers’ question about which is the greatest commandment, the Lord Jesus now asks them a question about the Christ, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” Now the Pharisees do not hesitate to answer that the Christ (i.e. the Messiah) is the son of David, that He is a descendent of king David. However, what they missed and failed to understand that according to the Scripture He must also be the Son of God, thus both the Son of Man and the Son of God as the Lord Jesus Christ identified Himself to them and us all to be.

Vs. 43-46 ⁴³ He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? ⁴⁵ If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

Therefore with their reply that the Christ must be the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ now asks them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ⁴⁴ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’?

Now the Lord Jesus Christ in exposing their misunderstanding of Him is citing to them Psalm 110:1 (a Messianic Psalm) where David by the Spirit says, The LORD (that is God the Father) said to my Lord (that is God’s Son the Christ or Messiah) “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? Therefore, as the Lord Jesus Christ points out to them, if David calls the Christ his Lord how then is the Christ his son? Thus, totally challenging their understanding of the Messiah by which they were denying His Divinity by calling the Christ the son of David. For as they failed to see and realize with their emphasis on and exaltation of David, David himself by the Spirit does not call the Christ his son, but his Lord! Thus, rightly attributing to Him God’s Son status, and thus exalting the Christ way above himself. Something which the Pharisees (and the Jews in general) with their calling the Messiah David’s son were not doing! And so, the Lord’s correction here of them not only silences the Pharisees, but also ends their or anyone’ else’s attempts to question Him and His Authority anymore (vs. 46). For as it has been rightly said time and again only the Word of God can interpret the Word of God. And He has given His Word to us all so that one and all may repent and believe in Him. Therefore, take your understanding of Him that He has given you, and apply your faith to Him, and receive Him as your Lord Savior today! For that is the beginning of all true discipleship that starts In Christ and ends in everlasting life (1 Peter 1:3-9).

Scripture Quotations: 

The New King James Version. (1982). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.