Week 40 Day 4

September 01, 2022

Jesus Speaks about the Messiah

Scripture: Matthew 22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 20:41-44(NIV)

Matthew 22:41-46
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “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 under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:35-37
While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.

Luke 20:41-44
Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

Devotional

In this exchange, Jesus silenced the Pharisees by quoting Psalm 110:1, in which King David referred to the Messiah as “Lord.” This meant that the Messiah, while being a descendant of David, was also his God. Hebrews 13 uses the same psalm, among others, to prove the deity of Christ.

As a result of this dialogue, the religious leaders, “could not say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask [Jesus] any more questions” (Matthew 22:46). They weren’t going to trap Jesus with a war of words. They would have to find another way.

However, “large crowd listened to him with delight” (Mark 12:37). People were beginning to think that Jesus might be the Messiah. Now, Jesus was saying that the Messiah is God. This thrilled the masses and petrified the religious establishment, who were beginning to lose their grip on the people. The religious leaders understood the implications. If Jesus claimed to be God, that was the ultimate blaspheme, worthy of death. If they couldn’t get Him to publicly humiliate Himself, they would do it for Him.

Everything hangs on this truth: Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God! Take some time to think or talk about Jesus’ identity:

“Jesus” – His name literally means, “God saves”
“Messiah” (Hebrew) is the same as “Christ” (Greek), meaning “Anointed One”
“Son of God” – making Jesus equal with God the Father

What do these words mean to you?