“While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, Saying, what think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. He saith unto them, how then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is He, his son? And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” (Matt. 22:41-46)

While the Pharisees were gathered to consider what their next challenge to Jesus would be, the Lord used the opportunity to ask them a question. They had asked Him questions with hidden meaning, and now Jesus would do the same to them.

The Pharisee’s had asked theological questions, now they would be asked one. The point of reference concerned the Messiah. The question was this.

“What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He?”

According to Christian theology, the eternal destiny of individuals rests on the proper answer to that single question,

“What think we of Christ? Whose Son is He?”

There is only one totally correct answer to this inquiry, though other responses can be accurate in as far as they go.

For example, the Pharisees said in response to Jesus, that the Christ, or the Messiah, was the Son of David (Matt. 22:42). This was true. The Messiah was to be a physical descendant of Israel’s greatest king, which was a high honor. However, in itself, being a descendant of David, was nothing very unusual. Hundreds and thousands of other Jews could also claim to be a son of David.

The Christ had to be more than David’s descendant.

He had to be David’s Lord, to be truly great.

It is this point that Jesus now presses with the Pharisees, by asking His question.  If the Christ was only a mere man, a descendant of David, then why does David, in the power of the Holy Spirit call the Christ, “Lord,” in such passages as Psalms 110:1?

The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies, thy footstool.”

The first, “Lord,” refers to God the Father.

The second, “Lord,” refers to the Messiah.

The Father said to the Messiah, sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies, thy footstool.

The point is that David calls the Messiah, “Lord. “But, if the Messiah is only David’s son, why does David call his own son by a Divine title, “Lord?”

The main insight that Jesus was driving at, is that it is not enough to call the Messiah, the Son of David.

He is that, but He is more.

He is David’s LORD!

The acknowledgment of a Son of David, does not do justice to biblical prophecy. The heart, by faith, must grasp the additional understanding, or be limited with momentary excitement.

For example, when Jesus healed the blind man, the multitudes called him, “Son of David” (Matt. 20:30). But He was not truly their Lord, their Master, their Savior.

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the crowds shouted, and recognized Him as the “Son of David” (Matt. 21:9).

The multitudes were excited, but they did not know Jesus as Lord, and so within a week, they were ready to cry out, “Crucify Him!” “Crucify Him!”

To all who were listening, Jesus is declaring the generic title, Son of David, is not enough. He is more than a Prince of David’s line. He is David’s sovereign Lord. By seeing Jesus as David’s Lord, individuals come to understand that Christ is really more than a man. He is God. Commenting on this passage, Dr. William Barclay writes,

“There would be few that day who caught all that Jesus meant; but when Jesus spoke, these words, even the densest of them felt a shiver in the presence of the eternal mystery.

They had the awed and the uncomfortable feeling that they had heard the voice of God and for a moment, in this man Jesus, they glimpsed God’s very face.”

However, a glimpse of God can be very disturbing, as per Exodus 20:18-19. To glimpse God in Christ means that Jesus is to be honored and obeyed. But that is exactly what many do not want to do. They do not want to honor Christ, and so they must put limitations on Him.

The Pharisees limited Christ, by saying that He was a son of David, but nothing more. Now, the question that the Pharisees had to answer so long ago, must still be answered today. Individuals have to make a decision as to what they think of Christ.

“Is Jesus the Son of the Living God?”

“Was He born of a virgin?”

“Did He live a sinless life?”

“Was Jesus crucified, dead, and buried according to the Scriptures?”

“Did He rise again on the third day?”

“Did the Lord ascend into heaven?”

“Is Jesus Christ really alive, right now, in His glorified, resurrected body?”

“Does Jesus really rule over the affairs of men from the throne room of heaven?”

“Will the clouds one day open, and Jesus Christ return to Earth?”

“What do we think of Christ?”

“Is Jesus the son of a Roman soldier, as slanderous theologians say?”

The 2nd-century Greek philosopher Celsus wrote a book called A True Word in which he criticized and refuted early Christianity.

Celsus argues that Jesus was born from a poor Jewish woman, who “was turned out of doors by the carpenter to whom she had been betrothed, as having been convicted as guilty of adultery, and she bore a child to a certain soldier named Pantera.”

Tiberius Julius Abdes Pantera (c. 22 BC–AD 40) was a Roman-Phoenician soldier born in Sidon, whose tombstone was found by rail workers in Binger Bruck, Germany, in 1859.

“Is Jesus the Son of the Living God?”

“Whose Son is He?”

Many people deny that Jesus is the Son of God. Out of the total population of the world, the Christian community is still relatively small. Millions and even billions of people follow other faiths, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Shintoism, Mohammedism, plus many more.

The religious leaders of these faiths, like the Pharisees, have decided that if Jesus was anything, He was simply the son of David. Their faith will not move beyond that understanding, and so, their lives continue, illogical, unreasonable, and hostile to Christ. By stating His argument to the Pharisees in the Temple, Jesus was doing something much more than winning a debate on a nice afternoon. In this exchange, the Lord was saying three things.

First, Jesus was declaring openly, and for a final time, who He claimed to be.

There was nothing secret now. In the midst of Israel stood their Lord and their God.

He is the Messiah.

He is the Creator.

He is the Eternal Logos.

He is the fulfillment of all prophecy.

He is the child of promise that was to be born.

He is the Son that was to be given.

He is entitled to be called Wonderful.

Counselor.

The Mighty God.

The Everlasting Father.

And Prince of Peace.

Second, by pressing His point of inquiry with the Pharisees, the Lord was drawing the line of demarcation. Verbal hostility would soon give way to physical violence. Jesus was not trying to be diplomatic. He was declaring that souls either submit to Him, or face eternal judgment. Rather than submit, the Pharisees decided to fight. They would destroy this blasphemer, and prove that He could not hurt them, nor judge them. He was NOT their Lord.

The Pharisees took counsel against God, and against His anointed. If they could not conquer Jesus intellectually, they would conquer Him physically. It has always been the thinking of fallen men, that if arguments cannot persuade, physical force can. The Pharisees would now turn to violence. From that day forth, they asked Jesus no more questions.

“That day,” refers to Tuesday. On Wednesday and Thursday, the religious leaders avoided Jesus.

The next time they spoke to Christ would be in a court of law, where they could make accusations against Him, and demand His execution. The line of demarcation had been crossed.

The third effect Jesus caused in this final exchange with the Pharisees, was to create a question that has transcended time. The question is stilling being asked today, 2000 plus years later,

“What think we of Christ?”

“Whose Son is He?”

How would you answer?

“Are you a Christian?”

After we answer this question personally, we need to ask it of others. It is a wonderful way to witness. Simply ask others,

“What do you think of Jesus?”

“Whose Son is He?”

“Do you think that He is more than a descendant of David?”

“Do you think that He is the Son of God?”

Either the answer is yes, or the answer is no. There is no neutral ground. Some people have tried to take a neutral position, but it cannot be done.

Many years ago, when I was in college, I ate lunch one day with a young man from mainland China. He was a card-carrying member of the Communist Party, and proudly showed me his credentials. I asked the young Communist what he thought about Christ. He said he was neutral on the subject.

When I pointed out that Jesus said this was impossible, the young man became angry. “You mean that if I do not accept your Christ, I will go to hell?” The Christian answer is, “Yes!” “There is only one name under heaven whereby men must be saved.”

There is no middle ground. Either a person believes in Christ as Lord and Saviour, and is born again, or they do not believe. Neutrality is not an option, but only a delayed opportunity to design a way to “kill” Christ in the heart emotionally, and intellectually.

“What think you of Christ?”

“Whose Son is He?”

If Jesus is Lord, then we who profess the name of Christ must make more of a concerted effort to bring our lives under His sovereign control. Our time, our talents, our language, our hearts must be His, so that we sing with integrity,

“Where He leads me I will follow.
Where He leads me I will follow.
I’ll go with Him, with Him,
All the way.”

~Ernest William Blandly