Matthew 22:41-46

Matthew 22:41-46

And having the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked a question to them while saying, “What do you think regarding the Christ?  Who Son is He?”  They say to Him, “Of David.”  He says to them, “Therefore, how is it that David in the spirit calls Him Lord while saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord: sit out of my right hand until I should place your enemies under the complete control of your feet.’?  Therefore if David calls him lord, how is he his son?”  And nobody was powerful enough to answer a word to Him, neither did anyone from that day on dare to ask a question to Him anymore.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

This is a very obscure passage, and to be honest I’ve not heard anyone say that they know for certain exactly what Jesus means in this passage.  However, I’ve done my share of research and I’m going to put forth a few thoughts.  First of all, we need to remember that one of the most popular terms for the Messiah in the Jewish context is the Son of David.  This is because the Jews are anticipating the Messiah to establish a never-ending kingdom of significance for the Jewish people.  The Messiah is the Son of David because David was their greatest king.  Therefore, by calling the Messiah the Son of David they are hinting at what they expect.  They expect a kingdom of importance such as David’s.  However, look at what Jesus is really saying to them.  Jesus is saying that David, who wrote Psalm 110, called the Messiah his Lord.  This means that the Messiah will be greater than David.  He will do more than David did.  Essentially, Jesus is telling the Pharisees that to limit the scope of the Messiah to being the head of a great kingdom is wrong.  The Messiah is more than the Son of David.  He will do more than establish a great kingdom here on earth.

Why do you think people like to limit the scope of what God can do?  Why is this a natural outcome for when we think about God’s will in terms of our own desires?  Why is it more important that we think about our will in terms of God’s desires?

Second Thought:

The answer of the Pharisees also shows their focus of scripture.  The Old Testament gives us two portrayals of the Messiah.  One portrayal is the great king as I spoke about above.  But there is a clear second portrayal of the Messiah as the suffering servant who sacrifices for the sake of other people.  Both of these are legitimate understandings of the Messiah, and even in Jesus’ day there was debate as to which one was right or predominant.  When Jesus asks the Pharisees, the answer they give tells us how they think.  They see the Messiah as a great ruler and a great king.  But they miss the sacrificial lamb.  They miss the one who is beaten for our sake as we hear about in several chapters in Isaiah.  It is important to hold both of these perspectives regarding the Messiah in our mind.  Yes, the Messiah is a great ruler.  But the Messiah is also a compassionate and selfless sacrifice.  Both are true.  Both are true in Christ.

What is the Messiah to you?  How would you have answered Jesus’ question?  What do you think regarding the Christ (or Messiah)?

Third Thought:

I’ve always been disappointed in the reaction of the Pharisees.  In truth, I’ve always been disappointed in any human being who reacts this way when they can’t answer something.  The Pharisees are asked a question by Jesus.  Clearly they don’t have an answer.  This means that they have a glorious opportunity to learn something!  All they have to do is admit that they don’t know.  Or they could say that they aren’t sure but put forth a guess for Jesus to correct.  Either step forward would have put them in a place of learning.  But here’s the problem.  In order to be in a place of learning, they need to submit.  They need to acknowledge that they don’t know something.  They need to put themselves in a position of vulnerability.  They don’t do that.  Because they don’t do it, they miss out.  The truth is that this is why they miss out on what God is doing in their midst.  Rather than be humble and listen to Jesus, they refuse to admit that there could be something they don’t know.  So they miss out on Jesus and what God is at work doing in the world as He brings salvation to them.

How readily do you acknowledge that you don’t know something?  Are there people with whom this is difficult?  Are there people with whom this is easy?  What does this reveal about your life and the people around you?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 23:1-7