And he said to them, How do they say that the Christ is David's son,
The teachers of Israel had run out of questions, so Jesus asked one of His own, drawn from Psalm 110. It looks like a puzzle about family trees. In fact it asks who He is. How can the same person be both David's descendant and the one David calls "my Lord."
Every group had tried to trap Him and failed.
They are silenced — Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, all the leaders of the unhappy people. Then He turns on them with a question that reaches the bottom of the whole controversy: the question of His Person, of the true glory of Christ. Was He merely David's Son? Why then did David, speaking by the Spirit, call Him "Lord," saying, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet"? How could He be his Son and yet his Lord? No one could give an answer that did not admit His higher nature.
The scribes were right that the Messiah would come from David's line. Their problem was that they stopped there, though their own Scriptures said more.
The Lord now asked a question far more important than the ones they had asked Him. They could not answer it, though they should have known it from their Old Testament Scriptures. Why did the scribes say the Messiah was David's son, when David himself called the Messiah "Lord" in Psalm 110:1? No one could doubt how that Scripture applied. The scribes could not dispute it, yet they had no answer.
Everything in the Christian faith rests on the answer to this question.
There is and could be but one answer. The Messiah, David's son, must have been a Divine Person to be David's Lord. This is the everlasting puzzle of unbelief, and now as then it is the stumbling-stone to the Jew... Without the Godhead of Jesus, true man though He is, Christianity is a delusion, a fraud, and an impossibility. Without it, Judaism too was meaningless child's play.
Both titles are true at once. Each names a different glory in the same person.
The fact is that both are true: He is not only "the Offspring of David" — David's Descendant — but "the root of David" (Rev. 22:16). As Man He is David's son, but as God He is David's Lord. Though as Man He came from David, yet since He is God over all, it is just as true that David came from Him... Many today repeat this same tragic ignorance, even people who claim to be Christian. They admit that Jesus was a great man. But they forget — and often flatly deny — that He is God manifest in flesh.
The psalm Jesus quotes does not seat the Messiah on a throne in Jerusalem. It seats Him higher.
Towards the end of the chapter our Lord raises the great question of His own person, and of the position He was about to take. It was not the throne of David, but the throne of God. On the person and position of Christ depends the whole of Christianity. Judaism, lowering the person, does not see the position, or denies it... He who humbled Himself as man in suffering is exalted as man to the glory of God on high.
His seat at God's right hand is a seat of waiting. That waiting brings both comfort and warning.
Is it not a sad and terrible thing that you have sent the Lord to the right hand of His Father, to wait there till His enemies are made His footstool? You will say, "He has gone there to help me, a poor sinner." Yes, but you have sent Him there too. You see Him waiting for the need of poor sinners. He is also waiting till He comes out to judge His enemies at the end of the world. Miss that, and your view is very imperfect.
The Pharisees had no answer. Neither title can be given up.
In this title divine and human glories unite. Jesus is David's Lord and David's Son. And this is the great test for every man, for no one has a right to the name of Christian who denies either one or the other... They were speechless and had no answer to this great mystery. It is a mystery to us also, for we cannot explain it. But what we cannot explain we can believe.
- The question — Jesus silences every questioner. Then He asks the one that reaches the bottom of it all: whose Son is the Christ?
- The Person — No answer works that does not admit His higher nature; He must be a divine Person to be David's Lord.
- The two glories — As Man He is David's son; as God He is David's Lord, so that David came from Him.
- The position — Psalm 110 seats Him not on David's throne but on God's, exalted as Man to the glory of God on high.
- The test — Deny either title and you fail the test the Pharisees failed. Faith believes the mystery it cannot explain.
and David himself says in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand
Cornered by hostile questioners, Jesus stops answering and asks His own question, quoting the opening line of Psalm 110. Two questions follow: who wrote that psalm, and how can one man be both David's son and David's Lord?
His critics have run out of questions. Now it is His turn, and His question is about Himself.
It was now the Lord's turn to propose His question in order to bring out His own position. He asks the Pharisees to square the title Son of David with the title Lord, which David himself gave Him. And He ties this to the ascension of this same Christ, who goes up to sit at the right hand of God until God has made all His enemies His footstool and has established His throne in Zion. Now this was the whole of Christ's position at that moment. They were unable to answer Him, and no man dared ask Him any more questions. To understand that Psalm would have been to understand all God's ways with His Son — at the very moment they were going to reject Him.
Luke records that Jesus named the author and the book. That settles two questions at once: who composed Psalm 110, and where its words came from.
The Lord Himself said that David wrote Psalm 110. He claimed inspiration for it when He said, "David himself said by the Holy Spirit" (Mark 12:36). In the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and in the Acts of the Apostles, we get the affirmation that David wrote this Psalm.
Jesus points to a whole collection, not one stray song. That collection has God's hand on it.
God gave the whole collection its title, "The Book of Psalms" (Luke 20:42). He also had them numbered for easier reference, as "the Second Psalm" (Acts 13:33). The Psalms are inspired, and their arrangement is Divine.
The line has two "Lords" in it, and they are not the same person. The psalm's own printing gives the clue.
In the opening words of this psalm, the first "LORD" is in capital letters. When it is printed that way, it usually means Jehovah. So the verse could read, "Jehovah said to my Lord" — that is, Jehovah said to Christ… How could Jesus be both David's Son, and David's Lord? The answer is simple enough. As David's Lord, He was the Creator of David, for God created all things by His Son. But He was born of Mary, who came from the house and family line of David, so He was David's Son.
Only one answer fits both titles, and unbelief has always refused it.
There is and could be but one answer. The Messiah, David's son, must have been a Divine Person to be David's Lord. This is the never-ending puzzle of unbelief, and then as now it is the stumbling block for the Jew… Without the Godhead of Jesus, real man though He is, Christianity is a delusion, a fraud, and an impossibility.
The psalm points to a throne, but not the one His hearers were expecting for a son of David.
Toward the end of the chapter our Lord raises the great question of who He is. He also raises the position He was about to take — not on the throne of David, but on the throne of God… He humbled Himself as man in suffering, and as man He is exalted to the glory of God on high.
That seat is also a crowning, and it follows the cross.
This first verse announces the coronation of Jesus, after He had accomplished redemption and risen from the dead… Jehovah righteously welcomes Him as the Conqueror of all our enemies, the One who triumphed over death, Satan, and the grave, and installs Him in the highest place of honour, power, and glory.
The word "until" marks off a stretch of time. That time is not empty.
And the Lord Jesus Christ, rejected by man, is sitting at God's right hand as Man, waiting until His enemies are made His footstool. Meanwhile patient grace is at work, calling sinners to know the salvation He has accomplished.
- Author — Jesus names David and the Book of Psalms. The words came by the Holy Spirit, and God shaped the collection itself.
- Address — Jehovah is speaking to Christ. Capitals mark the first "LORD" as Jehovah, and the second is David's own Master.
- Answer — Born of Mary of David's line, He is David's Son; as Creator of David, He is David's Lord — a person who is God and man.
- Ascent — The throne here is not David's yet but God's: a coronation for the Man who first humbled Himself.
- Awaiting — The word "until" sets a limit. He waits, and meanwhile grace calls sinners, before His enemies go under His feet.
until I put thine enemies [as] footstool of thy feet?
Jesus has answered every trap set for Him. Now He asks His own question: how can the Messiah be both David's son and David's Lord? To settle it He quotes the opening words of Psalm 110. They speak of a seat at God's right hand, and of a wait that ends when God puts His enemies under His feet.
The puzzle has one answer, and everything in Christianity stands or falls with it.
There is and could be but one answer. The Messiah, David's son, must have been a Divine Person in order to be David's Lord — the endless riddle of unbelief, now as then the stumbling-stone to the Jew. Yet the Old Testament presents it as surely as the New does, if not as clearly or as often. It is essential to His proper dignity. It increases the grace of God beyond measure. And it is needed if there is to be an unbreakable rock of salvation, whether for an Israelite or for anyone else. Without the Godhead of Jesus — however truly man He is — Christianity is a delusion, a fraud, and an impossibility.
The seat named in the verse is not David's throne.
Towards the end of the chapter (v. 39-44) our Lord puts the great question of His own person, and of the position He was just about to take. That position was not on the throne of David, but on the throne of God. Was not He Himself, David's Son, owned as his Lord by David? The whole of Christianity depends on the person and position of Christ. Judaism lowers the person, and so does not see the position, or denies it. Christianity rests not on the work only, but on the glory of the person and place of Him who is glorified in God. He takes that place as man.
The place at God's right hand came at the end of a road that went all the way down.
In the last Adam we have Him who was God humbling Himself, going down, becoming obedient to death — even the vilest death. Then we see that humbled One going back to the place of power at God's right hand, but as man as well as God. God highly exalted Him, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. He obeyed all through, in humiliation, and God exalts Him to be David's Lord. This took Him out of the line of Jewish promises, though of course as David's Son He had them.
One small word puts a time limit on that seat.
Now He speaks to Him in resurrection, saying, "Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies Your footstool." Jehovah acknowledges Him as Lord and places Him at His right hand. But it is "until…" There is a prospect before Him. So the seat He takes, exalted as it is, holds only for a time — until that prospect becomes fact. The day of His poverty is over. The day of His patience is begun.
Some take the subduing of enemies to mean the world is slowly won over. The wording of the verse rules that out.
This means the rule of power, not of love — enemies conquered, not enemies reconciled… "When Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until His enemies should be made a footstool for His feet." These are quotations from Psalm 110. Taken together, they show Jesus undergoing death, then seated at God's right hand. There He waits for the time when God will put all things under His feet and make His enemies His footstool. The first of these expressions might perhaps mean gradual reconciliation. The second cannot possibly mean it. No language could state forcible conquest more strongly.
The verse also raises a personal question: who sent Him to that seat?
Is it not a sad and terrible thing that you have sent the Lord to the right hand of His Father, there to wait until His enemies are made His footstool? You will say, "He has gone there to help me, a poor sinner." Yes, but you have sent Him there too. You may see Him waiting on the need of poor sinners. But if you do not also see Him waiting until He comes out to judge His enemies at the end of the world, your view is very incomplete. His grace has put Him there as the High Priest of our confession; our enmity has put Him there as waiting for judgment.
- Person. The riddle Jesus set has one answer: David's son had to be a divine Person to be David's Lord.
- Place. Rejected on earth, He took the seat God named for Him — not David's throne yet, but God's right hand.
- Path. God raised Him to that place as the man who went down first, obedient all the way to death.
- Pause. "Until" makes the seat temporary. The day of His poverty is over; the day of His patience runs on.
- Prospect. "Footstool" means conquest, not persuasion. God will put His enemies under His feet — yet grace still holds the door open to those who put Him there.
David therefore calls him Lord, and how is he his son?
Jesus has just silenced the men who came to trap Him. Now He asks a question of His own, drawn from a psalm of David. It is simple to state and impossible to answer without faith: how can one man be both David's descendant and David's Lord?
The psalm Jesus quotes uses two different words for "Lord." One commentator explains the difference and the answer it points to:
In the opening words of this psalm, the first "LORD" is in capital letters. Printed that way, it usually means Jehovah. So we can read the verse as, "Jehovah said to my Lord" — that is, Jehovah said to Christ… How could Jesus be both David's Son and David's Lord? The answer is simple enough. As David's Lord, He was the Creator of David, for God created all things by His Son. But He was born of Mary, who came from the house and family of David, so He was David's Son.
No one answered Him. The reason lay in the hearers, not in the question:
The Lord then asked them His great question, based on Psalm 110… Only faith could answer — faith that saw the divine glory of the Christ. They had no faith. They were silent in stubborn unbelief. They could not answer His question, and they dared not ask Him any more.
The question can sound as though Jesus is denying that the Christ is David's son. He is not; He is adding to it:
At first the Lord's words seem to set aside that the Christ is David's Son. Yet we can plainly see this is not so. His question about His personal glory is meant to awaken deeper, higher, greater thoughts… If He is David's Lord, He is his Son too. If He is the Root of David, He is also his Offspring (Rev. 22:16)… The One who is both his Son and his Lord secures the sure mercies God promised in David's line.
The psalm He quotes points to where He was going — and it is not the throne His ancestor held:
Toward the end of the chapter (vv. 39-44) our Lord raises the great question of His own person, and of the position He was about to take. It was not the throne of David, but the throne of God. Was not He Himself, David's Son, owned as his Lord by David? The whole of Christianity depends on the person and position of Christ… He humbled Himself as man in suffering. As man He is exalted to the glory of God on high.
The psalm seats Him at God's right hand — and He waits there until His enemies are made His footstool. That word turns the question back on the hearer:
He put a question that baffles them: "David thus calls Him Lord, so how is He his son?" They were baffled. No one can answer that question without seeing the Person of Christ, the precious mystery of the God-man. Is it not a sad and terrible thing that you have sent the Lord to the right hand of His Father? He waits there until His enemies are made His footstool. You will say, "He has gone there to help me, a poor sinner." Yes, but you have sent Him there too.
This is not a puzzle for specialists. The worth of what Christ did for sinners rests on who He is:
To the believer no truth is simpler, and none more precious. The Christ is a man yet God, son of David yet David's Lord, the root and the offspring of David. He came to die, yet He is the living and eternal God. The grace of His humiliation hangs on the dignity of His own person. So does the value of His atonement, and the glory brought to God by the kingdom He will take and display as Son of Man.
- Question. Jesus takes David's own psalm and asks how David's descendant can be the one David calls his Lord. None of His questioners could answer.
- Person. The only answer is the one they refused. As David's Lord He is David's Creator; as born of Mary He is David's Son.
- Both. The titles are not rivals. He is Root and Offspring at once. The One who is both David's Son and David's Lord secures the mercies God promised in David's line.
- Position. The psalm points to the seat He was about to take — not David's throne, but God's right hand. He humbled Himself as man, and as man He is exalted.
- Response. He sits there until His enemies are made His footstool. He waits now to help poor sinners. His question still asks every hearer which side of that "until" they stand on.