Whose Son is Jesus?

Matthew 22:41-46

Mark 12:35-37 & Luke 20:41-44

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.

What do you think of Christ?

Whose Son is He? The most important question of all questions. When it comes to opinions about Jesus Christ, the world has never lacked for any variety of suggestions. About 100 A.D., the Jews wrote this of Jesus, quote: “Jesus practiced magic and led Israel astray.”

The Roman Empire ruled by Julian the Apostate 361-363 A.D. he was known as the ancient adversary of Christianity. He wrote this: “Jesus has now been celebrated about 300 years, having done nothing in His lifetime worthy of fame, unless anyone thinks that a very great work to heal lame and blind people and exercise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany”.

There have been people who took a very negative view of Jesus. The leaders of His own day said He did what He did by the power of devil. Some of the great philosophers of the world have looked at Jesus as the best of men.

“Jesus is the most perfect of all the men that have yet appeared on the earth.” Ralph Waldo Emerson. The Emperor Napoleon called Jesus as the emperor of love. John Stuart Mill, the philosopher, said Jesus is the guide of humanity.

he scientist Lecky said Jesus is the highest pattern of virtue. Renan, the French atheist, said He is the greatest among the sons of men.

David Strauss, a staunch hater of Christianity and denied all of its supernatural claims, said Jesus is, “The highest model of religion within the reach of human thought.” “When I was asked which single individual has left the most permanent impression on the world, the manner of the questioner almost carried the implication that it was Jesus of Nazareth. I agreed, Jesus stands first.” H.G.Wells.

Even in the mouths of those who do not believe in Him, there is a kind of condescending patronization that says Jesus is the best of men. But the other side of that is that underneath all of that is a very incipient denial that He is anything more than the best of men.

It has always been that Christianity has found its most violent and aggressive attackers coming at the deity of Jesus Christ. That is the most attacked point of our doctrine. The major emphasis of those who would deny the reality of Christianity is to attack the deity of Jesus Christ, emphasize that He is a man and nothing more.

It comes from every direction. In the Seattle Times, a feature article appeared and filled the entire page. It read, “The Reverend David Aasen, pastor of the First United Methodist Church, has swung vigorously into a sermon series emphasizing Jesus Christ as man, not God.” He says that the reason there is any controversy at all on this issue is because, “There is always a bunch of people who say Jesus is God.”

In the article he suggested that Jesus was like Mother Teresa or Caesar Chavez. If we study religion, we will find that it makes overt attacks on the deity of Jesus Christ. Muslim theology teaches that Jesus was a prophet however, not the equal of Moses or Mohammed, and His religion was Islam, not Christianity.

Christian Science teaches that Jesus was a mere man who demonstrated a divine idea but His blood cleanses nothing. The Church of the Living Word leader, John Robert Stevens, considers himself God’s chief mediator and intercessor.

The Church Universal and Triumphant with Elizabeth Clare Prophet as leader says Jesus is a man with Christ consciousness, one of many men who have achieved that level. Free Masonry says, “We tell the sincere Christian that Jesus was but a man like us.”

Hare Krishna says Jesus is just another guru. The Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that Jesus Christ is the created being, Michael. The Mormons say Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer. Scientology teaches that Christ achieved as a man, “A state of clear but not the highest state of an operating thetan.”

The Local Church, Witness Lee, says Christ was neither God nor man but a mixture. The Way International, led by Victor Paul Wierwille, says Jesus is not God. There are numerous such attacks on the deity of Christ. All false systems have a problem with the unique identity of the deity of Jesus Christ. This is where the battle lines are ultimately drawn in terms of the Christian faith.

These misrepresentations and misconceptions are not new. It even existed in the time of Jesus Christ. The Jews believed in a non-deity Messiah. They believed their Messiah would be a human political military leader. Matthew 22, this day is Monday, the last week of our Lord’s life. Wednesday He will be crucified.

Sunday He will rise from the dead. Previous Saturday, He rode into Jerusalem and was hailed as the Messiah. Sunday, He cleaned the temple out of all the moneychangers and the sellers. It is Monday. Jesus has been acknowledged as the Messiah, the conquering hero who will overthrow the Roman oppression.

The day after they hailed Him as Messiah, instead of overthrowing the Romans, He overthrew the Jewish religious system. They don’t quite know how to fit that in with their messianic expectation. Again, Jesus is back in the temple, which He has cleansed, and He is moving around in the temple teaching.

Jesus is teaching on the kingdom. A large crowd gathers around Him. This makes the religious leaders irritated. Jesus gives them in three parables.

Matthew 21:28-32,"The Parable of Two Sons"

Matthew 21:22-46, "The Wicked Vinedressers"

Matthew 22:1-14, "The Wedding Feast" Three parables of judgment.

They must react to this.

Why? Because this is public. This is in the middle of the temple courtyard with masses of people around. Everybody can hear everything that’s going on.

They understood what He was talking about them.

Matthew 21:45, Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them.

The religious leaders in their anger, fury, rage, their desire to eliminate Jesus. They design a strategy. Their strategy is very simple. While the whole world can hear Him, we are going to get Him to say something that will discredit Him.

We will make Him appear as a revolutionary, as an insurrectionist. Then we are going to report Him to Rome. the Roman government doesn’t like insurrectionists, and they will come down here, get Him, and kill Him. This is their plan.

The three parables are followed by Four questions. Those three questions take us through the rest of chapter 22. Frist question: Matthew 22:13-22 Paying taxes Second question: Matthew 22:23-33 About Resurrection Third question: Matthew 22:34-40 What is the greatest Commandment?

Fourth question: Matthew 22:41-45 David calling his descendant Lord. The Pharisees had asked Him a question with the Herodians. He answered that. The Sadducees, who were their enemies, came, asked Him a question, He answered that. He shut the mouths of the Sadducees, so the Pharisees regrouped and they were discussing that.

They came up with another question. They sent a law expert to ask that question in verses 34 to 40. All their questions have been answered.

• They have really nothing more to say.
• They have no more weapons left.
• Their arsenal is depleted.
• They have been set upon by the genius of His answers.
• They have no recourse.

Now Jesus turns to them. They are still gathered together. No doubt surrounded by all the people with Jesus in the center as the focus of attention. For the last time Jesus confronts them. His confrontation is a twofold.

• It is a proclamation of who He is that indicts their ignorance.
• It is a pronouncement that ultimately reflects upon their judgment.

Jesus says to them you thought Messiah would be a man but I Am telling you Messiah is also God. Your failure to understand that is an indictment, is the cause of your judgment. You have asked Me by what authority I did these things now I Am telling you the authority.

The authority is that I Am more than man, I Am God.

Matthew 21:23, Question was asked.

Matthew 22:41-48, the Answer is given.

By what authority? This is the authority. This is not only judgement upon them but also there is an invitation here because not all the Pharisees were as rigid in their rejection. There must have been some tender-hearted ones. There must have been some sensitive scribes, like that had just asked Him the question.

Jesus did answer him in Mark 12:34, “You are not far from the Kingdom.” How could you be so foolish not to know your own Scriptures? How could you be so foolish to have missed all of this? But it comes also as an invitation to those whose hearts are still open.

As the Pharisees were there gathered, Jesus asked them a question? V 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.”

What is your opinion of the Christ? Now, Jesus is not asking about Himself, it’s indirect. Jesus is asking them for a Messianic identification. You believe in the Messiah, the Christ the officially anointed One, the One they anticipated. Christ is really a New Testament term for Old Testament term Messiah.

What is your opinion about the Messiah, the anointed One, the One you have been waiting for?

Whose Son is He? Whose Son is He? Very simple question, as far as the Jews were concerned. Very easy to answer. It was so easy because they didn’t know the full answer. They thought they knew the answer.

They thought the Messiah was nothing more than a man, human. So, the question appeared to them to be very easy to answer.

What is your opinion of the Messiah?

Whose Son is He? Simple. They never really understood the fullness of what the Messiah’s role would be, and they never understood His identity. They thought His role was political. They thought His identity was human, and Jesus wants to take them to another understanding.

Inadequate answer to the question. V 42, They said to Him, “The Son of David.” David’s son. They hurry to show their knowledge when in fact they show their ignorance. Any Jew would have given that reply. Understandable. This is what all the scribes taught.

Mark 12:35, Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? Jesus says you believe that Messiah is the Son of David because that’s what the scribes teach. That is what they taught. Where did they get that information?

They got it from the Old Testament. 2 Samuel chapter 7, God gives the promise of an eternal Kingdom to David.

2 Samuel 7:12-16, When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. ¹⁵ But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ”

This can’t be Solomon because Solomon’s kingdom didn’t last forever. But there’s coming some seed out of the loins of David, some life in the Davidic line that’s going to have an eternal Kingdom. He will be a Son of David.

The Jewish people knew that it would be David’s Son who would be the One to reign and rule as the anointed, the Christ, the Messiah.

Psalm 89:3-4, “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ⁴ ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah

Psalm 89:20-21, “I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ⁴ ‘Your seed I will establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations.’ ” Selah

Psalm 89:24-27, “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him, And in My name his horn shall be exalted. ²⁵ Also I will set his hand over the sea, And his right hand over the rivers. ²⁶ He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ ²⁷ Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

Psalms 69:34-37, My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips. ³⁵ Once I have sworn by My holiness; I will not lie to David: ³⁶ His seed shall endure forever, And his throne as the sun before Me; ³⁷ It shall be established forever like the moon, Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah

God promised that there would be a Son of David who could come to reign.

Amos 9:11, “On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old;

Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.” David’s son is something very obvious in the Old Testament. Prophet Ezekiel under the inspiration of God looks to the future millennial Kingdom the day when

God and His people will come together and they will be cleansed and there will be a great time of cleansing.

Ezekiel 37:23-28, They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. ²⁴ “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. ²⁵ Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. ²⁶ Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their

midst forevermore. ²⁷ My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ²⁸ The nations also will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.” ’ ”

David My servant here in verse 24 refers to the Messiah. Starting at the time of the millennial Kingdom and sweeping into eternity, David’s greater Son - who even here is called David because of that identification - will rule an everlasting Kingdom.

The Jews, because of those and other passages, knew that the Messiah was to be of the seed of David, of the loins of David.

Matthew 9:27, When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”

Matthew 12:22-23, Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³ And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” Son of David, that is the Messianic title.

The term the Jews used to identify David’s greater Son who would sit on the throne and reign.

Matthew 20:31, Then the multitude warned them that they should be quiet; but they cried out all the more, saying, “Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David!”

The Jews had it straight that the Messiah would come in the lineage of David. Matthew goes to great lengths to present Jesus Christ’s genealogy in chapter 1.

Matthew 1:1, The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: Matthew traces the entire genealogy from Abraham through David, down to Joseph, to Christ. David set in motion a line, which resulted in the birth of Messiah. Messiah came in the Davidic family. Luke in chapter ³ traces it through Mary, Matthew through Joseph, and it comes together to indicate that this is indeed a Son of David, both his father and mother were in the Davidic family. If Jesus had not been then surely a major issue in the New Testament with these leaders. They could have disqualified Jesus instantaneously from being Messiah if they could have proven that He did not have a Davidic genealogy.

They could have eliminated Him very fast. Certainly, they must have checked. The temple the records were kept on the genealogy of everyone. The records were kept so well that everyone knew their genealogy. Only been since the destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. that the Jewish people today no longer know their genealogy because the records have been lost and they were unable to keep track of them.

But those days were different and they couldn’t hold any civic responsibility in the nation unless your genealogy was known. The priests who married would never marry someone whose genealogy they did not know. So, genealogy was very important.

If they could have disqualified Jesus on a non-Davidic line, they would have done it. The fact that they didn’t and never brought it up indicates that in fact He was from the line of David. Therefore, Jesus was qualified humanly to be the King of Israel. If they had had a monarchy in those days, He would have been the king.

But their answer was inadequate. It fell short of the full answer.

Who do you think you are? Why do you let the people call you Son of David? That great Messianic title is too great a title for you. Jesus is saying no, it’s too a small a title for me. Just the opposite. David had many descendants thousands of them.

How was one to be distinguished out from all of them? How was one to be distinguished above Solomon or above Hezekiah or above Joseph, the father of our Lord? If we study the scriptures and look out for a son of David then we would have huge problem choosing from thousands of them.

Where do we find the answer? Davidic descent is only one mark and there must be another one.

Where are we going to find it? The first place we ought to be Scriptures. Exactly that’s where the Lord goes. The Lord responds to their inadequate answer by presenting them something that is infinite, incomprehensible, and true.

V 43, He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: How then does David in the Spirit call the Messiah Lord? If He is the Son of David, how is it that David calls Him Lord? The word “Lord” kurios, common word in the Greek, used numerous times in the New Testament for deity, it’s the title of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every time He’s called Lord, it’s kurios. In the Old Testament we find for Lord is Adonai. Adonai is used all throughout the Old Testament as a title for God.

Genesis 15:1-2, After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” ² But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

Deuteronomy 10:17, For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. Yahweh and Adonai, it is a title of deity.

Psalm 35:23, Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication, To my cause, my God and my Lord.

Psalm 38:15, For in You, O Lord, I hope; You will hear, O Lord my God.

Malachi 1:6, “A son honours his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honour? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ God, deity is called Lord, Adonai. Jesus says if Messiah is only David’s son, human. How is it, then, that David calls Him Lord God?

Deity?

Divine? That’s an important issue. Maybe David made a mistake. Maybe he was acting independently. Maybe that was his opinion.” No. Maybe it wasn’t David at all that said that, we just think it was.” No. V 43, He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:

When David called the Messiah Lord, he was in the Spirit. The same Greek phrase used in Revelation 1:10, and Revelation 4:2.

Revelation 1:10 talks about John being in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. It means to be under the control of the Spirit.

Mark 12:36, For David himself said by the Holy Spirit: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’ Jesus is not talking about the human spirit but Holy Spirit.

When David said that he was inspired by the Holy Spirit. David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, calls the Messiah Lord.

Where did David do that? In V44, the Lord gives the Scripture, and He quotes directly from Psalm 110:1, The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” “The Lord” - Yahweh - “said unto my Lord” - Adonai - and we have got two Lords.

Lord number one talking to Lord number two. In the Old Testament,

• God is called Yahweh,
• God is called Elohim,
• God is called Adonai

Here, that God, that Yahweh God says to David’s Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” Jesus used Psalm 110:1 for a lot of reasons but mostly because they all believed that Psalm 110 was a Messianic Psalm.

The Jews believe that this is a Messianic Psalm. Psalm 110 is the most often-quoted Psalm in the New Testament. It is quoted by

• Matthew,
• Mark,
• Luke,
• Peter,
• Paul,
• The writer of Hebrews.

All three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, this Psalm is attributed to David by Jesus. Anybody who wants to knock out the deity of Christ, got to deal with this verse. This has When the Lord says David calls the Messiah Lord in this Psalm, the Lord is therefore interpreting this Psalm for us, and He is telling us three things.

• a. Affirmation of Palam 110.

Jesus is saying that the Psalm is Messianic because David is talking about Messiah. That’s the whole point of the conversation.

What do you think of the anointed one?

Whose Son is He? They said, “David’s.”

Then why does David call Him Lord? Jesus is saying Psalm 110 is speaking of Messiah because when David says the Lord said to my Lord, his phrase my Lord is Messianic. So, Jesus is affirming the Messianic character of Psalm 110.

• b. Affirmation of David authorship.

Jesus is affirming Davidic authorship. Jesus is saying David said it. We don’t see David’s name in Psalm 110, Jesus tells you David wrote it. That is the tradition of the Jews. Before Jesus’ time, they assigned it to David. That’s why it has that little indication at the heading that it was written by David, it is a Psalm of David. But Jesus affirms it.

• c. Jesus affirms the deity of Messiah.

When Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1, He affirms the deity of Messiah. Some try to deny prophecy, the reason because they don’t believe the Bible’s supernatural and it can predict the future. So, they just make it a historical document, they deny its Messianic purpose.

The critics deny Davidic authorship. They say language was not that developed. David couldn’t have written in his time. In his time, language was too underdeveloped to give the expressions that are given in Psalm 110, plus the priest/king situation would have been unfamiliar to David.

They try to deny is the deity of Jesus Christ.

• Jesus said David wrote it under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration.
• Jesus said David wrote it under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration to speak about the Messiah.
• Jesus said he wrote it under the Holy Spirit’s inspiration to speak about the Messiah to tell us the Messiah’s God.

What did God say to David’s Lord? V 44, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? God Himself, the Yahweh of Israel, the Creator of the universe, the God of very gods has designated a position of rank for the Messiah that brings Him to His own right hand and puts Him in co-equal place of power and authority with Himself, virtually declaring His deity, “Sit on my right hand.”

The writer of Hebrews says that God has lifted Christ and placed Him at His right hand. Equal glory promised the Messiah because He is equal deity.

Hebrews 1:13, But to which of the angels has He ever said: “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”? “You be sitting,” present imperative, continuous, take a continuous place of exaltation on the right hand of God in Greek.

The right hand of God is the symbol of authority, and as the right hand of a man normally is the strength and the power and the dexterity of the man. The right hand of God is the place of power, authority, and might. Christ is put at the right hand of God, a place of equality, a place of expression of authority, of expression of power.

Authority and power is invincible because it also says in Psalm 110:1, “Until I make Your enemies Your footstool” I will subjugate everything under You. There may be detractors, there may be Christ-deniers, there may be enemies of the Kingdom, but ultimately, I will take all those enemies become your footstool.

Old oriental idea where the king puts his heel on the neck of the defeated enemy.

Joshua 10:24, So it was, when they brought out those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, “Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings.” And they drew near and put their feet on their necks.

It was the sign of the defeated enemy. God says to David’s Lord - the Messiah – I Am going to bring you to a place of equality with Me, a place where You express My power and My authority and it will be invincible. All those who fight against you will be brought under the heel to show they are vanquished. Christ will subjugate all His detractors, all His rejecters, all those who deny Him.

When we read about the Kingdom of our Lord and the Kingdom of Christ which He rules, according to Psalm 2, with a rod of iron, in which He crushes all of His enemies. This indeed is supported in many Scriptures. Son of David is not enough, that’s the point.

Son of David is inadequate. Son of God must be added. V 45-46, 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. They couldn’t answer it.

These were the religious leaders. This is the brain trust of Judaism. They couldn’t answer Him because they would not acknowledge what was clear out of that passage and that was that He had to be God as well as man. How can He be Son of David and David’s Lord at the same time?

He would have to be God and Man.

How could they know the Scripture, Psalm 110? The Lord said to my Lord. David acknowledged that. The Messiah was his Lord as well as his offspring. He is just talking about the Messiah sort of out here.

Where does it connect up with Him? They knew He was the Son of David. They would have surely would have checked the genealogy on that. Did they have enough evidence to know He was also the Son of God? They did.

They had more than enough. Jesus did so many things to prove He was the Son of God. They had to fight the obvious to conclude anything other than that.

John 20:30-31, And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. All the healings, all the miracles, all the raising of the dead, all the incredible words that He spoke, the teaching that He gave, supernatural knowledge, all of that was to demonstrate that He was Son of God.

They could see He was Son of David, genealogy proved that. They could also see that He was Son of God, His manifest miraculous, supernatural nature proved that. Instead of them standing there dumbfounded, somebody should have said, “Messiah is then man and God, we see in you the Davidic line and the deity.”

But they didn’t say anything. The great heart of Christianity that Jesus Christ is the God-Man. The Scripture is so abundantly clear.

Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” How can you be the source of David and the offspring of David? Same thing. He is David’s Son, He is David’s Lord, the God-Man.

Luke 2:52, And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men. Every bit human, every bit the Son of David.

• He knew pain.
• He knew thirst.
• He knew hunger.
• He knew weariness.
• He knew sleep.
• He knew pleasure.
• He knew even the experience of death.
• He made a whip,
• He drove men out of the temple.
• He was no phantom.

• He could be spit on.
• His beard could be plucked.
• He could be crowned with a crown of thorns.
• He could be nailed to a cross, a spear driven into His side.
• He was human. He is called in the Bible Son of Man, the man Christ Jesus, man of sorrows.
• He possessed flesh and blood.
• He could be touched.
• He could be embraced.
• His feet could be kissed and washed.
• He had a soul and spirit, that human part of us.

Matthew 26:38, Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.”

John 13:21, When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” He was in every point tempted like as we are. He was Son of David, He was a man. He was as we are.

But He was also God. He shared with God the attributes of omnipotence. He is the Creator.

• He is the commander of the elements, as we see in His life.
• He is the controller of all the creatures.
• He is the provider of food.
• He is the healer.
• He is the raiser of the dead.
• He is the forgiver of sin.
• He is the judge.
• He has the attribute of Omnipresence.

In Matthew 18:20, He said that He was able to be everywhere at all times if He so desired to be.

• He is omniscient.
• He knew things that people were thinking.
• He knew them before they ever said them or never said them.
• He showed that He never changed.
• He demonstrated in His life that He, like God, is holy and true and wise and sovereign and loving and eternal and glorious.

When people worshiped Him, He accepted it! He asked to be prayed to.

He asked to be believed on for salvation. He carried the same names as God carries, rock, stone, Saviour, Redeemer, Holy One, Lord of hosts, King, first and last, Light, Lawgiver, and on it goes. Whenever the writers of the New Testament present Christ, they present Him as Son of David, Son of God.

Romans 1:3-5, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, ⁴ and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.

2 Timothy 2:8, Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel,

The gospel says He was born of the seed of David, that’s His humanness. He was risen from the dead, that’s His deity. The God-man is the only way to perceive Jesus Christ accurately, the two natures of Christ indivisibly fused in the God-man.

This is the theme of so many elements of Scripture. Philippians 2, where He humbles Himself, thought it not something to hold onto to be equal with God, but abandoned that to become a man, humble Himself, obedient to death. God highly exalted Him, giving Him a name above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.

Yes, Jesus is Son of David. Yes, Jesus is David’s Lord. What did they say when they saw Him in John 1? Yes, He was a man. He came into the world as a man. He was one of us and yet we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. They saw God as much as they saw man.

This is the only way to perceive Christ! You must believe He was God.

• If God became a man, we would expect His human life to be sinless - Jesus’ was.
• If God were to become a man, we would expect Him to be a model of purity - Jesus was.
• If God were a man, we would expect His words to be the greatest ever spoken - Jesus’ words were.
• If God were to become a man, we would expect Him to exert a profound power over human personality - Jesus did.

• If God were to become a man, we would expect some supernatural acts - and Jesus did them.
• If God were to become a man, we would expect Him to manifest the love of God - and Jesus did in dying on the cross.

Jesus is God, David’s Son, David’s Lord. If they had had open hearts, they could have seen. If they had asked the right question, if the Messiah is Son of David, Son of God, are you that Messiah? They should have put two and two together.

But their stubborn unbelief left them!

Conclusion

V 46, And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore. Jesus shut the mouths of the critics! He silenced those who wanted to ask Him questions to trap Him.

Mark 12:37, Therefore David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?” And the common people heard Him gladly.

The common people heard Him gladly. The common people wanted to hear more. But the common people tend to follow whatever the trend is, and a couple of days later they were screaming for His blood. They wanted to hear more because they were still thinking He would be the political military leader.

They weren’t quite turned off yet. But when it came that He never did overthrow Rome, they could be turned into those who cried for His blood. But the leaders, they just shut their mouths. All their best-planned wisdom, all their genius, they asked questions, they got answers - profound.

They asked and the question Jesus asked here, you could give that to a person and it would be enough to tell them who Christ was without equivocation. They rejected all that. They would not be intimidated. They would not be embarrassed.

They would not be humiliated by this uneducated young Nazarene. They refused.

They were helpless in front of Him. He dumbfounded them. But they never got the message. They refused to believe. Self-righteous religion that is so damning to people. People get caught in these religions that deny the deity of Christ and they are so damning.

They don’t want to hear the truth. How many times have we been brought into a discussion with somebody on the deity of Jesus Christ? It’s constantly there. With all the evidence, this inappropriate response, they say nothing, stop the questions.

What is your response?

Matthew 26:63-65, But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, “I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! So, some took that approach. Some just silently walked away. Few believed.

What’s your response? Think about the Samaritan woman. She was the first-person Jesus revealed His Messiahship to. John 4. She was looking for Christ. He told her He was the Christ. She was saved. Do you know today there are between 400 and 500 Samaritans?

They are up on Mount Gerizim still regularly waiting for the Messiah. They are waiting for the Messiah. They don’t believe He ever came. He revealed Himself first to them. Historically, they have never believed. How sad.

What is your response? Jesus Christ.

Yes, Son of David. Yes, Son of God. The God-man came into the world as man to die for man, as God to have victory over death and sin and hell. The perfect Saviour.