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Whose Son Is the Messiah?
Jesus asks a question about the Christ that starts with a familiar title, “son of David”, and then presses further. By quoting David’s words, he shows that the Christ cannot be understood by ancestry alone.
Understanding the passage
Understanding the passage
In these verses, Jesus speaks while others are present and answers a common way of speaking about the Christ. Matthew places the exchange with the Pharisees, Mark says Jesus taught in the temple and mentions the scribes, and Luke points to what “they say” about David’s son.
Matthew 22:41–46; Mark 12:35–37; Luke 20:41–44Main takeaway
This passage teaches that the Christ is called David’s son, yet David also calls him Lord, so Jesus makes his hearers think more carefully about who the Christ is.
Explore the teaching
Open a card to explore the full explanation and its Bible references.
01Jesus begins with a shared beliefJesus starts with a direct question about the Christ: “Whose son is he?” In Matthew, the answer comes straight away: “Of David.”
Explanation
Jesus starts with a direct question about the Christ: “Whose son is he?” In Matthew, the answer comes straight away: “Of David.” Mark and Luke show that this was a known teaching, spoken by scribes or by others generally. The passage begins with something his hearers already recognise.
02Jesus brings in David’s own wordsJesus then quotes David’s words about “my Lord”. Matthew says David spoke “in the Spirit”, Mark says “in the Holy Spirit”, and Luke says this comes from “the book of Psalms”.
Explanation
Jesus then quotes David’s words about “my Lord”. Matthew says David spoke “in the Spirit”, Mark says “in the Holy Spirit”, and Luke says this comes from “the book of Psalms”. The quoted line says, “The Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand,” and continues with words about enemies becoming a footstool.
03The key puzzle is the word “Lord”Jesus does not deny that the Christ is David’s son. Instead, he asks how David can call him “Lord” if he is David’s son.
Explanation
Jesus does not deny that the Christ is David’s son. Instead, he asks how David can call him “Lord” if he is David’s son. The force of the question is in David’s own language. Jesus invites his listeners to see that the Christ is greater than a merely family description suggests.
04The hearers are left without an answerMatthew says no one was able to answer Jesus, and after this they did not dare ask more questions.
Explanation
Matthew says no one was able to answer Jesus, and after this they did not dare ask more questions. Mark adds that the common people heard him gladly. Luke ends with the question itself, leaving its weight on the listener. The passage closes with silence from opponents and a favourable response from the crowd in Mark.
Read the accounts alongside one another
Keep each reading’s setting and wording in view.
Scroll across to compare the readings.
Questions to explore
Pause, look back at the verses and talk together.
01What answer do the hearers give when Jesus asks whose son the Christ is?
Look for the direct reply in Matthew, then notice that Mark and Luke present the same idea as a recognised teaching about the Christ.
02What words from David does Jesus use to deepen the question?
Read the quotation carefully and notice who is speaking, who is called “my Lord”, and where that Lord is invited to sit.
03How do the different Gospel accounts describe the response to Jesus’ question?
Compare Matthew’s note about silence with Mark’s note about the crowd, and observe that Luke leaves the question hanging for the reader to consider.
Read the Bible passages
World English Bible ClassicScripture quotation · Public domain
Matthew 22:41–46
41Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question,
42saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”
43He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
44‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet’?
45“If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
46No one was able to answer him a word, neither did any man dare ask him any more questions from that day forward.
Mark 12:35–37
35Jesus responded, as he taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?
36For David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” ’
37Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” The common people heard him gladly.
Luke 20:41–44
41He said to them, “Why do they say that the Christ is David’s son?
42David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
43until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.” ’
44“David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”