It is good to be with you and use this time together to open God’s Word and learn from it. It is good for us to think about it. Today’s passage from Mark is one of them. In the last few lessons, Jesus was being questioned by the Jewish leaders; now He responds with His own question. It is worth your time to think about His question and what He is saying about Himself. For me, it didn’t make sense the first time I read this passage.

Our lesson is titled, who is Jesus? And we will look at three verses from Mark 12. Please listen carefully as J Mark helps us understand what Jesus means with His question.

In this final week of Jesus’ earthly life, the Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and scribes had all taken their turn trying to draw Him into a debate that would let them find fault in Him. They failed miserably. His victory was not just resounding, but it was a demonstration of His divine authority and power, and now He is about to dust off the spot where they stood.

Jesus turned from being the one questioned to being the questioner. He subjected them to His profound theological questions. 

Let’s turn to our text. It is very brief, with just three verses: Mark 12:35-37.

 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?

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.”’

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

In this text, Jesus poses profound QUESTIONS that illuminate His identity and engage us in a thought-provoking exploration.

The First Question is

How is Christ David’s Son?

The common belief of the time was that the Messiah would be a man of unparalleled influence and power. He would free the nation from Roman rule and fulfill the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Jewish people viewed the Messiah as the savior of the nation, not of individual souls. They did not (and still do not) believe that Messiah would be God in human flesh. That claim ultimately led to His death. 

Jesus’ first question is, “How is it that the scribes say that Christ is the Son of David?” This understanding was common among Israel’s scholars, theologians, and rabbis. The coming Messiah would be the descendant of David. Most people in Jesus’ audience were familiar with the many Old Testament texts that taught this. This connection is crucial as it fulfills the prophecy of a Messiah from the line of David.

In Matthew’s account of the Magi, they came to Herod wondering where they could find the King of the Jews. They had seen His star in the East and had traveled a long way to worship Him. Herod didn’t know the answer to their question, so he gathered all the scribes and chief priests and asked them where this king would be born.

Their answer was, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” They quoted Micah 5:2.

In Luke’s record of Jesus’ birth, he tells us, “Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.”

The Gospel writers record the shouts of the people during Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem in the final week of His earthly life. “Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” Hosanna means, “save now.” These few examples clearly show how the people not only understood but also proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of David.

If we look back through the pages of the Old Testament, we learn about David’s reign, which the Jews considered to be the golden age of Israel. He was Israel’s most illustrious king. He extended the nation’s boundaries from Dan to Beersheba. He was the most significant military genius in Israel’s history. He was a shepherd, a poet, and a brilliant administrator.

When David had conquered all his enemies and lived in peace, he expressed his desire to build a dwelling place for God. Nathan the prophet said, “Do all that is in your heart because the Lord is with you.” However, later that night, the Lord gave Nathan a different message for David.

He said, “When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you (Solomon), who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son…And your house and kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.” The sovereign God, Yahweh, promised David a forever king on his forever throne. 

After David’s reign, Solomon enlarged the kingdom farther, but after his death it was divided.  From that time on, people longed for the golden years under David. God promised them that the house of David would be restored and the monarchy promised to David would last forever. Generation after generation, the Jewish people eagerly anticipated the coming Messiah, the Son of David, one of David’s descendants, fostering a sense of hope and expectation.

Since everyone understood that Christ would be a descendant of David, why did Jesus ask this question? He did it to highlight the difficulty in reconciling the answer to the first question with the answer to His next question.

The Next Question is

How is Christ David’s Lord?

In answer to His question, Jesus poses a complex problem. Jesus said, “David himself said by the Holy Spirit.” David was the musician and literary giant of antiquity. Yet, when Jesus quoted from Psalm 110, He said that David wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 110 is the New Testament’s most frequently quoted Old Testament text. Only seven verses long, it is alluded to or cited 33 times. That tells me the New Testament writers understood the gravity of this text in understanding the person and work of Jesus.

David said, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” That means the Messiah must be more than an extraordinary human being because David refers to Him as Lord.

God revealed Himself to Moses at the burning bush as Yahweh in Exodus 3. Yahweh is God’s name, not His title. The supreme title given to God, translated as “Lord,” is Adonai, which means “the One who is absolutely sovereign.” So, in Psalm 8, we read, “O Yahweh, our Sovereign, how excellent is Your name in all the earth.”

The rendering with the first capitalized letter is given as Adonai. We could paraphrase this: “Jehovah said to my Adonai, or Sovereign, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” So, we must ask, “Who is David’s Adonai?”

God is conversing with Himself. He speaks to somebody else, identified in Psalm 110 as David’s Lord. Jesus asked these scholars: “What do you think of this text? What is the Holy Spirit saying? What is it that the Lord said to David’s Lord? ‘Sit at My right hand.’”

“Sit at My right hand” means, “Be seated in the highest place of authority in the universe according to My delegation.” This elevation to the Father’s right hand symbolizes that Jesus is coequal with the Father in rank and authority and affirms His deity. This is the missing part of the Jewish concept of Messiah. The fact that the Messiah is entirely man yet fully God cannot be understood by intellect alone; it must be embraced by faith. 

This Messiah, who was prophesied to come, would finish His work in the world and then be exalted into heaven and enthroned at the right hand of God. He suffered under Pontius Pilate and was crucified, dead, and buried. He was resurrected and ascended into heaven, where He now sits on the right hand of God.

Further, God said to His Son, sit at my right hand UNTIL I make your enemies your footrest. We are currently in this “until” time. Paul confirms this total subjugation of Jesus’ enemies in 1 Corinthians 15:24-26. “Then comes the end, when he [Jesus] delivers the kingdom to God the Father; when he puts an end to all rule, authority, and power, for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” So, Jesus will ultimately triumph over all other powers.

The author of the Book of Hebrews places great significance on the supremacy of Jesus when he writes in 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’”?

However, if David called the Messiah Lord, how could the Messiah be his son?

The Messiah will be the Son of David, but in Jewish categories, the Son is always subordinate to his Father. The son is never more significant than the father. So, you would expect that as marvelous as the Messiah might be, if He was David’s son, He could not be greater than David. But David himself, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, calls his son his Lord. Jesus is not simply the son of David; He is David’s Sovereign. He is David’s Adonai. He is David’s King, before whom even David must bow. Therefore, David himself calls Him “Lord.”

Our text ends with a detail that is noted only by Mark. “The common people heard Him gladly.” The ordinary people’s embrace of Jesus further enraged the religious leaders. The Sanhedrin began its formal attack that morning to destroy Jesus’ influence, but it failed. The crowds were drawn closer to him than ever before.

What do you say about Jesus? Who is He to you? Have you accepted Him as Savior and Lord? Either you will confess Him now, voluntarily, or you will confess Him at the judgment, involuntarily. The choice is yours! 

Again, I was amazed by the Bible. This book is simply incredible. Thanks, J Mark, for sharing this teaching. Jesus asked this question to help them see who He really is. May we be like the people and “hear Him gladly”. Not like the Jewish leaders who had rejected Jesus, and nothing he said or did could change their minds, even when he clearly pointed out who He is. J. Mark’s questions at the end were very fitting; a lesson like this must be personal. Here are his questions again. What do you say about Jesus? Who is He to you? Have you accepted Him as Savior and Lord? 

We’d love to hear your thoughts or questions from this lesson. To contact us, please email us. Our email address is [email protected], and our website is heraldsofhope.org.

Thanks so much for joining us today. Remember when Jesus asked His disciples Who do men say that I am? They discussed it, and then He asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter’s answer is spot on: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” How about you? What is your answer to His question?