THOUGHTS FROM MATTHEW

July 29

Text: Matthew 22:41-46

Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, "What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?" They *said to Him, "The son of David." He *said to them, "Then how does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying, 'THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, "SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT THINE ENEMIES BENEATH THY FEET”? If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. (NASB)

Jesus took the offensive!  Instead of answering questions, he asked the Pharisees two related questions.  To us, Jesus’ questions dealt with Jewish realities concerning the Christ we rarely think about and do not particularly find interesting.  To those who received the questions, it quickly said, “You do not know as much as you think you do!  You are not as smart as you think you are!”

Jesus had come to the big city and the experts!  He might wow the country people, but he was no match for them.  But the simpleton for whom they had no respect revealed their ignorance.  Sometimes the only way to silence critics is to reveal their ignorance.  People protect their arrogance at any costs!

We miss the powerful point if we do not understand a then longstanding reality.  (1) An inferior called a superior “lord.”  (2) A king called no human—certainly not a son—lord.

First question: Jesus, “From whom does the Christ descend?”  Pharisees, “He descends from King David.”  Second question: Jesus, “Why did King David call his descendant “Lord” in Psalm 110?”  The Pharisees did not even attempt to answer Jesus’ question.

The question was unanswerable without one insight: the Christ would be divine as well as human.  The Pharisees did not have that insight.  Therefore, to them the question was unanswerable.  Such simply could not happen if the Messiah was merely the physical descendant of David and nothing more.

After Jesus’ answers and the unanswerable question, questioning ended.  Questions—no matter who asked them—were not the way to discredit Jesus.  All that happened was his credibility increased.

Suggestion for reflection: What question would you ask Jesus?  (Read 1 Corinthians 3:16-23.)

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