Jesus was the son of david

JESUS WAS THE SON OF DAVID
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Mark 12:35-44 New International Version(NIV)
WhoseSon Is the Messiah? 35 WhileJesus was
teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the
teachers of the law say that the Messiahis the son of
David?
Question:"What does it mean that Jesus is the son of David?"
Answer: Seventeenverses in the New Testamentdescribe Jesus as the “sonof
David.” But the question arises, how could Jesus be the son of David if David
lived approximately 1,000 years before Jesus?The answeris that Christ (the
Messiah)was the fulfillment of the prophecy of the seedof David (2 Samuel
7:12–16). Jesusis the promised Messiah, whichmeans He had to be of the
lineage of David. Matthew 1 gives the genealogicalproofthat Jesus, in His
humanity, was a direct descendantof Abraham and David through Joseph,
Jesus’legalfather. The genealogyin Luke 3 traces Jesus’lineage through His
mother, Mary. Jesus is a descendantof David by adoption through Joseph
and by blood through Mary. “As to his earthly life [Christ Jesus]was a
descendantof David” (Romans 1:3).
Primarily, the title “Son of David” is more than a statementof physical
genealogy. Itis a Messianic title. When people referred to Jesus as the Sonof

David, they meant that He was the long-awaitedDeliverer, the fulfillment of
the Old Testamentprophecies.
Jesus was addressedas “Lord, thou son of David” severaltimes by people
who, by faith, were seeking mercyor healing. The woman whose daughter was
being tormented by a demon (Matthew 15:22) and the two blind men by the
wayside (Matthew 20:30) all cried out to the Son of David for help. The titles
of honor they gave Him declared their faith in Him. Calling Him “Lord”
expressedtheir sense ofHis deity, dominion, and power, and calling Him “Son
of David,” expressedtheir faith that He was the Messiah.
The Pharisees understoodexactlywhat the people meant when they called
Jesus “Sonof David.” But, unlike those who cried out in faith, the Pharisees
were so blinded by their ownpride that they couldn’t see whatthe blind
beggars couldsee—thathere was the Messiahthey had supposedly been
waiting for all their lives. They hated Jesus becauseHe wouldn’t give them the
honor they thought they deserved, so when they heard the people hailing Jesus
as the Savior, they became enraged(Matthew 21:15) and plotted to destroy
Him (Luke 19:47).
Jesus further confounded the scribes and Pharisees by asking them to explain
the meaning of this very title: how could it be that the Messiah is the son of
David when David himself refers to Him as “my Lord” (Mark 12:35–37;cf.
Psalm110:1)? The teachers ofthe Law couldn’t answerthe question. Jesus
thereby exposedthe Jewishleaders’ineptitude as teachers and their
ignorance of what the Old Testamenttaught as to the true nature of the
Messiah, further alienating them from Him.
Jesus’point in asking the question of Mark 12:35 was that the Messiahis
more than the physical sonof David. If He is David’s Lord, He must be

greaterthan David. As Jesus says in Revelation22:16, “Iam the Rootand the
Offspring of David.” That is, He is both the Creatorof David and the
DescendantofDavid. Only the Son of God made flesh could say that.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
GreatDavid's GreaterSon,
Mark 12:35-37
A.F. Muir
I. UNSPIRITUAL INTERPRETERSOF SCRIPTUREARE INVOLVED IN
INCONSISTENCYAND SELF-CONTRADICTION,
1. In the presentinstance they proved to be so with respectto the most
important truths. It is only the spiritual mind that canharmonize the
apparent discrepancies ofrevelation (1 Corinthians 2:14; cf. Hebrews 5:12,
seq.).
2. This results in their cure loss and injury (1 Peter3:16). They failed to
recognize the Messiahwhenhe did come, because oftheir false conceptions of
what he was.
II. THE GLORY OF THE MESSIAH IS SEEKFROM PROPHETIC
SCRIPTURE TO BE MORE THAN ROYAL -TO BE, IN FACT, DIVINE.
The hundred and tenth psalm is rightly called"a psalm of David." Merely to
apply it to David is to destroy its Messianic character. "The psalm is not only
quoted by our Lord as Messianic in the passagesalreadyreferredto (viz. this
and Matthew 22:41-46);it is more frequently cited by the New Testament
writers than any other single portion of the ancientScriptures. (Comp.,

besides these passagesin the Gospels, Acts 2:34, 35; 1 Corinthians 15:25;
Hebrews 1:13; Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 7:17, 21; Hebrews 10:13.)In later
Jewishwritings, in the Talmud and the rabbis, nearly every verse of the psalm
is quoted as referring to the Messiah" (Perowne). The majority of ancient
Jewishintereters apply the psalm to the Messiah(Strauss, 'Leben Jesu,'2:6,
79). If, then, it is David's own composition, and is Messianic, the language
used with respectto the Royal One who is to come is only to be explained as
involving divinity: "Jehovahsaid to my Lord."
III. IN APPLYING THE PSALM TO HIMSELF, CHRIST SUGGESTED
THE TRUE SOLUTION OF THE APPARENT CONTRADICTION. The
psalm is deliberately and by implication adopted by Christ. He testifies to the
Divine inspiration of its author. His own personand work are the keyto its
meaning. As he was Sonof David on the human side, so was he David's Lord
by virtue of his Divine Sonship. - M.
E. Johnson
Mark 12:35-37
And Jesus answeredand said, while he taught in the temple, How say the
scribes that Christ is the sonof David?…
I. David's prophetic spirit. "He was moved by the spirit of truth when he
foretold that his son would rule over all, and when he ownedhim as Lord."
The psalm had originally another bearing. But as all true poesy"smacks of
something greaterthan it seems," and has deeper meanings than meet the eye,
so did the words of the psalmist reachforth into remoter times and higher
relations.

II. Christ's identification. "He declaredthat he was the Son of David, and that
his priesthoodand kingdom were universal and everlasting." - J.
The Counter-Questionof Our Lord
J.J. Given
Mark 12:35-37
And Jesus answeredand said, while he taught in the temple, How say the
scribes that Christ is the sonof David?…
I. QUESTION OF OUR LORD IN TURN. Our Lord had by this time been
asked, and had triumphantly answered, the most perplexing, difficult, and
delicate questions that the ingenuity of man could devise. His adversaries had
been signally confuted, and coveredwith shame. These questions were five in
all One concernedhis authority; another was political, about the tribute
money; the third was doctrinal, about the resurrection; the fourth speculative,
about the greatestcommandment; and the fifth disciplinary, about the
adulteress. By his more than masterly reply to the first, he defeatedthe
Sanhedrim: by his reply to the second, he surprised and silencedthe Pharisees
and Herodians; by his answerto the third, he confuted, if he did not convince,
the scepticalSadducees;by his reply to the fourth, he satisfiedthe Pharisaic
scribe, learned in the Law; by his answerto the fifth, he settled, if not to the
satisfactionofscribes and Pharisees, atleastto their shame, the question of
discipline. It is now time that, having passedthis ordeal, he should retaliate.
II. OBJECT OF HIS COUNTER-QUESTION. OurLord's designwas not so
much to show them their ignorance, and overwhelm them with confusion, as
to instruct them with respectto the true characterand personof the Christ.

Their low views were to be elevated, their carnalnotions were to be
spiritualized, their blind eyes were to be enlightened. Their idea of the person
of Messiahwas that he would be just a man like themselves;of his position,
that he would be a powerful temporal king; and of his reign, that it would
extend over a greatearthly kingdom. By his question he let light in upon their
dark minds in reference to all these subjects. With the Scriptures in their
hands, and all their trifling about the minute things concerning the letter, they
had no right spiritual apprehension of their long-desiredand much-respected
Messiah. His question proves to them that Messiahwas not only human, but
Divine; not only David's Son, but David's Lord; that before his exaltation he
must suffer humiliation. They expecteda triumphant Messiah, but were not
prepared for his lowly condition as a sufferer; they overleapedthe cross,
expecting all at once and from the first the crown. Crucifixion before
glorificationwas what they could not understand; a spiritual kingdom of
righteousness andpeace and joy they would not understand, "their wish being
fat to their thoughts."
III. PRACTICAL USE OF THE QUESTION. "Whatthink ye of Christ?"
was his ques as recordedby St. Matthew. We repeatto ourselves and others
the same que: - What think we - "What think ye of Christ?" What think ye of
his life - that less life, that surprising life, that life which believer and
unbeliever alike so admire, and even rival eachother in lauding and extolling?
What think ye of events of that life - its purity and yet its suffering, its power
and yet its sorrows?Whatthink ye of his death - so wonderful in many ways,
so singular in all its asp and so efficacious in all respects? Whatthink ye of his
resurrection? Are ye risen with him, to seek the things above? Do ye look to
him as the firstfruits of a glorious harvest? and are ye seeking a part in the
resurrectionof the just? What think ye of his ascension? Are ye satisfiedthat
he has ascendedup on high, leading captl captive, and having receivedgifts,
even for rebellious men? And have ye shared in t gifts? What think ye of his
intercession? Do ye feel that he is interceding for and are ye glad - right glad -
of having an Advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous? By
your answers to such questions ye may judge your state, entertain, we trust,
"goodhope through grace." - J.J.G.

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(35) While he taught in the temple.—The locality is named by St. Mark only,
but it is all but implied in the other two Gospels.
BensonCommentary
Mark 12:35-37. See the note on Matthew 22:41-46, where this paragraph is
explained. And the common people heard him gladly — They heard him with
greatattention and pleasure;for the clearand solid answers which he
returned to the insnaring questions of his foes, gave them a high opinion of his
wisdom, and showedthem how far he was superior to their most renowned
rabbis; whose arguments to prove their opinions, and answers to the
objections that were raised againstthem, were, generallyspeaking, but mean
and trifling in comparisonof his. Besides, the common people were neither so
much prejudiced in behalf of the commonly receivedopinions, nor so much
interested, as the scribes or other teachers.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
12:35-40 When we attend to what the Scriptures declare, as to the personand
offices of Christ, we shall be led to confess him as our Lord and God; to obey
him as our exaltedRedeemer. If the common people hear these things gladly,
while the learned and distinguished oppose, the former are happy, and the
latter to be pitied. And as sin, disguised with a show of piety, is double
iniquity, so its doom will be doubly heavy.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
See the notes at Matthew 22:41-46.

Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
35. And Jesus answeredandsaid, while he taught in the temple—and "while
the Phariseeswere gatheredtogether" (Mt22:41).
How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?—How come they to give it
out that Messiahis to be the sonof David? In Matthew (Mt 22:42), Jesus asks
them, "Whatthink ye of Christ?" or of the promised and expectedMessiah?
"Whose sonis He [to be]? They sayunto Him, The sonof David." The sense is
the same. "He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call Him
Lord?" (Mt 22:42, 43).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Ver. 35-37. See Poole on"Matthew 22:41", andfollowing verses to Matthew
22:46. Matthew saith that Christ spake this to the Pharisees, who were very
far from acknowledging ChristGod man, or indeed expecting a Messiahthat
should be so. Had they ownedChrist, and the hypostaticalunion of the two
natures in him, the answerhad been easy.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And Jesus answeredand said,.... To the Phariseesthat were gatheredtogether
about him; See Gill on Matthew 22:41.
While he taught in the temple; Whilst he was in the temple, and as he was
teaching the people there; among other things in his doctrine, he put this
question,
how saythe Scribes, that Christ is the sonof David? Not that Christ meant to
deny or invalidate the truth of this; for the Messiahwas certainlyto be the son
of David, and was;but he wanted to know, inasmuch as they commonly said,
and instructed the people to believe, and it was in generalbelieved by them,
that he was David's son, how they could reconcile this to his being the Lord of
David: or how they could give out, that he was only and merely the Son of
David, when he was David's Lord. Matthew relates the matter thus; that
Christ first put these questions to them, what they thought of the Messiah, and

whose sonhe was;and that they immediately replied, he was the son of David:
wherefore this question seems to be put upon that, with another along with it,
how then doth David in spirit callhim Lord? See Gill on Matthew 22:42,
Matthew 22:43.
Geneva Study Bible
{5} And Jesus answeredand said, while he taught in the temple, How saythe
scribes that Christ is the Sonof David?
(5) Christ proves his Godheadeven out of David himself, from whom he came
according to the flesh.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Mark 12:35-37. See onMatthew 22:41-46. Comp. Luke 20:41-44.
Mark is distinguished from Matthew in this respect, that the latter represents
Jesus as laying the theologicalproblem before the assembledPharisees,and
then relates that they were thereby brought to silence, so that they put no
further questions to Him; whereas Mark relates thatthe conversationas to
the most important commandment had had this result, and thereafter Jesus
had thrown out before the people, while He was teaching (Mark 12:37;Mark
12:35), the question respecting the Son of David.
ἀποκριθείς]The following question to the people is a reply—publicly exposing
the theologicalhelplessnessofthe scribes—to the silence, to which they had
just seenthemselves reducedby the very fact that one of their number had
even given his entire approval to Jesus. The scribes are still present. But it is
not to themselves that Jesus puts His question; He utters it before the people,
but in express reference to the γραμματεῖς.Theymay therefore give
information also before the people, if they can. If they cannot, they stand there
the more completelyvanquished and put to shame. And they cannot, because

to them the divine lineage of the Messiah, in virtue of which as David’s
descendantHe is yet David’s Lord, remained veiled and unperceived;—we
may conceive afterπόθεν υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἐστιν the pause of this silence and this
confusion. So peculiar is this whole position of the matter in Mark, that it
appears to be (in opposition to Hilgenfeld and Baur) original.
πῶς] how then? “Quomodo consistere potest, quoddicunt,” Grotius.
The twofold emphatic αὐτὸς Δαυ. places the declarationof David himself in
contrastto the point held by the scribes.
καὶ πόθεν] breaking in with surprise. Comp. Luke 1:43. πόθεν is the causal
unde: whence comes it that.[152]Comp. Plat. Phaedr. p. 269 D.; Dem. 241, 17;
Wolf, ad Lept. p. 238.
ὁ πολὺς ὄχλ.] the multitude of people, which was present.
ἢκουεναὐτοῦ ἡδέως]a triumph over those put to silence.
[152]In opposition to the whole N. T., the question is, according to Schenkel
(comp. Strauss), intended to exhibit the Davidic descentof the Messiahas a
phantom. This descentin fact forms of necessitythe presupposition of the
words καὶ πόθεν κ.τ.λ., the concessumon the part of Jesus Himself. And it is
the postulate of the whole of the N. T. Christology, from Matthew 1:1 to
Revelation22:16. Comp., moreover, the appropriate remarks of Beyschlag,
Christol. d. N. T. p. 61 f. But the pre-existence of Jesus, whichcertainly must
have been in His consciousnesswhenHe askedthe question, is not expressed
(in some such wayas in John 8:58), nor is the recognitionof it claimed for the

Psalmistby ἐν πνεύματι. The latter merely asserts that David, as a prophet,
designatedhis Son as his Lord.
Expositor's Greek Testament
Mark 12:35-37. David’s Son and David’s Lord (Matthew 22:41-46, Luke
20:41-44). On the aim and import of this counter-question vide notes on Mt.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
35–37.Our Lord’s Counter-Question
35. And Jesus answeredandsaid] He seemedto have turned to a number of
the Pharisees(Matthew 22:41)who had collectedtogether, to converse
probably over the day’s discomfiture. The greatcounter-questionis brought
forward by St Matthew in all its historic importance as the decisive
concluding interrogationaddressedto the Pharisees. StMark points out by
the words “Jesus answered” thatthe statementcontained a reply to some
question already put.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 35. - Our Lord was now in the temple, and he took the opportunity for
instructing the scribes and Pharisees concerning his personand his dignity.
Thus, as ever, he returned goodfor evil. He here taught them that the Messiah
was not a mere man, as they supposed, but that he was i both God and man,
and that therefore they ought not to wonder or to be offended because he
calledhimself the Sonof God. St. Matthew (Matthew 22:42)more fully gives
their answerfirst, namely, that "Christis the Son of David." They should
have said that, as God, he was the Son of God, according to those words,
"Thou art my Son; this day have I begottenthee;" but that, as man, he was
the Sonof David. Their answerwas very different from that of Peter:"Thou
art the Christ, the Son of the living God." But they wanted the Divine
knowledge whichthe disciples had gained.

MATTHEW 1:1 1 This is the genealogy[a]of Jesus the
Messiah[b]the son of David, the son of Abraham:
Jesus Calledthe Son of David
Why does the bible refer Jesus the sonof David?
Jesus is called the Son of David fourteen times in the New Testament. Twelve
of these times, Son is capitalized. Two times it is not (Matthew 1:1
; 12:23
). In the Bible, son can have severalmeanings. So, although it canrefer to the
biologicaland immediate son of an earthly father, it can also have other
meanings.
For example, to be a son canmean to be a direct descendant. Joseph, the
husband of Mary, is called the "sonof David" in Matthew 1:20
. That means that he was a direct descendantof David and so David was a
many-greats grandfather to him. This is true of Jesus through Mary (the
genealogicalline of Luke 3). Jesus was a son of David through her.
However, the New TestamentJews knew the title, "Son of David," as another
title for the Messiah. Jesus mentionedthat the scribes taught that "Christ is
the Sonof David" (Mark 12:35
). When Jesus healeda man who was both blind and deaf by casting an
unclean spirit out of him, the people said, "Is not this the sonof David?"
(Mathew 12:22-23

). They were identifying Jesus as the Christ, the Messiahwho was promised to
come. Severalreasons thenmight be given for this title being applied to
Christ.
The Messiahwas to sit on the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6-7
; Jeremiah23:5
)
Therefore, it was necessary that the Messiahwas born in the direct line of
David (Psalm 132:11
; Acts 13:22-23
).
This promise of a king to sit on the throne of David was fulfilled in Jesus
Christ (Luke 1:31-33
)
And, since Jesus was the Son of David, He was also the King of the Jews
(Matthew 2:2
; 27:11
).
David Reagan
How is Jesus the son of David?
Many New Testamentverses callJesus the son of David. In fact, the first
Gospel, Matthew, begins, "The book of the genealogyofJesus Christ, the son
of David, the son of Abraham" (Matthew 1:1). But how can Jesus be David's
son if He was born 1,000 years afterDavid?

The proper understanding of Jesus as the sonof David is found in both a
literal and theologicalinterpretation of the title. Takenliterally, Jesus was a
direct descendantof David, the king of Israel. When Matthew beganhis
gospel, he started with an abbreviated family line of Jesus, noting clearly his
connections with both Abraham and David. Matthew followedthe genealogy
of Jesus through Joseph, focusing on Josephas a son of Jacobwho was
descendedfrom the family line of Solomonthe son of David. Luke 3:23-38 also
notes the literal family line of David to Jesus, though using a different list of
ancestors.Manybelieve Luke's genealogyoffers the family line of Jesus from
Mary's family. If so, both sides of the family of Jesus descendedfrom David.
Spiritually, Jesus also came as the JewishMessiah, serving as the fulfillment
of the seedof David. In 2 Samuel 7:15-16, God promised David, "but my
steadfastlove will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put
awayfrom before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure
forever before me. Your throne shall be establishedforever." Jesus came as
the fulfillment of this promise, becoming the son of David who would forever
serve as king.
In many instances, we find those who lived among Jesus referredto Him as
the sonof David. Forexample, Bartimaeus referred to Jesus as "sonof
David" when he askedfor his sight. Others who sought healing from Jesus
also used this title in their plea (Matthew 15:22;20:30).
In contrast, the religious leaders were furious at the idea of Jesus being called
the sonof David. They understood the prophetic significance ofthe title and
saw it as Jesus claiming to be the Messiah. Jesus, knowing theirthoughts, once
askedthese religious leaders, "How canthe scribes saythat the Christ is the
son of David? David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, 'The Lord said to
my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet."'

David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?" (Mark 12:35-37). In
giving this teaching, Jesus notedthat even though the Messiahis referred to as
the sonof David, David himself calledthe Messiah"Lord." The point was to
note that the son of David was more than a physical reference, but described
the One who would come as Messiahand was deserving of worship.
The fact that Jesus was oftenreferred to as the sonof David highlights the
fulfillment of prophecy, since Jesus was literally descendedfrom David's
family line. It is also clearthat Jesus was the son of David in the sense of
serving as the fulfillment of David's seedwho would reign forever. Jesus
serves as the only Messiah, the Savior of the world, offering the only means of
salvationfrom sin (Acts 4:12). Through Him, those who believe have the
opportunity to spend eternity with the Lord (John 3:16).
https://www.compellingtruth.org/Jesus-son-of-David.html
Abrahamic / Middle Eastern
Christianity
Why Was Jesus Called'The Son of David?'
The history behind one of Jesus'titles in the New Testament
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by
Sam O'Neal

Updated February 27, 2018
BecauseJesus Christis the most influential person in human history, it's no
surprise that His name has become ubiquitous throughout the centuries. In
cultures all over the world, people know who Jesus is and have been changed
by what He has done.
Yet it is a mild surprise to see that Jesus wasn'talways referred to by His
name in the New Testament. In fact, there are many times when people use
specific titles in reference to Him. One of those titles is "the Sonof David."
Here's an example:
46 Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, togetherwith a large
crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “sonof
Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. 47 When he heard that it was
Jesus ofNazareth, he beganto shout, “Jesus, Sonof David, have mercy on
me!”
48 Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more,
“Sonof David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 10:46-48
There are severalother examples of people using this language in reference to
Jesus. Whichbegs the question: Why did they do so?
An Important Ancestor

The simplistic answeris that King David—one of the most important people
in Jewishhistory—was one of Jesus'ancestors. The Scriptures make that
clearin Jesus'genealogyin the first chapter of Matthew (see v. 6). In this way,
the term "Sonof David" simply meant that Jesus was a descendantof David's
royal line.
This was a common way of speaking in the ancient world. In fact, we can see
similar language usedto describe Joseph, who was Jesus'earthly father:
20 But after he had consideredthis, an angelof the Lord appearedto him in a
dream and said, “Josephson of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as
your wife, because whatis conceivedin her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will
give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, becausehe will
save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:20-21
Neither Josephnor Jesus was a literal child of David. But again, using the
terms "son" and "daughter" to show an ancestralconnectionwas common
practice in that day.
Still, there is a difference betweenthe angel's use of the term "sonof David"
to describe Josephand the blind man's use of the term "Sonof David" to
describe Jesus. Specifically, the blind man's description was a title, which is
why the "Son" is capitalized in our modern translations.
A Title for the Messiah

In Jesus'day, the term "Sonof David" was a title for the Messiah—the long-
awaitedRighteous King who would once and for all secure victory for God's
people. And the reasonfor this term has everything to do with David himself.
Specifically, God promised David that one of his descendants wouldbe the
Messiahwho would reign foreveras head of God's kingdom:
“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for
you: 12 When your days are over and you restwith your ancestors, Iwill raise
up your offspring to succeedyou, your own flesh and blood, and I will
establishhis kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name,
and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father,
and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod
wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will
never be takenawayfrom him, as I took it awayfrom Saul, whom I removed
from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before
me; your throne will be establishedforever.’”
2 Samuel 7:11-16
David reigned as King of Israelabout 1,000 years before the time of Jesus.
Therefore, the Jewishpeople became very familiar with the above prophecy
as the centuries passed by. They longed for the coming of the Messiahto
restore the fortunes of Israel, and they knew the Messiahwouldcome from
David's line.
For all those reasons, the term "Son of David" became a title for the Messiah.
While David was an earthly king who advancedthe kingdom of Israelin his
day, the Messiahwouldrule for all eternity.

Other Messianic prophecies in the Old Testamentmade it clearthat the
Messiahwouldheal the sick, help the blind to see, and make the lame walk.
Therefore, the term "Sonof David" had a specific connectionto the miracle of
healing.
We cansee that connectionat work in this incident from the early portion of
Jesus'public ministry:
22 Then they brought him a demon-possessedman who was blind and mute,
and Jesus healedhim, so that he could both talk and see. 23 All the people
were astonishedand said, “Could this be the Son of David?”
Matthew 12:22-23 (emphasis added)
The rest of the Gospels, along with the New Testamentas a whole, seek to
show the answerto that question was a definitive, "yes."
https://www.learnreligions.com/why-was-jesus-called-the-son-of-david-
3960067
Jesus the Son of David
In Luke 1:32, angelGabriel, announcing to Mary that she will be the mother
of Jesus, saidabout Him that “the Lord God will give him the throne of His
father David”. Also in the New Testamentwe many time see Jesus calledson
of David. I give below the related references fromjust the gospelofMatthew:
Matthew 9:27
“When Jesus departedfrom there, two blind men followedHim, crying out
and saying, "Sonof David, have mercy on us!"

Matthew 12:23
“And all the multitudes were amazed and said, "Could this be the Sonof
David?"
Matthew 15:22
“And behold, a womanof Canaancame from that regionand cried out to
Him, saying, "Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is
severelydemon-possessed."”
Matthew 20:30
“And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus
was passing by, cried out, saying, "Have mercy on us, O Lord, Sonof
David!"”
Matthew 21:9
“Then the multitudes who went before and those who followedcried out,
saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David!”
Returning to what the angelsaid to Mary – i.e. that God would give Jesus the
throne of his father David - his statementmeans two things: first that Jesus
was of David's lineage and secondthat he had legalrights over David's throne
i.e. he was a legalsuccessorofKing David. The reality of all these statements
is made clearby the two genealogiesofJesus that are given in Matthew 1:1-17
and in Luke 3:23-38. The first of these genealogiesrefers to the supposedby
the societyfather of Jesus, Joseph, and it shows that he came directly from the
regalline of the king David. That’s why, from a legalpoint of view, Jesus had
legalrights over the throne of David. Apart from this legalstanding, and since
Jesus was not actually a sonof Joseph, he also needed to have a physical
standing in David's house. This he had through Mary his mother. Indeed, her
genealogythatis given in Luke 3:23-38 shows that she was from the house of
David. Therefore, both legally and physically, Jesus was ofthe house of David
with direct rights over David's throne.
All these things were not of course accidental. In contrast, they were
prerequisites for the Messiah, since according to the Old Testament

prophecies the promised Messiahwouldcome from the lineage of Abraham
(see Genesis 21:12 and Galatians 3:16)and from the lineage of David (see
Psalms 132:11 and Acts 2:29-30). Therefore, since Jesuswas the Messiah, he
couldn't be but of the lineage of Abraham and David. And he was. Matthew
1:1 expressesthis truth very directly:
Matthew 1:1
".......Jesus Christ, THE SON OF DAVID, THE SON OF ABRAHAM"
Therefore the genealogiesofJesus Christ are not a historical enumeration but
consistA PROOF THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, THE CHRIST, THE
PROMISED ONE,the Sonof David and the Son of Abraham. In Him God
fulfilled not only His promise to Abraham and to David (Genesis 21:12, Psalm
132:11)but also His promise to the human race (Genesis 3:15) that after the
fall waitedfor the one that would rectify the situation: for the Christ.
Anastasios Kioulachoglou
MostRelevantVerses
Matthew 1:1
Verse Concepts
The recordof the genealogyofJesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of
Abraham:
Matthew 12:23
Verse Concepts
All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannotbe the Son of
David, can he?"
Matthew 15:22
Verse Concepts

And a Canaanite womanfrom that region came out and began to cry out,
saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Sonof David; my daughter is cruelly
demon-possessed."
Matthew 21:9
Verse Concepts
The crowds going aheadof Him, and those who followed, were shouting,
"Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE
NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!"
Mark 10:48
Verse Concepts
Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more,
"Sonof David, have mercy on me!"
Mark 12:35
Verse Concepts
And Jesus beganto say, as He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes
say that the Christ is the son of David?
John 7:42
Verse Concepts
"Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the descendants of
David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"
Romans 1:3
Verse Concepts
concerning His Son, who was born of a descendantof David according to the
flesh,

2 Timothy 2:8
Verse Concepts
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, descendantof David, according
to my gospel,
Revelation5:5
Verse Concepts
and one of the elders saidto me, "Stopweeping; behold, the Lion that is from
the tribe of Judah, the Rootof David, has overcome so as to open the book
and its sevenseals."
Luke 18:38 So he calledout, "Jesus, Son of David,
have mercy on me!"
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
18:35-43 This poor blind man sat by the wayside, begging. He was not only
blind, but poor, the fitter emblem of the world of mankind which Christ came
to heal and save. The prayer of faith, guided by Christ's encouraging
promises, and grounded on them, shall not be in vain. The grace ofChrist
ought to be thankfully acknowledged, to the glory of God. It is for the glory of
God if we follow Jesus, as those will do whose eyes are opened. We must
praise God for his mercies to others, as well as for mercies to ourselves.
Would we rightly understand these things, we must come to Christ, like the
blind man, earnestlybeseeching him to open our eyes, and to show us clearly
the excellenceofhis precepts, and the value of his salvation.

Barnes'Notes on the Bible
See this passage explainedin the notes at Matthew 20:29-34.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
38. son of David, &c.—(Seeon[1692]Mt12:23).
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 18:36"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
And he cried, saying, Jesus thou son of David,.... Believing him, at once, to be
the Messiah;whence he calls him the son of David, which was a characterand
title of the Messiah, wellknownto the Jews;See Gill on Matthew 1:1 and
therefore immediately called out unto him, being willing to take that
opportunity as he passed, and whilst he was within hearing, to make his suit to
him for his sight:
saying, have mercy on me: a poor, blind, and miserable creature, and restore
me to my sight, which will be an actof singular mercy, and goodness, andwill
always be gratefully owned as such.
Geneva Study Bible
And he cried, saying, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 18:38. ἐβόησεν: aorist, he cried out once.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
38. Jesus, thou Son of David] The use of this Messianic title implies a strong
faith in Bartimaeus.

have mercy on me] “The Kyrie Eleisonof the soulwhich precedes its
Hosanna.” Van Oosterzee.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 18:38. Υἱὲ Δαυὶδ, Song of Solomonof David) The faith of the blind man
is not offended, because the Saviour was called“Jesus ofNazareth.”
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 38. - Jesus, thou Son of David. This form of address distinctly shows
that the idea that the Rabbi of Nazareth, the greatWonder-worker, the wise
kind Teacher, was in some way or other the long looked-forDeliverer, was
now taking possessionofthe people's mind. "Sonof David" was distinctly a
Messianic salutation.
The Son of God Is the Son of David
June 10, 2015 | John Collins
We are the heirs of a long tradition of systematic theology, a tradition of
wrestling with the way the Bible writers expressedthings, and summarizing
the right beliefs in precise form. This is a goodthing! At the same time, we
have to recognize that our profiting from these noble endeavors may lead us
to suppose that the Bible writers meant the same things our theologians meant
with their words.
A goodexample is when the Bible applies the title “Son of God” to Jesus, as in
Psalm2:7, where God says, “You are my Son; today I have begottenyou.” We
naturally think of the controversies in the early church, and connectthis title
with Jesus’s deity. In fact, the Protestantscholasticsdid exactlythat: Both
Heinrich Heppe’s compilation of ReformedDogmatics (vi.19)and Heinrich

Schmid’s Doctrinal Theologyofthe EvangelicalLutheran Church (ii.29) cite
this text as a proof of the relations betweenthe first and secondpersons of the
Trinity.
At the same time I affirm the worth of these discussions ofthe Trinity, I would
also like to show that they haven’t really gotit right on Psalm2:7; and that
missing the psalm’s point also makes us miss some important points about
Jesus.
Davidic Context
Psalm2:7 has to do with the Davidic king. At a time when the Gentile
kingdoms in the Davidic empire seek to throw off Israelite rule, this psalm
recalls the promises made to the Davidic king at his coronationand notes that
the Gentiles will find lasting joy only as subjects of this king.
The coronationoracle had declaredthe newly crownedking to be God’s
“Son”;this recalls 2 Samuel 7:14, where God promises to David concerning
Solomon, and then eachnew king in the line of David: “I will be to him a
father, and he shall be to me a son.” This is talking about more than just the
close relationshipGod will have with the king. The people as a whole are
calledthe “sonof God” (see Ex. 4:22–23;Hos. 11:1; Ps. 80:15), and the king is
calledthe “sonof God” because he represents and embodies the people (see
also Ps. 89:27, with “firstborn”).
That is, the king’s job includes things like being the people’s “champion” (as
David had done againstGoliath, when Saul would not), embodying what it
means to be a faithful member of God’s people so that the other members
could imitate his example, and leading God’s people in carrying out their
calling of bringing the blessings ofAbraham to the Gentile world (as in Ps. 2).
New TestamentEchoes
Just I have brought Psalm2:7 togetherwith 2 Samuel 7:14, so does the author
of Hebrews (1:5); his theme is that Jesus is the reigning Messiah(heir of
David, i.e., king) into whom God has also folded the priestly office (in line with
Ps. 110:4).

In Acts 13:33 (a speechin a synagogue)Paulportrays the resurrectionof
Jesus as his coronation, his entry into his Davidic rule. This connectionwill
probably help us with Romans 1:4 as well: there Jesus “wasdeclaredto be the
Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection
from the dead.” The verb “declared” is elsewhere renderedthings like
“determined, appointed” (e.g., Acts 11:29; 17:26, 31;Heb. 4:7); but it is hard
to imagine how the resurrectionmight have initiated Jesus into deity. It
didn’t: it rather initiated him into his Davidic role, and this entails the
widespreadconversionof the Gentiles (Rom. 1:5), just as in Psalm 2.
So the New Testamentauthors didn’t do anything funny or suspicious when
they applied Psalm2:7 to Jesus, becauseJesus’s Davidic role was important to
them. That is, “Sonof God” in some contexts refers to Jesus as the (human)
heir of David, while in some it surely refers to him as deity (e.g., Matt. 28:19).
It lies with us the readers to discernbetweenthe usages.
No Ordinary King
If you’re preaching or teaching on Psalm2, or trying to understand this psalm
for yourself, by all means, bring what you know about the Trinity to the text.
Just don’t read it into this passage. The “SonofGod” in Psalm2 is first and
foremosta Davidic title—and that is goodnews, because itmeans he comes as
our King to fulfill all that God said he would do through the heir of David.
For this is no ordinary King. He not only secures ourplace with God(Rom.
4:25), but subdues all God’s enemies (Ps. 2:9), delivers God’s people (Mic. 5:4-
5), spreads his salvation and light all over the earth (Ps. 72:16-17), and
establishes his kingdom foreverand ever (2 Sam. 7:16).
C. John Collins is professorofOld Testamentat Covenant Theological
Seminary in St. Louis and author of numerous scholarlyarticles and books,
including Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?:Who They Were and Why You
Should Care (Crossway, 2011).He is writing commentaries on Numbers,
Psalms, and Isaiah.

Jesus, the Christ: Son of David , Son of Abraham
Series:Matthew
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on Jan5, 1997
Matthew 1:1-17
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Please turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 1 as we begin an
exposition of this greatGospel. Let’s hear the word of the living God
beginning in verse 1 of Matthew 1.
“The book of the genealogyofJesus Christ, the sonof David, the son of
Abraham. To Abraham was born Isaac;and to Isaac, Jacob;and to Jacob,
Judah and his brothers; and to Judah were born Perezand Zerah by Tamar;
and to Perezwas born Hezron; and to Hezron, Ram; and to Ram was born
Amminadab; and to Amminadab, Nahshon; and to Nahshon, Salmon; and to
Salmon was born Boazby Rahab; and to Boazwas born Obed by Ruth; and

to Obed, Jesse;and to Jesse was bornDavid the king. And to David was born
Solomonby her who had been the wife of Uriah; and to Solomonwas born
Rehoboam;and to Rehoboam, Abijah; and to Abijah, Asa; and to Asa was
born Jehoshaphat;and to Jehoshaphat, Joram;and to Joram, Uzziah; and to
Uzziah was born Jotham; and to Jotham, Ahaz; and to Ahaz, Hezekiah; and
to Hezekiah was born Manasseh;and to Manasseh, Amon; and to Amon,
Josiah;and to Josiahwere born Jeconiahand his brothers, at the time of the
deportation to Babylon. And after the deportation to Babylon, to Jeconiah
was born Shealtiel;and to Shealtiel, Zerubbabel; and to Zerubbabel was born
Abihud; and to Abihud, Eliakim; and to Eliakim, Azor; and to Azor was born
Zadok; and to Zadok, Achim; and to Achim, Eliud; and to Eliud was born
Eleazar;and to Eleazar, Matthan; and to Matthan, Jacob;and to Jacobwas
born Josephthe husband of Mary, by whom was born Jesus, who is called
Christ. Therefore all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen
generations;and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen
generations;and from the deportation to Babylon to the time of Christ
fourteen generations.”
Thus ends this reading of God’s holy and inspired word. May He add His
blessing to it. Let’s look to Him againin prayer.
Our Father, we ask that You would bless our attendance upon Your word this
day. Show it to us as Your inspired word meant for our edification and
enable us to see the wonderful things which You have storedup for us in Your
Word. And we will give You all the praise and all the glory. For we ask it in
Jesus’name. Amen.
We begin today a study of the gospel and a gospel. We use that word, gospel,
in different ways. Sometimes we use gospelwith a capital G to refer to one of
the four books which begins the New Testament. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John are all calledgospels. Thatis, they are books which recordthe message
of the deeds of God for salvationof His people. Gospels are not biographies in
the modern sense. Theydo not give us in many places a complete account.
Often times, we are left wishing that the author had told us more. We thought
last week whatit would have been like to listen in on Paul, and Luke, and

Mark in prison talking about the life of Christ. And oh, the things that they
could tell us about our Lord.
But Gospels are not written simply to give us a biographicalaccount, they are
written for a redemptive purpose. A gospelis a record of what God has done
to save sinners. Throughthe incarnation, the earthly life, the mighty acts and
the suffering and death and resurrectionof His Son, Jesus Christ. Thatis
what a Gospelis. And that is why John says, if he were to write everything
that he could write about Christ, that he supposed that the world could not
contain all the books that he could write about him. He didn’t do that. He
gave us a gospel. He gave us a book which recorded specific things for the
benefit of our salvation. Notsimply to tickle our curiosity, not to reach and
scratchour historical fancy, but to help us in our saving knowledge ofGod.
This is what a gospelis. Not a biography, but a recordof the saving acts of
God.
The gospels, contain, ofcourse, the gospel. Whenwe use gospelto refer not to
a book, but to the message,we mean this: The gospelis the goodnews of
salvationaddressedto a world lost in sin. That is what the gospelis. It is
goodtidings of greatjoy brought to those who deserve to be condemned, but
who through the mercy of God, have found salvationthrough Jesus Christ.
The gospelis the goodnews of salvation addressedto a world lostin sin. It is
often said that the various gospels in the New Testamentare aimed in
particular directions. It is said, for instance, that John is specificallywritten
to show that Jesus Christ is the Saviorof the world. That is not only of the
Jews, but of all the Gentiles as well. Sometimes it is said that Luke is written
specificallyto convey the Gospelto the Greeks. Othertimes it is saidthat
Mark is written explicitly to conveythe gospelto the Romans. And Matthew,
it is said is written to convey the gospelto the Jews. Itis written in language
and in style and in conceptdesignedto appeal to those who knew the Old
Testamentand whose thought world had been formed by allegiance to the
God of Israel. Whatever the narrow purpose of Matthew is, the broad
purpose of Matthew is clear. I would like to suggestfour things are involved
in Matthew’s purpose as he sets down to write the Gospel, whatdoes he set
forth to do?

First of all, he is interestedin conversion. Matthew isn’t simply wanting to
tell you an interesting story. He is not simply wanting to give you an account
of sort of strange facts that occurredin his day in time. He wants what he
tells you to convert you. Throughout the book, he, in fact, records instances
where people who knew the Bible, rejectedthe teachings of the gospel, but
were eventually convertedto it. Matthew is no detachedhistorian. What he
says is true but he doesn’t tell it to you simply to tell you something
interesting. He tells it to you because he wants it to grip and change your life.
He is aiming for conversion.
Secondly, Matthew is aiming for sanctification. Isn’t it interesting how much
of the teaching included in Matthew’s gospel, a gospelwhich tells us the basics
of Christ’s life and death and resurrection, surely to encourage us in that
conversion. Isn’t it interesting, though, how much of this gospelis given over
to teaching how we should live. Think of Matthew’s long recordof Jesus’
Sermon on the Mount. From Matthew 5 to Matthew 7, he gives us the longest
accountof it. And what does that sermon tell us, but how to live kingdom life
in a fallen world. How to be Christians in a world which is impacted and
affectedby sin. Matthew is very concernedthat we are not only converted,
but we are transformed in our conversionto Christ likeness.
Thirdly, Matthew is interestedin vindicating Christ and Christianity from
false charges and false teachings. Throughoutthe gospel, people make
various charges againstChristabout His claims. And make various charges
againstChristians about their teaching. And Matthew is interestedin this
book in vindicating. He is doing Apologetics. He is defending the faith in the
book. In fact, one of the purposes of this genealogy, beginning the book, is for
the purpose of vindicating and defending the faith againstfalse charges. We’ll
talk about that in just a moment.
The fourth and final thing that this book aims to do is of course, it aims to
focus upon evangelism:Conversionand sanctificationand vindication and
evangelization. All four of those things are purposes of Matthew. Matthew
records for us in rather full scope the GreatCommissionof our Lord and he
has in view throughout his gospelthe spreading of the gospelto the ends of the
earth. All of those things are in view as Matthew sits down to write. Why

does he begin this book, a book intended to induce conversion, sanctification,
to vindicate the faith, and to promote the evangelizationof the world, why
does he begin it with the genealogy? Perhaps, we southerners have some more
sympathy with the fact that he would begin the book with genealogy. We are
very much into our ancestors. And genealogyis quite important. When I first
met my wife before we went the family reunion for the first time, she pulled
out a blank sheetof paper and explained to me the family tree. This was
requisite in going to a family reunion as a fiancée’. We appreciate genealogy
in the south. In fact, it has often been said of those outside South Carolina,
that South Carolinians are very much like the Chinese. They both eat rice
and worship their ancestors. We should appreciate genealogyhere in the
south. We do, I am sure.
Genealogywas also important in Israel. It was important through all the
stages ofthe life of Israel. Think of Israel entering into the land of Canaan.
One’s genealogydetermined what land you gotand how much you got. Think
of genealogyin the time of David. That was so important not only for
determining David’s line, but for other reasons. Think of genealogyin Israel
after the deportation to Babylon. Israelhad been taken into captivity. When
she comes out of captivity, who are going to be her priests? ForGod has
ordained that only the sons of Aaron, the sons of Levi are to be priests. But
how do you know that, unless you have your genealogy. And so the Jewish
had faithfully kept their genealogiesevenin the time of deportation. For we
are told throughout the New Testamentthat many Jews stillknew what tribe
they were from, even though the tribes had long since ceasedto live in the
areas allottedto them as they enteredinto the PromisedLand originally a
thousand or twelve hundred years before. Yes, they still knew where they
were from. Saul could still say, I am a Benjamite. We canstill hear of a
prophetess from Asher and Jesus was ofthe tribe of Judah. Genealogyplayed
an important role in Israeland by beginning with the ancestryof Jesus,
Matthew is establishing Jesus’pedigree. And he is setting forth the stage to
show that Jesus had fulfilled the Old Testamentprophecies about the
Messiah.
This genealogyin factteaches us at leastfour greattruths about the Lord
Jesus Christ. And I would like to concentrate on those truths with you today,

just briefly. Let me saythat this genealogyteaches so many things else, I
would love to go through this genealogyand look at the stories which are
brought to mind by the names that are recorded. Every time you glance to a
name, you see the name Jacob, and oh, the stories that come to mind. And
Tamar, the story that comes to mind, and Ruth, and Obed. And on and on,
one would love to tell those stories, but we can’t. But maybe you canstudy
that on your own. Let’s hear then these words that Matthew has for us, really
that the Lord has for us from the pen of Matthew.
I. Jesus is the Messiah.
The first greattruth that we learn from this genealogyis that Jesus is the
promised Messiah. Matthew’s greatpurpose in setting down this genealogyis
to bring home that point. Jesus is the Christ. He is the Messiah. In other
words, He is the one sent by God to deliver Israelfrom her sin and oppression.
In verse 1, we read what is effectivelythe title of the genealogy, the record of
the genealogyofJesus, the Messiah. Already, Matthew identifies Jesus as the
Christ. Jesus as the Messiah. He comes back and he says the same thing at
the end of the genealogy. Lookdownat verse 17. There he says, “so all the
generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations. FromDavid to
the deportation of Babylon, fourteen generations, andfrom the deportation of
Babylon to the Messiah, fourteengenerations.” Noticehow the generational
shift concludes with the coming of the Messiah. Matthew is reminding us that
though Jesus was born, in many respects like we are born, though virginally
conceived. And he is going to talk about that in a moment.
Though Jesus was born, like we are born, he was a real human like we are
human, yet He is different in this wayat least. Whereas we do not choose to
be born, Jesus chose to be born. Babies do not have the capacityto choose to
be born. Sometimes we think they do, but they don’t. Babies cannot choose
to be born.
Jesus in addition to being passive in His birth like us, was active in that he
chose to come as Messiah. And this is one of the greatemphases ofMatthew,
and it is one of the great emphases ofthe Gospels. Jesus choseto come. As
Messiah, He was not only born, but He came. He came as the Messiah

appointed by God, anointed by God, equipped by God, sent by God, and He
came voluntarily to save us.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testamenthope of Israel, Matthew is
reminding us. He is the Messiah. And he elaborates onthat truth in the next
two phrases in verse 1.
II. Jesus is the Son of David: He is the fulfillment of all the Davidic
covenantalpromises.
He calls Jesus the Son of David. When he says that, he is telling you that Jesus
is the one in whom we find the fulfillment of all the promises that were made
to David. In fact, the whole genealogyis structured around David’s house. If
you look at verses 1-6, you see the origins of David’s line. From Abraham to
David’s father. If you look at verses 7-11, yousee the rise and the decline of
the house of David. If you look at verses 12-17, yousee the descentinto
obscurity into the house of David. In fact, it is almost if the house of David is
going to go extinct. It is going to go underground. It ceases to rule in Israel.
The whole genealogyis structured around that. And isn’t it beautiful that just
when you think David’s line has become extinct, then the root comes from the
stump of Jesse.
Then the branch, the righteous branch comes, who is a greaterking and a
greaterLord then David or his descendants everwere. Matthew is reminding
you that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise that God had given to David in
II Samuel chapter 7, verses 12 and 13, when he promised to put on David’s
throne a sonwho would rule forever and ever. That was not fulfilled in
Solomonas glorious as was his reign. And it was not fulfilled in the sum total
of the kings of Israel as impressive as that reign was. Some sayit was the
longestdynasty, human dynasty, ever to rule in the history of the world. But
that was not the fulfillment. No, the fulfillment of that promise of Godin II
Samuel 7 was in Christ.
Jesus is the Son of Abraham: He is the fulfillment of the Abrahamic
covenantalpromises.

Notice also in the phrase in verse 1. Jesus is the son of Abraham. Matthew is
reminding you that he is the fulfillment of all the promises of God to
Abraham. He is the fulfillment of the substitution on Mount Moriah when
that ram was caughtin the thicket bush and substituted for Isaac. He is the
ultimate one who would be substituted for the house of Israel.
Isn’t it interesting by the way that this genealogybegins with a supernatural
birth and it ends with a supernatural birth. It begins with the birth of
Abraham’s son Isaac. Supernatural. Notexactlylike the virgin birth of
Christ. For Abraham and Sarahcame togetherand yet they were beyond the
age of child bearing. Supernaturally Isaac has been brought into the world.
Christ is brought into the world supernaturally. Even in a way that
transcends this. All of these themes are recordedto remind us that Jesus is
the Messiah. He is the one hoped for by the people of God.
IV. Jesus is Virgin Born: He was supernaturally conceived, indicating His
divine origins and character. Secondly, this genealogyteachesus that Jesus is
divine. He is not only the Messiah, He is the Son of God. We see this stressed
againin verse 16 and in verse 1. Jesus is virgin born. He is supernaturally
conceived. Thatsupernatural conceptionof Christ, that virgin birth of Christ
is meant to point to His divine origins and character. Note the change in verse
16 in form from the rest of the passage. Throughoutthe passage, the phrase
had been, and Abraham begotIsaac, and Isaac Jacob, and so on. Here,
however, we are told explicitly in verse 16 that Jacobwas the father of Joseph,
the husband of Mary, by whom Jesus was born. Isn’t it interesting how
carefully Matthew states that. Josephis not his physical father. He is the
father in a legalsense, in covenantalsense, but Jesus is born of Mary. He is
not of Joseph’s seed. Joseph is the legalhuman father of Jesus, Matthew is
reminding you, not his physical human father. And this itself is designedto
point that Jesus is divine. He is the Son of God. His divinity is being setforth
here. Matthew is going to expand on this at the end of the chapter. And
Luke stressesthis point too. Jesus’virgin birth points to the truth that He is
the Sonof God.
IV. Jesus is (humanly speaking)descendedfrom David: He was a legitimate
child born of the line of David.

Thirdly, we note in this passagethat we are told that Jesus is truly human. He
is not only the Messiah, He is not only divine, but He is truly human. Jesus is
humanly speaking descendedfrom David. He was a legitimate child born of
the line of David. And this is stressedby the whole inclusion of the whole
genealogy. Whatsignificance couldthat possibly have? Well, it had
immediate significance in the time of Matthew, because in Matthew’s time,
both the Jews andthe Romans were accusing Christ of being the illegitimate
child of a Roman soldier and Jewishmaiden. There were all sorts of stories
attempted to besmirch the characterofJesus Christ and to call into question
His origins. You remember in John 8 that the Jews sayvarious things about
Christ. They say first that He was from Galilee. Theysaysecondly that He
was a Samaritan. And thirdly, they suggestthat He was illegitimately
conceived. And Matthew responds to all of those charges by saying let me set
the recordstraight once and for all about the Lord Jesus Christ. His line was
a legitimate line from the house of David and He was virgin born. And so
Matthew defends the legitimacyof Christ’s birth, and the circumstances of
His birth againstthe attacks ofthe first enemies of Christianity.
This came to bear as wella few decades laterwhen a group of people went
about teaching in the church that Jesus was reallynot human. He only
appearedto be human. There were people who are called Dosetics. That
comes from the Greek word, which means to seem or to appear. And they
taught that Christ only seemedto be human. He only appearedto be human.
But actually He was not. Matthew’s doctrine containedhere in the genealogy
directly contradicts that type of teaching. And a few years later, when the
Gnostics came along, and beganto teachthat Jesus was notJewish, and that
Christianity had not relationto the religion of Israel, again, Matthew’s
genealogyclearlysets forth the pedigree of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
But what does it mean for us today? Jesus’humanity is one of the most
important doctrines of Christianity and it is one of the most important
doctrines for our comfort. If Christ is not fully human, He is incapable of
sympathizing with our weaknessas human. But He is fully human. He has
born our flesh. He has experiencedour temptation and weakness. A. W.
Tozeronce said, “we know how God would act, if He were in our place.” He
has been in our place. He is in our place in the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ

became what He was not, human without ceasing to be what He was, divine.
So this passageteachesthat Jesus is the promised Messiah. ThatJesus is
divine, and that Jesus is human.
V. Jesus is the Saviorof the world: He is the Redeemerof womenand men,
Jew and Gentile, all kinds and types.
Fourthly, this passageteaches thatJesus is the only Saviorof the world. This
genealogyis designedto show us that Jesus Christ is the Saviorof the world.
He is the redeemer of all kinds of people. Of women of men, of Jew, of
Gentile, of all kinds and types. Have you lookedoverthis genealogy? The
names that you read bring to mind so many stories. In this genealogyare
listed goodmen, and bad men. Abraham is listed in this genealogy, a good
man, but a man with failings. Ahaz is listed in this genealogy. A bad man,
with no redeeming qualities. Goodwomenare listed in this genealogy. Ruth.
Women of doubtful background are listed in this genealogy. Rahab. Good
men who fail are listed in this genealogy. Infact, the very way, in verse 6, that
David is introduced is interesting isn’t it? David who by Bathsheba, who was
the wife of Uriah. Matthew is reminding us that everyone needs a Savior.
Jew and Gentile. Goodand not-so-good. Righteous andwicked. Even the
righteous in this genealogyneedredemption. Jesus is the Savior of the world.
He is the Savior of all kinds and types of men.
You see, my friends, this messagethat Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is
divine, that Jesus is human, that Jesus is the Savior of the world, is a message
that at leastthree types of people here today need to learn. We Christians
need to know and understand this truth because it is important for our
growth in grace. Theseare among the bedrock truths of the faith. We confess
them in the Apostles Creedweek by week. We needto know and feed and
understand these things that in the knowing of them, receivedby faith, we will
grow strong in the word of God.
But there are other peoples who need to know these truths too. There are
many people in the world today, who want to think of themselves as
Christians, but who want to deny aspects ofthe biblical faith. Some of them
say, ‘well, I am a Christian, but I can’t believe in miracles.’ Or ‘I am a

Christian, but I can’t believe God really createdthe world by the word of His
powerin the space of six days.’ Or ‘I am really a Christian, but I can’t accept
that Jesus was divine. At leastin the sense that it is traditionally understood.’
Or ‘I am a Christian, but I simply can’t acceptthat Jesus is the Saviorof the
whole world, the only Saviorof the whole world. Thatseems so narrow and
so unpolite towards other world religions. And so exclusivistic and so
condescending towards otherworld religions.’ ‘I am a Christian, but I don’t
really believe that He is the Saviorof the world.’ ‘I don’t believe that He is
really divine, and if He was human, then He had to be human like me, and
that means that He had to have an inclination towards sin. He has to stumble
every once in a while.’
Well, this is a goodpassageforyou if you are wrestling with those thoughts.
Becausethat is not what the Bible teaches. And you have an easychoice to
make. One may either acceptwhatthe Scriptures say. And you may embrace
Christ and be a Christian. Or, one must openly rejectthose things and reject
the claim to being a Christian. You can’t have it both ways. One is either a
Christian and one assents to these truths which have been universally believed
by the church and all of its parts and portions for two thousand years. They
are not up for debate. We are not here to deliberate them. They are what the
church, they are what the Scriptures, they are what the people of God believe.
And so it is, if you are a Christian, you embrace these things.
And then finally there are some other groups of people who need to hear this
word this morning. And that is those who are honestenough in the polite
south to look you in eye and say, I am not a Christian even though I was born
in Mississippi. You need to know these things. Becauseif you will embrace
these truths, then you will begin an adventure of blessing that will never fail
you, but will grow into eternity. For if you will embrace Jesus as the Messiah,
as the Saviorof the world, as Son of God and Son of man, you will find in Him
delights which transcend your ability to comprehend. He is our all in all, the
Messiah, the Son of God, the Son of man, the Saviorof the world. Let us look
to Him in prayer.
Our Lord and our God, help us to see the truth of Christ this day. And we’ll
give you the praise and all the glory. Forwe ask it in Jesus’name. Amen.

Jesus, Sonof Joseph, Sonof David
With Christmas nearly upon us, here’s another foray into the birth of Jesus.
How was he the “Sonof David” if Joseph, the descendantof David, wasn’t
really his father?
Biblical prophecy foretold that a descendantof David would rule on his
father’s (David’s) throne and rebuild the fallen tabernacle of David. From the
beginning, the Christian movement has claimedthat this descendantis Jesus,
who was miraculously born to Mary, a young virgin, and her betrothed
husband Joseph.
Here is the lineage of Joseph from the first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel.
We’ll start with King David, since the issue here is Jesus’relationship to
David:
… And David was the father of Solomonby the wife of Uriah, and Solomon
the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboamthe father of Abijah, and Abijah the
father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphatthe
father of Joram, and Joramthe father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of
Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and
Hezekiahthe father of Manasseh, and Manassehthe father of Amos, and
Amos the father of Josiah, andJosiahthe father of Jechoniahand his
brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniahwas the father of Salathiel,
and Salathielthe father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud,
and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the
father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of
Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazarthe father of Matthan, and

Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacobthe father of Josephthe husband of
Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.
And here is the genealogyfound in Luke chapter 3, where the writer works
backwards starting with Jesus:
Jesus was aboutthirty years old when he beganhis work. He was the son(as
was thought) of Josephsonof Heli, son of Matthat, sonof Levi, son of Melchi,
son of Jannai, son of Joseph, sonof Mattathias, sonof Amos, sonof Nahum,
son of Esli, son of Naggai, sonofMaath, sonof Mattathias, sonof Semein, son
of Josech, sonofJoda, son of Joanan, sonof Rhesa, sonof Zerubbabel, son of
Shealtiel, sonof Neri, 28 sonof Melchi, sonof Addi, sonof Cosam, sonof
Elmadam, son of Er, son of Joshua, sonof Eliezer, sonof Jorim, sonof
Matthat, sonof Levi, son of Simeon, sonof Judah, sonof Joseph, sonof
Jonam, son of Eliakim, sonof Melea, sonof Menna, son of Mattatha, son of
Nathan, son of David…
There are numerous differences and a variety of explanations for them, which
I am not interested in just now. You can peruse the commentaries to see some
of these (or there is some useful discussionoverat the Catholic Encyclopedia
here).
Right awaythis may make people worry that the biblical doctrine of the
virgin birth is under threat. If Jesus is from the line of David only because
Josephis from the line of David, then that means Josephmust be Jesus’
father…
What is quite clearin both of these lineages is that Jesus’claim to being the
son of David is traced – in Scripture at least – through Joseph. It was not
Mary who gave Jesus his descentfrom David, but Joseph. What does this
imply? Either Jesus was not really of the house of David after all (since Joseph
was not his biologicalfather) or else Jesus reallywas the sonof David because
he was Joseph’s son. And Christians have always held that Jesus is the sonof
David, so it looks like the secondoption is the one we’re left with. Right away

this may make people worry that the biblical doctrine of the virgin birth is
under threat. If Jesus is from the line of David only because Josephis from
the line of David, then that means Josephmust be Jesus’father, and if that’s
true then Mary was lying when she said of her pregnancy “how can this be,
since I have not knowna man?” Maybe for this reasonsome people might
bend over backwards to trace Mary’s lineage back to David, even when the
textual evidence just doesn’tsupport the claim.
If the early Christians invented the nativity account(and could in theory have
written it any waythey liked), and if it had been apparent that their fictional
Jesus lackedthe right sort of relationship to David, then they simply wouldn’t
have written their work of fiction this way.
Relax. Nobody is denying the virgin birth of Christ (well OK some people are,
but I’m not). One other thing to say is that the supposed difficulty of Jesus’
membership of the house of David cannot possibly be used in support of a
“Jesus myth” theory where the historical Jesus simply didn’t exist at all. If the
early Christians invented the nativity account(and could in theory have
written it any waythey liked), and if it had been apparent that their fictional
Jesus lackedthe right sort of relationship to David, then they simply wouldn’t
have written their work of fiction this way. It’s not as though they were forced
to connectJesus to David this way. If they made the whole thing up, they
could have just written that it was Mary who was descendedfrom David.1 But
they didn’t, which suggests thatthey saw no difficulty here.
So how can Jesus be of the house of David if he was not Joseph’s biological
son, meaning that his only biologicalparent, Mary, was not a descendantof
David? Perhaps this was a case ofJosephadopting Jesus, making him a legal
son. But there is nothing in the Gospels to indicate that this happened. In fact
there are not many casesofadoption in the Hebrew Scripture, and some
dispute whether or not they are clear-cutcases ofadoption (see some
discussionof these examples over at the Virtual JewishLibrary). Later Jewish
law (see the previous link) did clearlyallow for something that, for all intents

and purposes (including inheritance rights), was equivalent to adoption. But
the case ofJesus and Josephwould not require legaladoption in any event. It
is not as though Jesus was from some other household and Josephwas
adopting him into his own household. Jesus was born into Joseph’s household
and there was no other family involved from whom to adopt Jesus.
You might be familiar with the conceptof a Levirate marriage, which you can
read about in Deuteronomy25:5-6. In Israelthere was greatimportance
attachedto having an heir. If a married man died without fathering any
children (and if his brother lived with him, which was not unheard of), his
widow and his brother were supposedto marry, so that his brother could
produce an heir for the man who had died. (Let us hear nothing about how
this is sexist. The brother was just as obligated as the wife!) That it was not
actually his biologicalchild did not seemto matter. Legally speaking, it was
the heir of his house that he would have produced had he not died. Strictly
speaking then, the fact that your wife’s child was not your biologicaloffspring
did not exclude him or her from the legalplace of being your child. It’s just
that nobody would have expectedyour wife to get pregnant unless somebody
had slept with her, which would mean that you were the biologicalfather, you
were dead (in the case ofa Levirate marriage), she had been raped or she had
been unfaithful. But assuming no foul play and so ruling out the latter two
options, a son born to a man’s wife is his child, an heir.
Again, if the Jesus storywas simply made up and this wayof placing Jesus
within the lineage of David was inadequate, the made up story would have
been made up differently, and Mary could have been placed in the line of
David. But there was no perceived problem here. Jesus, althoughnot Joseph’s
biologicalson, could certainly have been rightly regardedas his son in any
legalsense that mattered.
Glenn Peoples
Similar Posts:
James, the brother of Jesus and sonof Joseph
The Tomb of Jesus. Oh, and the whole "he was married to Mary" deal. Again.

Calvin and the Marian Doctrines
TheologicalLiberalism: Relevantor Pathetic?
The “virgin birth” of Buddha
As noted in the Catholic Encyclopedia article linked above, there is a tradition
of belief that Mary too was descendedfrom David. All I will sayhere is that
there is no biblical confirmation of this, and the biblical writers evidently
thought that the way to demonstrate Jesus’descentfrom David was via
Joseph. [↩]
Postedon December21, 2014 by Glenn
Postedin New Testament, theologyand biblical studies
TaggedGospels, Jesus.
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9 thoughts on “Jesus, Sonof Joseph, Sonof David”
Andrew Gray
December22, 2014 at5:00 pm
Thanks for that, Glenn, that’s really goodwork there! I’ve enjoyed your last
few post a lot!

Would love to hear more from you about the differences in the lineages
though. Many skeptics think that if you allow the possibility that one or both
of them are wrong, then it’s obvious that the simplest explanation is one or
both IS wrong (eg maybe it’s a mistake since neither were eye-witnesses). So
how do you resolve that Matthew says Joseph’s fatherwas Jacobbut Luke
says it was Heli (or so the skeptics assert). I’ve come across a few possible
explanations, but skeptics always saythat we’re just trying to wriggle out of
the obvious conclusionthat one or both accounts is wrong. What’s the
definitive answeron this? Anyway, I’ll check out the article you linked.
Reply
bethyada
Luke’s genealogyis thru Mary, not Joseph.
Reply
Glenn
December23, 2014 at12:27 am
Bethyada, that’s a theory that came into existence in the fifteenth century or
so. Prior to then, there isn’t a single witness in its favour, according to the
article I linked to at the Catholic Encyclopedia. And anyway, Luke didn’t
write it that way: “Jesus was aboutthirty years old when he began his work.
He was the son(as was thought) of Josephson of Heli, son of Matthat [etc].”
Reply
Glenn
Andrew, it’s certainly not an area of expertise of mine and there is a fair bit
written on it out there. But I’ll considerit. �
Reply

bethyada
was thought) of Josephsonof Heli, son of Matthat [etc].
which can be read,
was thought) of Joseph(but was in factthe) son of Heli, sonof Matthat [etc].”
The fact that it was not read that wayfrom 400 to 1400 doesn’tmean that we
don’t understand better (at times) how Greek canbe constructed(cf. 400 AD).
The realisationthat the NT was in koine for example made some previous
theories redundant. And Foh’s theory on Genesis 3 was written in the 1970s
yet is almostcertainly true, and though not as clearly understood in the last
1500 years, wouldhave been understood ante- and peri-Christ.
Luke’s genealogyis clearly distinct from Matthew’s back to David apart from
inconsequentialoverlap pre-Exile. If they don’t appear to be the same
genealogy(they don’t), and every personhas 2 genealogies(1 thru each
parent), and the Greek canbe easily read that way (which it can in Luke);
then that seems to be the solution.
Reply
Glenn
It is not natural to insert “but was in fact the.” Forevery other sequence of
names, X, son of Y, it means that X was the sonof Y. This would be a case of
making one exception. There is no basis on which to make this exceptionother
than to reachan easy solution.
It’s also not just a matter of 400 to 1400. It’s a matter of no sources atall from
*any* date until the 1400s.This is not the kind of situation where we can just
wing our way to a theory. Yes the conflicting genealogiesare a problem, but
there’s no goodevidence that this is Mary’s genealogy. I know that some

apologeticsministries assertthat this is the case, but they do not produce good
evidence for the claim. It’s statedto be Joseph’s in both cases,and that makes
things difficult. I lack expertise in this particular matter, and I recognisethat.
An earlierexplanation offered by Eusebius (fourth century) is that there are
two different methods of tracing lineage at play, one of which traces physical
lineage, the other of which traces legallineage, where the biologicalfather
may not always be the legalfather (due to a Levirate marriage). You canread
about that here: http://marshallgenealogy.org/bible/matthew-luke.htm
It’s possible. It has the advantage of accounting for all the facts without
making awkwardinsertions. But I do not considerthe “it must be Mary’s
lineage” option to be a serious one.
Reply
John Watson
April 10, 2015 at9:37 am
I enjoyed the article, and this is a truth that many have been deceivedabout.
Do you have any articles which reveal who the Hebrews are today and their
importance in these last times? The Hebrews of course are those who are
suffering the curses of Deuteronomy28:15-68, whichincludes the
Transatlantic Slave trade, and other items that refer to the Northern
kingdom, that arrived in the West(Arsareth) around 722BCE.
Without properly identifying who these people actually are today, then it’s
impossible to understand the Bible, especiallyprophecy. They are the primary
subject of restoration, and Christ is coming to liberate them in Jeremiah30:7-
11. I rarely see this truth presented, which is of salvationalimportance.
Reply
Glenn
April 11, 2015 at10:05 pm
John, that has nothing to do with anything here as far as I can tell. Write a
blog about it. �

Reply
DeborahRodriguez-Castinado
December15, 2016 at4:27 am
Mary’s comment to the angel, grammatically, was not in reference to not
knowing “Joseph”. Ifyou carefully re-read the text, Mary shows no sign of
shock when told she is going to getpregnant. As she remained silent to this
news, the angel went on to change the subject from her getting pregnant, to “a
man”… Jesus… who will do some seeminglyimpossible things. Not the least
of which is live forever. To the which, Mary responds, “How shall this be
seeing I know not a man?” Grammatically, Mary is referring to Jesus, and not
to Joseph, since “the man” the angel was just discussing was JESUS. NOT
JOSEPH. I can’t speak for you, but if I were a young, child bearing, engaged
Jewishwoman, I’d be more shockedthat my sonwas going to live forever
(and save the whole world) than that I was going to get pregnant soon. �
Jesus the Son of David
“I am the root and the offspring of David.” Revelation22:16
Preliminary Reading: II Samuel 5; II Sam 7; Psalm 72;Ps 89;Ps 110;Ps
132;Isaiah11; Matthew 1.
Introduction: 1. In light of knowing and glorying in the humanity of Jesus
Christ our King (I Tim 2:5; Heb 2:14-18). 2. In light of knowing the true
sonship of Jesus, the Sonof God(Luk 1:26-38;Rom 1:1-4; Gal 4:4; etc.). 3. In
light of a recent study of generationalChristians, including Rahab, Boaz, and
Ruth (Ruth 4:13-22). 4. In light of a recent sermon, “LovestThou Me?” and
the holy conviction and desire that should exist. 5. In light of our new
president and the confusionand fear taking over the whole earth and its
rulers.

The Title A. This title is not a human invention for metaphorical purposes.
This is a divinely inspired title. B. Look at the end of your Bible. Jesus Christ
claimed to be the Rootof David (Rev 22:16). 1. John by the Spirit also gave
Him this particular title earlier in the book (Revelation5:5). 2. Praise the God
of heaven, this title is also used for the sake ofus Gentiles (Rom 15:12)! 3.
How is Jesus the Rootof David? He grew from remains of Jesseand David (Is
11:1,10). 4. Jesseand David were the trees that left roots in the ground from
whence came the Christ. 5. This could mean Jesus is David’s Rootin His
divine nature, as his Lord (Matt 22:41-46), but we choose the simpler and
more straightforwardinterpretation basedon Isaiah11. C. Look at the end of
your Bible. Jesus Christ claimed to be the Offspring of David (Rev 22:16). 1.
How is Jesus the Offspring of David? He was the promised and prophesied
Son of David. 2. The Lord Jesus Christwas David’s true Son biologically,
legally, literally, and spiritually. D. Where do we begin? With the description
of Judah’s rulers … David to Jesus (Gen49:8-12)? E. Where do we begin?
With the opening introduction to the New Testament(Matthew 1:1)? F.
Where do we begin? Emphasizing David by ancestors andlegal father (Matt
1:6,16-17,20)? G. Where do we begin? By the biologicaldescentfrom David
through Mary (Luke 1:32; 3:31). H. Two blind men beggedJesus as the Son of
David to heal their eyesight(Matthew 9:27-31). I. The common people thought
Jesus was the Sonof David by His miracles (Matt 12:22-24). J. A woman of
Canaanwith an afflicted daughter calledHim the Son of David (Matt 15:21-
28). K. Two other blind men near Jericho calledon the Son of David for
healing (Matt 20:29-34). L. The common people honored Jesus as King, the
Son of David, at Jerusalem(Matt 21:1-11). M. The Phariseesknew the
identity of the Christ, but not with understanding (Matt 22:41-46).
The Meaning A. Jesus was a sonof David (Luke 1:68-69;John 7:42; Acts
2:30; 13:23; Rom 1:3; II Tim 2:8). B. So fulfilling the prophecy of Shiloh
coming from Judah (Gen 49:8-12;Rev 5:5; Pr 30:29-31). C. Both Pharisees
and common people alike knew that their Messiahwouldcome from David. D.
This covenantwith David was the most precious thought to David (II Sam 7:8-
29; 23:1-7). E. Being the Sonof David, Jesus had the legalright to the throne
of Israel and Judah as king. F. Being the Son of David, Jesus fulfilled the
many prophecies given regarding David’s Son. G. Being the Son of David,

Jesus would be a King that would deliver Israelas David had done. H. Being
the Sonof David, Jesus wouldbring blessing and prosperity on Israel as
David did.
Page 1 of 4 www.LetGodBeTrue.com
The Prophecies A. Jacobtold his sons that Judah would have the greatruler
of God’s kingdom (Gen 49:8-12). B. Though David tried to build God a house,
God promised him a house (II Samuel 7:8-29). C. David took comfort at death
in the everlasting covenantregarding his house (II Sam 23:1-7). D. God
promised many things regarding David and the Son of David, Jesus (Psalm
89:19-37). E. David understood that the coming Messiahamong his
descendants was his Lord (Ps 110:1). F. Look!The well-knownprophecy of
Jesus includes His rule on David’s throne (Isaiah9:6-7)! 1. Considerthe
government on His shoulder. He is plenty strong enoughto bear up ruling. 2.
Jesus took David’s throne and kingdom and extended his government and
peace greatly. 3. He establishedit with judgment (fairness)and justice
(righteousness)for all eternity. 4. How would this occur? By the zeal of the
greatGod of heaven, the Father of Jesus Christ. G. Does the prophecy about
Eliakim have a spiritual view of Jesus Christ (Is 22:22; Rev 3:7)? H. God
promised to preserve the city of Jerusalemfor David and Jesus’sake(Isaiah
37:35). I. The gospelmakes promise of the sure mercies of David through
Jesus (Is 55:3-5;Act 13:34). J. The Sonof David, a Branchof David, would
come to be a perfectShepherd (Jer 23:5-6). K. The Sonof David would deliver
Israeland Judah from serving their enemies (Jer 30:8-9). L. The Son of David
would come for His people with absolute certainty (Jeremiah33:14-22). M.
The Son of David would come for His people with great blessings forthem
(Ezek 34:23-31). N. The Son of David would come and make a covenantof
peace and blessing (Ezek 37:21-28). O. Israel had no king for a long time until
David their king in the latter days (Hosea 3:4-5). P. God raisedup the
tabernacle of David, the church of Gentiles (Amos 9:11-12;Acts 15:6-18). Q.
The MessiahofIsraelwould come from the little town of Bethlehem (Micah
5:2; Mat 2:1-6).

The Man A. David was a man after God’s own heart, better than Saul (I Sam
13:14;15:28; Acts 13:22). B. David was loved by all of Israel, and his name
was much setby there (I Samuel 18:5,16,30). C. He was wise in all his ways,
including gracious humility (I Samuel 18:1-5,12-14,18,23,28). D. He was
valiant for the Lord and defeatedall of Israel’s enemies beginning with
Goliath. E. David’s zeal for Godwould not acceptanything less than
exceeding magnifical(I Chr 22:5). F. David was Israel’s most glorious king by
conquests, confession, psalms, humility, etc. G. Abigail spoke gloriouslyof
David compared to Saul, and all Israelknew it (I Samuel 25:29).
The Kingdom A. The phrases “kingdom of God” and “kingdom of heaven”
do not occuras such in the O.T. B. Israelwas the “kingdomof the Lord,” and
David and his sons ruled (I Chr 28:5; II Chr 13:8). C. Judah was the tribe of
rulers, and God liked David to be His king (Ge 49:8-12;I Chr 28:4-5). D.
David and Solomonextended the Lord’s kingdom the farthest (Ezra 4:20; I
Kings 4:20-25). E. They ruled the land God promised to Abraham (Ge 15:18;
Ex 23:31; De 11:24; Jos 1:4; etc.). F. In the days of Rome, the God of heaven
setup a kingdom (Dan 2:44; Matt 3:1-2; Luk 3:1-3). G. We have a kingdom,
and Jesus is our King (Heb 1:8; 12:22-24,28;Rev1:9; 12:10; Eph 5:5). H.
Jesus was absolutelya king, the King of the Jews, andPilate heard it plainly
(John 18:36-37). I. The kingdom of Christ is a spiritual kingdom, and men
press into it (Luke 16:16; 17:20-21). J. The millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ
is not a future Jewishfable, but a spiritual reign now. K. Heaven is the better
part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ (II Timoth 4:16-18;II Peter 1:11). L.
Jesus promised the thief that he would be, after his death, in Christ’s kingdom
(Lu 23:42-43).
M. Jesus’secondcoming is not the start of His kingdom, but delivering of it
up (I Cor15:24-28). N. The preaching of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, is
preaching the kingdom (Acts 28:23,31). O. We have anotherking, and though
we are goodcitizens here, we cannot forgetit (Acts 17:7). P. Our Jesus will
soonshow the world He is the Blessedand Only Potentate (I Timo 6:13-16). Q.
He is the Prince of the kings of the earth and has the keys of David
(Revelation1:5; 3:7).

The Cities A. The expression“city of David” occurs 46 times in the Bible, but
we learn two different cities. 1. Bethlehem is calledthe city of David, for he
was born there (Luke 2:4,11,15;John 7:42). 2. Jerusalemis called the city of
David, for David took it and ruled it (II Kings 14:20; etc.). 3. This secondcity,
Jerusalem, is also called Zion for its mountain (II Sa 5:6-10;Ps 128:5). 4.
David and Joabtook the city, expanded the city, and moved the ark there (II
Sam 6:12). 5. In this city, David sought to build a temple, but Solomondid it
at David’s greatexpense. B. God setHis love on Jerusalemand Zion long
before (Gen 14:18;Ps 76:2; 132:13-18;etc.). C. We are come to Mt. Zion and
the heavenly Jerusalemwith Jesus our King (Heb 12:22-24).
The Throne A. A throne is a monarch’s royal seat– the chair of a king sitting
with regalsplendor and power. B. Other symbols of authority include a
scepterand keys, both of which belong to Jesus Christ. C. David was king,
and he sat on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom, ruling Israel(II Sa 3:9-10). D.
When David died, Solomon took David’s throne and ruled gloriously (I Kings
2:12,24-25). E. Look!The well-knownprophecy of Jesus includes His rule on
David’s throne (Isaiah 9:6-7)! 1. Consider the government on His shoulder. He
is plenty strong enough to bear up ruling. 2. Jesus took David’s throne and
kingdom and extended his government and peace greatly. 3. He establishedit
with judgment (fairness) and justice (righteousness)for all eternity. 4. How
would this occur? By the zeal of the great Godof heaven, the Fatherof Jesus
Christ. F. Gabriel told Mary of the Sonshe would birth and His place on
David’s throne (Luke 1:32). G. Jesus sits on God’s throne foreverand ever,
and He wields a righteous scepter(Hebrews 1:8). H. Peterknew this by a
prophecy of David when he preachedat Pentecost(Acts 2:30-33). I. The
scepterwould not depart from Judah – it is in the hands of a sonof Judah
(Gen 49:8-12)!J. Jesus ascendedinto heaven to sit on God’s throne (Rev 12:5;
3:21; 22:1; Hebrews 8:1; 12:2). K. Are you in trouble? Do you need help?
Then run to the throne of Jesus by prayer (Heb 4:16)!
The Similarities A. David was of the tribe of Judah (I Chr 28:5), and so was
Jesus ofthat tribe (Revelation5:5). B. David was born at Bethlehem – so was
Jesus. How did this happen? Caesar(Luke 2:1-7)! C. David was buried at
Jerusalem– so was Jesus. ThoughJesus wouldrise from the dead! D. David
had wisdom like an angel, and Jesus has all wisdom (II Samuel 14:17,20;Col

2:3). E. David was a mighty conquering ruler, and Jesus is the Lord of hosts
(Heb 1:6; Re 19:11-16). F. David loved music in every respect, and Jesus sang
hymns to God (Matt 26:30; Heb 2:12). G. David loved and worshipped God,
and Jesus did the same (John 2:12-17;4:34; 17:1-5).
The Dissimilarities A. David sinned heinously severaltimes, but Jesus never
(II Cor 5:21; I Peter2:22; Heb 4:15). B. David’s body is still in the ground
today, but Jesus is glorified in heaven (Phil 3:21; Re 1:18). C. David’s
kingdom was expansive, but Jesus is over all things (I Cor 15:27;Ep 1:22;
Heb 2:8).
D. David killed most of his enemies, but Jesus died for His enemies (Rom 5:6-
10; Col1:20-21). E. David sometimes bore false witness, but Jesus is the
Faithful Witness (Rev 1:5; 3:14; 19:11). F. David provided a meal for all
Israel, but Jesus chosea perpetual feast(I Cor5:7-8; 11:23-26). G. David
provided a meal for all Israel, but Jesus will sit us at the Marriage Supper (Re
19:7-9).
The Glory A. The Bible states Jesushas greaterglory than Moses, so He has
more than David (Heb 3:1-6). B. Where is the Son of David now? Gone up
into glory to wait for us (I Tim 3:16; Luke 24:26). C. The Son of David can do
more than reduce taxes – He can change your body (Phil 3:20-21). D. When
did David see His Son? Do you enjoy such considerations How about
Revelation5! E. Jesus will soonshow His position as BlessedandOnly
Potentate (II Tim 4:1; I Tim 6:13-16). F. His coronationin heaven at His
ascensionwas glorious (Heb 1:3-4; 2:9; Ac 2:33; Rev 19:12). G. His coming
will be glorious, with mighty angels and fire (I Thess 4:13-18;II Thess 1:7-10).
Conclusion:1. What are the implications of this easystudy? You have a great
King, Saviour, and Friend like David. 2. There is no ruler on earth that should
move your heart or mind, for Jesus is the King of earth’s kings. 3. This
glorious Man, the Man Christ Jesus, died for you to make you a son of God
and citizen of Zion. 4. If He is the Son of David with royal and final authority,

then you owe Him all that you are and have. 5. If He is the son of David
according to the flesh, then He can relate to all your trials and temptations. 6.
If He is Lord of all (He is) … then you should fear Him … and you should fear
no enemy of any kind. 7. He is coming soon!Are you looking for it? Do you
think of it? Do you speak of it? Live in light of it? 8. Why not just ask yourself
a simple question? Do you love Him? How much? Measuredhow?
http://www.letgodbetrue.com/pdf/jesus-the-son-of-david.pdf
Jesus-The SonOf David Series
Contributed by Tom Fuller on Jul 19, 2009
based on 1 rating
(rate this sermon)
| 2,285 views
Scripture: Matthew 1:1-25
Denomination: Calvary Chapel
Summary: If you look at it one way, Jesus came from a very dysfunctional
family and a dysfunctional family line. If God has setabout to save the world,
shouldn’t He have made things a little better along the way? Actually, it’s
really a coolpart of God’s salvati
1 2 3

Next
Matthew’s gospelwas one of the first written in the decades afterthe
resurrection(50 A.D.). At the time the many forms of Judaism were on the
wane. After the fall of Jerusalem, in fact, only two remained: one was
Rabbinic Judaism (which came from the Pharisees)andJewishChristianity.
It was becoming an either/or situation, and the Jews neededto know some
important things in deciding whether this Jesus was indeed the Messiah.
Matthew was a tax gatherer. Matthew became a disciple of Jesus—wesee this
in chapter 9.
9 As Jesus passedon from there, he saw a man calledMatthew sitting at the
tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followedhim.
Julius Caesarrequired the Herodian government of Israelto collecttaxes.
Associations oftax gatherers formed. They collectedcustoms, port duties, and
fishing tolls. They were hated. They were not allowedto be witnesses, their
money was not acceptedas charity, and given the chance, the mobs might
actually lynch one if they could catchhim. The tax gatherers would extract
money sometimes by torture. They were considered“robbers”.
(www.JewishVirtualLibrary.org)
So why Matthew? Why would the Jews listento a hated tax collector?
Perhaps, as we will see going through this, that a theme develops—Jesus, the
Messiah, comesto those who are leastdeserving of grace and mercy, and
shows them just that. If a robber canfind a savior, maybe I cantoo.
But Matthew would also have been all about the enforcing the law, and so his
demonstration of the kingship of Jesus is important. He shows that though he
was hated by the Jews, he knew the Scriptures well, and uses them effectively
in his proof.
Matthew had severalimportant things to tell the Jews:
Jesus was promisedand prefigured in the Scriptures
Jesus is the son of David (here in this chapter)

Jesus is the Messiah
Armed with this information, a Jew who servedGod “with a whole heart and
a willing mind” (1 Chronicles 28:9) could make a decisionfor Christ. And if
we will draw our hearts to “seekout all the commandments of the Lord your
God” (1 Chronicles 28:8), we too can see the proof that Jesus is the promised
Savior.
1
I’ve notice as we’ve been studying the Old Testamentthat there seemto be
two hills that betweenthe creationand the Messiah. Those hills are Abraham
and David, heading up to the summit, which is Jesus Christ.
Son of Abraham—the first covenantwith the Jewishpeople, through which
all the nations of the world would be blessed. So Jesus wouldbe the Messiah,
the Savior.
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Son of David—who receiveda promise that one of his heirs would sit on a
throne and have a kingdom that would never end. So Jesus would be the King
and ruler for all of eternity.
Matthew writes to the Jews so he traces Jesus back to the father of the Jews,
Abraham. David was the pinnacle of all the kings of Israel, and so in His rule,
Jesus would be like David, loving God, ruling fairly but firmly and pointing
everyone to Yahweh. In 1 Chronicles 29, we see David’s heart “who am I?” he
says to God, that he should have been chosen. Jesusrepeatedlysaid that his
task was to glorify and follow the will of the Father.

The lineage tracedhere through Josephshows that Jesus has a rightful place
as a Jew and as a member of David’s house, and thus can legallybe the
Messiah.
2 – 16
Verses 2 through 6a show the line from Abraham to David, verses 6b through
11 show the line from Solomonto the exile, then 12 through 16 follow the line
from Jechoniahto Jesus.
(16) Josephis mentioned as “the husband of Mary” not the “fatherof Jesus”
because he was not the biologicalfather. But he was His father by way of
paternal care and legalstanding—Jesus gains his legalright to be the Messiah
through the line of Joseph(but He is also biologicallyrelatedto David through
Mary – her genealogyis in Luke’s gospel).
This actually started back in 2 Samuel 7:16. “And your house and your
kingdom shall be made sure foreverbefore me. Your throne shall be
establishedforever.” This is what Nathan the prophet told David.
The connectionto the Messiahwas revealedto Isaiah:
Isa 9:6-7 Forto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government
shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be calledWonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his
government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and
over his kingdom, to establishit and to uphold it with justice and with
righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do
this.
The connectionto Abraham actually predates the connectionto the Jews,
because Abram was not a “Jew” whenGod gave him these promises:
Gen 17:7-8 And I will establishmy covenantbetweenme and you and your
offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant,
to be Godto you and to your offspring after you.

In these 17 verses we meet 46 people. Some were heroes like David; others
were of less noble birth, like Rahabthe prostitute. Others were not all that
greatin terms of character, suchas Manasseh. YetGod used all of them, some
despite themselves, to bring the line of Messiahfrom Abraham up to Jesus.
Also note verse 11. Jechoniah(Jehoiachin)was cursedas a leader of Judah
(Jeremiah 22:24-30)and “none of his offspring shall succeedin sitting on the
throne of David and ruling again in Judah.” Jesus was not the natural son of
Joseph, but the adopted son. Mary’s line goes through David’s son Nathan.
Though man suffers under the curse, Jesus came to lift that curse by His
death. (Jechoniah’s curse doesn’tchange Jesus’legalclaim to the throne). It
also shows us that while man’s efforts by himself will lead to sin, Jesus life will
lead to righteousness forall.
The term “was the father of” can also mean ancestor, so these genealogies do
not follow strictly the family tree.
17
Now—this genealogydiffers from Luke’s. Why? Mostlikely, Matthew is
recording for the Jews (and us) Jesus legalright to David’s throne. So he
shows the royal nature of Jesus’lineage to David, rather than just the natural
human lineage. Matthew focusedon important parts of Israelhistory, and it’s
even possible that he was using numbers as symbolic importance. To the Jews,
sevenwas the number of completeness,so Matthew uses 3 sets of 7 times 2
(doubling something meant it was more certain). It’s also possible that he is
using David’s name, which adds up to 14 in Hebrew (DVD 4 + 6 + 4 = 14).
Whateverthe case, this is a legalcase, not a family tree, so the differences are
not significantto our understanding of the text or our trust in the Bible.
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