While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself, speaking by 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.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight. Mark 12:35-37 NIV
Jesus has turned the tables by asking a question; he has gone on the offensive. Jesus asks, “how the teachers of the law can say the Christ (Messiah) is the son of David when David calls him Lord?” Jesus is really asking, “whose son is the Christ?” This is a question we all need to answer for ourselves.
“The Lord says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” Psalm 110:1 is quoted here in Mark, in Matthew 22:44, Luke 20:43-44, Acts 2:33-35, and in Hebrews 1:13. This is a Messianic Psalm, composed by David most likely for his son Solomon’s coronation. But it is also prophetic. David is full of the Holy Spirit and proclaims the Messiah – David’s descendant – is David’s Lord.
In Matthew 26:64, Luke 22:69 and Mark 14:62 Jesus tells the Sanhedrin that he is the Messiah, and will be seen sitting at the right hand of God and coming on the clouds of heaven. Sitting at the right hand of God is a position of favor and power second only to God himself. David in Psalm 110, Paul in Romans 8:34 and the writer of Hebrews in Heb. 12:2 all declare Jesus is Messiah, Jesus is the son of God, Jesus is God.
The second part of Psalm 110:1 talks about God making all of his enemies a footstool for his feet. In II Chronicles 9:18 Solomon’s throne is described as having a footstool attached to the throne. I Kings 5:3b says, “he could not build a temple for the Name of the Lord his God until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.” Conquering kings in the Old Testament would actually put their feet on the necks of their conquered enemies. David and Jesus are using this vivid imagery as a picture of what God will do in our lives and in the end times.
Whose son is the Christ? Whose son is the Messiah? He is a descendant of David, but more than that, He is Lord of all, the King of Kings, he is the Son of God, and he is seated right now at the right hand of God, his work is finished. This week, look at some of these passages from the Old and New Testaments and answer this question for yourself.
By Grace Hunter
