35 While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
The large crowd listened to him with delight.
These couple of verses in chapter 12 needs some context to understand. Let's set the scene. Jesus is in a temple in Jerusalem and he's being approached by priests, Pharisees and scribes. They start to ask Him questions regarding his authority and then even to try to trap Him into saying something wrong. Jesus, being who He is, deals with all the questions they throw at Him with wisdom and eloquence. He not only escapes the malicious questions, but helps settle some theological debates the Jewish leaders were having at the time. Read the verses leading up to today's passage to go in-depth into this context.
Now it's Jesus' turn to flip the table on the Pharisees and company. He uses a format similar to when the Pharisees tried to trap him with questions, but this time on them. The difference here is Jesus is able to stump them. He first asks the Pharisees, or the teachers of the law, whose son will the long-waited Messiah be. They respond with, "The son of David." This is where Jesus really stumps them, asking how can the Messiah be the son of David when David himself calls the Messiah "Lord." He quotes Psalms 110:1, a chapter that all the Pharisees would have recognized. It's one of the most important texts in the old testament that prophesies the Messiah, and is the most quoted old testament chapter in the new testament. The Pharisees knew exactly what Jesus was talking about.
What Jesus was trying to explain here was that the Messiah wasn't simply going to be a descendant of David, but he was also going to be the Son of God. Jesus was trying to teach the idea that He himself had this dual nature of being both man and God. This stumped the Jewish leaders. They knew, believed, and thought they understood this prophecy in Psalms but the reality is they didn't. They themselves, as religious leaders, still needed to learn more about who the Messiah, Jesus, really was.
My biggest take away here is no matter where you are in your walk with God, continue to learn! Jesus here is directly addressing leaders of the church, people who would have studied the old testament heavily and been regarded as the most wise members of the community. Yet it shows there was still so much for them to learn. If you've grown up in the church, have been apart of countless bible studies and have been reading the bible your whole life you might start to think you understand it all. But I think Jesus is trying to tell us you can always learn more, and grow a deeper understanding of God.
One of the most important things to do, is to never stop asking questions. In Matthew's account of the story (Matthew 22:41-46) he says none of the Pharisees dared to ask him anymore questions, maybe in fear of being proved wrong or hypocritical. But I think it's better to be proved wrong and know the actual truth, then to be stuck believing in a lie. So as you read the bible keep asking questions, especially hard ones, and bring them to your pastors, leaders and mentors. Living a Christian life means to continue to learn more about what it means to be a follow of Christ, and to grow in that knowledge!
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