Matthew 22:41-46 (ESV)

⁴¹ Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, ⁴² saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” ⁴³ He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ⁴⁴ “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? ⁴⁵ If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” ⁴⁶ And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

After the religious leaders failed in their numerous attempts to trip up Jesus, he turned the tables around and tested the Pharisees with a question of his own. He asked them what they thought about the Messiah, adding the question “Whose son is he?” Who did they believe would be included in the ancestry of the Messiah? The natural answer was what the Scripture taught. The Messiah would come from the line of King David. Jesus then quoted Psalm 110 where David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says, “The Lord said to my Lord.” When he made this declaration, David admitted the Messiah was his Lord and would be greater than he. The Pharisees were puzzled. How could the Messiah be both from David and greater than David? When the Jews remembered King David, they thought of a fearless warrior who delivered the nation of Israel from her enemies. Even from David’s humble beginning as a boy, he stood up against the giant Goliath to win victory for the people of God. Those eagerly awaiting the Messiah expected this kind of deliverance. When Jesus asked the Pharisees, “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” he was challenging them to consider that there were still things they just didn’t understand about the one who would be the Messiah of Israel. The Pharisees, in the end, were the ones stumped by Jesus.

Neither the chief priests and elders, the Herodians, the Saduccees, nor the Pharisees could trip up Jesus in his words. No matter what they asked him, he gave a brilliant response. Yet with one question from Jesus, they were silenced. Do we want to question God? Do we think we know more than he does, or are wiser than he? Often, when we see the sin and suffering in this world, we are tempted to think we could have done things better. Like the religious leaders, if we were to question God, he would not only be able to respond to our accusations, but would stop us in our tracks. If you are questioning the wisdom of Jesus, learn from these conversations and realize that you will never win. Jesus is the Lord to whom King David referred. Jesus is both the son of David and the Lord of all. Decide to humble yourself before him in full and complete trust today.