Luke 20 - Whose Son is Jesus?

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

41 Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’
44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

In chapter 20, the religious leaders are looking for a way to trap Jesus and discredit his teaching and authority.  They ask him questions about paying taxes to Caesar, the Resurrection, and by what authority was he doing his ministry.  Jesus sees their motives and turns each one on their arguments on its head which leaves them speechless.  

Then he turns the tables and asks them why in the Psalms it says, "the Messiah is the son of David".  They all knew that the Messiah was to descend from the house and the line of David, but Jesus also points out in Psalm 16 David calls Jesus, "His Lord".  So he asks them how can the Messiah be his son and His Lord at the same time? He was pointing out the true nature of the Messiah that he would be both human, descended from the line of David, and the Lord.  

The leaders were looking to discredit Jesus, when all the while they were missing out on the chance to realize that the Messiah was among them.  But they were so intent on maintaining their image and protecting their position, they could not fathom the dual nature of Christ.  They could not realize that his teaching and miracles came from God, even though He was mere man thus showing them the Messiah was in their midst as prophesied in their scriptures.  

Many people spend their time trying to disprove Christianity, or if you are a Christian, trying to find ways to discredit your life.  The best antidote is to live out the Christian life in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Though you are human, they will see that God uses mere humans to reveal himself most of all as we love others.  This is something they will not be able to explain away. The most persuasive argument for Jesus is a Christian who lives the way he would if he were them. Of course we all fall far short of living the life Jesus did, but nonetheless God even uses our weaknesses to show God's strength.  That is what grace is all about and is what is most compelling about who Jesus is as both the son of man and the son of God!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Acts 22 - Paul Sees the Light

2 Timothy 4 - Fight the Good Fight! Finish the Race!

Hebrews 6 - Have You Graduated From Elementary School of Faith Yet?