Why Sometimes Questions Are Better Than Answers! Matthew 22:41-46

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 

Jesus turns the tables on the Pharisees and now asks them a question.  There must have been a pause in the action. You can just imagine seeing the Pharisees huddling to see what trap to set for Jesus next.  

42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.

This was an easy question to give them. Every Jew knew the answer was the son of David.  This was part of the Davidic covenant God made with David and the people of Israel in 2 Samuel 7.  

"This is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah (Jesus Christ) would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish a kingdom that would endure forever. The Davidic Covenant is unconditional because God does not place any conditions of obedience upon its fulfillment. The surety of the promises made rests solely on God’s faithfulness and does not depend at all on David or Israel’s obedience." (GotQuestions.org)

This is the same question Jesus asked of his disciples in Matthew Matthew 16:13-15 when he said, "Who do you say I am?" 

43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,

"The Pharisees were partially right in saying that the Messiah is the Son of David. But they didn’t have a complete understanding of who the Messiah is. He is not only David’s Son (a reference to His humanity), but He is also David’s Lord (a reference to the deity of Jesus, the Messiah)." (Guzik)

Note how the Holy Spirit also spoke through men like David in the Old Testament.  They were inspired by the Spirit and this is captured in the writings of the Old Testament. 

“What did Jesus mean? He can have meant only one thing – that the true description of him is Son of God. Son of David is not an adequate title; only Son of God will do.” (Barclay)

44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’

To sit at the right hand of someone meant you had equal power with them. The "LORD" meant Yahweh and the second "Lord" was "Adonai".  Again we see the equality of Jesus as Messiah (Adonai) equal to Yahweh (Jehovah) the Father.  

"Till I make thine enemies thy footstool; till all the enemies of him, and his people, are subdued under him; carnal professors, as the Pharisees, and profane sinners, who neither of them would have him to rule over them; the world, the devil, antichrist, and all the powers of darkness, and the last enemy, death itself." (Gill)

45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 

The Pharisees did not want to admit that the Messiah was on a par with God.  They were monotheistic so this did not make sense to them.  This is all part and parcel of their general misunderstanding of who the Messiah was, how He would come to earth, and how He would save Israel.  

At the end of the day, Jesus being on a par with Yahweh was what got Jesus killed.  It was considered blasphemy to put a mere human on the same level as God in any sense of the word.  Coincidentally, this is the heart of the Christian faith and what makes it different from any other religion.

If Jesus was a man, he could not have died for our sin.  If he was not God, he would have had to die for his own sin.  He was truly God and truly man, the great truth and mystery of our faith. 

46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

"The religious leaders hoped to trap Jesus and embarrass Him in front of the Passover pilgrims that crowded Jerusalem and heard Him teach. Yet Jesus embarrassed them instead. Logic and rhetoric proved useless in attacking Jesus. Now His enemies would use treachery and violence instead." (Guzik)

What can we learn from Jesus' interaction with the Pharisees today?  Why is sometimes asking questions better than giving answers?  What are some questions you could ask others to help you understand what they believe in?  

Some people have said to me, "I don't believe in Christianity!"  And I often have replied, "Tell me about the Christianity you don't believe in, maybe I don't believe in it either?"  The other thing is people want to judge Christianity by is the Christians they come across.  So if a Christian sins they say, "You see all Christians are hypocrites!"  But I would say rather than judging Christianity by Christians judge it by Jesus.  His life, his claims and what he promises to those who believe in him  The book of John is a great book to give someone to read if they just want to learn about who Jesus is, especially in regard to how he treats others!