David’s Son and Lord

In our study of Luke’s gospel, we have noted that many first-century Jews were looking for a Messiah who would be merely an earthly king. They expected a descendant of David who would be a mighty man and would overthrow the Roman government and reestablish David’s throne in Jerusalem, putting the Jews over the nations. Such expectations were not entirely out of line with the Old Testament, which envisions the Messiah as ruling and reigning over the whole world (Ps. 2). But many Jews missed what the Scriptures teach about other aspects of the Messiah’s work, such as His atoning death and resurrection (Isa. 53). Jesus often corrected this error, referring to His own vocation of suffering (e.g., Luke 18:31–34).

Another mistake that many Jews made was in thinking that the promised king would be only a man. They missed the Old Testament teaching that the Messiah would be both God and man. Today’s passage records one occasion when Jesus pointed His audience to the deity of the Messiah. He did this by asking a question about Psalm 110, the most frequently cited Old Testament passage in the New Testament.

Psalm 110 is a messianic psalm in which David prophesies that one of his descendants will be seated at the right hand of God, the place of divine power and authority. In the original Hebrew text of Psalm 110:1, two different names or titles for God appear: “The Lord [that is, Yahweh] says to my Lord [that is, Adonai].” This implies a distinction between two persons, both of whom are fully divine. In the Greek translation of the psalm, which is cited here in Luke 20, the same Greek word and divine title is used for both persons: “The Lord [that is, kyrios] said to my Lord [that is, kyrios].” This reinforces the implication of two fully divine persons. Jesus brings this out in asking His question about the psalm: If the Messiah is merely David’s son and thus less than David, how can he be called David’s Lord and hold a divine title? The answer is that the Messiah must be more than a son of David. He is also God Himself (Luke 20:41–44). Cyril of Alexandria comments that the Son of God, “being in his likeness and equal with [God the Father], . . . became flesh. He became man, perfectly and yet without departing from the incomparable excellence of the divine dignities. He continued in that state in which he had always been. He still was God, although he became flesh and in form like us. He is David’s Lord therefore according to that which belongs to his divine glory, nature and sovereignty. He is his son according to the flesh.”