We long for leaders who are both powerful enough to save us and intimate enough to sit with us over coffee. That hunger lies behind Jesus’ question to the religious leaders: who is the Messiah to you — merely a royal descendant or something far greater? This short exchange forces us to reckon with the tension we carry about Jesus: is he one more great teacher from history, a political liberator, or Lord? How we answer shapes everything from our work to our prayers.
In Matthew 22:41–46, Mark 12:35–37, and Luke 20:41–44 Jesus asks the crowds and the Pharisees a question about the Messiah. He quotes Psalm 110:1 — “The Lord said to my Lord” — and points out that David himself calls the Messiah “Lord.” If the Messiah is David’s son (as lineage insists), how can David call him “Lord”? All three Gospels record this teaching; the accounts are very similar, though each writer highlights slightly different angles of the exchange. (This scene is present in the Synoptics; you won’t find it in John.)
This moment exposes something essential about Jesus: he is not merely the latest son in an honored family line. He is David’s descendant and David’s Lord — fully human within David’s line and fully exalted over David. That double reality overturns our easy categories. If we expect a Messiah who looks like our political shortcuts, we miss the mystery: the King who claims allegiance is the same One who stoops to wash feet and die. The Gospel’s weight here is twofold — it challenges our expectations and offers grace: a Lord who is also present to us personally.
Don’t miss how this should reorder your daily life. Today, practice a simple discipline when you face a decision or a relationship tension: ask, “Am I treating Jesus like a helpful ancestor who blesses my plans, or like the Lord who directs them?” Pause, read Psalm 110 slowly, and let that pause shape one concrete action — choose obedience where you wanted convenience, speak truth in love where you’d stayed silent, or relinquish control in a prayer of trust. The King who is your Lord is also the one who calls you beloved; live accordingly.
In Matthew 22:41–46, Mark 12:35–37, and Luke 20:41–44 Jesus asks the crowds and the Pharisees a question about the Messiah. He quotes Psalm 110:1 — “The Lord said to my Lord” — and points out that David himself calls the Messiah “Lord.” If the Messiah is David’s son (as lineage insists), how can David call him “Lord”? All three Gospels record this teaching; the accounts are very similar, though each writer highlights slightly different angles of the exchange. (This scene is present in the Synoptics; you won’t find it in John.)
This moment exposes something essential about Jesus: he is not merely the latest son in an honored family line. He is David’s descendant and David’s Lord — fully human within David’s line and fully exalted over David. That double reality overturns our easy categories. If we expect a Messiah who looks like our political shortcuts, we miss the mystery: the King who claims allegiance is the same One who stoops to wash feet and die. The Gospel’s weight here is twofold — it challenges our expectations and offers grace: a Lord who is also present to us personally.
Don’t miss how this should reorder your daily life. Today, practice a simple discipline when you face a decision or a relationship tension: ask, “Am I treating Jesus like a helpful ancestor who blesses my plans, or like the Lord who directs them?” Pause, read Psalm 110 slowly, and let that pause shape one concrete action — choose obedience where you wanted convenience, speak truth in love where you’d stayed silent, or relinquish control in a prayer of trust. The King who is your Lord is also the one who calls you beloved; live accordingly.
Matthew: 22:41-46
Jesus asks the Pharisees whose son the Messiah is; when they answer “David’s,” he quotes Psalm 110:1—where David calls the Messiah “my Lord”—to show the Messiah is greater than David, leaving them unable to reply.
Open VerseMark: 12:35-37
Jesus challenges the common view that the Messiah is merely "the son of David," noting that David himself calls the Messiah "Lord" (quoting Psalm 110:1), so how can he be David's son, and the crowd listening to him was delighted.
Open VerseLuke: 20:41-44
Jesus asks the scribes how the Messiah can be David’s son when David himself calls him “Lord,” quoting Psalm 110:1 to show that the Messiah is greater than David and is exalted at God’s right hand.
Open Verse