35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared,
“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
38 And in his teaching he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces 39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 40 who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” – Mark 12:35-40 ESV
Up until this point, the Jewish religious leaders have been asking all the questions, but now Jesus turns the tables on them. In verse 34, Mark indicates that, after three failed attempts to entrap Jesus, “no one dared to ask him any more questions.” They simply gave up, but they didn’t go away.
As Jesus continued to teach in the temple, He posed a question of His own. Matthew indicates that He directed it at a group of nearby Pharisees. This was probably the same group who had shown up with the scribe who asked Him which was the greatest commandment. These men were still standing close enough to hear Jesus and likely plotting their next move against Him. They have completely discounted any notion that Jesus might be the Messiah. This matters because it sheds light on the question Jesus poses.
“How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?” – Mark 12:35 ESV
Each of the three gospel writers who record this event records Jesus’ question slightly differently. Matthew reports that Jesus directed His question at the Pharisees, asking them, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” (Matthew 23:42 ESV). Luke records Jesus asking, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?” (Luke 20:41 ESV). It seems likely that Jesus posed a series of questions, but the gospel authors each emphasized a different facet of the same question.
First, He asked the Pharisees what they believed about the Messiah or Christ. After all, these men were the religious conservatives of their day and revered for their knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. According to Matthew, they quickly declared that the Christ would be “the son of David” (Matthew 22:42 ESV). Jesus then asked the Pharisees to explain how the scribes, the experts in the Mosaic Law, could justify their belief that the Christ would be the son of David. All of these men were supposed to have a strong grasp of the Old Testament Scriptures, and they shared a common belief that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David. But how could they justify it from God’s Word?
Jesus knew they would use 2 Samuel 7:12-16, which records a promise that God had made to King David.
“When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” – 2 Samuel 7:12-16 ESV
While this promise was partly fulfilled with the birth of Solomon, the Jews believed it had longer-term implications that would ultimately come about through the arrival of the Messiah, God's anointed one.
Keep in mind that Jesus has already publicly shamed these men, declaring them to be ignorant of God’s Word and strangers to the power of God.
“…you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.” – Mark 12:24 NLT
Their understanding that the Messiah would be a descendant of David drove their expectation that He would be a powerful king and ruler like His predecessor. They fully expected the Messiah to arrive and wield a sword, just as David had, conquering Israel's enemies and restoring God's people to their former prominence in the Middle East.
But Jesus turns to the Old Testament Scriptures to teach a vital truth about the Messiah. He quotes from the opening verse of Psalm 110, a psalm written by King David himself.
The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.” – Psalm 110:1 ESV
In His ongoing confrontations with the religious leaders, Jesus has been subtly revealing the justification for HIs authority. This whole situation began when the chief priests, scribes, and elders confronted Him over His cleansing the temple. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” (Mark 11:28 NLT). In every subsequent conversation Jesus had with these men, He gave them glimpses of who He was by revealing His knowledge of God’s Word and declaring Himself to be “The stone that the builders rejected” (Mark 12:10 ESV). Through a parable, Jesus described Himself as the son of the master of the vineyard, and the Pharisees had fully understood His meaning,
But here, Jesus uses the words of King David to make an important point about the Messiah that these learned men had somehow overlooked in their study of Scripture.
Jesus notes that, in the psalm, David refers to his coming descendant as “my Lord.” In Hebrew the text reads, “Jehovah has said to my Lord (‘adown).” In other words, David records that God made His promise to David’s future descendant. But Jesus asks these learned men why David would call this man his “Lord” or Adonai, one of the most common names in the Old Testament for God. So, Jesus wants to know why David used this particular word to refer to a man. Secondly, why would God offer a mere man a position of prominence at His side?
“Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet?” – Mark 12:36 ESV
Jesus reveals that there is more going on in this passage than the scribes and Pharisees understood. The Messiah would not only be the son of David, but also David’s Adonai (Lord and Master). In other words, the Messiah would be the Son of Man and the Son of God, the God-man who was fully divine and fully human. Even King David understood that his future descendant would have a unique relationship with God, greater than anything he had ever experienced.
Jesus summarized His point by asking these experts in the Hebrew Scriptures to explain how this could be.
“David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” – Mark 12:37 ESV
But sensing a trap, the religious leaders refused to answer; their earlier attempts to debate with Jesus had left them looking like fools. Yet Mark indicates that the crowd who overheard this conversation loved what Jesus had to say. To a certain degree, they probably enjoyed watching the public humiliation of these arrogant men, who prided themselves on their vast knowledge of the Bible and flaunted their superior righteousness. Then, to the onlookers’ delight, Jesus dropped another bombshell.
“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” – Mark 12:38-40 ESV
Mark presents a very abbreviated recounting of Jesus’ teaching, leaving out the seven “woes” that Matthew records. After enduring a constant barrage of condemnation from these religious leaders, Jesus turned the spotlight on them. According to Matthew’s account, Jesus essentially told the crowd to “do as they say, but not as they do.”
“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden.” – Matthew 23:2-4 NLT
In other words, these men taught the law of God, but failed to live up to it. They could proclaim the truth of God’s Word but had no desire to let it influence how they lived. In Matthew’s account, Jesus calls these men hypocrites and blind guides. They were frauds and, worse, like blind men, futilely trying to guide others.
Jesus accused them of caring more about their reputations than about obeying God’s will. They loved being recognized for their fine robes, coveted their celebrity status, and were addicted to honor and recognition. It was all about them, and Jesus declares that these men will receive greater condemnation. God would hold them accountable for their pride and arrogant mistreatment of His people.
These men had no right to question Jesus' authority. He was the Son of God and was doing the will of God. But they were supposed to be God's servants, caring for the flock He had placed under their care. Yet, they had failed miserably. But Jesus, the Son of David and the Son of God, would faithfully fulfill His Father's will, sacrificing His life for the sake of His Father’s flock.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” – John 6:38 ESV
But they refused to acknowledge Him as the Messiah, the Son of David and their Lord and Master. As a result, Jesus would issue this stinging rebuke:
Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” – John 8:42-47 ESV
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.