Matthew 22:41-46

Mat 22:41 (KJB)
While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them,

Since the Pharisees and Sadducees had been questioning Jesus and He answered every one of their questions, He now turns the tables (no pun intended) and asks them a question. It is a question that they should have known about since they were supposed to be the leading teachers in Israel.

Mat 22:42 (KJB)
Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.

In verse 15, the Pharisees had begun to question Jesus and now Jesus in turn asks them a question as to what they thought about the Christ. He asked them what are your thoughts on Christ? And then He follows up with a second question concerning whose son is he? The subject of the Messiah was a very vital issue. The Pharisees had responded in the normal fashion concerning their thoughts on a Messiah who would be a political leader of Israel instead of being a spiritual leader. By stating that Christ was the son of David, they were turning the question into a question of nationalism. Jesus was about to reveal His authority in a different way in these final questions. (Mat 12:23 KJV) And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? Even the people saw Jesus as the son of David when they saw the healings that He did.

Mat 22:43 (KJB)
He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,

Jesus uses a typical rabbinic technique of asking counter questions. Then Jesus emphasizes a passage from Psalm 110. (Psa 110:1 KJV) A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jesus was not denying the fact that the Messiah was David’s son. Then Jesus points out very succinctly that it is through the Holy Spirit that David is making that statement, “in spirit.” Since the Jewish leaders did not have the Holy Spirit, they were in error in their understanding of who the son of David was. Their understanding sprang from their own human reasoning and understanding. They had focused only on the human line from David to the Messiah. While Jesus was in the lineage of David, He did not receive His authority from David.

Mat 22:44 (KJB)
The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?

To one who is unsaved and only sees the Scriptures through unsaved eyes and understanding, a statement like the one above would cause one to stumble. (2 Pet 3:16 KJV) As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. The fact that they had rejected Jesus as Messiah while the Scriptures clearly pointed to Him, caused their own destruction. Jesus wanted to show them that the Messiah was more than just a political and national leader but was also the heavenly God man who came to them as prophesied in the Scriptures. The Messiah is Lord over David and in this passage, it is God the Father telling God the Son to sit on His right hand until all the enemies of earth are subdued. (Mat 26:64 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. When Jesus went back to Heaven there is a period between His first and second coming where all the forces and minions of Satan will be finally subdued and destroyed. Not having the Holy Spirit would trip the leaders up on this understanding. What Jesus did was to combine two Scriptures:

(Psa 110:1 KJV) A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

(Dan 7:13 KJV) I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

Mat 22:45 (KJB)
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?

Then Jesus asks the question above which caused the leaders to become confused because how could David refer to the Messiah as Lord and in the same breath refer to Him as his son? What the leaders had failed to realize was that God the Father had intervened in history and made His Son the Messiah and Son of David. So not only was Jesus the son of David but He was also the Son of God.

Mat 22:46 (KJB)
And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.

Durst - Dared

The Pharisees had been silenced just like the Sadducees. They were unable to answer that question since they did not approach it from a spiritual vantage point because they could not, being void of the Holy Spirit. The next time they would meet would be in their court. The dialogues of Matthew 22 took place on Thursday. By Jesus pointing this conversation to God the Father, Jesus was able to evade any more questions which they would have used to trap Him. This way the Jewish leaders would have had to deny God’s authority and power.

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