35Then Jesus answered and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David? 36For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:
| 'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.'" |
37Therefore David himself calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"
And the common people heard Him gladly.
This one confuses me more than it helps me. This seems to be questioning the reference to Jesus as the Son of David. The only place I see that used is when blind Bartimaeus called Him Son of David. I think this term was used to claim Jesus as the Messiah. Yes, I can see the paradox here: their Messiah was to be the Son of David, but David referred to the Messiah as his Lord, so how could the Messiah be his Son?
My problem is why is Jesus raising this question here and now? What does it mean when it says the common people heard Him gladly?
Jesus was just challenged by the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes. They asked Him questions they thought would trip him up, that they thought would be very difficult to answer. It said no one dared question Him anymore after that. Are they still present at this time? Or is Jesus now only talking to the common people?
If they are still present, did Jesus ask this in retaliation to present them with a question that is difficult to answer? Were the people glad because Jesus could give as good as He got? Somehow this doesn't fit my image of how I see Jesus. Especially when He ended his response to the last question with a statement of they are getting close to the kingdom of God. I would think he would want to encourage them rather than stump them.
Jesus often refers to himself as Son of Man, never as Son of David. Yes, their Messiah was to come through a descendent of David. But David made it clear that their Messiah was to be more than just the Son of David. The Messiah is his Lord. If the people understood this, they would be awed by just what their Messiah is. I'm hoping that is why they heard Him gladly.
If the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes are still present, I don't think He is trying to stump them, but to give them something to think about. Yes, they are getting close to the kingdom of God. But their Messiah won't just be someone who comes along to strike down their enemies. He will be there to reign in the kingdom of God at God's right hand, right where he has been since David's time and always had been throughout all time.
It's not very clear how this should be interpreted. I could interpret it as the retaliation I mentioned earlier, or as a teaching of what their Messiah really is. I choose to interpret it as a teaching.