As his third day of teaching in the Temple at Jerusalem draws to a close, Jesus still finds receptive listeners among the people. But after he and his disciples leave the city, his teachings turn somber, filled with warnings of destruction —and not just for the Temple.
12:35-37 While Jesus was still teaching in the temple, he asked, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? purposefully raising the question of Messiahship—in public, no less! Would the Messiah be defined only as David's son, conjuring up images of warriors, conquests, political upheavals? No. For David himself, speaking by the Holy Ghost, had declared, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jesus was inviting them to think deeply, to go beyond political ramifications. In Psalm 110, this Lord was identified as a priest of the order of Melchizedek. David had recognized that God had a relationship with this Lord, who was Lord even of David, the king.
Jesus continued, David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and how then can the Messiah be his son? Human limitations, rules, and expectations can never define what is spiritually true. The Messiah may, indeed, be a descendant of David, but his real parent is God, the Father. It is God who authorizes, empowers, and sustains. Thus it is that the Messiah will do the work of God, not of David. And the common people heard him gladly.
