Mark 12:35-37 35 And answering, Jesus was speaking in the temple, teaching, “How do the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself said by the Holy Spirit, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37David himself calls him Lord, so in what way is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly.
Jesus planted seeds in the thinking of the people gathered in the temple courts. Instead of being asked a question, he posed a question to the people. The focus of his teaching was on the Messiah. Many Jews of that time had an eager expectation that God would intervene in history through the long-expected Messiah. The topic Jesus discussed next was the most important of all. Who is the Messiah? In this case, Jesus uses the scribes own teaching to explain the Messiah. There is no mention here that he specifically calls himself the Messiah, but he sets up the condition for the people. They would be required to accept him by faith.
The typical understanding of the Messiah taught by the scribes is that he was to be the son of David. The Old Testament contains promises about God’s deliverance through the lineage of David (2 Samuel 7:12; Isaiah 9, 11; Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23. By the first century, the hope of the people for a Messiah was strong.
Jesus expanded the idea in his temple teaching by quoting Psalm 110 and including sonship and lordship. This psalm became important to early Christians as a prooftext of Jesus as the Messiah. It is the most quoted passage in the New Testament from the Old Testament. Jesus attributes the words written by David is this psalm to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The psalm begins with the line that is most significant for interpretation with the need to identify the two Lords that are mentioned. In the original Hebrew, different words are used: “The Lord [Yahweh] declared to my lord [adonai].” The first Lord refers to God, and the second Lord to the king who was being coronated and exalted to sit at the highest place of honor at right hand of God. The placement of the king would have also provided legitimacy to the king as the rightful ruler of the people. Jesus interprets the verse as a reference to the Messiah, who would be honored in this way. Many Jews, including the scribes, would agree with this interpretation.
In verse 37, Jesus raises a logical question based on this interpretation that moves the people close to seeing the connection between their expectations and who he was. The key implication to the question is that the Messiah would not simply be part of David’s lineage, as people expected, but would be even greater. How could the Messiah, the son of David, be superior to David and be exalted to the right hand of God himself? Jesus did come from the line of David through his earthly nature (Romans 1:3) but was exalted to the highest place of honor next to God’s heavenly throne (Acts 2:33; 5:31; 7:56; and many others).
The crowd was amazed and excited about these words, but did they really understand their significance? In the same way, people today hear about Jesus and know the claims about him, but do they make the commitment of discipleship by accepting him as Lord and Savior? Curiosity is not enough. Jesus invites people to put their lives and destinies into his hands by accepting his lordship, power, and authority. Hearing the word must move to accepting it in faith and obedience.
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