Jesus Himself Now Puts a Question: Who Is David's Lord? (20:41-43).
In the chiasmus of the Section (see above) this statement, where Jesus reveals Himself as ‘David's Lord', and denounces the ostentation and claims of the Rabbis who set themselves up as false deliverers, a situation in which their fleecing of widows is prominent, is paralleled with the depiction of Jesus' entry into the Temple to cleanse it as its ‘Lord' (Luke 19:31; Luke 19:34), and the declaration that the Temple is a ‘den of Robbers (Luke 19:45-46).
The question of Jesus here would seem to be directed at a Rabbinic idea that the Christ was merely the son of David and therefore not superior to David, thus making him purely merely political and secondary. But Jesus wanted to bring out that the Messiah was not only superior to David, but was of a totally higher status. he was Lord over all. For even David addressed Him as ‘my Lord', thus exalting the Messiah high above David. He leaves men to recognise how this applies to Himself.
The contrast with the Scribes is striking. Jesus, the Messiah, Who is destined shortly to receive glory, and exaltation to the chief seat from God, walks in lowliness and meekness on earth, taking on Himself the form of a servant, and eschewing wealth, awaiting His destiny, while the Scribes strut and prance around as though they were the Messiah, and seize for themselves the wealth of the vulnerable, while putting on a pretence of sanctity. For at the time when this was spoken there was a sense in which these Scribes did rule their religious world.
The reference here is to Psalms 110 which is headed ‘a psalm of David'. Reference in that Psalm to the institution of ‘the order of Melchizedek' (Luke 20:4), referring to the old King of Salem in Genesis 14, may suggest that it was written not long after the capture of Jerusalem by David, when it would have been suitable for pacifying the Jebusites, and yet have come before the time when such an idea would have been looked on as heresy. In it David and his heirs were to be seen as non-sacrificing priest-kings in Jerusalem, acknowledged by the Jebusites and Jerusalemites, even if seen as priest-king nowhere else in Judah and Israel. This would have aided the assimilation of the Jebusites into the faith of Israel.
Furthermore as David considered the promise that one day his heir would rule over an everlasting Kingdom (2 Samuel 7:16) and be God's Anointed, triumphant over the all the nations of the earth (Psalms 2:8-9), it could well have raised within him a paean of praise and a declaration that this future son of his would be greater than he was himself, that he would indeed be his superior, ‘my Lord'. But what matters in Jesus' use of it in this passage is not so much its background, as how the Psalm was seen in His own day (although it is clear in Mark that Jesus saw it as written by David under inspiration of the Holy Spirit - Mark 12:36).
There are good grounds for stating that this Psalm was interpreted Messianically in the pre-Christian period. This is confirmed by the Midrash on Psalms 18:36 where Psalms 110:1 is quoted by way of illustration in a Messianic sense. Later the interpretation was dropped by the Rabbis because the Christians had taken it over. Now, says Jesus, if David wrote this Psalm with a future king in mind, now interpreted as the Messiah, then David was addressing the Messiah as ‘Lord'. And indeed he was not only addressing Him as Lord but was portraying Him as God's right hand man. That being so he must have recognised the Messiah as being far superior to himself.
This receives some confirmation in that Psalms 110 is constantly quoted Messianically in the New Testament. See for example Acts 2:34 where it is cited of His ascending the throne of God as both Lord and Messiah; Hebrews 10:12 where, after offering one sacrifice for sins for ever, He ‘sat down at the right hand of God'. See also Acts 7:55-56; Acts 13:33-39; 1 Corinthians 15:22-28; Ephesians 1:19-23; Hebrews 1:3-14; Hebrews 5-7. With regard to the Melchizedek priesthood see Hebrews 6:20; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 7:21.
So we may see that Jesus was here concerned to bring home to His listeners, in what was at this time His usual veiled way, that His status in fact far exceeded that of David and that He was destined to sit at God's right hand with His enemies subdued before Him (Acts 2:36) as made clear especially in Psalms 2; Isaiah 9:6-7; Isaiah 11:1-4; Zechariah 14:3; Zechariah 14:9.
Analysis.
a He said to them, “How say they that the Christ is David's son?” (Luke 20:41).
b “For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit you on my right hand, until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet' ” (Luke 20:42-43).
a “David therefore calls him Lord, and how is He his son?” (Luke 20:44).
The comparisons are simple. In ‘a' and its parallel are the questions, in ‘b' is the answer.