Various religious sects were envious of the following Jesus had so they peppered Him with controversial questions to trip Him up, but He masterfully responded to each, driving home the truth and foiling His enemies’ schemes (Matt. 22). The Pharisees took counsel how they might entangle him in His talk (Matt. 22:15). They teamed up with the Herodians and presented a dilemma regarding paying taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:16-18), but Jesus replied, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). Then the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection (Matt. 22:23; Acts 23:8), asked him a hypothetical question about marriage, attempting to make a mockery of the resurrection (Matt. 22:23-33). Jesus replied with an answer that astonished the multitude with His doctrine (Matt. 22:33). He said:
Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matt. 22:29-32.)
The Pharisees tried again—this time evidently by themselves to become the prominent sect—with a question about the greatest commandment in the law (Matt. 22:36). Out of the 613 commandments in the Torah, Jesus replied with Deut. 6:5 then Lev. 19:18, commands which encapsulate the essence of a right relationship with God and others: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40).
Then Jesus asked, “What think ye of Christ? whose son is he?” (Matt. 22:42). When Jesus went on the offensive, they were not prepared to answer His questions. They thought Jesus was the son of David (Matt. 22:42), but Jesus’ follow up question revealed more: “How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?” (Matt. 22:43-45.)
Jesus quoted Psalm 110, saying “David in spirit” to indicate that David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote this prophecy of Christ (cf. Mark 12:35-37; 2 Pet. 1:21). Regarding the Psalms, David asserted that the Holy Spirit spoke by him, giving words to his tongue (2 Sam. 23:1-2). Thus, we are dealing with words God had given by inspiration centuries before Jesus came to earth, prophetic words only God could give.
Unlike the attitude of many today, the first-century Jews held the conviction that one who came earlier in a genealogy was thought to be greater. On one occasion Jesus was asked, “Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? and the prophets are dead: whom makest thou thyself?” (John 8:53.) Even the Samaritans held this ideal. The Samaritan woman at the well asked Jesus, “Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?” (John 4:12.) Jesus correctly interpreted the prophecy of Psalm 110 and applied it to Himself. David, by inspiration, called Jesus “Lord” when “the Lord” (God the Father) “said to my Lord” (the Son) “Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Psalm 110:1). Jesus was the physical descendant of David (Matt. 1:1). But He was David’s Lord because He is divine. He is the Son of God.
Jesus asked and answered questions throughout His time on earth (Luke 2:46). As we see in Matthew 22, many of them were with the various religious sects in His day. He did not identify as a Pharisee, a Sadducee, or a Herodian. He was not a Samaritan either, even though the Jews derogatorily called Him one (John 8:48). Questions are an important part of religious debate to expose fallacies in false doctrines. When Jesus was finished with this question-and-answer session, we read, “And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions” (Matt. 22:46). However, the question Jesus asked in Matt. 22 does more than win the debate, it is the fundamental question we all must answer. How we answer it shows whether we will render to God the service due Him, whether we will sit with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 8:11; Luke 13:28), and whether we truly love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. What think ye of Christ? Whose Son is He? Jesus Christ is the Son of God!
This truth is the foundation of the church (Matt. 16:16-19). It is the basis of salvation (John 8:24; 20:31). By Jesus’ question, the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians were brought face to face with this truth. They would not answer the question because they rejected anything that would not give them power. When we answer this question rightly, we lose all power. If Jesus really is Lord, as David, by inspiration, wrote, then His word reigns supreme in my life. It does no good to call Him Lord and not do His will (Matt. 7:21-23; Luke 6:46). You are confronted with this question every day. You may push it from your mind or refuse to answer it, but by doing that you have given your answer. By how you live your life you answer this question. Will you proclaim Jesus as Lord by doing His will? Will you follow the Son of God?
–Mark Day