Luke 20:44

Luke 20:44, in plain English

Jesus drives it home: David calls the Messiah 'Lord.' So how can the Messiah just be David's descendant? The answer is that He's both — David's son AND David's Lord.

Why it's here

This is Jesus' way of revealing who He really is. He's not just a teacher, not just a prophet, not just a descendant of David. He is Lord.

Who's speaking

Jesus asks the question that points to His own identity as both human and divine.

Where it sits in the story

The question nobody can answer is the answer to everything: the Messiah is David's son by birth and David's Lord by nature. Jesus is telling them who He is, and the truth is bigger than anyone dared to imagine.

The scholarly reading

Jesus drives home the logical conclusion: David calls the Messiah 'Lord,' so how can the Messiah merely be David's son? The Messiah must be both David's descendant and David's superior — human and divine.

Language and setting

The question is rhetorical — the answer is that the Messiah is both Son of David (by lineage) and Lord of David (by divine nature). This is an implicit claim to deity, as Jesus is both descended from David and greater than David.

Voice

Jesus poses the rhetorical question that implies the Messiah's dual nature as both David's son and David's Lord.

Significance

The question hangs in the air: if David calls Him Lord, how is He merely David's son? The answer — that He is both — is the key to understanding who Jesus really is.

42For David himself says in the book of Psalms: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

43until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’

44Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”

45In the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to His disciples,

46“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.

Read all of Luke 20 — The religious leaders challenge Jesus' authority. He answers with a parable about murderous tenants that leaves them furious and afraid.