Who Is the Messiah? — Matthew 22

A text — Matthew 22:34-46
22:34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
22:35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him.
22:36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
22:37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
22:38 This is the greatest and first commandment.
22:39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
22:40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
22:41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question:
22:42 “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
22:43 He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
22:44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”‘?
22:45 If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?”
22:46 No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

A reflection:

When we look at this story in Matthew, it might help to know that it probably happened three days before Jesus’ death. Jesus was teaching in the Temple when church leaders tried to entrap him one last time. They asked which was the greatest commandment, and Jesus said there were two, one almost as important as the other, for if you obeyed the first (love God above all) you would be led to do the second (love your neighbor as yourself).

Then, since Jesus had told them God the Creator and the loving Father of the nation of Israel was the most important One to have a relationship with, leading to peace with all people, Jesus asked them the most important question he could: “Who is the Christ and whose son is he?” A few days before, great crowds had proclaimed Jesus the Christ, the son of God, as he entered Jerusalem. Now Jesus asks the leaders, “Who is the Messiah? King David’s son or God’s son?” He is really asking them “Who am I?”

They reply quickly, King David’s son. A human being, descended several generations from David. Not God’s son.

Jesus may be giving these leaders another chance to believe in him, as the crowds seemed to do. When he points to King David’s own writing that the Messiah might be not just a human king but the son of God, they say no: “Messiah is a human king who will do human things.” Both Jesus and the leaders can see that they remain at odds. They will not believe in Jesus as Son of God. This encounter was the first step of his trial in the church court that took place Thursday night before he died on Good Friday. 

But remember how it began: “What is the most important commandment?” How do we live in right relationship with God? Love God with your whole being (with all of your many facets, every day of your life), and love your neighbor as yourself. Even though the church leaders could not see who Jesus was, this Son of God loved them and gave his life three days later for them. And for all of us. How ought we respond to this offering from the Son of God? By loving God wholly and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

A prayer:

Gracious God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for teaching us even now. Thank you for the Word of God, living and growing through the ages until our day. Thank you for reminding us to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Even when that neighbor doesn’t believe in us.  Amen.