Whose Son is He?

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to him, "The Son of David." He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

'The Lord said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

Till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"

And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore.

- Matthew 22:41-46

As we are in preparation for Ascension Day tomorrow, the lectionary takes us to different parts of the gospel of Matthew in celebration of this day. Today's reading focuses on Jesus' dispute with the Pharisees about interpretation of scripture - most specifically the understanding from scripture about the nature of the Christ, or the Messiah.

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" They said to him, "The Son of David." My study bible notes that "Jesus takes the offensive against the Pharisees, further exposing them as pseudo-scholars who do not understand the bible. They suppose the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore reply Son of David to Jesus' question." At this point in Matthew's gospel, Jesus has been repeatedly challenged by the leadership in the temple. In today's passage, Jesus clearly takes the offensive. And, of course, when speaking of "the Christ," we know that he is, in fact, declaring himself - speaking of himself.

He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying: 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool" '? If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?" The passage Jesus quotes here is from Psalm 110:1, a psalm of David. My study bible notes: "David, as king of Israel, would not address anyone as 'my Lord' except God Himself. Therefore, this psalm verse describes God talking to God -- the Father to the Son -- which contradicts the Pharisees' view of God as one Person, and introduces the doctrine of the Holy Trinity." Jesus refers to David, authoring the psalm, "in the Spirit." So, in effect, this is another occasion on which the Trinity is introduced through the Gospel: The Father speaks to the Son - "the Lord said to my Lord" - which David receives "in the Spirit." Speaking for myself, the psalms of David remain the beautiful and timeless prayers they do because of this aspect of David himself - "in the Spirit" - a king with the soul of a great mystic. It is the nature of scripture such as this that it is timeless, and transcends our immediate needs and awareness so that it addresses a need for depth that is always with us. As we have skipped around the gospel for a particular occasion, tomorrow's Ascension Day celebration, we have had a chance to review several ideas linked with one another through the gospels. Here, Jesus ties in David's beautiful psalm verse with his own teachings in confrontation with the interpretation of the Pharisees. In the past few readings, we have had an opportunity to review the parable of the Sower (see Why do you speak to them in parables? and Therefore hear the parable of the sower) in light of our recent reading of the Sermon on the Mount and all of its teachings (see readings and commentary from Monday, April 26th through Saturday, May 8th, 2010 -- beginning with The Beatitudes and ending with The Narrow Gate). We have understood from doing so the importance of "spiritual eyes and ears" - the ability to see and hear spiritually, to understand, and to go further into our faith by bearing the fruit of this understanding - by going more deeply and growing in that understanding. Here, Jesus illustrates the same point at a much later part of the gospel. As my study bible notes, Jesus here illustrates - through confrontation - the Pharisees' lack of understanding.

In telling his disciples the explanation of his use of parables, Jesus quoted from the Prophet Isaiah, saying, " And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.' But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear." Here in this passage today, Jesus is illustrating the same point with the Pharisees. He is therefore, at once, referring to himself and his nature in the Person of the Christ, and also as the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. The meanings and timelessness of scripture link - and the fruitfulness Jesus desires is our deeper understanding of them, as exemplified in the fullness of his teachings and his own enlightening words about the various parts of scripture he expands upon from the Old Testament. Indeed, the entire Sermon on the Mount focuses on the expansion of what is already understood through scripture. We are to have spiritual eyes and ears open to this understanding, and growth in that awareness. All of his teachings that we have reviewed in the Sermon on the Mount, and through the parable of the Sower have told us that.

"And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore." Clearly, the gospel is teaching us, the Pharisees have understood precisely what has been illustrated. Jesus has more insight into the scriptures than they do - he who is without credential, and yet who always "speaks as one with authority." The break is complete, and Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled.

As we prepare for Ascension Day (I believe that this year it is universally on the same day in all denominations), let us consider again the importance of having eyes and ears that see and hear spiritually. All of our readings - from all parts of Matthew's gospel - have focused on this in the past few weeks. Jesus wants followers with these eyes and ears, and hearts open to spiritual meaning and knowledge. It is more than just an intellectual grasp. What we pray "to our Father in the secret place" is meant to be a communion, relationship, dialogue. We ask for the word - as seed - to take root and growth within us, in our hearts. We prepare today for tomorrow's feast - the Ascension into heaven on the fortieth day. And this Ascension in turn prepares us for Pentecost. All prepare us for a deeper awakening of our own nature, and the dimensions of the spiritual life that Christ is here to awaken in us - for our salvation, "lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them." This is a mystical reality, a spiritual relationship that ties to that part of us that is capable of understanding it and receiving. Through this mystical reality we transcend and are transformed. It is this dimension within ourselves that Christ calls out to - to awaken that which had been separated from its communion with God, so that we are reconciled and healed -- as in the words of Isaiah that Jesus has quoted in his explanation for his use of parables. Tomorrow we all celebrate the day of Christ's Ascension - his human nature restored to heaven, so that we are restored with him as well, in preparation for the universal bestowal of the Spirit. Let us ponder what it is to keep eyes, ears and hearts open to that Spirit, today, as we receive the mysteries of the kingdom, as we are still, and remain, his disciples.