The LORD said to my Lord

 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

Yesterday we read Jesus' explanation the the disciples of the parable of the Sower:  "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is he who received seed by the wayside.  But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while.  For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.  Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.  But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces:  some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

 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.   Today's reading again prepares us for the Feast of Ascension (tomorrow, May 21st in the West and in the Armenian Apostolic Church; one week later, May 28th, for most Eastern Churches).  This dialogue in Matthew's Gospel takes place in the temple in Jerusalem as Jesus debates with the leadership during His final week on earth.  It occurs just before He gives His final public sermon, which would be a grand critique of the ways of the scribes and Pharisees, and laments over Jerusalem (Matthew 23).   In the context of the question Jesus asks the Pharisees, we should understand that all along the theme of their questioning to Him has been to ascertain His authority to do the things He does, and they have repeatedly asked for a sign of proof of His identity.  Here my study bible comments that Christ asks His question to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God incarnate.  It notes that they supposed the Messiah to be a mere man, and therefore reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "Lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1, which Jesus quotes here in order to establish the ground for His question to the Pharisees, David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  Therefore the Messiah must be God.  One's only possible conclusion is that the Messiah is a descendant of David in earthly terms, but also truly divine, sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  The Pharisees do not answer, as they clearly realize the implications of the Scripture, and are afraid to confess Jesus is Son of God.

Why is Jesus' identity so important?  Why is it the crucial question the Pharisees keep insisting is not answered?  Certainly His authority is related to this question, or at least the leadership in the temple sees it that way.  By this time in Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has cleansed the temple, He has preached throughout all the lands of the Jews (and especially in the temple and in synagogues), He has gathered disciples, sent them out on successful apostolic missions,  and "great multitudes" come to hear Him speak.  Moreover, He is now generally perceived as an enemy of those who are officially the guardians of the faith:  the elders, chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, Saduccees.  He openly criticizes the practices of the leadership, and particularly the Pharisees.  They already plot to destroy Him.  If He is the Messiah, then they are refusing the leadership of the Messiah.  But if He is not, then all that He does lacks real authority that they must recognize.  When Jesus cites witnesses to His identity (and therefore authority), He names four in John's Gospel (John 5:30-47):  the Baptist, the works He does, the Father, and the Scriptures.   All of these things are the "witnesses" who give testimony to Christ's identity.  Interestingly, Jesus claims that He does not receive honor from men.  And the first thing He says is that if He bears witness of Himself, His witness is not true.   So what is left, then?  Over and over again, Jesus emphasizes a dedication to God the Father.  He cites this dedication in John the Baptist, whom He calls "the burning and shining lamp," in whose light they were willing to rejoice for a time.  It is this dedication to God the Father which makes John the Baptist that burning and shining lamp, this devotion that makes John a true witness, and gave him his light.  It is that dedication which Christ proclaims is His own true authority and identity, and which He says makes His testimony and word true in His ministry.  It is also that dedication which He says is missing in the leaders, and makes them false and unable to tell the truth or to recognize His doctrine, for they do not truly love the Father.  Moreover, Christ repeatedly tells His own disciples that to cultivate this love and to grow in it is their own assurance that they are "the light of the world" and the "salt of the earth" (see this reading).  It is our growth in this love which enables us to be true and just persons.  In the verses just before today's reading in chapter 22, Jesus responds to another question about the greatest commandment by saying that the first and greatest of all is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  (The second is like it, to love neighbor as oneself; and it is upon these two which hang all the Law and the Prophets.)  See 22:34-40.  Above all, at every opening, Jesus affirms that He and the Father are inseparable, for He has come not to serve Himself but the Father.  He follows the will of the Father in all things, and it is this that gives His ministry its truth, value, and worth.  It is only this that conveys real authority -- for even His authority is given from the Father.   In tomorrow's reading, for the Ascension, Jesus states:  "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."  He does not proclaim that He seizes His authority, but rather it has been given to Him.  The only One who could do so is God the Father.  Let us understand that for Jesus, it is the Father who conveys all truth and worth and authority.  But He asks us to follow Him in the same devotion.  If we, like John the Baptist, and as the first great commandment states, learn to rely on this love and trust in its growth in us, then we also rest in the same place.  We may face life with the capacity to shine God's light into the world, to learn discernment, to live a righteous life, if we value that truth and that love above all else, even to the point of suffering and sacrificing what is worldly for that love.  Let us trust in the source of His authority, and follow Christ's lead in doing as He did, and putting this love first in our hearts.