What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of David?
Son of David is the title of the promised Messiah: the King God promised to David, whose throne would be established forever. Jesus is that King by descent, born of David's line, and He fulfills the Davidic covenant. Yet He is more than David's son, as Jesus Himself showed: He is also David's Lord. As Son of David, Jesus is our promised, merciful, never-ending King.
This question arose from studying What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? and Who is Jesus?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
God promised David a King whose throne would never end
Through Nathan, God promised David: 'I will set up your seed after you... and I will establish his kingdom,' and 'I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.' The angel told Mary that the child would be given 'the throne of his father David' and that 'of his kingdom there will be no end,' and Jeremiah looked for the day when God would raise to David a righteous Branch who would reign as king. This is the promise Jesus came to fulfill.
When your days are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.
He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”’”
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
Jesus is David's son by descent
Matthew opens with the claim of the royal line: 'The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.' Paul says Christ was born 'of the seed of David according to the flesh,' and Joseph was of the house and family of David, so Jesus, born in Bethlehem, the city of David, was the promised descendant of the king. The title rests on real ancestry.
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David;
The Son of David comes with mercy and healing
The Gospels show people crying to this King in their need: the blind beggar by the road cried, 'Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me,' and Jesus gave him back his sight. The Messiah-King does not come to rule from a distance; He comes near to the broken, showing mercy and healing, and His kingdom is made of such rescue.
He cried out, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!”
Standing still, Jesus commanded him to be brought to him. When he had come near, he asked him,
As Jesus passed by from there, two blind men followed him, calling out and saying, “Have mercy on us, son of David!”
Yet David's son is also David's Lord
Jesus pressed the deeper mystery: 'What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?' They said, 'Of David.' Then He asked how David, in the Spirit, calls Him Lord, quoting the psalm: 'The LORD says to my Lord, sit at my right hand.' If the Messiah were only David's son, David would not call Him Lord. Jesus is the son of David by birth and the Son of God by nature, the root and the offspring of David, David's son and David's Lord.
saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.”
He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying,
“If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to you for the assemblies. I am the root and the offspring of David; the Bright and Morning Star.”
So we greet Him as our everlasting King
Peter's Pentecost sermon brings the promise home: David's throne is fulfilled in the risen Jesus, whom 'God has made both Lord and Christ,' 'this Jesus whom you crucified.' Jesus, the Son of David, is the King who was raised from the dead and declared the Son of God in power. His is a kingdom that will not pass away, and to follow Him is to belong to a King whose throne lasts forever.
For David didn’t ascend into the heavens, but he says himself, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit by my right hand,
“Let all the house of Israel therefore know certainly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”’”
concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.”
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
We haven't written this one yet. Take it to your church or small group: the Word answers it wherever it is asked. If we study it here later, all the better.
Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
When your days are fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who shall proceed out of your bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
saying, “What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “Of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet?’ “If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
He cried out, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!”
Worth visiting