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Note to readers: This is an alternate reading from the Three Year Lectionary, and may not match up with the readings your church uses this Sunday.
But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question to test Him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And 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. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” [Then] Jesus asked them a question, 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 is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls Him Lord, saying, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, until I put Your enemies under Your feet”’? If then David calls Him Lord, how is He his son?” And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask Him any more questions. (Matthew 22:34-40, 41b-46)
This story always makes me laugh. Because how in the world could Jesus’ enemies answer Him? The problem Jesus pointed out is a real difficulty, especially in cultures where the rules about respecting your elders are very strict. Take Vietnam. There is no way on earth that a Vietnamese father would ever call a son or descendant “Lord,” even if that child grew up to be the king of the world! Dad would still always be greater, and the names they used for each other would reflect that.
The only way we can solve Jesus’ riddle is if we remember that He has two natures. Jesus is human, born of the virgin Mary of David’s family, and thus He is the “Son of David.” But He is also God—specifically God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity. And as God, He deserves all honor from David and every other human being. And so we call Him “Lord.”
But this is just the beginning. Because we have other names for Him, too—names that are even harder to reconcile with the fact that He is God. We call Him “Savior” and “Redeemer” and the “Crucified One”—because Jesus willingly lay down His life for us in order to break the power of evil over us. His death gave us life, peace with God, and forgiveness; and His resurrection means that He has become the Source of our own life forever.
What kind of a God is this, who would humble Himself to rescue His own creation? Who is this, who loves us broken, troubled people so much that He comes into our world as one of us, as a human baby, just so He can rescue us and bring us back to Himself? No wonder the angels long to learn more about these things! See 1 Peter 1:12.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, live in me, and let Your Holy Spirit teach me to know You better every day. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Reflection Questions:
- Imagine what it must have been like for Mary and Joseph to raise a child who was also truly God. What do you think would have been hardest for them? Why?
- As a believer, you have God Himself living inside you, closer than your own breath. Do you find it hard to live that close to someone who is so great, pure, and holy? If so, how do you cope?
- If not, why not?
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