Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’ ; how is He then his Son?”
Parallel translations
- WEB “David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
- KJV David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?
- BSB Thus David calls Him ‘Lord.’ So how can He be David’s son?”
- NASB Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and so how is He his son?”
- NLT Since David called the Messiah ‘Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Since David calls the Messiah 'Lord,' He must be more than merely David's descendant.
Overview
Jesus draws out the implication: a son does not normally outrank his father, yet David addresses his descendant as Lord. The answer, fulfilled in Jesus, is that the Christ is both David's son in His humanity and David's Lord in His deity. This unveils the mystery of the incarnate Son of God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Rev 22:16I, 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.”
- Rom 9:5of whom are the fathers, and from whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen.
- Gal 4:4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent out his Son, born to a woman, born under the law,
- Isa 7:14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- Luke 2:11For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
- Matt 1:23“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel”; which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
- Luke 1:31–35Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and give birth to a son, and will call his name ‘Jesus.’
- 1 Tim 3:16Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great: God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 20:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.