SON OF DAVID
The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Matt. 1:1
the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.
Matt. 1:1
In the first verse of the New Testament Jesus is said to be “the Son of David” (Matt. 1:1), a statement of the historical genealogy of Jesus and a statement that has Christological and Eschatological implications. From David, naturally speaking, Jesus secures His position as King. Christ’s association with David is anchored in the following Old Testament passage:
But that same night the word of Yahweh came to Nathan, “Go and tell My
servant David, ‘Thus says Yahweh: Would you build Me a house to dwell in?
I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel
from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for My
dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel,
did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to
shepherd My people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built Me a house of
cedar?” ’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says
Yahweh of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep,
that you should be prince over My people Israel. And I have been with you
wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I
will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the
earth. And I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them,
so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And
violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I
appointed judges over My people Israel. And I will give you rest from all
your enemies. Moreover, Yahweh declares to you that Yahweh will make you
a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I
will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I
will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will
establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and
he shall be to Me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him
with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but My steadfast
love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from
before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever
before Me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with
all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to
David (II Sam. 7:4-17).
Note the statement toward the end of the passage where God affirms to David: “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before Me. Your throne shall be established forever.” Upon this passage and this specific prediction are based numerous expressions of the psalms and the prophets:
You have said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen
one; I have sworn to David My servant: ‘I will establish your offspring
forever, and build your throne for all generations’”
(Psalm 89:3-4);
I have found David, My servant;
with My holy oil I have anointed him,
so that My hand shall be established with him;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and My steadfast love shall be with him,
and in My name shall his horn be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to Me, “You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.”
And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and My covenant will stand firm for him.
I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
If his children forsake My law
and do not walk according to My rules,
if they violate My statutes
and do not keep My commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
but I will not remove from him My steadfast love
or be false to My faithfulness.
I will not violate My covenant
or alter the word that went forth from My lips.
Once for all I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before Me.
Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies (Psalm 89:20-37);
with My holy oil I have anointed him,
so that My hand shall be established with him;
My arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and My steadfast love shall be with him,
and in My name shall his horn be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to Me, “You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.”
And I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and My covenant will stand firm for him.
I will establish his offspring forever
and his throne as the days of the heavens.
If his children forsake My law
and do not walk according to My rules,
if they violate My statutes
and do not keep My commandments,
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
but I will not remove from him My steadfast love
or be false to My faithfulness.
I will not violate My covenant
or alter the word that went forth from My lips.
Once for all I have sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
His offspring shall endure forever,
his throne as long as the sun before Me.
Like the moon it shall be established forever,
a faithful witness in the skies (Psalm 89:20-37);
For unto us a Child
is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His
shoulder . . . Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no
end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom to order it and establish
it (Isa. 9:6-7);
There shall come forth a Shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh (Isa. 11:1-2);
Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, My steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples (Isa. 55:3-5);
Behold, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: “Yahweh is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:5-6);
But they shall serve Yahweh their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them (Jer. 30:9);
And I will set up over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am Yahweh; I have spoken (Ezek. 34:23-24; also see v. 15: “I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord Yahweh”);
My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in My rules and be careful to obey My statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David My servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore” (Ezek. 37:24-28;
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to Yahweh and to His goodness in the latter days (Hosea 3:5);
There shall come forth a Shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of Yahweh shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of Yahweh (Isa. 11:1-2);
Incline your ear, and come to Me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, My steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples (Isa. 55:3-5);
Behold, the days are coming, declares Yahweh, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: “Yahweh is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:5-6);
But they shall serve Yahweh their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them (Jer. 30:9);
And I will set up over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. And I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am Yahweh; I have spoken (Ezek. 34:23-24; also see v. 15: “I Myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I Myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord Yahweh”);
My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in My rules and be careful to obey My statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to My servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David My servant shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Then the nations will know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore” (Ezek. 37:24-28;
Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek Yahweh their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to Yahweh and to His goodness in the latter days (Hosea 3:5);
“In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by My name,”
declares Yahweh who does this (Amos 9:11-12);
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by My name,”
declares Yahweh who does this (Amos 9:11-12);
And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem
the Spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on Me, on
Him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for an
only child, and weep bitterly over Him as one weeps for Jerusalem . . . On
that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them form sin and uncleanness (Zech.
12:10; 13:1).
With these basic passages in mine along with the initial passage from II Samuel, it is easy to understand something of the Old Testament background for the association in the New Testament of Jesus with the Kingship of David. Consider the following verses:
The book of the
genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David . . . and Salmon the father of
Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of
Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king (Matt. 1:1. 5-6; see Lu. 3:23,
31);
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matt. 2:2; see: Lu. 19:38; 23:38);
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on, Son of David” (Matt. 9:27);
And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” (Matt. 12:23; see: 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9; 22:42);
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be call the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Lu. 1:30-33; see: Lu. 2:4);
Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel” (Jo. 1:49).
“Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” (Matt. 2:2; see: Lu. 19:38; 23:38);
And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on, Son of David” (Matt. 9:27);
And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” (Matt. 12:23; see: 15:22; 20:30-31; 21:9; 22:42);
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. and behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be call the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end” (Lu. 1:30-33; see: Lu. 2:4);
Nathanael answered and said to Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel” (Jo. 1:49).
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