Son of David

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ Through Mary…

But that is not Biblical, so it is said by many.

Well let us look and just see what we can find…

Jesus Christ is descended from David and we will ride along this wave to meditate and clearly state this gospel truth:

If He is from the line of David, then certainly Joseph could not be of his immediate paternal bloodline since Joseph was not his natural father. The bloodline could only be traced through His mother, Mary. She alone provided 100% of His genetic material, and thus provided the “flesh of the offspring of David”, as shown in Rom 1:3,

“…concerning His Son who was born to Him according to the flesh of the offspring of David.”

Who was of the seed of David according to the flesh – That is, with regard to his human nature. Both the natures of our Saviour are here mentioned; but the human is mentioned first, because the divine was not manifested in its full evidence till after his resurrection.

The phrase “According to the flesh;” juxtaposes His real humanity alongside of his real deity. He certainly was born of the seed of David. The two natures thus combined in the Son, according to the flesh, are pointed out in this remarkable verse. As to his human body, he was a descendant of David, his mother being of David’s lineage. I cannot emphasize this enough.

Romans 1:3-4 “concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh  (4)  and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,”

But declared to be the Son of God. Though in human form he was demonstrated to be divine by power, such power as he displayed in mighty miracles, and especially by the greater miracle of his own resurrection from the dead.

Seed of David according to the flesh

By declaring the sum of the doctrine of the Gospel, Paul stirs up the Romans to consider well the matter about which he is entreating them: so then he shows that Christ (who is the very substance and sum of the gospel) is the only Son of God the Father, who with regard to his humanity is born of the seed of David, but with regard to his divine and spiritual nature, by which he sanctified himself, is begotten of the Father from everlasting, as also manifestly appears by his mighty resurrection.

Thus:

-This is a plain testimony of the person of Christ, that he is but one, and also a testimony of his two natures, and their properties.

-Who received flesh from the virgin who was David’s daughter.

-As he is man: for this word “flesh”, by the figure of speech synecdoche, is taken for man.

The book of His Genealogy

Matthew 1:1 “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ – Adam Clark supposes these words to have been the original title to this Gospel; and that they signify, according to the Hebrew Phraseology, not only the account of the genealogy of Christ, as detailed in subsequent verses, but the history of his birth, acts, sufferings, death, resurrection, and ascension.

The son of David, the son of Abraham – No person ever born could boast, in a direct line, a more illustrious ancestry than Jesus Christ. Among his progenitors, the regal, priestly, and prophetic offices, existed in all their glory and splendor.

David, the most renowned of sovereigns, was king and prophet: Abraham, the most perfect character in all antiquity, whether sacred or profane, was priest and prophet: but the three offices were never united except in the person of Christ; he alone was prophet, priest, and king; and possessed and executed these offices in such a super eminent degree as no human being ever did, or ever could do.

As the principal business of the prophet was to make known the will of God to men, according to certain partial communications received from Heaven; so Jesus, who lay in the bosom of the Father, and who was intimately and thoroughly acquainted with all the mysteries of the eternal world, came to declare the Divine nature and its counsels to mankind.

It is remarkable, that the evangelist names David before Abraham, though the latter was many generations older: the reason seems to be this, that David was not only the most illustrious of our Lord’s predecessors, as being both king and prophet; but because that promise, which at first was given to Abraham, and afterwards, through successive generations, confirmed to the Jewish people, was at last determined and restricted to the family of David. Son of David, was an epithet by which the Messiah was afterwards known among the Jews; and, under this title, they were led to expect him by prophetic authority.

Thus, the genealogy is an answer to the question which would be asked by every Jew of any one who claimed to be the Messiah, “Is he of the house of David?” for by no name was the Messiah more frequently spoken of by Jews and by foreigners (Mat 15:22), and designated in the Talmud, than by that of the Son of David.

From Bethlehem

John 7:42 “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?”

The scripture spoken of here is Micah 5:2, the very passage quoted by the chief priests and scribes in response to Herod’s inquiry when Jesus was to be born (Matthew 2:6). This ignorance of the fact that Jesus was actually born in Bethlehem belongs to the Jews, not to John the author of the Gospel.

Let us consider thoroughly this narrative

Others were prejudiced against him. No sooner was this great truth started, that Jesus is the Christ, than immediately it was contradicted and argued against: and this one thing, that his rise and origin were (as they took it for granted) out of Galilee, was thought enough to answer all the arguments for his being the Christ.

For, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Has not the scripture said that Christ comes of the seed of David? They had a laudable knowledge of the scripture. They were so far in the right, that the Messiah was to be a rod out of the stem of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), that out of Bethlehem should arise the Governor, Micah 5:2. This even the common people knew by the traditional expositions which their scribes gave them.

Perhaps the people who had these scriptures so ready to object against Christ were not alike knowing in other parts of holy writ, but had had these put into their mouths by their leaders, to fortify their prejudices against Christ. Many that espouse some corrupt notions, and spend their zeal in defense of them, seem to be very ready in the scriptures, when indeed they know little more than those scriptures which they have been taught to pervert.

They furthermore had a culpable ignorance of our Lord Jesus. They speak of it as certain and past dispute that Jesus was of Galilee, whereas by inquiring of Himself, or His mother, or His disciples, or by consulting the genealogies of the family of David, or the register at Bethlehem, they might have known that he was the Son of David, and a native of Bethlehem; but this they willingly are ignorant of.

Thus gross falsehoods in matters of fact, concerning persons and things, are often taken up by prejudiced and partial men, and great resolves founded upon them, even in the same place and the same age wherein the persons live and the things are done, while the truth might easily be found out.

Our Messiah is a David-descended, Bethlehem-born Saviour. Had those who are quoted in John 7:42 made the inquiry which the case demanded, they would have found that Jesus “came out of Galilee” (John 7:41) and “out of Bethlehem” both, alike in fulfillment of prophecy as in point of fact. (Matthew 2:23; Matthew 4:13-16).

This we must remember

2 Timothy 2:8 “Remember that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and was descended from David.”

“Of the seed of David”

Not referring to Christ’s human descent as a humiliation in contrast with his victory over death, but only marking his human, visible nature along with his glorified nature, and indicating that in both aspects he is exalted and glorified.

I however want to assert that this verse exhorts us to remember the Messiah’s descent from David’s loins.

He was a descendant of David. David was perhaps the most illustrious of the kings of Israel. The promise to him was that there should not fail a man to sit on this throne. This ancient promise was understood as referring to the Messiah, and hence, in the New Testament he is called the descendant of David, and so much pains is taken to show that he was of his line –as portrayed in the many New Testament witnesses. As the Jews universally believed that the Messiah would be descended from David, it was of great importance for the sacred writers to make it out clearly that Jesus of Nazareth was of that line and family.

Promise to David

1 Kings 2:4 “that the LORD may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”

1 Kings 8:25 “Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.”

1 Kings 9:5 “then I will establish your royal throne over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.”

2 Chronicles 6:16 “Now therefore, O LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk in my law as you have walked before me.”

Watch this video for a more detailed view on this: https://youtu.be/gcsay3xcpyM