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"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" (22: 36, N.I.V.).
Christ sums it up, as the apostle Paul did later, by giving the word that covers it all,
namely love (Rom. 13: 8-10). The first five commandments show what love to God
comprises, and the second five, love to one's neighbour. "All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two commandments" (22: 40). And so there is not one supreme
commandment but two of equal importance.
In the last verses of the chapter we find the position reversed, and the Lord Jesus
questioning the Pharisees:
"Who do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? `The Son of David', they
replied. He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls Him
`Lord'? For he says, `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 can He be his Son?".
(22: 42-45, N.I.V.).
They were asked about the Sonship of the Messiah. They correctly answered "the Son
of David", but Christ is going to show them that the truth is much wider than this and
then He refers them to Psalm 110: This Psalm is evidently of great importance, for it is
quoted in the N.T. seven times (Matt. 22: 44; Mark 12: 36; Luke 20: 42; Acts 2: 34;
Heb. 1: 13; 10: 13; I Cor. 15: 25). It is obvious that the Lord Jesus believed that David
wrote the Psalm under the influence of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 22: 43). One would have
thought that this would be enough for anyone who reverenced the Son of God. But no;
the critics say the Davidic authorship is not true. Dr. A. Plummer gives the reasons of
three critics, and assumes they are correct. It is quite pathetic to read how these people
try to extricate themselves from problems of their own making. It is far safer to believe
Christ than man, even though the critic is religious!
The title "the Son of David" gave Christ the right to the throne, but it did not cover all
the truth related to the Messiah, for Messiah was more than just a remarkable man. This
becomes evident in the second question the Lord put to the Pharisees.
Referring to Psalm 110: Christ says:
"If then David calls Him `Lord', how can He be his Son?" (22: 45, N.I.V.),
and the problem is only resolved when one accepts the fact of the Lord's Deity as well as
His Humanity. As God He was David's Lord; as Man He was David's son; and this the
Pharisees had not realized, for they could not answer the question. In the same way the
Revelation gives Christ the title of "the Root and the Offspring of David" (Rev. 22: 16)
which, on the surface, is a contradiction, but not if His Deity and Humanity are held in
balance. Thus we see that the Lord Jesus was victorious in putting questions as well as
replying to them. We should note the climax in three stages, (1) "marveling" (22: 22
A.V.), (2) "amazement" (astonished, A.V. & N.I.V.) (33), and (3) "not daring to ask any
more questions" (46).