Before reading and discussing this passage recently with a few dozen young men, I asked the question, “What is meant when we say ‘Keep it real’?” Their answers centered on truth and honesty, even if accepting the truth may be costly to the way we may wish to live.
Jesus confronts the Pharisees with the reality of who He is, a reality the Pharisees so pridefully refuse to acknowledge, when He asks them of the Son of David, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’?” On this first day in April, when we are familiar with practical jokes, you might be tempted to wonder if Jesus is asking a trick question. No. At the same time, the preceding verses of this chapter tell us that the Pharisees had learned from the Sadducees what happens when attempting to trick Jesus. So now the Pharisees are doubly silenced, while still unwilling to acknowledge Jesus’s Lordship.
Jesus our Lord does not force His rule in our lives. Instead, today’s passage prepares us for what is to come in Matthew’s gospel —Jesus, the King, is not the sort of Messiah the Pharisees had eyed. Instead, He is the Suffering Servant, our Savior, and the One to whom we, joining the faithful of His day, can cry out to for mercy and healing.
For reflection:
Is Jesus Lord of your life today? In what ways might you be resisting his authority?
by John Schuessler
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