In the Old Testament, God made a very powerful promise to King David: “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… I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). This promise is echoed to the prophet Isaiah: “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins” (Isaiah 11:1-5). Similarly, Jeremiah 23:5-6 records, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, 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: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’” As a result of these promises from God, one of the requirements for the coming Messiah was that He be a physical descendant of King David.
When we approach the New Testament writings, there are about seventeen verses that identify Jesus as ultimately fulfilling this role, being the prophesied “Son of David.” In the first verse of the first book in the New Testament, Jesus is identified as the “Son of David” (Matthew 1:1). His physical lineage is traced to King David in both Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38. Throughout Jesus’s life, other people recognized Him as the “Son of David” (Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9). This truth is boldly preached by the apostles (Acts 13:22-23; 2 Timothy 2:8). Paul portrays Jesus as the one “who was descended from David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3). Jesus even claimed this position for Himself (Revelation 22:16). In fact, Jesus takes a step further by stating that He is not only David’s physical descendant but also David’s Lord (Mark 12:35- 37).
Throughout Scripture, Jesus is clearly presented as the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises in the Old Testament concerning this position. Being a physical descendant of David, Jesus is the One who brings the promises of God to reality, reigns as King over God’s kingdom, sits on David’s throne as the predicted Messiah, and executes justice, righteousness, and faithfulness. As the “Son of David,” every day that we live, we must do all that we can to submit to His reign and be faithful members of His kingdom. Jesus is the “Son of David.” Jesus is the Messiah. Let’s be who He wants us to be.
-Tyler Alverson
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