What does Matthew 22:42 mean?
The Pharisees are on the verge of giving up trying to fool Jesus with hard questions. Their strategy to get Him in trouble either with His own followers or with Rome has failed badly. Jesus is too smart to be drawn into one of their traps (Matthew 22:22, 33). Worse for the Pharisees, though, is that Jesus' profound answers are starting to convince their own members (Mark 12:32–34). Their current huddle might be a last-ditch attempt to craft a knockout response (Matthew 22:41).Jesus, though, is not done with the Pharisees. He has a hard question for them, though it starts out as an easy one: Whose son is the Christ?
"The Christ" comes from the Greek term Christos, itself a translation of the Hebrew term Mashiyach, from which we get the English term "Messiah:" the long-promised savior of Israel. The Jewish people had high expectations for the Messiah. They were sure the Christ was coming to return the political nation of Israel to her former glory. If He arrived in their time, He would surely overthrow the Romans and bring peace and security back to Israel, so they thought.
As expected, the Pharisees answer Jesus' question quickly. The Christ is the son of David. "Son of David" was one of the many names the Jewish people had for the Messiah. They understood from prophecy that the Messiah would be a descendant of David, and they are right. Matthew began this book with the genealogy of Jesus to show that He was, in fact, descended from David.
Jesus has a bigger question in mind, however. For the fourth time in this passage, His explanation of Scripture (Matthew 22:43) uncovers a profound and crucial fact about God (Matthew 22:21, 32, 37–38).
