Throughout the New Testament we see many references to Jesus being called “the son of David”. In fact, the very first verse of the New Testament says this: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David,…” (Matthew 1:1)
But why exactly did Matthew, the author of the book that bears his name, feel it was necessary to begin his Gospel account by making this declaration? What’s the significance of Jesus as “the son of David”? And why does it matter whose son He was?
According to the Old Testament, the Messiah would be a descendant (son) of King David. The title “son of David” was messianic in nature, and was often used to refer to the Savior who was promised to the Jewish people throughout the Scriptures. Thus, when people called Jesus the “son of David”, what they were truly saying is that He was the promised Messiah.
Because the Jewish people knew the Savior would come from King David, Matthew immediately connects the dots between Jesus and the King by providing His genealogy, thus substantiating his claim that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah). By doing so, Matthew could indeed prove that Jesus was qualified to be the Messiah (because He was a descendant of David), while using the rest of his Gospel account to provide infallible proof of this claim.
But in order to fully understand the significance of the title “son of David”, we have to take a closer look at the Old Testament, starting with the book of Genesis.
The Promise of a Savior
Throughout the Old Testament we see numerous references to a coming Savior or Messiah. The first mention of this future Savior comes from Genesis 3:15, although somewhat obscurely.
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Genesis 3:15
Here God is pronouncing judgement upon the serpent (aka the Devil) for deceiving Eve, which resulted in the Fall of Man. At first glance and without proper context, it’s difficult to see how one can find the promise of a Savior in this verse. However, when we view this verse in light of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, things begin to make more sense.
In short, this passage refers to the defeat of Satan by Jesus’s redemptive work on the cross. A few clues inform us of this.
First, take notice of the language God uses here. He says He will put enmity “between your offspring and HER offspring”, or, as the KJV puts it, “between thy seed and HER SEED”. Traditionally, when it comes to reproduction, the male is responsible for the “seed”, not the woman. But we know that Jesus was born of a virgin with no male involvement at all, making Him the product of the woman’s “seed”, as referred to here.
Second, we have the reference to the serpent’s bruised head with the heel of the woman’s seed being bruised. Jesus, as the seed of the woman, received the “bruised heel”, that is, a wound He recovered from. He died on the cross (bruised heel) but He recovered from this wound in that He was resurrected from the dead. Satan, on the other hand, received a death blow (bruised head) in that his kingdom was destroyed and the kingdom of God established.
“Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.”
John 12:31
This passage is the first promise of redemption in Scripture, and points to a future Messiah. It’s not until much later, however, that we learn that this Messiah would be a descendant of King David. But long before King David was even born, the prophet Moses spoke of the future Messiah as well.
The Prophecy of Moses
Roughly 1400 years before the time of Christ, and 400 years before the anointing of King David by Samuel (See Bible Timeline Here), Moses had this to say of the future Messiah:
“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— …I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.”
Deuteronomy 18:15, 18
Now just to be fair, this passage has a context to it outside of the future Messiah. Moses had just commanded the Israelites not to inquire of one who “practices divination, or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whosoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” (Deuteronomy 18:10).
It was in regards to whom the Israelites were not to listen to that Moses told them who they should listen to – the prophet that was like him, who was a fellow Israelite, who would proclaim to them all that the Lord had commanded. Moses then gives instructions for how to tell whether or not a prophet was truly of God.
And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.
Deuteronomy 18:21-22
So then the immediate context of this passage is that of Moses declaring that God would communicate to His people through a line of prophets that He Himself would raise up. The greater context of the passage is that of a future Messiah who would serve as the ultimate Prophet of God, which was fulfilled through Jesus.
We know this to be true by the New Testament records that confirm that Jesus was, in fact, the One of whom Moses wrote. We see this specifically in two New Testament passages:
- John 1:45 – Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
- Acts 3:22 – Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. (Peter is here quoting this passage from Deuteronomy 18 in regards to Jesus)
The Promise to David
From Deuteronomy we’ll jump to 1 Samuel 16 where we’re first introduced to David. It’s here that we learn that David was a shepherd, the youngest of 8 brothers, and that God had chosen him to be king over Israel because of the purity of his heart.
When they came, he (Samuel) looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:6-7
Fast forward to 2 Samuel 7 and we see the promise God made to David that his throne would last forever, and that one of his descendants would sit upon that throne. It’s from this very passage of Scripture that the title “son of David” originates.
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. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
2 Samuel 7:12-17
As with the passage from Deuteronomy, there are multiple contexts to this passage.
The immediate context is that of David’s literal son who would later build a house for the Lord. We know this to be King Solomon who took the throne after the death of David and did, in fact, build the Temple that is here referred to. The greater context of this passage is that of David’s throne being established forever, that is, that one of his descendants would always rule over Israel.
That this promise to David did not refer to an earthly, literal kingdom is made clear by the fact that David’s dynasty of kings came to an end in 587 B.C., a little over 400 years after this promise was made. It was at this time that Babylon invaded Jerusalem and destroyed it, while carrying off its inhabitants including the last of the Davidic kings.
Because David’s line of kings came to an end, we know that the promise made to him was not in regards to a perpetual succession of descendants to sit upon his earthly throne. It was in regards to the Messiah, the true “son of David”, who would establish His kingdom in David’s stead and who would rule forever.
Numerous Old Testament prophecies assure us of this:
- Isaiah 9:6-7 – “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.”
- Isaiah 16:5 – “then a throne will be established in steadfast love, and on it will sit in faithfulness in the tent of David one who judges and seeks justice and is swift to do righteousness.”
- Jeremiah 23:5-6 – “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.’
It’s from these Scriptures, and others like them, that the expectation of the Messiah coming from the line of David came to be. It’s also from these Scriptures that the title “son of David” came to be associated with this future Messiah. In regards to the nature of this kingdom that the “son of David” would establish, Daniel has this to say:
“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14
When we take all the above passages into consideration, its clear that the promise God made to David was in regards to David’s descendant Jesus, who ultimately and finally fulfilled this promise.
Jesus the Son of David
As stated earlier, the very first verse of the New Testament (Matthew 1:1) declares that Jesus is the “son of David”. This proclamation is the first among many that we find throughout the Gospels and elsewhere. That Jesus is the fulfillment of Gods promise to David is made abundantly clear by the numerous New Testament references we have.
For example, in the first chapter of Luke we see the angel Gabriel telling Mary (the mother of Jesus) that her son “will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end“ (Luke 1:31-33). I couldn’t ask for a better verse to summarize all that we’ve just covered in the Old Testament.
And in John chapter 7, we see the people arguing over whether or not Jesus was the Christ. One of them had this to say, “Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” (John 7:42).
Even Jesus Himself declares that He is the One who was promised to King David: “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (Revelation 22:16).
The New Testament is filled with references just like these declaring that Jesus was the “son of David” who would rule on his throne forever. Though we know that Christ’s throne is in heaven and his kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). For truly Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father, waiting until His enemies are made a footstool to His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25). Thus we know that the promise to David has been fulfilled in Jesus, and that the title “son of David” was in regards to the future Messiah, and not merely another one of David’s sons.
In Conclusion
Aside from the Scripture referenced above that affirms that Jesus was the Messiah that was promised to king David, there are other Gospel records showing that the people He engaged with also believed this to be true.
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”, cried the blind beggar who needed a touch from our Lord (Luke 18:38).
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David”, begged the Canaanite woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon (Matthew 15:22).
All throughout the New Testament we find refences to the people of Jesus’s day expressing faith that He was the One they had been waiting for. The point I’m trying to make here is that when these people proclaimed that Jesus was the “son of David”, they were proclaiming that He was the one that all of Israel had been hoping and longing for. The title “son of David” was not one to be thrown around loosely. It was a title reserved exclusively for the One who would rule forever, whose kingdom would never perish, and whose authority would supersede all the world powers then in existence and forevermore.