5 June 2020
Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
As Christ continues to preach and do great works in the midst of God’s people, conversations about the Messiah arise. One of the clearest of the Messianic prophecies regards the Messiah as being descended of David: the Messiah, in other words, would be heir to the throne of Israel. Of course there would be speculation as to the ancestry of Jesus, and it seems such questions have arisen and Jesus, in today’s Gospel, is responding. Yet He does not respond by unrolling a scroll on which is written His pedigree, nor does He set about saying anything about His ancestry; at least, not in human terms.
Instead He cites the ancient Scriptures which, being the Word of God, serves just as well as the pedigree of the Son of God, for only He can claim not merely an ancient ancestry, but an eternal one. “The Lord says to my lord: ‘Sit at my right hand…’” (Psalm 110:1). Jesus points out that David, to whom this psalm is attributed at the time, interprets this inspired word to be God speaking to the Messiah, inviting the prophesied figure to sit at His right hand, which is a place of tremendous honor and authority. Yet David refers to the future Messiah as “lord” rather than “son,” to say that while the Messiah will indeed be descended from himself, this offspring will be greater than even the great king himself. The Messiah therefore will not merely be a son of David, but will somehow be greater than David, such that David saw himself as being subordinate to the Messiah, an aspect the scribes clearly had not considered or, perhaps, chose to ignore.
In essence Jesus is speaking to the scribes and those gathered in a manner similar to other places in the Gospels where He says things like “…there is something greater than Jonah…greater than Solomon here…” (Matthew 12:39-42). Today He says, “Just as David sat upon the throne of Israel and delivered her from her enemies, ruling over the people of God as king, so will the Son of Man deliver the world from its prince, and take His place upon the throne of the earth; and there is something greater than David here.” The people wanted a David-like Messiah to redeem them from Roman oppression, but their scope was so narrow, so myopic; their understanding of God’s love was likewise. For, as we read in the Gospel of St. John, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life,” (John 3:16). “…salvation is from the Jews…” (John 4:22) but is not limited to them, as “…God our savior…wills everyone to be saved and come to knowledge of the truth,” (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Indeed the Messiah has come for the Jews, but He has come for the Romans as well; He has come not to wage war on Rome, but on Hell. Thus He shall be a greater Messiah than David, not defeating the Philistine-Romans but reconciling them to God, making them brothers to the Jews by His own Blood. He will not defeat the giant Goliath by slinging a stone but will defeat Satan even after allowing the Great Enemy to strike the first blow, even granting him the ability to strike a mortal one. Even David must cry “lord!” to such a Messiah, as Jesus came to save David as well.
Thus the “…great crowd heard this with delight…” as Jesus had revealed God was greater and more merciful than they ever dared hope. Jesus was not merely claiming to be descended of David; He was claiming to be greater, and thus capable of greater things. Hope had sprung up in their hearts; if only love had sprung as well! Alas, we know the crown they would come to place upon His head, and the throne upon which they would raise Him up. Yet His words today did not go unfulfilled, as on the Third Day God indeed placed the enemies of Christ and mankind beneath His pierced feet: as St. Paul has written “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, for ‘he subjected everything under his feet,’” (1 Corinthians 15:25-27). “What wondrous love is this!” the old hymn cries. Indeed! What love that God would not merely send another warrior-hero, but His own Son! What love that God would defeat not merely earthly evils, but Evil itself!