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Why is Jesus called the Son of David? In the Davidic covenant in 2 Samuel 7, God told David, “12 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. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” One reason we know this is looking past Solomon to Jesus is the use of the word “forever,” which occurs 3 times in the verses. Solomon didn’t live – or reign – “forever.”
If I said, “Who is the son of David?” You would ask, “Capital S Son of David or lowercase s son of David?” Son of David might top the list of most well-known messianic titles for Jesus. Here are just a few examples using Matthew’s gospel:
- Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, THE SON OF DAVID.
- Matthew 9:27 Two blind men followed [Jesus], crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, SON OF DAVID.” They don’t even call him Jesus, or Christ.
- Matthew 20:31 The crowd rebuked (the 2 blind men), telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Table of Contents
Sermon Lessons for Why is Jesus Called the Son of David?
- Lesson 1: Jesus is the true and greater Son of:
- (Part 1) __________ (2 Samuel 7:11-13, Matthew 1:1, 9:27, 20:31, 21:9, 15, 22:41-42).
- (Part 2) ______ (2 Samuel 7:14a cf. Hebrews 1:5)
- Lesson 2: __________ ________________ for iniquity and was disciplined with the rod and stripes due to men (2 Samuel 7:14b, Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, one Peter 2:24).
- Lesson 3: __________ ________________ His Father’s favor (2 Samuel 7:15, Romans 6:4, Acts 1:9).
- Lesson 4: ____ ______________ God’s favor because of the true and greater Son of David (1 Kings 11:12-13, 32, 34).
Family Worship Guide for Why is Jesus Called the Son of David?
- Day 1: Read 2 Samuel 7:11-14a, Matthew 1:1, 9:27, 20:31, 21:9, 15, 22:41-42, Hebrews 1:5 and discuss: God said he would give David rest from his enemies. What does this prefigure with Christ? How is Jesus the true and greater Son of David? How is Jesus the true and greater Son of God? The title “son of God” refers to whom else besides Jesus? How does the book of Jonah convince us that Jesus is the Messiah? In other words, why did Jesus say this would serve as the sign of his Messiahship?
- Day 2: Read 2 Samuel 7:14b, Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21, one Peter 2:24 and discuss: how does 2 Samuel 7:14 describe Solomon? How does this verse look beyond Solomon to Jesus? What do the truths contained in this verse tell us about our salvation? In other words, discuss substitutionary atonement and what it means. What is double imputation? Why did Jesus say the Father had forsaken Him?
- Day 3: Read 2 Samuel 7:15, Romans 6:4, Acts 1:9 and discuss: what application does 2 Samuel 7:15 have for Solomon? What application does it have for Christ? What two events revealed that the Son did not lose the Father’s favor? How can we be encouraged by God’s faithfulness to David? Why do we receive God’s favor?
Sermon Notes for Why is Jesus Called the Son of David?
The title of this morning’s sermon is, “The True and Greater Son.”
Go ahead and open your Bibles to 2 Samuel 7.
We were in a series called, “Pursuing Wisdom.” We spent quite a bit of time talking about Solomon. Because we have so much familiarity with him, last week I started talking about why Jesus is greater than him. This is fitting because Jesus said…
Matthew 12:42 The queen of the South…came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, SOMETHING GREATER THAN SOLOMON IS HERE.
Let me briefly review a few things from last week’s sermon…
I said there would not be as much direct application. But there will be indirect application, because as we learn about Christ, our love for Him grows, and we can’t help but want to obey Him. Jesus Himself said, “If you love me you will obey me.”
2 Samuel 7 contains the Davidic covenant, and all the covenants in the Bible look forward to and have their fulfillment in Christ.
So as we read these verses we want to look past Solomon to Jesus. The verses are secondarily about Solomon, and primarily about Jesus.
Let’s pick up at verse 10…God tells David…
2 Samuel 7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 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. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
David wanted to build God a house, but God said He would build David a house, referring to an everlasting dynasty.
This was the major focus of last Sunday’s sermon:
- Solomon built the earthly, physical temple, or house for God.
- Jesus built the greater heavenly, spiritual temple, or house for God, known as the church.
One reason we know this is looking past Solomon to Jesus is the use of the word forever, which occurs 3 times in the verses. Solomon didn’t live – or reign – “forever.”
So looking past Solomon to Jesus, this brings us to lesson one…
Lesson one: Jesus is the true and greater Son of (part one) David.
If I said, “Who is the son of David?” what do you say? You say, “Lowercase s son of David referring to Solomon, or uppercase S Son of David for Jesus?”
Son of David might be the most well-known messianic title for Jesus.
Here are just a few examples using Matthew’s gospel:
- Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, THE SON OF DAVID.
- Matthew 9:27 Two blind men followed [Jesus], crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, SON OF DAVID.” They don’t even call him Jesus, or Christ.
- Matthew 20:31 The crowd rebuked (the 2 blind men), telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”
Take your minds to the triumphal entry, which is the one moment when Jesus was most clearly shown to be the long-awaited Messiah…
Matthew 21:9 The crowds…were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!
Right after the triumphal entry Jesus entered the temple…
Matthew 21:15 The children [cried] out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”
Even the children knew he was the Son of David.
Speaking to the religious leaders…
Matthew 22:41 Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”
So here’s the point…
- Solomon is the son of David
- But Jesus is the true and greater Son of David.
Now do something for me…
In the middle of verse 11 look at the words I will give you rest from all your enemies.
Did this happen when David’s son, Solomon, became king?
Definitely!
If you remember the first two chapters of 1 Kings, right after Solomon became king, they’re very violent!
Many enemies were executed: Adonijah, Abiathar, Joab, and Shimei.
What happens when Jesus, the true and greater Son of David, becomes king?
It’s also very violent. All his enemies are executed.
If you write in your Bible you can circle the words I will give you rest from all your enemies and write, “Psalm 110:1”…
Psalm 110:1 The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”
This looks forward to Jesus, and to spell it out very clearly…
When Solomon became king and all his enemies were defeated, it looked forward to Christ, the true and greater Son of David, becoming king and all of His enemies being defeated.
Now look at the beginning of verse 14…
2 Samuel 7:14a I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
God said He would be a father to Solomon, but we know these words look past Solomon to Jesus…and this brings us to the next part of lesson one…
Lesson one: Jesus is the true and greater Son of (part two) God.
We know God has many sons and daughters. Every believer is a son or daughter of God:
- Galatians 3:26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
- Galatians 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
- Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons[a] of God.
- 1 John 3:1-3, See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now,
- Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
- Philippians 2:15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
So, again, if I said, “Who is the son of God?” what would say?
You would say, “Capital S Son of God or lowercase s son of God?”
Secondarily these verses describe the father-son relationship between God and Solomon, but primarily they describe the father-son relationship between God and Jesus.
How do we know this?
This one is actually much easier, because the New Testament does the work for us. Verse 14 might look familiar, because it is quoted for us in Hebrews and applied to Jesus.
If you write in your Bible you can circle the words, “I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son” and write, “Hebrews 1:5.”
It’s nice when you’re reading the Old Testament and you don’t have to wonder if a verse is about Jesus, because there’s a verse in the New Testament that tells us that’s the case…
Hebrews 1:5a For to which of the angels [who are also called sons of God] did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again,
And here’s the quote of 2 Samuel 7:14…
Heb 1:5b “I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON”?
So even though these words are about Solomon, they have their complete fulfillment in Christ.
Before we look at the second half of verse 14 I want to explain why I want to give it so much attention…
We were having a good conversation as a family a few weeks ago and my children were asking some very reasonable questions, such as:
- “How do we know the Bible is true?”
- “How do we know God wrote the Bible?”
When children ask these questions, I think there are two mistakes parents can make…
One mistake is chastising our children:
- “Oh, you don’t believe the Bible.”
- “What a terrible thing to say.”
- “You should feel horrible about your doubts.”
If we do say something like this, we are almost guaranteed that they will not ask us sincere questions again.
The second mistake is not answering their question.
As parents it is our responsibility to do so. If we can’t answer at the time – which is reasonable – we should find the answer and get back to them.
So back to my kids’ question: “How do we know God wrote the Bible?”
The answer is it records history in advance, and man couldn’t write that.
Think about the prophecies of Jesus…
You’ve heard me say many times that we believe Jesus is the Messiah, not because:
- He changed our lives
- Or that’s what feels right
- Or that’s what our parents told us
These things can be true, but other religions can say the same things.
The reason we believe Jesus is the Messiah is He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies that were written centuries before He was born.
If all you had was the book of Jonah – and I mean this – you have enough evidence to believe Jesus is the Messiah. Jonah was written seven centuries before Jesus was born, and the language of Jonah’s:
- Death when he is thrown in the sea…
- Burial for three days and three nights in the fish…
- Resurrection out of the fish onto land on the third day…
Is so strong you have to try to deny that it’s looking forward to Christ.
This is why when the Jews asked Jesus for a sign that He’s the Messiah, He said…
Matthew 12:39 No sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
So in other words, that account alone is enough to serve as evidence that Jesus is the Messiah.
But we get so much more than Jonah. We get the entire Old Testament…
Luke 24:27 Beginning with Moses and all the Prophets (or beginning at the beginning of the Old Testament), [Jesus] interpreted to them in all the Scriptures THE THINGS CONCERNING HIMSELF.
The Old Testament is about Jesus, and as we see so much written about Him centuries before He came, it reveals God wrote the Bible.
What does this have to do with 2 Samuel?
The second half of verse 14 is one of those places that contains great revelation about Jesus. Look with me…
2 Samuel 7:14b When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
Part of God’s promise to David is that He would treat Solomon as a father treats his son: God would discipline him if he committed iniquity…like a father disciplines his son if he commits iniquity.
And that’s exactly what God did with Solomon: he committed iniquity and God disciplined him. We read about Solomon’s idolatry a few months ago, and if we would’ve read a little further we would’ve seen how God took most of the kingdom away from him.
So it’s pretty easy to understand how this verse applies to Solomon…but it’s hard to understand how it applies to Jesus, because:
- He never committed iniquity
- God never had to discipline Him.
But the truth is these words apply to Jesus in an even greater way than they apply to Solomon!
And this brings us to lesson two…
Lesson two: Jesus suffered for iniquity and was disciplined with the rod and stripes due to men.
If you take a moment and look at the second half of verse 14 it practically sounds like a combination of parts of Isaiah 53, which is one of the strongest messianic passages in the Old Testament, prophesying of the substitutionary atonement of Christ…or of Him suffering on the cross for our sins.
Let me read some of the verses from Isaiah 53 so you can hear the parallelism with verse 14…
(NKJV) Isaiah 53:5 He was wounded for our transgressions, He was BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him THE INIQUITY OF US ALL.
This has much of the exact same language as verse 14.
Now the obvious question…
How can the verse apply to Jesus, because it says when he commits iniquity and Jesus committed no iniquity?
The solution is the second half of verse 14 can – or some commentators think should – be translated as…
When he suffers for iniquity I shall chasten Him with the rod due men, and with the stripes due to the sons of men.
Let me tell you how I came to this understanding…
A few years ago I realized I was going too slowly through verses so I started limiting the number of commentaries I’d look at to four.
But for this verse I looked at every single commentary I had in my office, which was over 15…and I looked at some online. Many of the commentaries made the same point that these words not just can – but should – be read differently. Let me share two examples with you.
First, Adam Clarke said…
“The chief reason [it is] so frequently missed [that verse 14 is referring to Jesus] is owing to our very improper translation…The Hebrew words do not properly signify what [we read in English]. It is certain that the [words] ‘to commit iniquity’ [should be] ‘to suffer for iniquity.’…The [verse] being made clear, we are now prepared to abolish our translation of ‘he commits iniquity’ and adopt the true one, [which is] even in his suffering for iniquity. The Messiah will be made more manifest from the whole verse translated, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son even in his suffering for iniquity I shall chasten him with the rod of men, (or with the rod due to men) and with the stripes due to the children of Adam.” This [translation] is well supported by Isaiah 53:4-5.”
Just to make it clearer, Adam Clarke said the words commits iniquity can be better translated as suffer for iniquity.
Second, J. Vernon McGee said something similar. In his commentary he wrote. He wrote…
“But if he committed iniquity, that is, when iniquity is laid upon him—when your sin and my sin were put upon him—it is with his stripes that we are healed. He died on the cross for you and me.”
This means the verse stands as a strong prophecy of Christ’s substitutionary atonement…1,000 years before Jesus came:
- He suffered for our iniquity
- Our guilt was laid on Him
- He was chastened with the rod due to men
- He was disciplined with the stripes due to the sons of men
When Jesus was on the cross He was imputed with the sin of all believers throughout history:
- 2 Corinthians 5:21—He became sin.
- 1 Peter 2:24—He bore our sins in His body on the cross.
- Isaiah 53:6—The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
- Isaiah 53:11—He will bear their iniquities.
- Isaiah 53:12—He bore the sin of many.
We say Jesus died for our sins, and that’s true, but we could equally say He died for His sin, because our sins became His sins. When our sins were imputed to Him – or put to His account – they literally became HIS sins.
This is when He experienced separation from the Father…
Matthew 27:46 Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Why did Jesus say this?
Because He owned our sins and felt separation from the Father.
We know the Son had that Father’s favor throughout his earthly life. There are many verses I could give you, but just using Matthew’s gospel:
- At Jesus’s baptism: Matthew 3: 17 Behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
- Speaking of the Son:: Matthew 12:18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.
- Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”
But did it ever look like the father’s favor had been taken from Jesus? Most definitely! When Jesus hung on the cross and the sin redeemed humanity throughout all history to Him. In that moment there had never been another person filled with so much sin.
Now the question is, which these verses reveal, did the Father continue to forsake the Son?
Look at verse 15 for the answer…
2 Samuel 7:15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
Adam Clarke, and others, also see Jesus in this verse. Listen to what he says…
“God promises that even amidst the sufferings of this Son (as [the sufferings] would be for the sins of others, not for his own) [the Father’s] mercy should still attend him (or remain with Him); nor should [the Father’s] favor be ever removed from this king (referring to Jesus) as it had been from Saul.”
And this brings us to Lesson 3…
Lesson three: Jesus retained His Father’s favor.
Two dramatic events reveal the Father’s favor wasn’t taken from the Son.
First, the resurrection. The Father raised the Son from the dead…
Romans 6:4 Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.
Second, the Father received the Son when He ascended to heaven…
Acts 1:9 When [Jesus] had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
The cloud is the Shekinah glory of the Father receiving the Son into heaven.
Now let’s move to the surface reading of the verse to see how it applies to Solomon to find some wonderful application for us…
First, I need you to put yourself in David’s place before God made this covenant with him. We are familiar with the messianic line…which is to say we are familiar with the Davidic covenant…which is to say we know the Messiah came from one of David’s descendants.
But David didn’t know that would be the case, and not only did he not know that would be the case, he didn’t even know that his son would be the next king. That might sound hard to believe, but think about something for a moment…
David is the second King of the nation of Israel. Up to this point, how many kings were able to have their son sit on the throne?
None!
The previous king was Saul, and his son, Jonathan, didn’t get to become king. David had to wonder, “If one of my descendants messes up, is God going to replace my house with someone else’s house like He did with Saul?”
So this is a bigger promise than it might seem, because David knew better than anyone that God is more than willing to replace the current king’s son with a new king that’s not one of his descendants.
But now David learns that even if his son blows it he will not lose the throne.
Go ahead and turn one book to the right to 1 Kings 11 so I can show you something.
As we read about a few months ago, Solomon broke the 3 main rules God had for kings: not multiplying wives, wealth, or horses. Even worse, he worshiped all their foreign gods. Look at verse 4…
1 Kings 11:4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for ALL HIS FOREIGN WIVES, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
Now hold on to this for a moment while I ask you something.
What did Saul do to lose the throne?
He offered a sacrifice that the prophet Samuel was supposed to offer, and he didn’t wipe out all the Amalekites.
Based on what we just read about Solomon, it wouldn’t be too much to say that he was exponentially worse than Saul. If anyone should’ve lost the throne it’s Solomon.
But look at:
- 1 Kings 11:12 Yet FOR THE SAKE OF DAVID YOUR FATHER I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
- 1 Kings 11:13 However, I will not tear away all the kingdom, but I will give one tribe to your son, FOR THE SAKE OF DAVID MY SERVANT and for the sake of Jerusalem that I have chosen.”…
- 1 Kings 11:32 (but he shall have one tribe, FOR THE SAKE OF MY SERVANT DAVID and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city that I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel),
- 1 Kings 11:34 Nevertheless, I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, but I will make him ruler all the days of his life, FOR THE SAKE OF DAVID MY SERVANT whom I chose, who kept my commandments and my statutes.
It repeatedly says this, because even though Solomon deserved to lose the throne, God doesn’t want us to miss that He was faithful to His covenant with David.
You see something similar in 2 Kings 8:19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah, for the sake of His servant David, as He promised him to give a lamp to him and his sons forever
One of the most dramatic deliverances in the OT occurred when the Assyrians came against Judah during Hezekiah’s reign, when he dispatched the Angel of the Lord to destroy 185,000 Assyrians. God said He would save the nation and part of it had to do w/ David: 2 Kings 20:6 And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.
Here’s what I want you to notice…
Solomon deserved judgment, but he received grace and mercy because of David…and this brings us to lesson 4…
Lesson four: we receive God’s favor because of the true and greater Son of David.
Solomon received favor because of David. We receive favor because of the true and greater Son of David.
If you think about the situation with Solomon, it’s tempting to say:
- “This is unfair.”
- “Why should Solomon benefit from David?”
- “Solomon sinned terribly. He should be punished.”
Yes, this is unfair. Solomon was terrible. Not only should he have lost the throne, he deserved death because of his idolatry. If he had 700 wives and 300 concubines and he worshiped all their false gods, he should have been killed more times than I can count.
Did Solomon deserve the grace, or favor, he received?
No, he didn’t, but that’s what makes it grace, because grace is unearned or unmerited favor.
Solomon deserved death, but he received grace and mercy because of another.
And it’s the same for us who are in Christ…
We deserve death, but we receive grace and mercy because of another…
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, (and here’s the grace and mercy…) but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because of the true and greater son of David, Jesus Christ, we receive grace and mercy.
And let me leave you with this wonderful thought…
If God was faithful to Solomon because of David, think of how much more faithful God will be to us because of Christ.
Let’s pray.
