35 And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David? 36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly. (Mark 12:35-37 KJV)
Whose Son Is the Christ?
Here, Christ shows the people how weak and inadequate the scribes were in their preaching and how unable they were to solve the difficulties found in the Old Testament scriptures, which they claimed to explain. He gives an example of this, which is more fully described in Matthew. Christ was teaching in the temple; though many things he said were not recorded, this one is noted because it encourages us to seek knowledge of Christ directly from him. It is not to be obtained from the scribes, for they quickly reach their limits.
They told the people that the Messiah was to be the Son of David (Mark 12:35), and they were right; he was to descend from David and inherit his throne (Luke 1:32). The Scripture said it often, but the people heard it as something the scribes said. The truths of God should be quoted from the Bible itself rather than from preachers, for Scripture is the original source.
Yet they could not explain how David, inspired by the Spirit, could call him Lord, as he does in Psalm 110:1. They taught that the Messiah would be from David’s royal line, which honored their nation, but they failed to teach that he would also be the Son of God, and as such, David’s Lord. They presented the truth selectively and neglected what honored the Messiah most. They could say and prove that Christ was David’s son, but if someone asked, “How then does David call him Lord?” they would not know how to respond. Those who can preach the truth but cannot defend it or respond to objections are not fit to teach God’s Word.
This exposed the scribes’ ignorance and likely angered them further against Christ. But the common people heard him gladly (Mark 12:37). His preaching was powerful and moving, and although it exposed the scribes, it taught the people, who had never heard such preaching. Perhaps there was something particularly commanding and appealing in his voice and delivery that won the people’s attention. Still, we do not read of them being converted to believe in him. He was to them like a beautiful song performed by a skilled musician (Ezekiel 33:32). Some of these may later have shouted, “Crucify him,” just as Herod enjoyed listening to John the Baptist but still had him killed.