The religious leaders had been questioning Jesus about His teaching and authority. Now He had a question of His own and confronted them with what the Scriptures teach about the Messiah.

The Messiah was to be the seed of David - a Jewish king from David's dynasty - this was without dispute and widely accepted by Jews. Referring to Psalm 110, He asked, “If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?” How could the Messiah be both lesser than David (as his son) and greater than David (as his Lord) at the same time? Here Jesus was bringing together the concepts that the Messiah was both the human son of David and the divine Son of God. But Jesus as the Son of God was what the religious leaders refused to acknowledge. No one could say a word in reply to Jesus and from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions. The confrontation had ended.

Spiritual Exercise: Have you been confronted by hard sayings or difficulties in the Bible for which you have no satisfactory answer? Are you disturbed by seemingly conflicting teachings in the Bible? What do you do with these apparent Bible contradictions?

How do you sincerely and diligently seek to resolve these Bible difficulties and contradictions? If you are still unable to resolve these, are you prepared to acknowledge with humility that a limited mind cannot comprehend an infinite God (Isaiah 40:13; 55:8-9)?

Do you like to use these Bible difficulties to pose questions to Christians? Or do you sincerely seek to know if Jesus is really God – worthy of your belief and submission? Examine yourself to see if your questions and argumentative spirit are a reflection of unbelief and rebellion.

Be alert that Satan may use these difficulties to cast doubt about God in your mind. 

Prayer: 
Grant me the diligence to search and study Your Word
Help me catch a glimpse of who You are.