To be clear, King David was never called “the father of Jesus Christ.” Yet Jesus Christ was called “the son of David.” But since King David lived about 1,000 years BEFORE the birth of Jesus Christ, how could He be “the son of David?” Let’s read Matthew 1:1, “The book of the GENEALOGY of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” If we were to read verses 2-17, we would see a very detailed account of all the GENERATIONS (42 in all!) that eventually led to the birth of Jesus Christ. Notice, Jesus Christ is also called “the son of Abraham.” Why is that? Because Abraham, the “father of the Hebrew race,” was given a promise that through his “family line” a son would be born who would fulfill the covenant promises that were given to him (see Genesis 12:3 & 22:18).  David was given a promise from God that one day a son would be born through his “family line” that would have a kingdom that would last forever. We have that promise in 2nd Samuel 7:12-13 where God told David, “When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up YOUR SEED after you, who will 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.” Many have thought that God was speaking of David’s son, Solomon, but his kingdom was NOT established forever. In Matthew’s genealogy we have the proof that Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of that promise, for He alone is given the prestigious title “Son of David.” He was the promised SEED (descendant) of David who would become Israel’s KING, just as he was the promised SEED (descendant) of Abraham who would become the One through whom “all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18).

So, we have seen that Jesus Christ was called “the Son of David” because He was “the Seed/Descendant of David.” But we have also seen that this title, which is found 17 times in the New Testament, points to the fact that He is the Messiah, the long-awaited King of the Jews. Godly Jews knew the prophecy that was given to David and when they called Him the “Son of David” they were declaring their faith in Him as the Messiah. In Matthew 20:30 we read, “And behold, two blind men sitting by the road, when they heard that Jesus was passing by, cried out, saying, ‘Have mercy on us, O Lord, Son of David.” Notice, they expressed their faith in him as the Son of David AND as their “Lord!” They knew He was their KING and they knew He was also their LORD (the “Lord of glory”….see 1st Corinthians 2:8).

This begs the question, “Did David know that his promised Seed/Son would also be his Lord? He surely did! In Psalm 110:1 David wrote, “The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’” David had heard a conversation between “the LORD” (God the Father) and “his Lord” (the Messiah who is the Lord of glory). You may be thinking, “How can you be sure that David had really believed his son was not only the Messiah, but the Lord of glory?” We need only turn to Matthew 22:41-45 to prove it: “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, ‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call him “Lord,” saying, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool?’ If David then calls Him ’Lord,’ how is He his Son?” This makes it clear that when David wrote Psalm 110:1 he knew that the Messiah (Christ) was both his “Lord” and his “Son.” He was both God and Man! Being God He was David’s Lord; and being Man He was David’s Son. Jesus Himself declared this wonderful truth in Revelation 22:16, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” He was David’s ROOT (Creator/God) and He was David’s OFFSPRING (Son/Descendant).  (DO)  (568.5)