NT Connect: Matthew 22:41-46
Weekly Reading: 2 Samuel 2-6
The Anointed King
This week in 2 Samuel 2-6, we saw David anointed at Hebron as King over all Israel. At this point, David has been anointed three times. First, he was anointed with the Spirit of the Lord (1 Samuel 16:13). Then, he was anointed to rule over Judah as their King (2 Samuel 2:4). Finally after he had united the country, he was anointed in 2 Samuel 5:3 as King over all Israel. As David is anointed this final time remind, the leaders of the people remind him in 2 Samuel 5:2 of what the Lord spoke over him in 1 Samuel, “You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.”
David knew that the Lord was his shepherd and was the shepherd of his people (Psalm 23:1). As king, David was anointed to become a part of God’s caring for his people. David had a heart for God and was confirmed to rule Israel, but he was still a mere man. Even though the Spirit of the Lord was with David, he was human. He was not free from sin.
David’s Psalms are a great inside look at his heart. They show us that he understood his need for the Lord to be his shepherd. I would suggest that David’s sin helped him recognize his need for grace and mercy from the true king, the Lord God. David knew that his kingship pointed forward to a better king, a good shepherd who would care for his people.
In Matthew 22:41-46, Jesus asks the Pharisees a question. They know the answer because they know that the true Messiah will come from David. In their minds, David rescued the Israelites from their enemies, and the Messiah will come and do the same. But Jesus is elevating the idea of the Messiah to be more than a conqueror of their enemies. Jesus stumps the Pharisees by asking why David, in Psalm 110:1, refers to his descendant as Lord? Why would David, the “father” of the Messiah, refer to his “son” as Lord?
Jesus expands their understanding of what this Messiah is to do. He did not just come to conquer their enemies and give them political independence. He came to shepherd his people and release them from the real enemy, sin. As a king of Israel, David shepherded his people, but he was an imperfect shepherd. Jesus Christ, his son “according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3) is the Good Shepherd (John 10), the Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13), and the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4). Jesus is the true and perfect shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11).
Mark Thomas