Don Stewart :: Why Was Jesus Called the Son of David?

God had promised David, the first rightful king of Israel, that his throne would be established forever.

When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

This caused the people to long to see David's greater son - the one who would rule forever.

Jesus Is The Son Of David

On a number of occasions in the gospels Jesus is called the, "Son of David." Matthew calls Jesus the, son of David in the very first sentence of his gospel.

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham (Matthew 1:1).

People Called Jesus The Son Of David

Six times in the gospel of Matthew it records people calling Jesus the, "Son of David."

There were two blind men who needed healing who addressed him this way.

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!" (Matthew 9:27).

After Jesus performed a miraculous healing the crowd wondered if Jesus could be David's son.

All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, "This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?" (Matthew 12:23).

A Canaanite woman who wanted her daughter healed used this title of Jesus.

And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed" (Matthew 15:22).

In Jericho, two blind men called out to Jesus.

And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" (Matthew 20:30).

When Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the people acknowledged Him as the "Son of David."

The crowds going ahead of him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!" (Matthew 21:9).

In the temple in Jerusalem the people addressed Jesus as David's son.

But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant (Matthew 21:5).

Jesus Was Born In Bethlehem - The City Of David

Jesus was born in David's city - Bethlehem.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, "Where is he who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east and have come to worship him" (Matthew 2:1,2).

The Son of David was, therefore, a messianic title. Jesus called this to the attention of the religious rulers.

"What do you think about the Christ Whose son is he?" "The son of David," they replied. He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him Lord? For he says, "The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet." If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions (Matthew 22:42-46).

David was promised that one of his offspring would rule forever. Jesus was called the "Son of David" while he was here on the earth. He was born in David's city, Bethlehem. The gospel of Matthew records that various people, on six different occasions, acknowledged Jesus as the Son of David. This is a messianic title. Jesus never denied that he was the Son of David.. In fact, on Palm Sunday he received the praise and worship of the people.