Jesus Christ

42. Why is Jesus Christ called ‘Son of David’?

Jesus Christ is called ‘Son of David’, because He descended from the house and lineage of David (king of Israel), according to the flesh. For the putative father of Jesus, that is, Joseph, “was of the house and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4 – NKJV).

In reading the genealogy of Jesus Christ, as Matthew wrote it down in the Gospel, we can see clearly that Jesus descended from David according to the flesh (Matthew 1:1-17); Paul says to the Romans that the Son of God “was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3 – NKJV); when Jesus appeared to John on the island called Patmos, He said to him: “I am the Root and the Offspring of David ….” (Revelation 22:16 – NKJV).

That the Messiah had to come from the house of David, had been predicted by the prophets of old. Isaiah said: “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” (Isaiah 11:1-2); Jeremiah said: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Jeremiah 23:5-6); and Ezekiel said: “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it” (Ezekiel 34:23-24).

Jesus not only descended from the house of David, but He also was born in the same city where David was born, that is, Bethlehem. The angel who appeared to those shepherds living out in the fields nearby said to them: “There is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11 – NKJV). Jesus was born in Bethlehem that it might be fulfilled what the prophet Micah said: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

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