What does “The LORD said to my Lord” mean in this passage?

In this passage Jesus quotes David, who says, “The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.” The first “LORD” points to God speaking, and “my Lord” is the one David calls his master. Jesus applies this to the Christ. God invites the Messiah to sit at his right hand, the place of honour and authority, after finishing the work he was sent to do. God also promises to bring all the Messiah’s enemies under his power, like a footstool under his feet.

How can Christ be both David’s son and David’s Lord?

Jesus uses David’s words to show that the Messiah is more than just a human king from David’s line. As a man, Christ truly comes from David’s family and is his son. Yet David, speaking by the Holy Spirit, calls him “my Lord,” which means the Messiah is greater than David and has a higher nature. This points to Christ being both human and divine. He is David’s son according to the flesh, and at the same time David’s Lord, sharing God’s authority and rule.

Why did Jesus question the scribes about Christ being the son of David?

Jesus did not deny that the Messiah is the son of David. That part is true. He questioned the scribes because they stopped there and treated the Christ as only a human descendant of David. By asking how David could call the Messiah “my Lord,” Jesus shows that their teaching was shallow and incomplete. They were quick to repeat what honoured their nation, but slow to teach what honoured the Messiah himself. Jesus’ question exposes their lack of understanding and points people to the higher truth about who the Christ really is.

What is the meaning of “Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool”?

This picture comes from the way ancient kings honoured the one who shared their rule. To sit at the right hand is to share the king’s authority and favour. When God says this to the Messiah, it means that after his saving work he is welcomed to the highest place beside God. The promise about enemies becoming a footstool shows that every power against Christ will be subdued. In time, all who oppose him, whether spiritual or human, will be placed under his rule and cannot finally stand against him.

Who are the “scribes” and the “common people” in this passage?

The scribes were teachers of the law who explained the Scriptures to the people and were seen as religious experts. They taught that the Christ would come from David’s family but failed to show that he is also David’s Lord. The “common people” are the ordinary men and women listening in the temple. They do not have the status of the scribes, yet they listen to Jesus with pleasure. They recognize that his teaching has a depth and honesty they have not heard from their usual leaders, even if they do not fully follow him.

Why did the common people hear Jesus gladly here?

The ordinary people were used to dry and proud teaching from their leaders. When Jesus spoke, he used Scripture clearly, asked searching questions, and did not flatter the powerful. In this scene, he opens up a part of David’s words that the scribes could not explain, and he does it in a way that honours God and the Christ. This kind of teaching caught the people’s attention. They enjoyed hearing truth that made sense of Scripture, exposed hypocrisy, and lifted their thoughts about who the Messiah really is.

What does this passage teach about who Jesus is?

By using David’s own words, Jesus shows that the Messiah is both David’s son and David’s Lord. He is not only a great man from a royal family, but the one who sits at God’s right hand and will rule over all enemies. Though Jesus does not state it in heavy terms here, the passage points to his divine nature and his shared authority with God. It also shows that only he can truly explain the Scriptures about the Christ, so a right knowledge of him must come from his own teaching.

Why is this passage sometimes hard to understand?

This passage can feel difficult because it uses a short quote and expects the listener to know the whole background. Jesus builds his point on the way David speaks about “my Lord,” which may seem small but carries a lot of weight. Also, the idea that one person can be both someone’s son and someone’s Lord can be hard to grasp. Faithful readers have seen this as pointing to Christ’s two natures: truly human from David’s line, and truly Lord over David. The wording is brief, but the truth behind it is deep.

Mark.12.35

Mark 12:35

KJV Jesus

And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

Whose Son Is the Christ?

And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the Son of David?

For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.

David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he then his son? And the common people heard him gladly.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.