The Christ of Christmas
By Jerry Batson, Th.D.
Special to The Alabama Baptist
Christmas music, Scripture readings and pageants remind us annually of some of the titles by which passages related to Christ’s birth refer to Him. As we begin the countdown to Christmas, Theology 101 will explore some of the theological implications that flow from the titles found in the birth narratives. We begin this week with Son of David.
At the outset we note that Jesus was not a next generation son of David, but a son in the sense of a descendant born generations later. The opening verse of the New Testament reads “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). The following verses fill in the gaps between Christ and Abraham and between Christ and David with names in that genealogy.
Later in Matthew we read of a half dozen occasions when various people call Christ the “Son of David,” such as two blind men who called out for mercy (9:27) and a Canaanite woman seeking help for her daughter (15:22). Then there was an amazed crowd who at one point asked, “Could this be the Son of David?” (12:23), as well as the joyous crowd that accompanied Christ during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem crying, “Hosanna to the Son of David” (21:9).
Messianic title
What’s in a name when that name is Son of David, born in Bethlehem the city of David (Luke 2:11)? Rooted in the Old Testament, the title Son of David was commonly viewed as a messianic title. Thus, Son of David was a way of expressing the hope that Mary’s son would prove to be the promised Messiah. The Old Testament is clear in presenting the Jewish hope for a promised Deliverer. This hope was not only the subject of prophetic proclamation but was also the focus of Jewish praise for generations as devout worshippers chanted songs of ascent while approaching Jerusalem and the temple for annual celebrations. One such song was Psalm 132 with the refrain, “The Lord has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it: I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body” (v. 11).
Since David was the premier king of Israel, the prophetic hope was that one of his descendants would occupy the throne. Hence, the Son of David designation carried the overtone of royalty, albeit a royalty of a higher order than was that of King David. The ultimate expression of Christ’s royalty awaits the end time when He will be acclaimed “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16).
Royal lineage
Being descended in the royal lineage that could be traced back to David and even further back to Abraham, the title Son of David also carried overtones of real humanity, such as could be traced back through the intervening generations. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph to reassure him about taking Mary as his wife, the angel addressed him, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife” (Matt. 1:20).
Subsequently, Joseph, being in the lineage of David, would become Jesus’ legal and functional father, while Mary was Jesus’ biological mother. Jesus was fully human with a real body that came from Mary. With Matthew 1:1–17 possibly recording Joseph’s ancestry and Luke 3:23–38 possibly giving Mary’s ancestry, Jesus was doubly a descendant of David, both legally and biologically.
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