The Old Testament records many promises that God made to people throughout history - starting with Eve, when He told her that her offspring would crush the serpent’s head. God promised Abraham that He would make him a nation of countless people, and that through him all the families of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). In Genesis 49:10 God spoke through Jacob that the Mesianic king will come from the line of Judah. In 2 Samuel 7:12-16 God promised David that He would give him an heir who would secure the royal throne forever.
The New Testament starts out in the book of Matthew with the genealogy of Jesus. It starts at Abraham and traces Jesus’s lineage up through David to Mary’s husband Joseph. The book of Luke also contains a genealogy of Jesus that traces Jesus’s lineage back from Mary’s husband Joseph (and more specifically probably from Mary) all the way to Adam and ultimately to God. Though these genealogies might seem like just long lists of names, they actually convey important details. They are not simply Jesus’s family tree, but they are evidence that God fulfilled His promises and prophecies through Jesus.
The title Son of David is not actually used very often in the Bible. It appears 25 times in the NASB95, with many of those references being used literally for other people, such as Solomon, or in genealogies. But the rest of the occurrances are in reference to Jesus with the understanding that He is the fulfilment of God’s promise to David.
We see the title Son of David used most often in relation to Jesus healing people. In Matthew 12:22 Jesus healed a blind man who couldn’t speak and the people recognized Him as the Son of David. And Matthew, Mark and Luke all record one or two blind men calling out to Jesus, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And those verses make up the majority of the instances of the title Son of David being used for Jesus.
But the title itself has the most significance to the people of Israel because the Son of David was expected to be the eternal king of their nation. The people called Jesus Son of David when He entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey because they recognized that as the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy from Zechariah 9:9. They were waiting for the promised Messiah to come to rescue them from Roman oppression and make thier nation powerful and wealthy once again - like it was in the time of David and Solomon.
As we know now, though, the prophecy wasn’t talking about an earthly king or an earthly kingdom. It was talking about a humble servant who came not to rule the world, but to overcome it and usher in a heavenly kingdom. And Jesus points this significant detail out when He quotes David in Mark 12:36 as calling his “son” Lord - saying basically that David would not call Him Lord if He was just his son.
Though the title Son of David is not used very often for Jesus, it is still a title rich with meaning and importance, and not to be overlooked. It doesn’t just convey that Jesus is the king, but it is a reminder to us that God’s word is true and that He is faithful to keep His promises.
Jesus is our king - worthy of all honor, and glory, and praise. Blessed be the Son of David, and may He have mercy on me!
Genesis 12:1-3 (NLT) The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
Genesis 49:8-10 (NLT) “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.
2 Samuel 7:12-16 (NLT) For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”
Zechariah 9:9 (NLT) Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.
Matthew 12:22-23 (NLT) Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”
Mark 10:46-48 (NLT) Then they came to Jericho. And as He was leaving Jericho with His disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the road. When he heard that it was Jesus the Nazarene, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many were sternly telling him to be quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Mark 12:35-37 (NLT)And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’
David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.