Mark 12:35Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

As the Lord was destined to endure suffering, He addresses the erroneous belief of the scribes, who perceived Christ merely as the Son of David rather than recognizing Him as the Son of God.

Ultimately, the Lord Jesus, aware that the people perceived Him merely as a man rather than as God, asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is He?” (Matthew 22:42). They responded based on their limited interpretation, identifying Him as the son of David. This was the extent of their knowledge, for although they had encountered references to His divinity, they failed to grasp its significance.

In the midst of these discussions, the nature of the Messiah's identity was addressed. The Lord posed a question to the Pharisees gathered around Him, asking, "How is it that the Messiah is referred to by David, through the inspiration of the Spirit, as both the son of David and his Lord?" This inquiry was likely presented by the Lord to establish scriptural evidence for His teaching on the Messiah’s supreme and Divine essence, which was dismissed by those fixated solely on the letter of the law, as seen during the Feast of Tabernacles and the temple's reconstruction. Yet, this question went unanswered. Just as in the case of John, they refrained from responding in order to avoid self-contradiction, similarly withholding their answer regarding the Messiah Himself.

Through this inquiry, Jesus Christ does not intend to dispute the widely held belief among the Jews that the Messiah must come from the lineage of David. Rather, He seeks to refine and elevate their understanding of His identity. The Pharisees, along with the entire nation, failed to recognize that the Messiah, as acknowledged in David's inspired words, is also His Lord, signifying that He is the Son of God. This question posed to Jesus was likely prompted by the Pharisees recalling the Lord’s own declarations about Himself as the Son of God, and they sought a reiteration of this affirmation in an attempt to accuse Him of blasphemy.

In His discourse regarding Christ, Jesus inquired of the people, "What are your thoughts about the Messiah? Whose son is He?" They responded unanimously and without delay, "David's" (Matthew 22:42). This response was based on the Old Testament prophecies that indicated the Messiah would be a descendant of King David. The term son in this context encompasses not just a direct descendant, but also any descendant in a broader sense. Thus, Jesus' inquiry can be interpreted in terms of lineage: From whom is the Messiah to be descended? "From David," the Pharisees affirmed.

Then the Messiah posed a question to the learned examiners, aimed at illuminating their understanding of His true greatness. In their spiritual blindness, they had overlooked His genuine authority and anticipated a political hero who would vanquish worldly powers and claim their riches for their sake. Because Christ did not meet these expectations, they labeled Him a fraud and a misleader of the people. To steer them towards the truth, Christ inquired: ‘What do you think of Christ? Whose son is he?’

The inquiry regarding the identity of Christ as the Son, which placed the scribes in a challenging scenario, is omitted in the Gospel of Luke. This inquiry about whose son Christ is, which troubled the scribes, is presented in the same manner in both Mark and Matthew. The only distinction is that Mark, adhering to his style, transforms what is presented as a monologue into a dialogue (cf. Mk. 12:9). According to Matthew, He poses the question to the scribes, asking whom they consider Christ to be the son of. When they respond that He is the son of David, He brings forth the query that had already confounded them. In Mark, He generally acknowledges that the scribes refer to Christ as the son of David, among other titles.

Following these encounters with the Lord's insight, no one dared challenge Him. His adversaries were convinced that even a single beam of divine truth could eliminate the shadowy complexities of their arguments. While silence reigned—some out of the humiliation of defeat, and others in awe of what they had observed—the Lord continued to instruct in the temple. When the Pharisees gathered, He posed a question on a matter of great significance. He aimed to rectify misunderstandings about the Messiah and caution the people against being misled by their misconceptions. He asked, “What do the scribes say about Christ, that He is the Son of David?