While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Messiah is the son of David? David himself, by the Holy Spirit, declared,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.” ’
“David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?” And the large crowd was listening to him with delight.
Mark 12:35-37 NRSV
One day, Jesus asked a question that must have caught everyone’s attention: “How can the scribes say that the Christ is David’s son?” The people knew well that the Messiah would come from David’s bloodline; that truth was deeply rooted in Scripture. Yet Jesus wasn’t questioning their intelligence or their devotion. He respected their knowledge and their role in teaching the law. But with this question, Jesus invited them to see beyond the familiar to shift from head knowledge to heart revelation, from tradition to transformation.
The belief that “Christ is the Son of David” had tied the scribes so firmly to the past that they struggled to recognize the new thing God was doing before their eyes. They longed for the restoration of the old Davidic kingdom, but Jesus came to establish a kingdom that was greater, eternal, and spiritual.
I often find myself in that same place, holding on so tightly to what God has done that I can’t see what God is doing now. Our past testimonies of God’s faithfulness should encourage us, not define the limits of God’s power. When we pray for restoration of the old, we sometimes forget that God is the Creator of the new.
Life has a way of taking things from us – possessions, relationships, positions, even dreams. It hurts to lose what once brought meaning and joy. But God’s silence in those moments doesn’t mean abandonment. Sometimes, God isn’t restoring the old because God has already begun creating something new. The very places where we feel loss may be the ground where renewal is being planted.
The magnificent kingdom of David, with all its victories and splendor, was just a shadow of what Christ’s kingdom would become. David ruled a nation, Christ reigns over all creation – the King of kings, the Lord of lords. Even David, in awe of this truth, called Him, “Lord.” God has done marvelous things for us before, but those blessings are only glimpses of the greater glory God has prepared in our present and future.
So, who is the Messiah? He is the bringer of new beginnings. In Him, old things pass away, and all things are made new. When we release our grip on the past, our pain, our victories, even our expectations, we make room for Christ to do what only He can do. To walk with the Messiah is to live in constant renewal, trusting that every ending is really the beginning of something beautiful in His hands.
Nyasha Adorant Masaga, holder of a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and currently pursuing an MBA in Business Analytics at La Sierra University, is passionately dedicated to advancing social justice through ethical leadership and data-driven strategies for equitable change.