Jesus, the Davidic king, in the New Testament
From the very first verse of the New Testament, we are told who Jesus is: “the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt. 1:1). At the very end of the New Testament, we read that Jesus is “the root and descendant of David” (Rev. 22:16). He is the anointed one (Messiah/Christ) of God and ideal Davidic king. Therefore, we should expect that he shares the prerogatives of the Davidic kings of the Old Testament, presumably to an even greater degree. And this is, in fact, precisely what we find all throughout the New Testament.
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16)
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God. (Mark 1:1)
“He will be great, and be called ‘Son of the Most High,’ and the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; and he will reign over the house of Jacob for the ages, and there will be no end of his kingdom... the holy spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for this reason also the holy-begotten one will be called ‘Son of God.’” (Luke 1:32-33, 35)
Nathaniel answered, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel!” (John 1:49)
Now these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:31)
“God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second psalm: ‘You are My Son; today I have begotten you.’” (Acts 13:33)
The Son of [God] came from the seed of David, according to the flesh, and was appointed the Son of God with power, according to the spirit, by resurrection from the dead: Jesus the Messiah our Lord. (Rom. 1:3-4)
In these passages, Jesus is referred to as “the Son of God,” just as the Davidic kings of the Old Testament were (2 Sam. 7:14; 1 Chron. 28:5; Psa. 2:6-7; 89:20, 26). The authors of the New Testament considered this title to be equivalent to “Messiah” (anointed one) and “king of Israel” since these titles are placed in parallel with one another in many passages, including the ones cited above (Matt. 16:16, 20; 26:63; Mark 1:1; 14:61; Luke 4:41; 22:67, 70; John 1:49; 11:27; 19:7, 12, 21; Acts 9:20, 22; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:13; 1 John 2:22; 5:1, 5; 2 John 9).
According to Luke 1:32-35, Jesus is called Son of God for two reasons: first because he rules over the throne of David, and also because of his virginal conception. There are three stages of Jesus’ sonship in the New Testament: he was prophesied to be the (future) Son of God at his conception (Luke 1:32-35); marked out as the Son of God at his baptism (Mark 1:10-11; Matt. 16:16); and finally appointed to be the Son of God at his resurrection and exaltation (Acts 2:36; 13:33; Rom. 1:4; Heb. 1:3-5).
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the days of king Herod, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in its rising, and have come to worship him.” (Matt. 2:2)
Then those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!” (Matt. 14:33)
Yet when God again brings the Firstborn into the world, He says, “Let all the angels of God worship him.” (Heb. 1:6)
There are only a few instances in the New Testament where Jesus is said to be worshipped (proskuneo), and it’s unclear whether proskuneo should be translated “worship” or simply “bow down” in each instance. However, as these three passages show, Jesus is given proskuneo not because he is God, but because he is “king of the Jews,” “Son of God,” and “Firstborn.” Each of these is a title of the Davidic king, who in the Old Testament was worshipped alongside Yahweh (1 Chron. 29:20; Psa. 2:11-12; 72:11). This further serves to connect Jesus with the Davidic kings of the Old Testament.
Be filled with the spirit, speaking to each other in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to the God and Father for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus the Messiah. (Eph. 5:18-20)
Then I heard every creature in heaven, and upon the earth, and under the earth, and in the sea, and everything that is in them, singing, “To the One sitting upon the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion, for the ages of the ages!” And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders bowed down and worshipped. (Rev. 5:13-14)
In both of these passages, songs of praise are directed toward Jesus. There are also Christological hymns throughout the New Testament (e.g., John 1:14-18; Phil. 2:5-11; Col. 1:15-20). This is in agreement with the Old Testament practice of directing songs of praise to the Davidic king (Psa. 45:1). Furthermore, Rev. 5:13-14 may be a direct allusion to 1 Chron. 29:20; in both instances, an assembly “bows down and worships” God and the Davidic king together.
Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands; and bring your hand, and put it into my side; and do not disbelieve, but believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:27-28)
Yet unto the Son it says, “Your throne, O God, is permanent, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy above your companions.” (Heb. 1:8-9)
These are the only two passages in the New Testament where Jesus is unambiguously referred to as “God” (theos). Like the Davidic kings of the Old Testament, he is able to be called “God” as he is the authorized representative of God (Psa. 45:6; Isa. 9:6; Zech. 12:8). In fact, Hebrews 1:8-9 is a direct quotation of Psalm 45:6-7. However, in both instances, it is clear that Jesus, despite being called “God,” is not actually God Himself, because he was anointed by God and God is still his God (John 20:17, 31; Heb. 1:9). Instead, he is called “God” because he is God’s representative.
And the word became flesh and tented among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of a unique one from a father, full of grace and truth... For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus the Messiah. (John 1:14, 17)
...we see Jesus, who was “made a little lower than the angels,” now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by God’s grace he should experience death for everyone. (Heb. 2:9)
Jesus is said to have been given four different attributes of God: grace, truth, glory, and honor. These are the same four attributes (chesed, emet, hod, hadar) which were said in the Old Testament to have been given to the Davidic king (Psa. 21:5; 45:3; 89:14, 24).
And [Jesus] woke up, rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Be silent! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4:39-41)
When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and [Jesus] was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came toward them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. (Mark 6:47-51)
These passages display Jesus' power over the sea. This is often taken to be a demonstration of his divinity, but it is more likely an allusion to Psalm 89:9, 25, in which David is given power to still the waters of the sea when they rise up. [1] This shows the extent to which God has shared his authority with His Messiah, even giving him power over nature.
“For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son... And He gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man... I am not able to do anything of myself, but as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of the One who sent me.” (John 5:22, 27, 30)
“[God] set a day on which He is about to judge the world in righteousness, through a man whom He appointed, having provided confidence to all by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:31)
Jesus has been given authority by God to judge the world, just as the Davidic kings of the Old Testament were given authority by God to judge the people of Israel (2 Chron. 9:8; Psa. 72:1). Furthermore, just as Solomon sat down upon God’s throne of judgment, so also Jesus sat on God’s throne of judgment, so that “the judgment seat of Messiah” is equivalent to “the judgment seat of God” (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10).
“We know that this is truly the Messiah, the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42)
“God exalted [Jesus] to His right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” (Acts 5:31)
God was in the Messiah reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19)
Jesus, as the Messiah, is the appointed agent through which God accomplished the salvation of the world, similarly to how the Davidic king Solomon was appointed to be savior of the oppressed in Israel (Psa. 72:12-14). It’s evident from Acts 5:31 that Jesus was exalted to become Savior.
The God of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, the Father of glory... exercised this power in the Messiah when He raised him from the dead and seated him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. (Eph. 1:17, 20-21)
When [the Son] had made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels as he has inherited a name superior to theirs. (Heb. 1:3-4)
Jesus the Messiah is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, with angels and authorities and powers subjected to him. (1 Pet. 3:21-22)
“I will grant the one who overcomes permission to sit on my throne, just as I also overcame and sat down with my Father on His throne.” (Rev. 3:21)
These passages highlight the extremely exalted state of Jesus following his resurrection, having been given authority over all creation (Matt. 28:18) and subject only to God Himself. The New Testament writers use a Davidic psalm to describe his exaltation, saying that he sits “at the right hand of God,” which was originally said of David (Psalm 110:1). Furthermore, Jesus is said to sit upon God’s throne over the entire creation, just as David and Solomon sat upon God’s throne over Israel (1 Chron. 29:23; 2 Chron. 9:8). Nonetheless, Jesus continues to be distinguished from God, who is still his God (Eph. 1:17; Rev. 3:12).
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[1] J. R. Daniel Kirk and Stephen L. Young, "'I Will Set His Hand to the Sea': Psalm 88:26 LXX and Christology in Mark," Journal of Biblical Literature 133, no. 2 (2014), 333-340.
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