Son of David question

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The Son of David question (also Messiah question ) designates a chapter in the Synoptic Gospels ( Mk 12.35–37  EU ; Matt 22.41–46  EU ; Lk 20.1–21.4  EU ). After Jesus did not find acceptance among the various leading strata ( scribes , Pharisees , Sadducees , Herodians) of the Jewish people, but was rejected because his claim to authority was questioned, Jesus convicts the scribes and Pharisees by asking about the origin of the Messiah (with reference to Psalm 110.1) of their own unfounded claim to power and thus embarrasses them in front of the people present. Because when the Hasmoneans came to power in 165 BC The high priests of the temple and their descendants had been killed, so that the Hasmonean kings were now rulers and high priests at the same time and the hereditary priesthood, which went back to Moses and Aaron, no longer existed.

In the face of this manifest defeat, the scribes and Pharisees refrain from further attempts to publicly expose Jesus. The open conflict between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees breaks off, so that the question of the Son of David can be seen as a turning point in the pre-Easter conflict.

The cause of the conflict can be seen in the various religious standards of Jesus and his opponents. The fulfillment of the will of God, as described in the Mosaic Law and the prophets, is given by Jesus as a binding standard in a powerful way. Specifically, as the Sermon on the Mount shows, this standard consists of the double commandment to love God and love one's neighbor . By reacting to Jesus' ministry, scribes and Pharisees show from the early stages of the conflict that they are unwilling to accept this standard. Rather, they hold fast to their own standards by which they judge and condemn Jesus' work.

The portrayal of the conflict is given a further climax by the Pharisees' death resolution against Jesus. The result of this decision is a change in Jesus' strategy in dealing with his opponents. Before the death sentence, he tries to argumentatively lead them to insight. He then confronts them directly with the Spirit of God as the origin of his authority and, in the event of continued refusal, with the perspective of the judgment.

See also

literature

  • Bruce Chilton: Jesus Ben David. Reflections on the Son of David question. In: Journal for the Study of the New Testament 14, 1982, ISSN  0142-064X , pp. 88-112
  • Ferdinand R. Prostmeier : The "descendant of David". Interpretation and meanings for Christology. In: Johannes Frühwald-König, Ferdinand R. Prostmeier, Reinhold Zwick (eds.): “Isn't it written ...?” Studies on the Bible and its history of impact. Festschrift for Georg Schmuttermayr . Verlag Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2001, ISBN 3-7917-1747-2 , pp. 209-236.