Matthew 22:42
in Matthew 22“What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is He?” “David’s,” they answered.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
saying, What think ye of the Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David.
KJV
Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
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This verse in Matthew 22
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe Jews tempted Christ, supposing Him to be mere man; had they believed Him to be the Son of God, they would not have tempted Him.
This site's exposition
the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them
on Matthew 22:41-42
While the Pharisees were still gathered, Jesus turns questioner himself, what think ye of Christ, whose son is he, and their answer, the Son of David, is entirely correct as far as it goes, the same title the crowds cried at his entry into the city. The Son of David thread that has run since Joseph was first so addressed reaches here its final beat before the cross, no longer a title supplied by the crowd but one the Pharisees themselves confirm under direct questioning. Their confidence in the answer is exactly what the next verse will unsettle.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 71 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Then since He had answered, He asks also in turn, "What think ye of Christ, whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David." See after how many miracles, after how many signs, after how many questions, after how great a display of His unanimity with the Father, as well in words, as in deeds; after having praised this man that said, that there is one God, He asks the question, that they may not be able to say, that He did miracles indeed, yet was an adversary to the law, and a foe to God. Therefore, after so many things, He asks these questions, secretly leading them on to confess Him also to be God. And the disciples He asked first what the others say, and then themselves; but these not so; for surely they would have said a deceiver, and a wicked one, as speaking all things without fear. So for this cause He inquires for the opinion of these men themselves. For having asked them first, since they answered not the truth concerning Him (for they said He was a mere man), to overthrow their mistaken opinion, He thus introduces David proclaiming His Godhead. For they indeed supposed that He was a mere man, wherefore also they said, "the Son of David;" but He to correct this brings in the prophet witnessing to His being Lord, and the genuineness of His Sonship, and His equality in honor with His Father.
(verses 41 onwards) But when the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus questioned them, saying, 'What do you think about the Christ, whose son is he?' They said to him, 'David.' He said to them, 'How then does David in the Spirit call him Lord, saying, "The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool?" If David then calls him Lord, how is he his son?' Those who had gathered together to test Jesus and tried to capture the truth through deceitful questioning, gave an opportunity for their own refutation.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 71 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
Then since He had answered, He asks also in turn, "What think ye of Christ, whose Son is He? They say unto Him, The Son of David." See after how many miracles, after how many signs, after how many questions, after how great a display of His unanimity with the Father, as well in words, as in deeds; after having praised this man that said, that there is one God, He asks the question, that they may not be able to say, that He did miracles indeed, yet was an adversary to the law, and a foe to God. Therefore, after so many things, He asks these questions, secretly leading them on to confess Him also to be God. And the disciples He asked first what the others say, and then themselves; but these not so; for surely they would have said a deceiver, and a wicked one, as speaking all things without fear. So for this cause He inquires for the opinion of these men themselves. For since He was now about to go on to His passion, He sets forth the prophecy that plainly proclaims Him to be Lord; and not as having come to do this without occasion, nor as having made this His aim, but from a reasonable cause. For having asked them first, since they answered not the truth concerning Him (for they said He was a mere man), to overthrow their mistaken opinion, He thus introduces David proclaiming His Godhead. […]
The Medieval Church2 voices
What think you of Christ: whose son is he? This question was most difficult and fitting. Most difficult, because it is found in Isaiah 53:8: who shall declare his generation? It was also fitting, because they held the opinion that he was a mere man …
Since they thought He was a mere man, He overturns their belief and by means of the prophecy of David (Ps. 109:1) teaches the truth, that He is also the Lord, proclaiming His own divinity. For when the Pharisees said that the Christ was the …
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
4 Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
Saying, what think ye of Christ,.... Or the Messiah; he does not ask them whether there was, or would be such a person in the world.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
What think ye of Christ? - Or, What are your thoughts concerning The Christ - the Messiah; for to this title the emphatic article should always be added. Whose son is he? - From what family is he to spring? They say unto him, The son of David - This was a thing well known among the Jews, and universally acknowledged, see Joh 7:42; and is a most powerful proof against them that the Messiah is come.
IT was a custom among the Jews before the Paschal Lamb was killed to shut it up for several days for examination. It was at first selected with great care, for it must be "a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year," and lest at the first choice some blemish should have been overlooked it was continually inspected from day to day. It was meet that the Lamb of God's Passover should pass through a similar ordeal. It is remarkable that our Savior, during the days which preceded His being offered up for us on Calvary was examined and questioned, both by friends and foes. The sharpest eyes were brought to bear upon Him—eyes made preternaturally keen through the malice of wicked hearts. He passed under the scrutiny of Pharisees, of Herodians, of Sadducees, and of lawyers. They tested Him in all parts and tried Him from all points, yet they found no fault in Him. "They marveled, and left Him, and went their way." And, like Pilate, they found no fault in Him. Read the chapter before us in that light and it becomes singularly interesting, as exhibiting the unassailable perfection of our Divine Redeemer. Let us pray that when we are proved and tested we, also, may endure the fiery trial and be found to be pure gold. As they tried our Master, so will they also try us—may we, through His triumphant Grace, endure even to the end. As I looked upon our text in my study, another current of thought passed through my mind. The text stands in a remarkable connection. The chapter which contains it opens with the parable of the wedding feast. The marriage banquet was spread, the guests were invited—they would not come—and therefore special messengers were sent to compel as many as they could find to partake of the feast.
IT was a custom among the Jews before the Paschal Lamb was killed to shut it up for several days for examination. It was at first selected with great care, for it must be "a lamb without blemish, a male of the first year," and lest at the first choice some blemish should have been overlooked it was continually inspected from day to day. It was meet that the Lamb of God's Passover should pass through a similar ordeal.
How the passage was read
On Matthew 22:23-46On Matthew 22:23-46
The Sadducees' riddle, the greatest commandment, and David's son
The Sadducees, the priestly party that denied the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8), build their riddle on levirate marriage: the Torah's command that a man marry his brother's childless widow (Deuteronomy 25:5-10, the law behind Ruth; the Mishnah's tractate Yevamot regulates its cases). Seven brothers, one widow: “in the resurrection whose wife shall she be?” Jesus answers them from the Torah alone, the canon they granted: “I AM the God of Abraham” (Exodus 3:6), the living God of living men. Note where the parties stand: the Pharisees affirmed the resurrection so strongly that the Mishnah excludes from the world to come anyone who says the resurrection is not from the Torah (Sanhedrin 10:1). On this doctrine the Pharisaic tradition and Christian confession stand together against the Sadducees.
The lawyer's question that follows, “which is the great commandment?”, belongs to a genuine rabbinic genre: the search for a kelal gadol, a great governing principle. Hillel, asked to teach the whole Torah while a challenger stood on one foot, answered “what is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow; that is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary; go and learn” (Shabbat 31a); Rabbi Akiva later called “love your neighbor as yourself” the all-embracing principle of the Torah (Sifra on Leviticus 19:18). Jesus' first answer IS the Shema, the confession every observant Jew prays morning and evening (Deuteronomy 6:4-5), joined to Leviticus 19:18. The materials are the tradition's own; what is His alone is the authority with which He joins and ranks them, and the counter-question He then asks from Psalm 110: whose son is the Messiah?
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:1 (the resurrection as core doctrine) · Shabbat 31a (Babylonian Talmud, Hillel on one foot) · Sifra, Kedoshim 4:12 (Akiva's great principle) · Mishnah Yevamot 1:1 (the levirate tractate)
The words behind it
14 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| λέγων· | legon | saying; | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| τί | ti | What | G5101 → | 563 times |
| ὑμῖν | humin | you | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| δοκεῖ | dokei | think | G1380 → | 62 times |
| περὶ | peri | concerning | G4012 → | 332 times |
| τοῦ | tou | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| χριστοῦ; | christou | Christ? | G5547 → | 523 times |
| τίνος | tinos | Of whom | G5101 → | 563 times |
| υἱός | huios | son | G5207 → | 377 times |
| ἐστιν; | estin | is He? | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| λέγουσιν | legousin | They say | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| αὐτῷ· | auto | to Him; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| τοῦ | tou | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Δαυίδ.¶ | dauid | Of David. | G1138 → | 59 times |
λέγων·saying;
legonG3004 →1325 times
τίWhat
tiG5101 →563 times
ὑμῖνyou
huminG4771 →2973 times
δοκεῖthink
dokeiG1380 →62 times
περὶconcerning
periG4012 →332 times
τοῦthe
touG3588 →19766 times
χριστοῦ;Christ?
christouG5547 →523 times
τίνοςOf whom
tinosG5101 →563 times
υἱόςson
huiosG5207 →377 times
ἐστιν;is He?
estinG1510 →2333 times
λέγουσινThey say
legousinG3004 →1325 times
αὐτῷ·to Him;
autoG846 →5565 times
τοῦ<the>
touG3588 →19766 times
Δαυίδ.¶Of David.
dauidG1138 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 9:11“In that day I will restore the fallen tent of David. I will repair its gaps, restore its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old,
it leads to
- Acts 15:15–17
The words of the prophets agree with this, as it is written:
- Jeremiah 33:14–16
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the gracious promise that I have spoken to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
- Isaiah 16:5
in loving devotion a throne will be established in the tent of David. A judge seeking justice and hastening righteousness will sit on it in faithfulness.
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Psalms 80:12
Why have You broken down its walls, so that all who pass by pick its fruit?
- Acts 15:15–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
About Matthew
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Gospels; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1093: “Questions of the Day and THE Question of the Day” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 71; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.