And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son?

LUKE 20:41KJV
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Luke 20:41 (KJV)

What does Luke 20:41 mean?

Luke 20:41 records Jesus asking why people call Christ David’s son. Jesus is inviting his listeners to think more deeply about the relationship between the promised ruler and King David, an ancestor from Israel’s past.

Jesus asks the question after others have questioned him in the temple. “David’s son” points to a descendant of David, not necessarily his immediate child.

The Greek behind Luke 20:41

  • “Christ” — Χριστός (Christos): The Greek word means “anointed one,” someone chosen and marked out for a special role. In this question, “Christ” refers to the ruler people were expecting.
  • “son” — υἱός (huios): The word can mean a son or a later descendant. Here, “David’s son” names a family connection across generations.

Why Luke 20:41 matters

  • Jesus’ question prepares the listeners to consider more than ancestry. In the following verses, he quotes a psalm in which David calls someone “Lord,” then asks how that person can also be David’s son.

  • Jesus begins with a belief his listeners would recognize: people expected Christ to come from David’s family. The question “How say they” asks them to consider what that familiar claim means alongside David’s words in the psalm.

Where else these words appear

“David's” Greek G1138 · used in 54 verses

  • Matthew 1:1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
  • Mark 10:48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
  • Acts 2:25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:

“How” Greek G4459 · used in 100 verses

  • Matthew 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
  • Luke 11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
  • Acts 9:27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

“is” Greek G1511 · used in 124 verses

  • Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
  • Acts 8:37 And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
  • 2 Corinthians 5:9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.