What does it mean that “the Lord said to my Lord”?

Answer

In Psalm 110:1, David states, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool’” (ESV). In Matthew 22:44, Jesus references this verse during a conversation with the Pharisees to demonstrate that the Messiah surpasses being just David’s son; He is David’s Lord.

The phrase “the LORD says to my Lord” contains two distinct Hebrew terms for “lord” in the original text. The first term is Yahweh, the Hebrew covenant name for God. The second term is adoni, which means “lord” or “master.” Therefore, in Psalm 110:1, David pens: “Yahweh says to my Adoni. . . .” To gain a deeper insight into Jesus’ citation of Psalm 110:1, we will examine the identity of each “Lord” separately.

The initial “Lord” in “the LORD says to my Lord” refers to the eternal God of the universe, the Great I AM who revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3. This self-existent, all-powerful God speaks in Psalm 110 to another figure who is also acknowledged as David’s “Lord.”

The subsequent “Lord” in “the LORD says to my Lord” is the Messiah, or the Christ. Psalm 110 portrays this second “Lord” in the following manner:

● He is seated at God’s right hand (verse 1)

● He will achieve victory over all His adversaries and govern them (verses 1–2)

● He will lead a majestic army (verse 3)

● He will serve as “a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek” (verse 4)

● He will possess divine authority to subdue kings, judge nations, and eliminate the wicked (verses 5–6)

● He will be refreshed and exalted (verse 7)

In Matthew 22:44, Jesus clearly identifies the second “Lord” of Psalm 110:1 as the Messiah, and the Pharisees concur that David was indeed referring to the Messiah. When David wrote, “The LORD says to my Lord,” he explicitly declared that the Messiah (or the Christ) was his superior and master—his Adoni.

A common designation for the Messiah in Jesus’ era was “Son of David,” stemming from the belief that the Messiah would be thThe descendant of David who would inherit the throne and fulfill the Davidic Covenant (see 2 Samuel 7). Jesus capitalizes on the Jewish use of the title “Son of David” to emphasize His point in Matthew 22. “While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ‘What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ ‘The son of David,’ they replied. He said to them, ‘How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him “Lord”? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’” If then David calls him “Lord,” how can he be his son?’” (Matthew 22:41-45).

Jesus’ reasoning is this: “Son of David” is your title for the Messiah, yet David himself calls Him “Lord.” The Messiah, then, must be much more than just a son—a physical descendant—of David. According to Psalm 110:1, this “Son of David” was alive during David’s time and was greater than David. All of this information is contained in the statement that “the LORD says to my Lord.” Jesus is David’s Lord; He is the Christ, the Jewish Messiah, and Psalm 110 is a promise of Jesus’ victory at His second coming.

Another important point that Jesus makes in Matthew 22 is that David wrote the psalm under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; David was “speaking by the Spirit,” Jesus says (verse 43). Clearly, Jesus taught the inspiration of Scripture. When David wrote, “The LORD says to my Lord,” he was recording exactly what God wanted him to write.