David

King David is mentioned more than one thousand times in the Bible, including thirty-eight times in the four Gospels. David cannot be left out of the birth narrative of Jesus.

Consider the important links between David and the birth of the Savior.

The Name of David

Son of David was one of the popular names of Jesus in the Gospel records, and during His ministry, people debated whether or not He was the promised Messiah. Matthew opens his Gospel with, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David” (Matt. 1:1). “What do you think about the Christ?” Jesus asked some of the Pharisees. “Whose son is he?” They replied, “The son of David,” and they were right (22:41–42). In the Hebrew language, the name David means “beloved.” The Father called Jesus His “beloved” at His baptism (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22 NASB) and at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:5; Mark 9:7 NASB). See also Luke 20:13 NASB.

Like David, Jesus was rejected and had to suffer before He was crowned king; and, as in David’s family, our Lord’s own brothers didn’t accept Him until later (1 Sam. 17:27–31; 22:1; John 7:1–9). Both David and Jesus won victories in private before they displayed their power in public (1 Sam. 17:33–37; Matt. 4:1–11).

The Family of David

Jesus’ mother Mary belonged to the family of David (Luke 3:31) and so did His foster father Joseph (2:4, and see 1:69). There was no Jewish monarchy in those days (Hosea 3:4–5), but there were descendants of David who still remained faithful to the Lord. “I am the Root and the Offspring of David,” Jesus said to John in Revelation 22:16. See also Revelation 5:5. As the “Root of David,” Jesus brought the family of David into being, for He is God; and as the “Offspring of David,” He became man and was born of Mary, a descendant of David. Paul explained that “as to his human nature [Jesus] was a descendant of David, and . . . through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God” (Rom. 1:3–4).

In Romans 15:12 Jesus is called “the Root of Jesse.” Jesse was David’s father. The promise is given that Jesus will one day reign over His kingdom on earth. Whenever God’s people pray, “Your kingdom come,” they are asking for this promise to be fulfilled. The apostle Paul, a devout Jew, emphasized the Jewish ancestry of Jesus, knowing that the future of the promised kingdom depended on this (Acts 28:20). “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David” (2 Tim. 2:8). Why remember that Jesus descended from David? Because the promises God made to David about his royal throne will one day be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, David’s greatest son.

The Town of David

To comply with the Roman census, Joseph and Mary left Nazareth and traveled seventy-five miles to Bethlehem, “the town of David,” and there Jesus was born (Luke 2:1–7). This would not have been an easy journey for Mary, and the situation didn’t improve when they learned there was no room for them in the inn.

As we noted in our remarks on Bethlehem, the town would have been remembered for the place where Rachel died, but today, because of Jesus, it’s remembered as the place where the Savior was born. The wise men were sure that a great king would be born in Jerusalem, but the prophet Micah pointed them to Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), the town of David.

The Throne of David

God’s promise to Mary was, “The Lord God will give him [Jesus] the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32–33). But for centuries Israel has had no king. The prophet Hosea foretold these days: “For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince” (Hosea 3:4). “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests told Pilate (John 19:15), and so Israel rejected her only lawful king.

God had promised David, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Sam. 7:16). This promise was never fulfilled in any of David’s successors, but it will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Today He is seated on the Father’s throne, but Hosea 3:5 promises, “Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days.” Jeremiah wrote, “‘In that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them’” (Jer. 30:8–9).

These verses refer to the establishment of the kingdom promised to Israel, when Jesus will reign and “the government will be on his shoulders. . . . He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever” (Isa. 9:6–7; and see Isaiah 11). “I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure” (Ps. 89:28–29). Only Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, could fulfill this promise that God made to David. Read what Peter told the Jews at Pentecost in Acts 2:29–36.

Mary understood the national ramifications of the coming of Jesus (Luke 1:54–55) and so did Zechariah (vv. 67–75). Jesus came as a Jew to the Jews, and they in turn took the gospel message to the Gentiles, so that through Israel all the peoples of the earth could be blessed (Gen. 12:3; Gal. 3:8). Here’s how Paul expressed it: “For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy” (Rom. 15:8–9).

If anybody has reason to glorify God at the Christmas season, it’s the Gentiles who were outside the covenants and the promises and yet brought near and brought in by Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:11–22).

The Key of David

“These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open” (Rev. 3:7). A key is a symbol of authority, and “the key of David” relates to Christ’s authority over the house of David in fulfilling the promises God made to Israel.

Ancient locks and keys were much different from their modern equivalents. We insert metal keys that move the bolts horizontally in the locks, but the ancients had large wooden keys that were pulled vertically. This pushed up the iron bolts and unlocked the door. The person who carried this key was the most important person in the palace, next to the king, and everyone did his bidding. Jesus holds not only the key of David but also the keys of death and Hades (Rev. 1:18). He is the one who has the authority.

The background for this image is recorded in Isaiah 22:15–25. Shebna was in charge of the palace; he was the man with the key. But he selfishly used his authority for his own purposes, including having an elaborate tomb cut out for him at the king’s expense. But the prophet Isaiah told him he wouldn’t be honored with a great, royal funeral but would die an exile in a foreign land and be buried there. Eliakim was appointed in his place and given the key and he was a faithful steward who brought honor to the Lord and to the king.

The Jewish rabbis saw Eliakim as a picture of Jesus Christ, the faithful steward over the house (family) of David. The church in Philadelphia was given great opportunities for ministry, doors that the Lord opened for them that nobody could close (Rev. 3:7–8). Jesus had the key and He determined what the church should do. There was in Philadelphia a “synagogue of Satan” that claimed to be Christian but was actually made up of counterfeit Christians, and Jesus would deal with them. Jesus has the key—the authority—and we must listen to Him and obey Him. If He closes a door, we must not try to pry it open.

While the spiritual application of this passage belongs to all Christians and encourages us to be faithful stewards, we must not forget the basic interpretation to the people of Israel. They rejected Jesus but He is still in charge of their future and will fulfill the covenants and promises that He gave them. There are believers who say there is no future for Israel, but as long as Jesus holds the key of David, nobody can close the door.

The Music of David

David was a remarkable combination of shepherd, soldier, administrator, poet, and musician. Nearly half of the psalms are attributed to David, and many of those we call messianic psalms because they speak of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44).

The book of Psalms was the official hymnal of the Jewish people, and those like Simeon and Anna who looked forward to the coming of Messiah found encouragement for their faith as they sang these inspired songs. Psalm 2 spoke to them of the King who would reign and conquer their enemies (see Heb. 1:5; Acts 13:33). Psalm 22 describes the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (see Matt. 27:35, 39, 43, 45–46; John 19:23–24, 28; Heb. 2:12), and the familiar Psalm 23 describes His shepherding ministry to His people (John 10). Psalm 110:4 presents Jesus as the “priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Heb. 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:17, 21), and verse 1 affirms the divine sonship of our Lord (Matt. 22:44–45; Luke 20:42–44). Psalm 16:8–11 anticipates the burial and resurrection of Jesus, verses Peter quoted in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:25–28).

These are but a few examples of the messianic messages of the book of Psalms. King David wrote about the Son of David centuries before Jesus was born at Bethlehem, and the church is grateful that he did. “Israel’s beloved singer” (2 Sam. 23:1 NIV Study Bible, margin note) sang about Jesus, and so should we.

 See: Immanuel, King, Messiah, Prophecy

Dreams

The phrase “in a dream” is found six times in Matthew’s Gospel, five times in the narrative of the birth of Jesus (1:20; 2:12, 13, 19, 22) and once in the account of the trial of Jesus (27:19). The dreams God gave to Joseph and the wise men were important parts of the birth drama and revealed God’s loving care as He protected His Son and His servants from the enemy.

Occasionally in the Old Testament, the Lord spoke to people through dreams, and this included people outside the Jewish covenant, such as Abimelech (Gen. 20:3), Laban (31:24), a Midianite soldier (Judg. 7:13–15), Pharaoh and his butler and baker (Genesis 40–41), and King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2, 4). God gave dreams to Jacob, founder of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 28:12; 31:10–13), and to Jacob’s son Joseph (37:1–11 ). Joseph’s brothers scornfully nicknamed him “that dreamer” (v. 19), but it was Joseph whom God used to save the nation of Israel.

In the law of Moses, the Lord warned the Jewish people not to depend for guidance on the interpretation of dreams. Yes, a true prophet might receive a message from God in a dream, but only the Lord could give the correct interpretation (Num. 12:1–8; Deuteronomy 13; 18:9–22). The Israelites were to beware of false prophets and “dreamers” who would lead them astray (Jer. 23:25–40; 27:9–11; 29:1–9; Zech. 10:2). There is no evidence in Scripture that Israel had a guild of “dream experts.”

Joseph, the husband of Mary, was given four dreams, each of which played an important part in the protection of Jesus. First, when Joseph learned that Mary was pregnant, he was perplexed over what to do, and God told him in a dream to go ahead and marry her and thereby give the baby a safe home and a name—Jesus, “Jehovah saves” (Matt. 1:18–25). In naming the baby, Joseph legally claimed Him, even though Joseph was only the foster father.

While King Herod was scheming to kill the newborn King of the Jews, God warned Joseph in a dream to flee to Egypt with Mary and the Child. There was a large Jewish settlement in Egypt, and they would be safe there. God also warned the wise men in a dream not to return to Herod but to go home by another route (2:1–18). After King Herod died, God directed Joseph in a dream to return to Judea, but when he heard that Herod’s cruel son Archelaus was on the throne, he hesitated. In another dream, the Lord told him to go back home to Nazareth in Galilee (vv. 19–23), and he obeyed. Matthew saw in the trip to Egypt the fulfillment of Hosea 11:1.

The Lord spoke in dreams to Joseph and to the wise men because they had to act quickly at a time of great danger and there wasn’t time to send a prophet to warn them, even if one had been available. (Israel had not heard a prophet for four hundred years.) The important thing was to protect Jesus from those who would kill Him. Joseph and the wise men obeyed God’s commands and escaped the wrath of the king.

Does this mean that believers today should expect God to direct them through their dreams? Probably not. With two thousand years of Christian history behind us, an inspired Bible before us, the Holy Spirit within us, and loving Christians around us, believers today have the resources they need for making wise decisions. In the dreams mentioned in Matthew 1 and 2, the dreamers heard God speak either directly or through an angel, and no interpretation was necessary. The dreams were clear announcements, not puzzling enigmas. There were emergencies abroad and God was at work saving His people.

Many psychiatrists believe that dreams have their origin in the desires and fears we bury in our subconscious. They see dreams as coded messages from within that expose the self we want to hide; and once we “decode” the message, we are set free from our “false self” to become our “true self.” Many people have been helped by skilled counselors who have guided them in facing reality and dealing with it honestly, an experience not unlike a Christian conversion experience but without the work of the Holy Spirit and the imparting of new life. But none of the dreams we examined in Matthew 1 and 2 fit into this category.

Missionaries tell us that dreams are playing a part today in their ministry to difficult people groups. People dream about Jesus or “a black book” (the Bible) and seek out Christians to explain their dreams, and many of these people come to faith in Christ. Wherever there are sincere people seeking truth, God can reveal Himself to them as He did to Abram in Ur of the Chaldeans (Acts 7:2–3) and Cornelius the Gentile soldier in Caesarea (Acts 10). The Lord adapts His methods to those He is seeking to reach, and if they only “touch the edge of his cloak” (Luke 8:43–48), He will graciously respond to even the weakest faith.

 See: Joseph, Wise Men