David and Goliath Part 17 - Whose Son Is This?

# 253 - Today's Du-votional comes from: 1Sa 17:52-58, “Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent. 55 When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this youth?" And Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know." 56 So the king said, "Inquire whose son this young man is." 57 Then, as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" So David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite." (1 Sam 17:52-58) It seems strange to us that Saul would have forgotten who this young man was. Had not David played the harp in his court and served as a gopher for the king? Yet, maybe not so strange in that most of the time Saul was out of his mind with a distressing spirit when he called on the services of David the musician. This condition would not help his memory. This brief exchange with Saul, Abner, and David serves as a picture of a similar exchange with Jesus and the Pharisees found in Mt 22:41-45. In this exchange, Jesus asks the Pharisees, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He? They replied, “The Son of David.” Then Jesus asked, “If David calls Him Lord, how is He his Son?” And like Abner, no one was able to answer..” This was the problem of the Jews, though the answer was right in front of them, they refused to see it or believe it. This is the problem of the world even today. The answer, Jesus Christ stands before them, with the facts of history, the testimony of His church through the changed lives of believers, the miraculously preserved words of Scripture, and still they do not know and they ask “whose Son is this?” This is Jesus, the Son of David, and the Son of God. He is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! Believe this and be saved.