Romans 1:3
concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh,
Truth to Learn
Jesus, the focus of the gospel message, the Christ, the Messiah, is descended from King David.
Behind the Words
The words “was born” come from the Greek, “tou genomenou” which means “the one who was brought into being” or “the one who became.”
The word translated “seed” is the Greek word, “spermatos’, which is both revealing and self explanatory.
“according to the flesh” comes from the Greek, “kata sarka’, which means, “with respect to that which is flesh and bone.”
Meaning Explained
In verses one and two, Paul talked about the good news that God promised through His prophets. But even more important than who proclaimed this message in the past is who this good news is about. In today’s verse, He tells us who this gospel is about, “His (God’s) Son, Jesus Christ.” The importance of this verse cannot be overlooked. Paul is making it very clear from the start of this epistle who the central figure is.
He now goes on to declare the pedigree of the one he is talking about. Paul says that Jesus “was born of the seed of David;” that is, Jesus Christ took on human flesh as a descendent of King David (of the sperm of David).
The expression “according to the flesh” is an interesting one in that it is used of no one in the Bible except Jesus. But why is this never used to describe anyone else? Saying that he came into being with respect to flesh and bone implies that there is another aspect (another nature) of His being that is not flesh and bone that already existed. This is only true of one who existed before He became flesh and blood and that is not true of any man except Jesus, who is eternally God. He has always had His divine nature and He took upon himself a human nature.
And why is it important for Paul to establish that Jesus was a direct descendent of King David? Because the Jews have been waiting for the One who was to come and rule eternally. This One was predicted numerous times in the Old Testament, most notably in David’s instruction to his son Solomon shortly before his (David’s) death which is recorded in 1 Kings 2:1-4. In order for Jesus to be declared the Christ, the Messiah of the Old Testament, He must be a descendent of King David.
According to the nineteenth century preacher Albert Barnes, “To a Jew there could be scarcely any honor so high as to be descended from the best of their kings; and it shows how little the Lord Jesus esteemed the honors of this world, that he could always evince his deep humility in circumstances where people are usually proud; and that when he spoke of the honors of this world, and told how little they were worth, he was not denouncing what was not within his reach.”
Application
And yet we, who have so much less to boast about in our own lineage, find it so hard to be as humble as He who had so much about which He could have boasted!
That’s something to think about!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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