Why does the Gospel of John hardly mention David, while other Gospels emphasize Jesus’ Davidic lineage?
There are multiple reasons, in our understanding:
1. Each of the four Gospel writers had different intended audiences. Matthew, being of the tribe of Levi, was making the case for the Jewish community that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies as to His origin, life, and ministry to be the Messiah – therefore Matthew described Jesus’ descent from David in several ways. Mark made the case that Jesus was a man of action who was a servant of God, who came to serve the needs of sinful mankind to reconcile us with God – therefore Mark doesn’t even give us an origin story. Luke, being very Greek in his cultural reference, made the case that Jesus was a very human savior, and focused on Jesus’ humanity as a descendant from Adam. Luke focuses on Jesus loving kindness to humanity, which derives from being a doctor.
So, what is John’s focus? John wrote to the church, at a time when there were three false teachings swirling around. He wrote describing Jesus’ origin being Heaven; showing that Jesus existed before taking on His humanity, being the Logos (Greek for Word) of God come in human flesh (John 1:1–14). Therefore, the descent from David was less of concern.
2. We know that the Scriptures were (are) guided by the Holy Spirit. One of the most interesting things we discover is that, from the beginning, God has given us the idea of four witnesses, Angels with four faces, four main tribes in the camp of Israel, four banners. Those are: Lion, Ox, Man, and Eagle. So, whether John realized it or not, His Gospel comprises the fourth face, or fourth witness. Matthew focuses on the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” – being the son of David. Mark focuses on Jesus being a strong and faithful servant, like an Ox. Luke focuses on Humanity. John reveals that the true origin of Christ is that He has come to us from above, like an Eagle. I personally don’t think John thought that out; but rather that it was given to him by the Holy Spirit as God’s design.
3. From just a historical standpoint, when John wrote his Gospel, there was no longer any interest or thoughts about a “Davidic Kingdom”. Jerusalem had not just fallen to the Romans, it had been essentially scraped from existence and replaced with Roman buildings and temples. Every stone and every brick of nearly every Jewish building was removed. The Romans knew that the Jews buried their silver and gold in the ground, so they went and dug under every house and in every yard. The Temple itself had been torn down and every stone thrown off the Temple mount. John wrote his Gospel about 20 years later. So, there was really no reason to discuss the prospects of the earthly Davidic Kingdom – by that time, it was evident that would not happen until much later.
Apostle John and King David
There are multiple reasons, in our understanding:
1. Each of the four Gospel writers had different intended audiences. Matthew, being of the tribe of Levi, was making the case for the Jewish community that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies as to His origin, life, and ministry to be the Messiah – therefore Matthew described Jesus’ descent from David in several ways. Mark made the case that Jesus was a man of action who was a servant of God, who came to serve the needs of sinful mankind to reconcile us with God – therefore Mark doesn’t even give us an origin story. Luke, being very Greek in his cultural reference, made the case that Jesus was a very human savior, and focused on Jesus’ humanity as a descendant from Adam. Luke focuses on Jesus loving kindness to humanity, which derives from being a doctor.
So, what is John’s focus? John wrote to the church, at a time when there were three false teachings swirling around. He wrote describing Jesus’ origin being Heaven; showing that Jesus existed before taking on His humanity, being the Logos (Greek for Word) of God come in human flesh (John 1:1–14). Therefore, the descent from David was less of concern.
2. We know that the Scriptures were (are) guided by the Holy Spirit. One of the most interesting things we discover is that, from the beginning, God has given us the idea of four witnesses, Angels with four faces, four main tribes in the camp of Israel, four banners. Those are: Lion, Ox, Man, and Eagle. So, whether John realized it or not, His Gospel comprises the fourth face, or fourth witness. Matthew focuses on the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah” – being the son of David. Mark focuses on Jesus being a strong and faithful servant, like an Ox. Luke focuses on Humanity. John reveals that the true origin of Christ is that He has come to us from above, like an Eagle. I personally don’t think John thought that out; but rather that it was given to him by the Holy Spirit as God’s design.
3. From just a historical standpoint, when John wrote his Gospel, there was no longer any interest or thoughts about a “Davidic Kingdom”. Jerusalem had not just fallen to the Romans, it had been essentially scraped from existence and replaced with Roman buildings and temples. Every stone and every brick of nearly every Jewish building was removed. The Romans knew that the Jews buried their silver and gold in the ground, so they went and dug under every house and in every yard. The Temple itself had been torn down and every stone thrown off the Temple mount. John wrote his Gospel about 20 years later. So, there was really no reason to discuss the prospects of the earthly Davidic Kingdom – by that time, it was evident that would not happen until much later.
Published in Bible, Commentary and Teaching