ANSWER:
By Prince Dominic B. Ugalde
The most effective way to address this issue lies in developing a clear and comprehensive understanding of the theology surrounding Messianic prophecy. At its core, the solution begins with recognizing the prophetic foundations that point toward the Messiah, as revealed throughout Scripture.
In Romans 1:3, the Greek phrase for born of the seed of David according to the flesh is written as:
τοῦ ��ενομένου ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυεὶδ κατὰ σάρκα
English: having come from the seed of David according to the flesh.
The verb γενομένου (genomenou) from γίνομαι means to become, to be born, or to come into being. ἐκ σπέρματος Δαυεὶδ means from the seed of David, pointing directly to human lineage and descent. The emphasis here is on Jesus’ human origin, his physical birth in David’s line, fulfilling the Messianic requirement that the Messiah would come from David’s house (2 Samuel 7:12-16).
In Revelation 22:16, the Greek is:
ἐγὼ εἰμι ἡ ῥίζα καὶ τὸ γένος Δαυίδ, ὁ ἀστὴρ ὁ λαμπρὸς ὁ πρωϊνός.
The phrase ἡ ῥίζα καὶ τὸ γένος Δαυίδ translates as the Root and the Offspring of David. The word ῥίζα (rhiza) means "root," and γένος (genos) refers to offspring, descendant, or progeny. This creates a paradox: how can Jesus be both the root (origin/source) of David and also his offspring (descendant)?
The resolution to this lies in the dual nature of Jesus Christ. According to Romans 1:3-4, “born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power… by the resurrection from the dead.” Here, Paul identifies Jesus’ humanity and divinity: according to the flesh, He is from David’s line; according to the Spirit, He is the eternal Son of God, whose power is revealed by the resurrection.
The idea of Jesus as “the Root” of David implies pre-existence and divine origin. Just as the root of a tree is the source from which it springs, so Christ, in His divine nature, preceded and created David, and indeed all things. This concept echoes John 1:1-3:
In the beginning was the Word... All things were made by him.
Christ as the Logos existed before David and was David’s Lord in the eternal sense.
This is precisely the theological point Jesus presses in Matthew 22:41-46. When He asks the Pharisees, “Whose son is the Christ?” they reply, “The son of David.” Jesus then quotes Psalm 110:1, which says, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand…” The logic is this: David calls the Messiah “Lord”, not “son,” and since the lesser does not call the greater “Lord,” how can the Messiah be merely David’s son?
Jesus’ question silences them because it reveals the insufficiency of the Pharisees’ view of the Messiah as merely a political descendant of David. They failed to grasp that the Messiah must be both fully human and fully divine. This is not only a theological assertion but also a Christological one: the Messiah cannot merely come after David, He must have existed before David, and in fact, David must worship Him as Lord.
So in Romans 1:3, Paul affirms the Messianic descent through David’s line, necessary to fulfill prophecy. This aligns with Matthew 1 and Luke 3, which trace Jesus’ genealogy to David, affirming His human and royal credentials. But in Revelation 22:16, Jesus speaks from His glorified, exalted state, declaring that He is not only David’s descendant but also David’s origin, the One from whom David himself came into being.
This twofold identity (human and divine) is at the heart of Christian belief in the Incarnation. Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with us,” not a man who became divine, but God who became man. As Philippians 2:6-8 says:
Who, being in the form of God… was made in the likeness of men.
The miracle of the Incarnation is that the eternal Son, the Creator, stepped into human history as a descendant of David, while never ceasing to be the Root of David.
This duality also resonates in Isaiah 11:1 and Isaiah 11:10. In verse 1, the Messiah is described as a “shoot from the stump of Jesse” (a descendant) and in verse 10, as the “root of Jesse”, showing again that He is both origin and offspring. The Messiah must fulfill both roles: be born of David’s line to fulfill the promise, yet also be divine, the One who sustains and precedes David.
Theologically, this reflects the mystery of Christ's two natures in one Person, the hypostatic union. From eternity, Christ is the Logos, the pre-existent Word, the source of life, wisdom, and kingship. Yet in time, He was born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4), of the house of David. Only someone who is both God and man could fulfill both the throne promise to David and the eternal lordship over all.
So when Jesus says in Revelation, “I am the Root and the Offspring of David,” He is declaring His divinity and humanity in one breath. It’s a summation of His entire identity: He is the eternal cause of David’s existence (as Creator), and the temporal consequence of David’s line (as Son). This paradox is not a contradiction, but the glory of the Incarnation, the mystery of God becoming man without ceasing to be God.
Thus, the harmony between Romans 1:3, Revelation 22:16, and Matthew 22:41-46 is found in understanding that Christ is both before and after David, Lord and Son, Root and Branch. This truth astonished the Pharisees because it revealed a Messiah who is infinitely greater than they had imagined not a mere king in David’s mold, but David’s God come in the flesh.
It is this truth that formed the heart of the early Christian proclamation: that Jesus, crucified and risen, is both the Son of David and the Son of God, the fulfillment of prophecy and the revelation of divine mystery. The One who is born of David’s seed according to the flesh is the very One who upholds David’s existence according to His divine nature.
